This fight belongs to me! (reviews)

[Phil. Redmon.]

what I was trying to say was that other songs I've heard from you sound more natural and this one sounded to me somehow more self-counscious.

I think it's because the other, more crimey, songs have an over the top bad-ass approach, whereas this tune is more from the perspective of an office gal steamed at her boss (over a nine dollar dvd, no less). I think that the goofy juxtaposition serves as some kind of "suspension of disbelief interference."

But yeah, I blushed and chuckled when I read your review, 'cause that's exactly how it went down.

Hee!

[rone rivendale]

Rone- I don’t like it when you try to hit every single note that is played. I would like to see you Try not doing that one of these days.

I'm singling this review out but there were a few like it that said similar stuff. I understand what you mean and I agree with it for the most part. Try going to this link http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemus ... dID=470144 and listen to the Hi Fi version of the 2nd song on the list it's called Headphones It's a bit different from the stuff I've done on SF. It's not a follow the instrument with vocals song but it's very rone-esque.

And uhh, buy my CD.

[SteveHandPuppet]

My momma taught me that if you don't anything nice to say, just make sure your delivery is good...

Balanced Lost / Balance Regained: The instrumental recording sounds good enough, but the vocals and overall impression just don't do it for me.

Billy's Little Trip featuring Steve Durand's Brass: I like it. It's kind of angular and kind of careens along semi-haphazardly, and I mean that in a good way. I think I would have preferred the horns as a backing to the last final choruses rather than as a solo, but that's just me.

Contrapositives: Great band name. I'll leave it at that.

Hate. The. Harmonica. Now I'll leave it.

Cranial Biffida: Make it an instrumental and it might be an industrial Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. Thanks, I think I may have just lost bowel control, and I mean that in a bad way.

Disciples of Beer: Not my thing.

DM6: Just curious, but what happened to DM's 1-5? Uh oh, got me the blues. Not my style, but I think this succeeds at what you are aiming at.

The Hand Puppets: Well, looks like our maiden voyage ran aground out near Alcatraz....Recorded on the 28th and mixed under duress the morning of 29th. My bad for writing the verses at the last minute and not working out the second guitar part. Be thankful you can't hear the vocals on the verse; I'm 4th on the vocal depth chart but the only one who knew how to cram the words in.

The Hell Yeahs: I like it. Maybe not quite as much after the first 10 listens...

Jolly Roger: Hmm... SoCal Post-Skate-Punk vocals on top of heavy buttrock guitars. Who wouldn't love this? Me, for one. Sorry dude.

Jonathan Mann: Succeeds at what it aspires to be. Kinda fun. I love the meal/bread line.

Just In Case: The seed of something nice. Sounds like a demo for something I want to hear the final version of.

King Arthur: From a technical/production POV this sounds great, but I just don't like the genre (baby-boomer oriented soft rock?)

LML: The clanging is making this impossible to endure, sorry. I don't like synth-based anything, so I'm not qualified to judge this.

Magnetbox: Somehow I'm picturing an alternative universe where Pink Floyd became a Nu-Wave Dance band. The drug money has dried up. Waters insists on wearing tight checkerboard leather pants. Rick Wright dreams of hanging himself with his skinny tie. Don't ask me why I think of such things.

Master Hyde: Programmed drums make baby Jesus cry. Other than that I don't know how to judge this.

MC Eric B: Eject!

Melvin: Sounds good. I don't like radio-friendly "Alternative" Ballad Anthems, but this one succeeds at not being obnoxious about it.

Mike Lamb: I certainly like the multiple instruments. Is the mandolin real? If so, good job on the recording. The acoustic guitar is the only bit that sounds like it was recorded in a bedroom.

Rone Rivendale: Just because I hate it doesn't mean it's not great. I think it's not great for a bunch of other reasons

Ross Durand: See the db's "Amplifier". Also "Where In The Hell Did You Go With My Toothbrush" by Reverend Horton Heat. Good recording and production. I'm not a country fan.

