Wings Were Everywhere (Butterfly Massacre Reviews)

furrypedro · Post by **furrypedro** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 2:48 pm

Caldor: I quite like this. The vocals get a bit lost in the mix somewhere in the middle but i like that it's got a bit of grit. This is my kind of rock but ultimately it never really peaks for me, just sits in the post-hardcore by numbers range. Good stuff though.

Chekhov's pistol: I joined Ryan Anchors for this collab. he's on drums bass and vox, I did guitars, claps and vox. It started off being about killing bugs, and then gained a deeper meaning in the process. we rock

Damien Verret: I like the way you used something other than that bleepy sound in this one, not that that sound is bad but it always drowned everything else out and you're output was getting a bit one dimensional. I like the way this jangles, and it's another nice tune. the acoustic along with your soft vocals makes this sound like Elliot smith, I still think you could enunciate more clearly cos it's difficult to hear what you sing and I'm sure the lyrics are cool. nice rhythms and stuff

Bombathon: This is like dirty sci-fi music. some of the riffs are pretty cool (like that bassy one), some of them get a bit too repetitive. reminds me of 'Something always goes wrong' era Dntel (which I've been digging a lot recently) but a bit more full on.

Demon Kiss: Nice opening riff. not too keen on the vocals. They're not so much angry as panto scary, maybe that's what you were going for. I think the lyrical imagery detracts from the punch of this track personally.

Destruction Enterprise: Not what I was expecting but then maybe I was dumb to expect anything. For what it is it seems fairly well put together, the drums get a bit repetitive even with the fills, that guitar is really jarring. posydens vox are.....I can't decide whether they're funny or just stupid, I suppose they can be both. Interesting take on the title

Ephedream: Weird stuff. the elements don't really gel to me, the beat is too housey. I'm not really into gnarly industrial stuff, but the intro hangs around just long enough, the riffing fits the bill, and the vocals are creepy which I guess is good. mainly mix problems here then but this ain't mixfight is it.

Flvxxvm Florvm: Sounds like some interesting pitch-shifting on the vox there. Smurfs go country. This is an okay blend of your acoustic side meeting your rock god alias. solid arrangement and stuff, possibly a bit too guitar laden towards the end, you could've laid off the fret-wanking for a bar or so but you widdle competently and the track builds well. I like the shouting at the end.

Hip cola: ooh, nice. I'm liking the sounds here and I trust it will develop into something witha bit of meat. or maybe not. The one thing here I'm not into is that bass hit at the start of every bar, it's either too loud or not the right sound for the track. I was disappointed that this didn't go further but there was some really nice soundscaping in there.

J$: You sound a bit like (whispers it) Luke here, I'm assuming that's not intentional but I do like the sound of this. The indecipherable backing vox are cool.

Leaf: now THAT is some taught riffage. unrelenting riffage too, it's good but I'm skipping through just to check where it goes. You've gone for scary singing as well this week, but I like that you did some normal singing too other wise it gets a bit much for me. nice stop-starts

Luke Henleys heartland choir: the star of the show here must be the ukelele. I wonder what it must be like to get a group of friends round and do something that wouldn't be out of place on the old "O Brother..." soundtrack, it sounds like a lot of fun but i wouldn't know cos all my friends are miserable "can't do" bastards. vote so far

Middlemarch: this is kinda cool, solid guitar playing and tune. I can tell it's not going to stray too far from the tone set in the opening verse but i don't think it suffers for it. your gravely whisper fits pretty well too. nice song, well done

Penguin map mijinko: good name. I'm liking the way this is going but I'm not sure about the bongo percussion, I wish it had something a bit more glitchy (in fact if you ever want any glitchy beats for a track like this then drop us a line). Doesn't really go anywhere which is a shame but while it stuck around it was quite good.

Phil's first tambourine: Not much I can say about this. it's alright yeah. maybe eq the vocals a bit to make them stand out more.

PiGPEN: why is everybody going for vocal pitch-shifting this week? This is definitley not the first time I've thought either Flaming Lips or Smurfs? where'd the track go. oh well. I'd complain about it being a bit too short but I wasn't digging it much.

Pr0n 4 uma: that is a mighty screech your singer has. It's fairly straighforward face-melting stuff, but I can't help feeling the song is trying to break free of the thrash-by-numbers stylings of it's own free will at around 1:26, and you should've let it spiral out of control instead of choking it with guitar solos. Still this is a solid contender, my only problems are genre-based so well done.

