A last meal and a cigarette (I Know My Rights Reviews)

[thehipcola]

wow, hey thanks Bill!

-sorry it's so late in the game with these..just been one of those weeks.

<b>Bearded Clam Duo</b>
3rd listen and I'm still wondering why bother? i'm sure there's a comedyfight somewhere...

<b>Ben Foxworthy</b>
Love the intro. I want more from your vocal delivery..it's too deadpan for me. Good melody, good progression. I like the chorus...familiar yet effective. Needs harmonies and a band! With some good players this would be a kickass tune. Keeper.

<b>Bjam</b>
I think the fact that I've never owned a video game system excludes me from "getting it". The vocal performance doesn't seem to be selling it to me. Overall, well played, fairly sung. Needs harmonies. You have a nice voice, I'd like to hear more of them.

<b>Caravan Ray</b>
I find you get into some sonic territory with the vocals that hurt my ears. But that said, this is a fun song, and there are some nifty parts...like the guitar that's like a cop siren at the end of the chorus...good job. Doesn't do much for me personally..but I can dig it. I figure it should be heavier than it is. Shades of Bon...

<b>comfort</b>
Great interlude. Lemon sorbet, anyone? Looking forward to more stuff from you.

<b>Exoticorn</b>
I like the sound of the vox and your voice's quality. The acoustic(?) guitar left speaker is wimpy sounding...needs more body. As with most pieces without, these could use more instrumentation or band movement..if only to make the song's dynamic more interesting. Your voice keeps me listening though...so I'll say, stretch it out a bit more...reach. It'll work for you.

<b>Jim Tyrrell</b>
this is a great fun song to listen to, that borrows so much from the standard that it is, which is really my only real complaint. Even the melody seems way to familiar..and I know you can write Jim. Otherwise, kudos on a great listen. (given the lyrics, I'll concede the music bluesy thing works well...)

<b>King Arthur</b>
Don't believe I've ever known I was listening to something in 5 before. I like that. I want more from your vocal delivery (I've said that alot this week, maybe its me??) I like the music alot however. Somehow, the song makes me think Knoppfler. That's a compliment. Cool! Mix is good. I'll keep this.

<b>Melvin</b>
This reminds me of Treble Charger right off the top. There is so much of this kind of music around that I can't help but want to dislike it from genre conflict. There are some clever changes in it and the production is good. It's convincingly of the genre it's in, so well done. I'll keep it. I like the Garbage guitar breaks. Very Vig. Another good thing is the song sounds complete, something SF! entries can suffer from. Nice work.

<b>obscurity</b>
Nice punchy kik. Cash/Cohen vocal thing doesn't move me much. On my pc speakers, they're way out front and everything else is like a shadow. Intentional? I'd like more variation of the main groove, feel it to be a bit long. Maybe more work on the melody development in terms of dynamic of the whole song might help that. Nothing really bad here, just some thoughts I had.

<b>Pringle Can</b>
Is this from the Live Fight? If not, way to much fuzz all over the place for me to really figure it out. Maybe that's the intent? There were a few moments when melody and chord worked together to get my attention, but mostly I was left wondering...

<b>Pumpkin Buzzard</b>
Way to musically advanced for me to comment on. Sounds like fun.

<b>Roymond</b>
Love the bass line! I want the guitar to have a bit more verb...but I love the stream of conciousness lead in the beginning and nice tone!...this is very nice and well done. Great chord progression..can't wait to hear how it changes ...ooh..nice with the shaker and the unison double to subtly pick up the intensity. Nice. Great mix. Can I say again how awesome that lead guitar tone is? Can I ask how it was recorded? This is definitely a keeper.

<b>Southwest Statistic feat. Brass Candle</b>
Great intro...the guitar could have a bit more edge imo. (really splitting hairs though). I love the Orgy/Deadsy-ness of the vox. the double kick is a bit over done and to up front when it's over doing it. This is nicely numetalish. Another convincing genre effort..and brilliantly programmed/played/produced. Hats off and kudos SWS. You have chopz. I'd love to pick your production brain a bit.. may I? Keeper.

<b>The Hip Cola</b>
moi. apologies to anyone who felt slapped in the face by my infologue at the end of this song...i wasn't trying to ram it down your throats, but rather explain my crappy lyrical setting. Thanks for listening and especially thanks to those who took the time to review. Those who didn't, but did submit, c'mon...

