The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Congratulations, JB and the soon-to-be Mrs. B!

Congrats, that's really awesome!

here's another congrats! well done JB.

That is simply stupendous. YAY! This totally made my day. Congratulations to you both -- you are rockstars!

Congratz JB and Dorie! We love you guys and are so happy for you both!!!

Thanks so much for including us in this special day! It was fun to dust off the prayformojo persona for a week and record again.

Update: We just listened to all of the songs, and they are all fantastic. It's so great to have so many old school fighters in one place again! Amazing work everyone! (especially John)

-The Mojos (or, as Heidi would like to be know as, The Ruff Ryders)

First-listen reviews (disclaimer: these are all awesome, but I'm only casting one vote, and it's for JB. For obvious reasons. Nothing personal, everyone else):

15-16 - Cute. Sounds like it won't do a whole lot to convince Dorie, but yeah. I'd have loved to hear this with a simple drum arrangement, like a simple four-piece kit shuffle. Oh, I get the twist in the end. Nice.

ADD - Great stuff. Like the narrative aspects of the lyrics. I wonder if the snare and the guitar stress combine into too great of an emphasis on the twos and fours. The shakeups over the synth breaks in the bridge and coda are nice, and your vocals are outstanding as usual. Good work!

Brad Sucks - Dig that crunch. Your vocals don't sound like you at all... is there a guest on this track? Those lyrics are a little intense for my tastes. Really well-mixed guitar tracks. How do you get the lead guitar to sound like that? Neat flange on the end.

Frankie Big Face - Frankie, I'm at a loss for what to say. You've written at least three songs that have made it to my list of all-time favorites (a list that also includes non-Songfight tracks), your cover of my song was without parallel, and this song is brilliant. I don't have any criticisms. The birds at the end are a great touch.

Glenn Case - You and Frankie both named your songs "Ok Cupid," which makes me think of the dating site. Is that how JB and Dorie met? Just wondering. This song is nice. A real stomper. I didn't like the drums in the first verse, but they grew on me. You're really good at doing complex but still catchy choruses. I loved You Deserve Fun Treats, and this sounds like it belongs in that same collection. Great bridge, too.

John Benjamin Band - This is giving me chills, dude. Voted.

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n'Stuff - Nice crisp guitars. I like the synth strings. Your vocals are a little bit too loud. The half-notes that the strings are playing in the background kind of remind me of the first half of the Rob Paravonian's "Pachelbel Rant." Maybe if you'd shaken it up with a few grace notes, a few quarter note steps, or something? I love the lyrics, though.

Merisan & Friends - Is that a harmonium? Or just an accordion with big reeds? I love the ornamentation in this track. The vocals sound a little boxed-in; was that on purpose? It's a very delicate melody here, works really well. It flows with a mood that somehow presses the

Milwaukee Youth Center Choir - Fun-kay! I'm wiggling my butt in my seat here. Great melody, great lyrics, great vibe, great song! I like the workplay on "propose" in the chorus.

The Mojos - I missed you so much. Pfm, your singing voice is great. Heidi, I'm not sure I've ever heard you sing anything before, but your voice is very pretty, too. I love the chimes and the accordion.

Octothorpe - Nice bass groove there. I think this is the best-mixed # song I've heard yet. Nice delay effect on Mad Dog's voice. I also really like the busy organ in the background. Not so sure a song about multiple past loves is necessarily a great addition to a romantic gesture, but this is a fine song. You guys should be proud.

rXw - Great, laid-back vibe here. Cupid watching CNN; great imagery. I like how the background music keeps changing, but never steal attention away from your vocals (and, by proxy, from your lyrics). Is the piano sequenced, or from a keyboard? It's a nice tone. The segue into the epic-sounding strings-and-tattoo part near the end is amazing. This coda gives me chills. Great stuff.

Roymond - Whoa, the vocals are way hot here. I like the dating-site quiz intro. It doesn't run too long, either. The lyrics in the verses are a little emo for me, but the guitars are great. The "What We Need More of is Science" samples are well-implemented. Not as sure about the "date" part. I love the music here, though, so good on ya.

Everyone brought their A-game to this, and it really shows. Congratulations, JB! You've got a new fiancee and 13 new amazing songs about the two of you. Many many many happy returns.

And hey, some of you Songfight veterans who did songs for this fight: Why not enter again sometime soon? We love hearing from you guys. Both figuratively and literally.

Great news, great fight.

Generic wrote:Not so sure a song about multiple past loves is necessarily a great addition to a romantic gesture...

The point is that a dating service (OK Cupid) CAN work out if you find the right person. I think.

Spud wrote:

Generic wrote:Not so sure a song about multiple past loves is necessarily a great addition to a romantic gesture...