Stubby Philips: Vocals in the verse start to drag a bit, but I kind of like that autowah in a funny way. this sounds like Daft Punk jamming with Cake. haha, it's cool.

Tomdiggy: It cracks me up reading reviews of this saying "what's with the fake accent?", what you mean....you're actually english?!?! maybe it's because you said SUV instead of 4x4. To avoid these comments I recommend adopting Brian Molko's nasal whine for your next one. anyway, this is pretty standard GnG stuff; I quite like the vocal harmonising happening in the chorus-y bits. This sounds like it could've fit in in the stink fight too.

Wruckdom: Yeah, this is more like it. best lyrics so far. This track sounds like Motorhead and New Order teamed up. my only criticism is that it's a bit long, the outro was interesting but i felt the song could've used a middle 8 or some extra mashup section.

lots of solid stuff here. well done

Kweep · Post by **Kweep** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 3:24 pm

not in this fight but might as well review em, eh?

Caldor - I dig the sounds and general vibe. Nice one!

Chekhov's Pistol - man, i like this one, too... especially the guitar parts.

Damien Verret - what a freaky vocal delivery! diggable!

D rex - cool sounds

Demon Kiss - pretty funny... especially the way you made everyone make "no, it's pronounced..." posts.

Destruction Enterprise - god damn, son... that riff is friggin' cool.

Ephedream - pretty interesting but for some reason didn't hold my attention.

Flvxxvm Florvm - i'm not quite sure how i feel about this one... oh wait... the screamin' rocks.

Hip Cola - cool sounds... pulls of creepy with style.

j$ - is that tympani?

Leaf62 - kick ass. "i carry a net. i carry a jar" ...awesome...

luke henley - great style choice and you pull it off pretty well.

middle march - i'm diggin your vocal delivery.

penguin - i don't know why, but i kinda dig it.

phil's - not bad, but not holdin' me either.

PigPen - cool sounds and groovy use of pitch bending.

Pron 4 Uma - f*ck yeah.

Stubby Phillips - disco chaos theory...

Tom diG - folk chaos theory...

WreckdoM - the laughing on the second verse is one of the funniest things ever... poop hole and peepee hole... i can't even type it without laughing.

jeff robertson · Post by **jeff robertson** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 4:42 pm

Furrypedro wrote:Smurfs go country.

I originally thought that I was going to try to find a girl to sing these lyrics, but after reading them through I didn't know if I was willing to put words like "please kill me and leave me in a ditch" in a woman's mouth. A man singing it, funny. A woman singing it, kinda creepy. A man getting a woman he only knows from Songfight to sing it, even creepier. So I did it myself, with the help of Audacity's pitch shifter. As a bonus it sounds to me like an insect might be singing.

I promise to review the rest of the songs eventually.

The Anchors · Post by **The Anchors** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 5:44 pm

Furrypedro wrote:we rock

Fuck yeah.

j$ · Post by j$ » Sun Mar 12, 2006 7:55 pm

Starcrossed Voyager wrote:johnny cashpoint -
*can I remix this?

Of course you can. Tell me what you want and I'll make it available.

Though I must be honest and say how much I dislike my song this week. I usually realise before submitting if a song is sub-par (by my own dubious standards); but I came back from out of town tuesday night with an idea and wrote / recorded / submitted this in three hours, so I won't be upset if people don't listen or review it. I am well aware of its deficiencies!

However the song i am working on for this week is shaping up to be a corker, so hopefully that will make up for it

Damien Verrett (Jonas) · Sun Mar 12, 2006 8:24 pm

Alright, I've decided to do a review! WOOOOO!!!

But I don't feel like streaming it so I'm just going to review in the order the songs appear on the front page. Karrraaaaaayzeeeee

Phil's First Tambourine: Wow, I actually thought this was really neat. I read some of the other reviews you got for this and I like the song a lot better than most of them do. Oh well... at least you got me into it. High five.

Tomdg... tom dog?: That background voice is frightening. It's like an ogre. I kinda like this, mainly... wait... entirely because of your accent. Everytime that second guitar comes in it hurts me. The single guitar is good by itself. Geez... this is long. The lyrics are nice because they're ridiculous and that's always fun. Yeah... not bad, I think it would be better with just the one voice, one guitar, and maybe shakers or something. Very very long... this one.