<b>Yardboy</b>
Nice acoustic guitar sounds. Couple of plosive's in there, not sure if they're vocal or guitar (minor gripe). Great harmonies and nice vocal character in general. Is it just me or is GnG stuff getting better and better? Nice mix..very full and lush, nice spread. I'm keeping this. It's real nice to listen to.


whoa..hey, Landfills track missed...gonna go grab it now...be right back...

Landfills
This is great. I love the retro electronica vibe..especially the vox. Elements of so many things.. OOH...love the arpegiatted stuff at th eend...and great ending. My biggest criticism? Way to short, but the caveat is to lengthen it, write another part. Keeper.

Great tunes all!

[roymond]

After waiting two days to post, here are my notes from the bridge:

<b>Ben Foxworthy</b> - nice bass playing and acoustic guitar tone! I like the chord changes and arrangement but the lyrics are too obvious/cliche. There's nothing standing out or even clever, yet it is nicely put together.

<b>Bjam</b> - I like the changes, and that falsetto bit - you should go up there more and expand your vocal textures. You have said you only recently started playing guitar but your chord changes are very nice and can really use different voicings rather than open chords (capo or not). There are various guides to alternative fingerings for guitar chords that can help out.

<b>Caravan Ray</b> - Fun, silly & well performed for the genre. Hell, it's just fun in a skull pounding, kangaroo burger sort of way. Rah! Glad someone else avoided the obvious legal rights lyric trap.

<b>Exoticorn</b> - Nice vocal lines and delivery. I see this floating over a stadium of rain drenched fans swaying back and forth...and smiling.

<b>The Hip Cola</b> - Fabulous intro. I can't help thinking Roger Waters missed this LP. Production alone will carry this as far as it has to. But it doesn't have to. I like the dark, dense, dreariness you drag out. It's dangerous territory to get all political and preach issues in pop music. Thankfully this didn't hold you back. VOTE

<b>Jim Tyrell</b> - You're one of the whittiest lyricists around here, and this doesn't challenge that standing. Musically it's one of your weakest, but we were all grabbing at straws on the way to Boston. This was fun then and remains entertaining in this live recording.

<b>King Arthur</b> - One of my favorite round table productions! The 5/4 is natural and flowing and takes you out of your usual "crafty" formulas. The arrangement is spot on for me. Would love to hear this with a live brass section, percussion and 12 mexican guitarists.

<b>Melvin</b> - This is sooo alternative. Does my iPod actually have an FM receiver? No, this is Melvin. Is this a college radio station? No, I'm on my way to work. This is just Melvin. This has great alt-rock sensibilities through-out. Nice job.

<b>Obscurity</b> - It's just a bit too far down there for your range. But the John Cale dryness is cool. Nice electro arrangement and great production, as always. Definitely a song that would benefit if the title wasn't the refrain. Also, a bit too plodding. Nice ending

<b>Pigpen</b> - Tired. I like the second refrain being all affected. But those synths are toooo shrill.

<b>Pringle Can</b> - I do like that snare.

<b>Pumpkin Buzzard</b> - Is this Zoe and King Friday?

<b>Southwest Statistic</b> - Cool themes in the wailing guitar. The doubled drums, as mentioned before, are too far over the top. But the vocal delivery is HOT! It is what it is. Cool, creepy whispering (I almost want to hear "I hate you").

<b>Yardboy</b> - A very familiar lead vocal. Beautiful guitars and a sweet song. Another relief from the obvious legal rights lyric. Doesn't take me but very well done. And a live recording for extra credit, eh?

[roymond]

<b>Roymond</b> Nice. Great mix. Can I say again how awesome that lead guitar tone is? Can I ask how it was recorded?

Thanks! The guitar is my Steinberger GM with way too old strings recorded straight via a Presonus Blue preamp into Logic Pro7, and sent through the Logic Guitar Amp Pro plugin, which is all I use anymore for guitar effects.

[Märk]

The guitar is my Steinberger GM

Oh man, you have a Steinberger? How fucking cool is that? I haven't even seen one of those things since like 1988.