Hate. The. Harmonica. Always do, always will. And don't get me started about saxophones....

Steve Durand: Everything but the vocals are brilliant. You, sir, can toot well.

Stylon Pilson: Recording and production are ok, but otherwise "Meh".

Thanks For The Frisbee: Thanks for the song. I'd like to hear you with a band.

Three Hole Punch: In a word: "Not For Me". I think my woofers have gone dead.

[Thanks For The Frisbee]

.Thanks For The Frisbee: Thanks for the song. I'd like to hear you with a band.

i have generally submitted solo gng type stuff, but lately i have been working alot with glennny. melvin helped me out after a fight a while ago and revamped one of my songs. you can check them out at my myspace site listed below.
thanks for the thanks

[Mike Lamb]

Mike Lamb: I certainly like the multiple instruments. Is the mandolin real? If so, good job on the recording. The acoustic guitar is the only bit that sounds like it was recorded in a bedroom.

Yep, all the instruments are real except the piano, that's midi + software synth. The mandolin part was played by a friend of mine. I think I over-EQed the guitar trying to fit it in the sonic space between the vocals and the bass, which is giving it some of that thin sound. It was actually recorded in a living room. Thanks for the comments!

-Mike Lamb

[Reist]

Yo. I'm back from Disneyland, and haven't listened to the fight, but I've read the reviews of my song, and have some comments.

I'm not sure that your voice suits the genre.

The vocals and lyrics don't live up to the quality of the sound. It's kind of karaoke-ish.

vocals need to be more upfront, lyrics a bit kiddy.

Oooh, the vocals aren’t getting into the metal mix how I expected to hear them.

I was definitely expecting this. I would say that this is no excuse, but it really is a legitimate one - I wrote and recorded this one in one day, due to Christmas and my vacation. That explains the karaoke-ish, kiddy lyrics. As for my vocals, I was planning to make this one an Our Dog song with deep growly vocals, but I finally decided, 'why should I ruin a perfectly good song with terrible metal vocals?'. So I sang it like my other ones, but I don't seem to have the style down.

The mix however is a little muddy exept for the guitar, that is loud and clear.

The dynamics seem to be drained from this mix, though. The lo-mids are boosted too much making it sound muddy.

I'm not sure what lo-mids you are talking about, but if anyone can delve deeper into this muddiness so I can fix it in my next song, please explain. I'm guessing that the snare and kick drums are causing a bit of mud-sound, no?

SoCal Post-Skate-Punk vocals

the song takes a turn into 90s skateboarding punk corner.

I must have been a skate-punk in a previous life, because I've never heard of that genre. Might check into it though.

Well, those are the things that I noticed in the reviews. Explanations for the muddiness issue would be appreciated, since up until now, I thought it was only heavy bass that caused muddiness, and my ear is not attuned to this low-mid type.

[LML]

LML - Not a bad effort at a dance song, but where's the bass? It would sound shit in a club, and be completely impossible to dance to. If it wasn't a dance song, I'd complain about the repetitiveness, but it is a dance song, so that argument is moot.

There is no bass simply because I don't own one. That however, is not an excuse for the amount of treble. Probably because I was using a shitty Yamaha. Repetition is the name of the game in dance music, yes.

LML
You spin me round round baby round round like a record baby round round round round... That aside, I tip my hat to the new queen of treble. Seriously, my head hurts. I can tell there's an interesting song here, but we've moved on from the days of transistor radios. I like your energy, I like your instruments, but I can't get past the tin. Hook up with someone who can help you with the recording, and I'll be eager to hear the next one. Couldn't finish this one, though.

The tin is due to the fact that I don't generally pay much attention to recording quality, and focus more on lyrics and energy. It hurt your brain? Really? Haha, well I'm gonna work more on leveling out the sound on my next try.

LML – I think a second beat should have come in over the top, and the vocals and music should have come out from under the water. The lyrics are pretty posh, and I can't really relate to them.