The point is that a dating service (OK Cupid) CAN work out if you find the right person. I think.

So that's where they met? That's awesome. I've got a lot of friends with OKC accounts.

The Mojos - Love it. Super cute. Peeled away weeks worth of cynicism from my skin.

ADD - Didn't even recognize you at first. This is like ADD Marley with its pseudo-reggae vibe. You're right--they are criminals in the making, those two. Nice song.

RxW - Subdued, Subdude! Another cute song--nice biographical details. "She's got the stories, he's got the songs" is really nice. (Dorie's an AP reporter for those of you who don't know.)

Glenn Case - Nice chorus. Bridge reminded me that I should give major seventh a chance again soon.

15-16 Puzzle - Sounds like you've had a recording studio upgrade since 2001--that's good! Sometime you need to show me those fancy chords you found in that big book of yours. What else can I say? You make it sound so easy every time.

Ken - This reminds me of what I think Dinosaur Jr. sounds like. Nice straight-forward honesty in the lyrics (just the stuff I'm so bad at). Pretty.

FBF - I had to listen to my song again to hear those "birds" Generic was talking about. Stuff I'd fix if I knew how: the guitar sound, some vocal warbles and intonation, one timing issue I won't identify. But otherwise, I like it and hope you do too!

Merisan and Friends - Not my cup of tea, but still nice.

Milwaukee Youth Center Choir - Nice to hear you guys playing together again. It's been a long time. Catchy and fun.

Roymond - I like the bass playing in this. Did you actually play a bass or is it some kind of software thingy? You're so prog rock, Roy. I'm a little confused by the ending, but I'm easily confused these days, I think.

Octothorpe - I'm going to buy you a fretted bass, Spud. That's right---I said it! I don't know. I like this song as much or more than your other songs.

Brad Sucks - LOUD. Not my thing, but well done. Did I mention it's LOUD?

JBB - Nice intro. Holy vocals!--you're like a one-man Polysyllabic Spree! This is really beautiful. Congrats on the song and the engagement. We both know you're getting the better deal.

Three cheers for JBB and the grand gesture!

frankie big face wrote: FBF - I had to listen to my song again to hear those "birds" Generic was talking about.

*listening again*
Huh. I guess I was hearing birds outside my window. Sure sounded like it was the song, and it fit well, so I didn't ask questions. I still like your track a lot. Songfight again!

edit: on third listen, it's back again, and in the same spot. I think there's something about that arrow-shooting noise you make at the end that makes the birds outside my window think you're singing to them. Wild.

Haha great! Congrats! The album should be called "OK Cupid".

Um, clearly I are confused.

Quoons:

If I understand it correctly...

JB was planning on proposing to his girlfriend Dorie. He devised an enormously romantic gesture, and to execute it, he got a hold of 12 of his favorite other songfighters, had them record songs about the impending proposal and/or in celebration of it, and they all obliged. He put them up in secret, launching the new fight this morning, and using it as a means of actually popping the question.

I'd actually like JB to fill in some of the narrative details himself, when he gets the chance (busy guy's gonna have a wedding to help plan ), but I'm picturing him sort of goading her into checking the site this morning, and watching over her shoulder with anticipation. I can only imagine her delight on seeing the hugeness of this Songfight event, and upon hearing the songs, which are all of a remarkable quality.

JB: My wife also wishes you the best. When I explained this to her, and she saw the front page, she practically squealed with vicarious delight.

Quoons: When a man and a woman love each other very much, they first start by registering for a dating website and then going on dates with random strangers until they find each other. After that, the man gets his closest friends to write songs about his relationship and then subverts the front page of a website to have thousands of random strangers vote on the best song about this desire, as a way of asking the woman about getting married.

What's so hard to understand?

Fluffy explains it all.

frankie big face wrote:I'm going to buy you a fretted bass, Spud...

Aw, man, that would be sweet, Frank. But don't you have to tune those?

Honestly....proposing in front of a computer screen seems really really lame.

PiGPEN wrote:Honestly....proposing in front of a computer screen seems really really lame.

Geez I know. John really screwed this one up.

PiGPEN wrote:Honestly....proposing in front of a computer screen seems really really lame.

People! It's Song LOVE, not Song FIGHT!

PiGPEN wrote:Honestly....proposing in front of a computer screen seems really really lame.

Well, he wasn't proposing to you. I think it depends on the couple, but having met JB I'd say this is pretty awesome, and probably something they'll remember fondly. Congrats, John. Picked a date? And do you need a band to play at your wedding?

Here's the best computer-related proposal I've seen:

Song Fight live 2010: Ball and Chain.