Chekhov's Pistol: I'm liking this alright so far. The second voice is killing it for me. Oh good... it's gone. The first voice is kinda killing it now too. Everything else is pretty sweet. Kinda short. Well, that was alright.

PiGPEN: Wha.... what?

Middlemarch: Oh man.. oh wow, this is really cool. I don't know, I think the sandy throat voice doesn't fit with this. If this were instrumental I would probably like it more. But then it would need a bit more to it. But yeah, this is sweet.

Damien Verrett: I personally think this is my best Songfight entry and I liked making it a lot. After submitting so many synthy songs I sorta forgot I played guitar and then remembered suddenly. I sorta listened to this a lot after I made it and got sick of it so... yeah... Oh, the lyrics. I think my idea was that the speaker of the song is supposed to be some kind of crazy butterfly hippie that's telling people to stop killing monarchs because they're so great and all. Yeah... I don't get it either.

The Hip Cola:: Oh man... a child's voice. Ha ha, the dialogue is kinda funny. Alright... that wasn't uh... that wasn't really a song.

Demon Kiss: Yeah... whenever I hear music like this I can't tell if it's trying to be a parody of actual music like this or if it's actual music like this. Masacree? Uh... wow. I'm done here.

Pron 4 Uma: Wow, this is really well recorded. I'm not into the voice though. Everything else is REALLY good though so the voice doesn't make the song bad at all.

Caldor: Holy geez... this is really really good too. Except the screaming. Yeah, this isn't really my genre but still, it's very good.

Luke Henley's Heartland Choir: ^_^ This is great. Nothing bad here. This is very awesome. Oh man.. harmonica. This just keeps getting better. Wow... I like this. Good uke

Leaf62: Even though this isn't my prefered genre it's awesome because the lyrics are funny. Yeah, well done.

Man... I'm not going to be able to review everything else...

Sorry if yours didn't get reviewed <_>

Middlemarch · Post by **Middlemarch** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 8:36 pm

Caldor - Has a cool groove to it. The vocals are good, even the screaming, which I'm not partial to. I like the lyrics, too. Everything mixes together well. I really like the quiet part around 1:50 followed by more screaming. The end result is a good solid song. Nothing special, but solid.

Chekhov's Pistol - This is a strong contender. All parts work well -- the varying vocals and guitar work are my favorites. And the lyrics! Drums could be more upfront. They seem lost after a while. Nice handclap usage. Most songs here outstay their welcome, droning on and on...this one is like the funny/cool guy at the party who leaves too early, then the whole party sucks after that. It's like when George and Elaine are alone without Jerry. Not much else to say -- keep doing what you're doing.

Damien Verret - I feel like I shouldn't like this (since it's so simple), but I really do. The vocal delivery is warbly, but it fits. Kinda butterflyish. I also love the guitar/uke sound. Halfway through, I was hoping for something new to be introduced -- a shaker or tambourine even. Nice effort, though.

Dankasaurus Rex - I like the sounds. They're mixed well, but it gets boring after a minute or so...almost as boring as mine.

Doesn't really remind me of butterflies or massacres, but I suppose that's open to interpretation.

Demon Kiss - Ah, Demon Kiss. I could guess this wasn't going to be a g&g song. The pronunciation of "massacre" doesn't bother me. If anything does, it's the repetetiveness. There aren't any breaks or riffs or anything really memorable...except "mass-a-creee"...

Destruction Enterprise - demons, destruction, dankasaurus...are you guys in a club or something. The git playing is cool and the humor is solid. But the beat was getting boring after a minute -- maybe if it stopped during the commentary? More than anything, I can't get the image of a butterfly sandwich out of my head.

Ephedream - spooky, spooky group this is. I feel like a total pu**y here.
Then again, it ain't called a massacre for nothing. Like other songs here, this gets repetitive in a not-so-good way after awhile. Seems like you're just trying to highlight your guitar playing, which you're very good at, obviously. "Die, die, die, die, die." That about covers it.

Flvxxvm Florvm - Ah, another nice...little...tune...wait a second... More SCREAMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The normal vocals were creeping me out anyway, so this was an effective ending. Digging the guitar leads. "Tear by body up and eat my soul."