Posh was the point. But I'm sorry if you couldn't relate. It's kind of a dumb sort of female empowerment piece which, well, is going to come out quite cocky.

LML : i work with LMLs all day long (local main listing)... this is so lo-fi dance music it actually works! it sounds like a 12 year kid singing about his own personal divorce. Even thought it could have use a beat change or two, i enjoyed it. thanks.

Thanks, I do have a very grating 12 year old voice, which I quite enjoy. I'm actually 23, and female, but I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Lml- good song…although very sharp treb. Levels. Driving pretty constant. I would love to hear this song when the levels are evened out a bit, but its just too sharp for my delicate ears.

Yeah, I know the song is grating. But yeah, I'm going to work on the sharpness and come out with a better song in the future. Thanks for the review.

LML - one of the coolest sounding things I've ever heard on songfight. A really deep bass about 1/2 way through would have been bitching as hell though.

This song alone made me post something in the forum.

Haha, thanks a lot. As a complete and utter recording newbie, I appreciate these comments. It'll make me want to post in the future.

LML – ooh, this is spinning me right round baby. This is right in it’s pocket. Scorned and warned is good. I just saw a little bit of “Cheaters” on tv yesterday, this could be the theme song I wish the percussion changes you make throughout came through a little more clearly, because you’re obviously trying to keep it from being exactly the same each time, but it’s not quite coming off. A well mastered version of this could easily be a dance hall hit. Good +

I tried for the 80's vibe, and I suppose I came off sounding like "Spin Me Round" hilarious that more than one of you noticed that. Cheaters takes place in Houston, which coincidentally is where I'm from! Yeah, not interesting. But many thanks for your positive review. I'm glad you enjoyed.

LML: The clanging is making this impossible to endure, sorry. I don't like synth-based anything, so I'm not qualified to judge this.

That's alright. Clanging? Sounded like banging to me.



Dance music. You love it or hate it. Thanks for listening guys, and I hope I don't piss any of you off with the next song. I'm not a recording pro, infact I'm not a pro in anything at all, and yes, my singing sounds like 12 year old boy, but this song was amazing fun to make, and I look forward to making more music to damage your ears with.

[Magnetbox]

I'm not sure what lo-mids you are talking about, but if anyone can delve deeper into this muddiness so I can fix it in my next song, please explain. I'm guessing that the snare and kick drums are causing a bit of mud-sound, no?

The low-mids are in the range of about 300-800 Hz or so. When you have an abundance of frequencies in this range, the sound becomes "muddy." It's tough to tell what it is without hearing the parts separately, but it's not just one or two parts.

The average spectrum of your song looks like this:


You have a very sharp dip in the mid-range (800-2kHz) range. It sounds muddy from the energy in the low-mids which by itself isn't high, but the lack of the midrange makes it sound high.

Your snare drum should have some good frequencies in the 1k-2k range and the vocals probably should contribute to this range as well.

It might seem like a good idea would be to just EQ the midrange on the whole mix. Don't do this--it most likely won't sound that good because it isn't fixing the underlying problem.

Oh, the gray line is a -6dB guide line. Most popular music will have this drop around 1kHz and up. Yours has some peaks quite high above that which leads to why it sounds a bit tinny at times. Some newer pop music is using a -3dB drop instead. The sharp drop at the high end is due to the MP3 encoding--nothing to worry about.

So my recommendations to fix this would be to try to get a good signal from the snare drum. Add some EQ to taste. Bring the vocals up in level with some compression. (Much human speech is in the 1-2kHz range) Maybe drop some of the bass on the guitars so they contribute to your midrange without bringing in too much mud. Again, these are all general because it's tough to tell without being able to hear each part individually.

Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss in any more detail.

[glennny]

It Belongs to Me Reviews-

I didn’t get a chance to contribute to this fight, but I’ve been enjoying a lot of it all week. Please forgive the kooky order they’re in, this was done all week in various killing time moments.