[Southwest_Statistic]

Bearded Clam Duo - This is by far one of the most creative things I've ever heard on SongFight! And it's well done. Most of our "creative" people end up sounding like "Phunt Your Friends". But no, this is so freaking cool. I don't understand the negative reviews. This made me laugh.

Ben Foxworthy - Very good performance, and very live sounding. I like the fun guitar work, it reminds me of some kind of street-side freestyle performance that I would toss quarters at. (This is a cool thing to me.)

Bjam - This is a cool little tune with a really cute subject matter for a girl to write about (video games), but what really stands out are the phenomenal vocals. If I could offer a suggestion, it would be to record the guitar with whatever microphone you are singing on instead of the jack on the back of it or some kind of pickup in the soundhole. All-in-all though, the whole track is backed up by a stellar vocal performance Beth. Well done. Muah! Marry me you sexy thing.

Caravan Ray - This song rocks. I can tell. This would be so much fun to hop to at a show. But the badly distorted vocals are really really really killing it for me.

Comfort - Intermission. Time for a piss and some more popcorn.

Exoticorn - Very low mix. I like the strong vocal talent being presented here, don't really like the heavy stereo split-up on the not-matching guitar. Something about "remaining silent" was part of my original lyrical ideas for this song, but in the end it just didn't make much logical sense for me to SCREAM the idea of remaining silent.

TheHipCola - Crickets are in my latest song too. Rock on, you dude-who-looks-a-lot-like-me. I love how this song comes in so suddenly. You must have some kind of crazy awesome microphone to get those low low low vocals sounding that good. I'm really digging the chill mood. Perfect ambiance in the background. I love crap like that if you couldn't tell.

Jimtyrell - The blues. Very standard progression, of course, but thats the whole freaking idea. I'm going to offer the same advice to you as I did Bjam (XOXOXO). Everybody needs to stop recording their acoustic guitars on electromagnetic pickups and/or the crappy acoustic-electric interface. That stuff is great for live shows with amps and stuff, but not a studio recording.

King Arthur - I'm not sure why I'm getting board with this recording. I just can't get into it. It seems very repetitive, and without any kind of definable hamster.

Melvin - Rock on! This song sounds like fun from the very beginning. I like the vocal tone (it's got the perfect amount of autotune on it), and I love the guitar tone. In general this is very well put together. I don't really care for the drum samples you are using, but it's alright.

Obscurity - This is bizarre.

Pringlecan - This is a load of crap. I hope you get flattened by a stump, you aardvark of lunacy.

Pumpkin Buzzard - This was so funny. I love the crying vocal in the background.

Roymond - Cool lyrical content, and cool vocals, but the music sort of sounds like a guy singing over elevator music - and it's a bit long for that. I somehow know you are capable of better.

Southwest Statistic - This isn't actually me screaming. That is the sound of The Devil Himself speaking from my Anus. It was wicked. Just thought I would share that with you. P.S. - An updated version is available at <a href="http://www.ctgmusic.com/song.php?id=8392" target="_blank">www.ctgmusic.com</a>.

Yardboy - Awesome vocal harmony, and vocal talent. Stuff like this always reminds me of the beach for some reason. Like if you had a full band and a more professional recording, this would be some long-running TV show's final-episode-montage-song.

[stueym]

Sorry these are so late but as Bjam said we have had a difficult week.

Bearded Clam Duo – Go zofo!….â€

[Bjam]

If I could offer a suggestion, it would be to record the guitar with whatever microphone you are singing on instead of the jack on the back of it or some kind of pickup in the soundhole.

That's what I've done for my "God Hates Penguins". It sounds far better. Plugging it straight in is just far easier when you're on a time constraint. You don't have to fiddle with mics and stands and... blah.

Marry me you sexy thing.

Are you an American citizen? 'Cause y'know citizenship and having a social security number so I can get my damn driver's license would be pretty sweet.

[Southwest_Statistic]

Marry me you sexy thing.

Are you an American citizen? 'Cause y'know citizenship and having a social security number so I can get my damn driver's license would be pretty sweet.

What? You aren't?

[Bjam]

Marry me you sexy thing.

Are you an American citizen? 'Cause y'know citizenship and having a social security number so I can get my damn driver's license would be pretty sweet.

What? You aren't?