The Hip Cola - I like how you use "The" in your name, as in "The Ohio State University". Seriously, this is one of my favorites, and not just because I'm partial to helicopter noises. The music is ethereal, the little girl's voice is awesome, like something from a horror movie. The 'father's' voice is creepy, but I like it. The song tells a story, and I'm all about the story. It all works. Great job.

J. Cashpoint - What's with all the handclaps in this fight? People must have been inspired by a butterfly's wings. I''ll say this -- this and many other songs here are better than that annoying "On the wings of a butterfly" song that's always on MTV. Anyway, I kept expecting this song to 'go somewhere' but it stayed right where it began.

Leaf62 - Great mix, great music, very tight and balanced. I love the grunts and stuff at the beginning. I also love the guitar leads sounding like a butterfly. This is a good use changes in beat structures that keeps a song cohesive but not boring. Definitely a contender.

Luke Henley - Awesome tune. Great job capturing the feel of a traditional gospel song. HANDCLAPS!!! The best use of them here. I also love the layered vocals. This is what impresses me most....a few voices, a few simple instruments and a whole lot of SOUL. I suppose I feel like anyone can input fast drums and program a bunch of guitar parts, but this -- this is for real, and I love it. "You shiny things..."

Middlemarch - I can't listen to this anymore. I had the sound so clear in my head, but the more I recorded it, the farther I got from that. Grrrr. It was supposed to sound a bit creepy, like a guy obsessed with women or something like that. The end result...well, I'm disappointed. I agree that it doesn't gel. I like the Peter Gabriel-type tom-tom feel, but that's about it. Why did I enter, you ask? Well, just to put it behind me, plus I like the lyrics.

Penguin Map Mijinko - I like the percussion and whistle sounds. The vocals don't sit well -- they need reverb, distance. You sound like some guy hunched over his microphone in a room, which isn't what you were going for, I'm sure. Still, the music holds my attention, despite the vocals.

Phil's 1st Tambourine - Simple, straightforward. The git is loud, killing the vocals. Have you tried laying down a second vocal track to get some depth? Just a thought. I think a harmonica or violin or some other instrument would work well here, to break things up.

PiGPEN - Interesting sounds. That voice is freaking me out....now it's just annoying me. I feel like I'm ten again, playing 45s on my old record player, wanting to spin the f*cking thing faster so I can hear what the hell is being said. Eh...

Pron 4 Uma - Tight...SCRREAAAMAMMAMAMAMM!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sounds like you're trying to sing like that dude from The Darkness or that bald guy from Iron Maiden. "Kill the butterflies...." Why not? They're pretty and dainty....and....AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!

Stubby Phillips - very cool guitar playing at the beginning!!!! I wish there was more of it. Where'd it go!!! The vocals are decent, but the lyrics seem forced, like you've got too many syllables. Ah, 1:45 -- the cool git is back!!! A nice effort. The swanky guitar is the best part by far.

Tomdg - Do you work for the GOP? Is this their excuse? Ha! Settle down, people....I'm just kidding. GnG stuff I admire, when it works. Yours doesn't work that well (this coming from someone who is happy with one out of every thirty songs I write, so take that with a grain of salt). You should scream "Revenge." Your voice reminds me of George Harrison. I like it. You should louden it in the mix.

WreckdoM - I like how you and PiGPEN use capital letters and lowercase letters to their fullest effect. I really like this song, man. The speaking works very well, as does the goofy singing. At 4+ minutes, that's a lot of dead butterflies.

Top three:
3. Chekhov's Pistol
2. The Hip Cola
1. Luke Henley

Oh, and thanks for the comments, folks. I appreciate everyone's honesty. [/i]

The Anchors · Post by **The Anchors** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 10:14 pm

I feel kind of shitty for not going in depth in my review for you, Middlemarch. I don't belive it was fair to just say "it's boring" so I'm going to revisit it for a moment.

Middlemarch revisited I like your drums a lot. I don't know why, there's just something pleasantly familiar about them. There is some good guitar work here as well, it never feels too bare even though there aren't a ton of instruments. Your vocals aren't bad, I just don't like the "breathiness" about them. The multi vocal layers around 2:45 sound good. The lyrics never reach out and grab me, but I don't find them apalling. I think the song could benefit from being a bit shorter, but I'm not sure if I'm really one to judge on that, seeing as how the majority of my stuff is 1 min and 30 secs.

Anyway, hope there's a little more substance to that review.

The Anchors · Post by **The Anchors** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 10:27 pm

Comments on my song.