Jonathon Mann- Great song though too long. Meta-song violation is annoying. Love the melody and the mountain music harmonies. Very entertaining, I’m keeping this one. The percussion isn’t very good, if it’s going to be there it has to be super tight, the guitar and vocals are super tight, but the (bells/tambourine?) are loose. It would be stronger without them.

Just In Case- Guitar playing is solid but boring. It would be fine if the melody was strong, but it doesn’t grab me. Not a fan of the vocals either. Pitch is fine (better than me) but timbre doesn’t excite me. Lyrics don’t deliver anything interesting either. There’s certainly potential, love to hear a more inspired track.

King Arthur- I like the vocals a lot. I don’t like the song’s chord pattern or beat much. Some of the guitar noodling is tasty. This sounds like a decent bar band. I’d rather hear just the power trio instead of the keys/horns. It’s a non-offensive song.

Melvin- “YOU belong to me”? Love the vocals as usual for Melvin. Song is too safe to get my vote. I like the more adventurous stuff you do. This is good, just not my favorite. I love the raunchy solo, the song really needed it. The production, playing and singing is top notch.

Mike Lamb- If you’re going to sing about this medieval stuff you really need a thick Celtic accent like the Pogues or Fairport Convention for me to like it. The playing is good. The singing is tentative. Nice to hear the recorder, though a bit flat sometimes to my ears. The piano is great. Not bad.

Ross Durand- This bums me out a bit. I LOVED your Shelton with Sunspots entry, I’m still grooving to it. This turn to Alt-Country is disappointing. This genre only works for me if it’s really emotional. I guess I really don’t like the genre unless you’re Son Volt. This is played well.

Steve Durand- Have you done muted trumpet before? It’s great! This song rules! Everything is great! Vocals are the weakest link, but still good. Keeper, contender. Hey Steve, I do a mean Django if you ever want to trade fours in a solo section.

Stylon Pilson- Bass is the best part, it’s really groovy! Drums are great too. I don’t like the lyrics much, they seem uninspired compared to your other tracks. Love your voice BTW. It’s a pretty great recording, though pretty quiet. I wish there was more of an ending to the ending.

Thanks for the Frisbee- I LOVE this! Everyone knows I’m a big fan of Frisbee, and I love collaborating with him. He doesn’t need me though. This is great! Although, I have to say this is the most Flake Music/ Shins sounding I’ve heard. This could be another track on the Flake Music album (one of my favorite albums). I really like when you yell! I haven’t heard that since Not Exactly Normal, glad to hear it. Great track, keeper, contender.

Three Hole Punch- It’s like Mathlete, but with more awesome singing. The vocals are wonderful! I wish a deep bass kicked in somewhere along the way. It could use a fat kick drum too. This is actually a lot like Cranial Biffida on Pro-Zac. I like this a lot, melodies and singing save the pulsing thing.


Balance Lost/ Balance Regained- How was that guitar recorded? The stuttering thing is very cool. Was it recorded then affected? Is it all computer guitar? This will probably get my vote. The music is the most interesting to me in the fight. This is especially good on headphones for clarity whilst cranking the bass in the room to feel the boom. (Geddy Lee’s method of listening to music). I really love this collab, I hope it continues, your voices sound really really good together, I’m a little surprised you guys didn’t do straight harmonies, the question/answer thing is good, I just think your voices would blend really well together.

Billy’s Little Trip featuring SD- This is your first miss (for me). I’ve liked all of your entries up to this point. Nothing against SD, the SD part is by far the best part. It’s weird that all the instruments and vocals sound low-fi and trashy then a beautifully recorded horn comes in over it. The step up from the “radio” intro to the “full band rock power” is underwhelming. It really doesn’t sound dramatically better as I think it was intended to. The drum sound is Horrible! I really like the vocal performance however, still too low in the mix. The chord pattern is pretty boring, I’ve come to expect some great riffs from you and it’s not to be found in this song.