Nope. I'm a British citizen living in the US

[Southwest_Statistic]

Are you an American citizen? 'Cause y'know citizenship and having a social security number so I can get my damn driver's license would be pretty sweet.

What? You aren't?

Nope. I'm a British citizen living in the US

Let's go for it then.

[HeuristicsInc]

bread... er beard - hmm, not much to this one. also, you stole a riff from led zeppelin.

ok, after reading some other people's reviews i played this at home and now i understand what you were getting at.
at work, i couldn't turn it up loud enough to hear the dialogue, or the drumming/guitar bits would overpower it. the dislogue should be louder to make this song work in more listening environments. anyway, it was amusing in the end.
-bill

[roymond]

The guitar is my Steinberger GM

Oh man, you have a Steinberger? How fucking cool is that? I haven't even seen one of those things since like 1988.

Yeah, it's awesome in a certain way...hard to see here,
http://www.songfight.net/gallery/detail ... age_id=125

[Rik]

Thanks for all the great reviews. Sorry if my post before sounded pissy, just trying to get a rise out of some you. It was two days without a single post to this thread so I figured I'd stir things up a bit. Then the boards went down. Serves me right.

...watch the poof in the microphone.

Nice acoustic guitar sounds. Couple of plosive's in there

This was due to my crap mic and utter inexperience recording in this fashion. I had the gain on the vocal mic way too hot and got up on it a few times. A few nasty plosives and lots of sibilance were things I noticed right away. But the effect was to get it in the first take, so no going back to fix it. The acoustic guitar sound, I agree, was nice. A combination of mic and direct that were slightly panned apart and gave it a nice effect.

And a live recording for extra credit, eh?

I hope you do perform this as a duo cos I think it would lack some of it’s style performed solo.

Well, it was performed semi-live, and unfortunately solo. It began as a one part live 'play and sing' bit, but as stueym points out it was seriously lacking. I added the second guitar and vocal part to fill in the gaping holes. It would be fun to play this live as a duo, but haven't had the opportunity yet.

Try to gate or edit of the beginning tail of your song.

Yeah, the beginning and end make it sound like it was recorded on an old analog four track with cheap mics by someone with little or no production experience. Actually, it was recorded on a digital multitrack workstation with cheap mics by someone with little production experience. I figured the hiss came from having too much gain on the mics and that there wasn't much I could do about it. Honestly, it never occurred to me to put a gate on the mics. Good idea, thanks.

The Yardboy stuff was fun, I may come back to this style later. Before then I will invest in some better mics, and experiment with some different recording techniques. I like the style/genre and enjoy writing and performing it, next time around I'd like to polish it up a bit. Thanks again all who took the time to listen and review.

[HeuristicsInc]

...watch the poof in the microphone.

Nice acoustic guitar sounds. Couple of plosive's in there

This was due to my crap mic and utter inexperience recording in this fashion. I had the gain on the vocal mic way too hot and got up on it a few times. A few nasty plosives and lots of sibilance were things I noticed right away.

btw, plosives are very easy to take care of in a wave editor, esp if you only have a couple in an otherwise good take. just look at the beginning of the word with the wav zoomed in and you'll see a giant leap in volume. chop and smooth till it sounds right.

that's probably the most "quote" marks i've had in a post so far, but you can try that for the couple of plosives you've got in there.
-bill

[Rik]

(Quoted tip from blue)

Excellent tip, thanks. Sounds like extreme selective compression. I'll have to try this out.

[roymond]

btw, plosives are very easy to take care of in a wave editor, esp if you only have a couple in an otherwise good take. just look at the beginning of the word with the wav zoomed in and you'll see a giant leap in volume. chop and smooth till it sounds right.

By "chop" you mean change gain or level or whatever the software calls it, rather than cut. I eyeball it by percentage, often cutting by 50% brings it in line. But you have to audition it before accepting the change, as not all softwares create smooth transitions when you do this, providing annoying clicks and pops.

[Rik]

Congrats THC! This was a great fight, pretty even distribution of votes for the most part. Lots of great songs. Excellent showing from new artitsts as well.

[thehipcola]

wow! thanks Rik and everyone else..congrats to everyone..I like seeing voting distributed that way. That's great!

[jimtyrrell]

Congrats THC, good tune man.

[Bjam]

Congrats to all I liked this fight.