Chekhov's Pistol After announcing that the other member of The Anchors would not be present to do a song for the week Pete of Those Meddling Kids was kind enough to step in and help me out. He contributed some cool vocals and some rad guitar, not to mention a kickass set of handclaps. I'm pleased with the overall outcome, although I realize that my vocal style may annoy some. Oh well, I do what I do.

PiGPEN · Post by **PiGPEN** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 10:37 pm

Tricia wrote:Very industrial. You sound like a zombie. It's too slow, I feel like, it's making me sleepy. OHMYGOD, YOU FIXED IT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SONG.

+Interesting.

Damien Verrett (Jonas) wrote:Wha.... what?

+Thought Provoking.

Middlemarch wrote:Interesting sounds. That voice is freaking me out....now it's just annoying me. I feel like I'm ten again, playing 45s on my old record player, wanting to spin the f*cking thing faster so I can hear what the hell is being said. Eh...

+Nostalgia Inducing.

Middlemarch · Post by **Middlemarch** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 10:57 pm

The Anchors wrote:I feel kind of shitty for not going in depth in my review for you, Middlemarch. I don't belive it was fair to just say "it's boring" so I'm going to revisit it for a moment.

Middlemarch revisited I like your drums a lot. I don't know why, there's just something pleasantly familiar about them. There is some good guitar work here as well, it never feels too bare even though there aren't a ton of instruments. Your vocals aren't bad, I just don't like the "breathiness" about them. The multi vocal layers around 2:45 sound good. The lyrics never reach out and grab me, but I don't find them apalling. I think the song could benefit from being a bit shorter, but I'm not sure if I'm really one to judge on that, seeing as how the majority of my stuff is 1 min and 30 secs.

Anyway, hope there's a little more substance to that review.

Ah, don't feel bad. That's cool. I noticed that others were putting negative comments in their sigs, and I thought it was funny cool, so I thought I'd do it, too. I didn't take it personal. The song is boring. I know there's not always a lot to say if a song doesn't strike you. Thanks a lot for the re-do. I appreciate the time.

tomdg · Post by **tomdg** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:04 am

Ummm ... showing my ignorance here, but out of curiosity, what's GnG?

Yeah, 4:03 is really long, I apologise. And there was me thinking 3 minutes is really short and 15 minutes is a long song. I guess I've been listening to too much Pink Floyd.

a bebop a rebop · Post by **a bebop a rebop** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:06 am

tomdg wrote:Ummm ... showing my ignorance here, but out of curiosity, what's GnG?

Guy and guitar.

Hoblit · Post by **Hoblit** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:38 am

Caldor...great tune. Especially the screaming.

You totally remind me of <a href="http://www.songfight.org/artistpage.php?key=state_shirt" target="resource window">Stateshirt</a>. You should check out his 'accelerator'. I think you'd like it.

thehipcola · Post by **thehipcola** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:37 am

tomdg wrote:...I guess I've been listening to too much Pink Floyd.

That's pretty much impossible.

jeff robertson · Post by **jeff robertson** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:15 am

Some more reviews:

Caldor - Somebody already said nice screaming. There is a lot of screaming in this fight, but yours distinguishes itself. I like the guitar at the beginning.

Chekov's Pistol - I like the groove. I like the way that all the other instruments are distorted and the guitar really isn't. Hah! Is the guitar recorded direct with no effects or anything? For some reason when you do that it sounds OK, when I do it sounds like ass. The vocals starting at 0:21 are a bit loud.

Damien Verret - This is the first song of yours that I remember, that wasn't dominated by a "Nintendo" (read: 1980's quality synth plus MIDI-ish performance) feel. I think this acoustic arrangement fits your voice better. This really is like something I'd expect to hear from an actual signed artist in the lo-fi indie pop scene.

Dankasaurus - This is Nintendo music done right.

Demon Kiss - Of the several "metal" type entries in this fight, this is probably the the most punk-like. Love the way it gets stuck in a groove at 0:33.

Destruction Enterprise - Pure novelty. Even for a joke, the music is a bit repetitive, though.

Ephedream - I like the way the lead guitar in the intro sounds like somebody was soloing in the next room and it bled through into your recording session. The guitar gets really, really Sabbathy towards the end.