The Hell Yeahs- I hate the 80’s. I hate John Hughes films. I love this song. “I need my Molly fix” is a great line. Thanks for bringing the rock to the fight. As poppy as this is, I think it possibly rocks the hardest in this fight (except when Frisbee yells). Great song! Definite keeper, this is a contender. It might have received my vote if I wasn’t so charmed by the music of the Balance track.

Jolly Roger- OK sorry, this rocks the most. Who’s on metal guitar? They shred! I really really like this. This is my favorite I’ve heard from you. The mix has problems but seems to be a big improvement from other tracks of yours. I think the drums and bass are too low in the mix. This is a keeper, and one of my favorites of the fight.


LML- This is pretty cool. I want to hear Kidd Loco remix this so there’s deep bass and a heavy boom thak to dance to. This reminds me of Wolfie. Vocal delivery is great. Too Lo-Fi to grab the vote I’m afraid, but I dig it.

Magnetbox- Skimming the fight this song came on my wife busted out “Just like the great wide world sings a song sounds like she’s singing”. I said “it’s Just Like the White Winged Dove, not Great Wide World”. We had a laugh. Singing needs more conviction. The whole thing could be tighter. I like a lot of the guitar sounds, I don’t know why the organ is there. The music for the change to the pre-chorus is great, I wish the melody on top of it was stronger. Nice slutty guitar solo! I would’ve ended after the solo. Bass line is pretty tasty.

Masterhyde- This is very old school. You know it’s rapping but the vocals still have a melody, and I find it to be pretty tired in a Fresh Prince kind of way. I hope that wasn’t too harsh, that’s actually a minor quibble, I dig this. Bass and drums are tight and very groovy. The gentle organ is great also. The flow and the story are pretty great, nice lyrics, though obvious, pretty good.

MC Eric B- This is horrible. The backing music is actually pretty good. I don’t like anything about the lyrics, the rapping, etc. It’s hard to make it through this whole track.

Rone Rivendale- You’ve made me laugh in the past. This one doesn’t. Some of the sequenced trills are interesting, but out of nowhere and too loud. It’s hard to make it through this one. I think you’re better off with faster tempos and shorter songs, it’s not like you’re really sustaining any long notes vocally.

Contrapositives- Recorded in a bathroom it sounds, fits the song. Sounds like Who’s Line is it Anyway and the suggestion from the audience was “Nose Hair”. Funny subject, not a funny song. Harmonica solo isn’t bad. Just a dumb song. Sounds like it was fun to make. Also sounds like you guys have a lot more talent than you let out on this track.

Cranial Biffida- Not digging this one. Like the the female vocals. Demon vocals are pretty cool too. I wish the snare didn’t hit every accent. It’s hard to get in a groove with this song. All the 16th notes make me start singing “Take Your Close Off When We Dance” , which is pretty funny because it’s a silly Zappa song and this is all gothy dark. Lot’s of cool sounds, with a different drum line and chord pattern I’d like this more.

The Disciples of Beer- The direct guitar sounds terrible to me, though some of the licks are nice. The acoustic rhythm guitar is not very interesting. Not a fan of the tambourine. I don’t like the lyrics. I like the over-selling vocals better than the serious ones.

DM6- The main rhythm guitar is great! The big chords are a great concept, but they don’t sound so good the way they distort. There’s an awkward pause where I can almost here you thinking “what lick should I do”. All minor complaints, this is overall very cool. One of the better and more entertaining GnG songs. I wish the singing was a little dirtier to go with the gritty vibe, but they’re good.

Handpuppets- That distorted guitar is ruining a pretty good song. Way too loud for how much fuzz and how little tone it gives. That 2nd melody reminds me of Big Audio Dynamite. Now I have that crappy Down at the Globe song in my head. Not sure about the clean guitar doubling the vocal melody either. With good production this would be pretty cool. No idea what the lyrics are about, so hard to hear.

Wormsweater- WTF? This is Bullsht! Why not post on the Shelton review thread? OK now that’s off my chest….. Actually, what happened? OK… the song…..
This is fantastic, would’ve got my vote for the Shelton fight. More piano in future tracks please! I love it. It makes me start singing Trick of the Tail. Singing is wonderful! I actually like the bass tone, guess it could be louder. Drums are great too. I’m keeping this.