Flvxxvm Florvm - The main chords are played by two acoustics and two clean electrics, all spread out in different parts of the stereo spectrum, to try to get away from the "something panned left, something panned right" type of mix. The fuzz guitar that comes in at 0:29 is also doubled - the left and right channels are separate tracks. All guitars are capoed at the 3rd fret. I originally intended for the main chord in this song to be G13: G,B,D,F,A,C,E. It sounded way too fat, though, so only the most skeletal hints of it remain.

The Hip Cola - some interesting sounds, but it had me skipping around to see where it was gonna go.

Johnny Cashpoint - I like everything but the handclaps. For some reason they just don't fit in.

Leaf 62 - I think we've conclusively answered the question of where the heaviness in Gert comes from. This is like a feast of 1990's hard music: the intro is very grungy, then it sounds like Rage Against the Machine, and eventually gets down to plain ole 80's thrash.

.. more to come ..

Smalltown Mike · Post by **Smalltown Mike** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:33 am

jeff robertson wrote:Leaf 62 - I think we've conclusively answered the question of where the heaviness in Gert comes from.

r0kâ€”Leafy Leafman is one heavy MFer.

jeff robertson · Post by **jeff robertson** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:51 pm

Middlemarch - This song is I like the drum sounds, but I'm not sure if I like how they're used in this song. I don't get the comparisons to Contemporary Christian music, but then again I'm not sure how much of that genre I've heard. In 1993 my high school graduation involved the playing of a song by, I think, Michael W. Smith, and it was basically every cliche of "light" pop from that time (really really fake drums, lots of synth, really smooth acoustic maybe even nylon-string guitar). I wouldn't lump you into that category.

Penguinmapmijinko - I know this is a cop out but.. GENRE BIAS. pass.

Phil's First Tambourine - For some reason when you sing "scourges" (I think), it sounds like "sturgeons". I think there are more instruments than just guitar and tamborine, but whatever else is there is so buried I can't tell what it is.

Pigpen - This is some serious scary-movie soundtrack stuff, here.

Porn 4 Uma - This is the most straight ahead rockin' song in the fight. Several songs are more "metal", but this is the most out and out rock. Love the air-raid siren vocals. The solo kicks ass too.

TomDG - Pure novelty. Sorry.. I have family who were impacted by Katrina and at this point joking about it is still like joking about the Holocaust.

WreckdoM - Hilarious. "All the motherfuckers gonna die".. is gonna be a lot of people's new sig, I bet.

a bebop a rebop · Post by **a bebop a rebop** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:59 pm

Yeah, sorry about that contemporary Christian thing. Um, it was really late that night and I was just kinda typing things as they popped into my head. I think I was mostly referring to the general smooth and nice vibe of the song, nice pretty acoustic guitars and such. On a sober listen, it sounds almost like a light Third Eye Blind or Matchbox 20 song. I hope that doesn't insult you even more, I get this nostalgic yearning for Third Eye Blind and Texas Rangers baseball sometimes.

Man. Fifth grade...

Oh yeah, I like the song quite a bit. Very nice job.

Mogosagatai · Post by **Mogosagatai** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 3:52 pm

jeff robertson wrote:I have family who were impacted by Katrina and at this point joking about it is still like joking about the Holocaust.

Totally acceptable among friends? :)

Jim of Seattle · Post by **Jim of Seattle** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 4:33 pm

Who'd'a thought a title like this would have spawned so much angry punk spewing! Not a single sincere song in the bunch. A lot of comedy. Fun fight to listen to.

Caldor
Not my thing, but excellent. You manage to make both the tight harmonies work and the screaming. Auspicious debut indeed. [okay]

Chekhov's Pistol
I kind of got this one mixed up with Caldor. Also an auspicious debut from an excellent band performing in a style I don't get into. So I'm not going to be too helpful, I don't think. [okay]

Damien Verrett
The arhythmic guitar playing gets on my nerves. Perhaps you're trying to sound like butterflies, I don't know. But in any case, it comes across more like you're just messing about. It's not the super fast strumming that bothers me, it's the fact that you've abandoned any sense of beat for those parts. [okay]

Dankasaurus Rex
Kind of cool. A little boring. I think it could use a little more textural variety. After a while it starts to feel a little thin. But it's really sort of cool. [okay]

Demon Kiss
Wow. The third punk debut in the fight. I think this is my least avorite, though I like how you pronounce massacre. [okay]

Destruction Enterprise
I like that little electric guitar riff that you repeat OVER & OVER & OVER. This is like 5 seconds of music repeated too many times with some mildly amusing hillbilly talk thrown in. Funny idea, but it needs to be taken a lot farther to really be a satisfying song [bad]

Ephedream
Love the band name. I had to play this one a second time to figure out why I didn't hate it. It's just sort of silly, I guess. This demon cryptkeeper dude whispering that butterflies should die. I would like this better if it went somewhere more than where it does. Also, your lead guitar is just whamming away on basically a single chord, which gets kind of boring. Man, that makes FOUR punk-screamy debut bands in a single fight. [okay]

Flvxxvm Florvm
This song irritates me. The incessant fuzz guitar gets under my skin, and the vocal sounds kind of put-on. [okay]

Johnny Cashpoint
This is pretty mellow for you. I like the strange chord changes at the end of the chorus. [okay]

Leaf 62
Cracks me up. Your delivery and playing and everything are so sincere that I can barely tell it's actually funny. This should get a lot of of votes and deservedly so. I suppose the community of actual butterfly enthusiasts would really get off on this song with no sense of irony, but to us non-butterfly enthusiasts it's hilarious. and very well-done. [good]

Luke Henley's Heartland Choir
Sort of fun. This seems like it's probably what real heartland wooden floor folk spirituals sounded like, as opposed to the relatively slick recreations we hear today. Problem is it's too long. But I enjoyed the ride. [okay]

Middlemarch
Pretty nice. I like your singing a lot. I wish the song itself were musically a little more interesting. I like everything about it besides that, so it's still a front-runner. [good]

Penguin Map Mijinko
I like the spare clean arrangement. It's all very well-balanced and attractive. But what's with this 2-bar tune repeating over & over? Ruins it for me. Gets pretty static. Otherwise, nice. [okay]

Phil's First Tambourine
Pleasant enough. You can sing well enough for a guy and guitar song, which is saying a lot. The songwriting is a little ordinary, and I'm not sure what you're getting at lyrically, but it's very, well, I guess well-behaved would describe it. [okay]

PiGPEN
No idea what you're going for. Some interesting sonic effects, but too random for me to be able to follow it. At least you left out the distortion, which seems to be the new guitar when it comes to avant-garde music. [bad]

Pr0n 4 Uma
In high school my friends were listening to bands like Rush and I never really could understand the appeal. So I'm still at that impasse today, but at least now I can this is pretty cool. Mostly because you can really do the wailing rock vocal thing. All these metal and punk songs singing about cute little butterflies are cracking me up. [good]

Stubby Phillips
First off, I appreciate that the vocal is clear and easy to understand, and that you can sing well enough to sell it. That said, the lyrics are extremely strange. Lots of fun imagery, but I get the feeling you aren't really in control of your own wordsmithery here. But I don't care a whole lot. It's pretty fun. [okay]

The Hip Cola
This song teaches me that there is such a subtle difference between a song likes this that works and a song like this that doesn't. This one works, but it starts off sounding like so, so many other SF songs like it. But about halfway through I find myself realizing that I'm enjoying it. This kind of spoken-dialogue peppered over electronica style has to be the most frequently attempted and least frequently pulled off style on Songfight, so when one actually works it's kind of a shock. You have good control over all your audio, and the voices have a lot of expression, and you timed the lines in just the right sweet spots in the music. Tiny gripe: Sometimes the voices are hard to hear. But I like it. [good]

Tomdg
The best thing about this song is the clever, whacked idea for the title. That's really all I need to like the song. and you don't mess it up by losing focus. You have an idea, and you write a song with the idea in mind, and you stick to it, and it works. Funny. If you re-record it ever, make the downbeat tighter with the vocals and in some of the guitar parts, and cut a full minute off. It's too long right now. [good]

WreckdoM
Better and better all the time. I'm starting to wonder if you guys are actually super talented and are just coming into your own here on Songfight. Your mix here is one of the the sanest I've heard, and so all the goodness can bubble to the top. Terrific imagery, perfect balance of creepiness and tongue-in-cheek-ness. Despite myself, I have to give this a [good]

Jeez, I have no idea who I'd vote for if I remembered to vote, which I never do. 3 or 4-way tie here. If you want to comment, please use PM.

HeuristicsInc · Post by **HeuristicsInc** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 5:34 pm

hey, jim, this ain't worth a pm, but the review format's much improved.
-bill