So my favorites are Balance Lost/ Balance Regained, Steve Durand, Jolly Roger, Frisbee, The Hell Yeahs, Masterhyde and Jonathon Mann.

All of these are good examples of pretty well covered territory in their respective genres, all except for my vote recipient. Despite the room for improvement, the inventiveness wins me over.

For me this fight goes to Balance Lost /Balance Regained

[Reist]

Who’s on metal guitar?

That'd be me. I play everything you hear in my songs.

So my recommendations to fix this would be to try to get a good signal from the snare drum.

Would getting a good snare drum that doesn't have a flat low sound help bring up the range? I'm planning on picking up a new snare, since I honestly am getting nothing out of the one I have. Do you think getting a good recording snare would help with the issue, or is that just futile? Oh, and by the way, thanks for the advice.

[Heather. Redmon.]

It Belongs to Me – Reviews

Balance Lost/Balance Regained: I like the back and forth “It belongs to me” part. The second vocalist sounds a little flat or off at the beginning. That weird skipping is a little distracting. This song is a downer. There’s nothing wrong with the mix/production. Overall: pretty ok

Billy's Little Trip: I really like this one! I love the lo-fi sound and the vocals remind me of some band that I like (just can’t place it, sorry). Oooh, you cussed too, that must have slipped by wormsweater’s radar! Good music, I just don’t know if I would have chosen horns in this one, the horn playing was great, don’t get me wrong, Steve. Overall: Lo-fi cool.

The Contrapositives: Great band name, but, knows hair? I don’t get it. The vocals sound too distant. I don’t like the singing after the harmonica bit. I just don’t get it. Overall: Misunderstood

Cranial Biffida: I’m not a fan of this at all. I did not like the sample at the beginning (I assume it was a sample?). In my opinion, this is way too long. The female vocals are an interesting choice, and they do seem balance out the rough edges of the male growling, they are just a bit airy for my taste. Overall: not really my thing.

The Disciples of Beer: The “it belongs to me, give back” line I don’t like because of the way “give it back” is “sung” and the panning is weird. The acoustic guitar is too quite. This really should have ended at the pause, that last bit was totally unnecessary. It kind of meanders and doesn’t hold my interest. Overall: meh.

DM6: You started with the title, minus one point (a pet peeve of mine). The vocals could have been more enthusiastically delivered, but not so spot on with the guitar. I do like the old time-y bluesy feel. The vocal style doesn’t really fit with the music (but followed it too closely). I guess that’s my only complaint. Overall: steely.

Handpuppets: The vocals are too muffled and quiet, too overpowered by that guitar. Were you singing through a hand puppet? (dumb, I know) It sounds like there is a good song under there though. I look forward to hearing more from you, hopefully it will be mixed/recorded better next time? Overall: looking forward to the future…

The Hell Yeahs: This song was a blast to sing. I feel a little guilty though, because my boss really is named Kelly. I like her and would never really hit her (or anyone for that matter) with a bolt cutters. She’s never borrowed anything from me though, so who knows… I’ve been trying to keep this song under my hat at work, I’d hate for her to find out and take it up with HR or something! I love the live drums in this one and of course the bass, especially in the 2nd verse. Thank you all for the reviews so far. Thanks for listening! Overall: kick ass!!

Jolly Roger: This does sound muddy as previously mentioned. The vocals seem to exist entirely separately from the rest of the song. The guitar playing is good, just lost in the mix. Overall: heavy but muddy, like a pig? (again, I know that's dumb)

Jonathan Mann: I like this. Fun lyrics, and great backing vocals too. I’m not sold on the idea that the song belongs to you and not the person you wrote it for, but that’s just me… the rest of the lyrics (especially the ally-oop ones) make up for any possible shortcomings. Overall: baaaaybee, daaarrrlin’ great.

Just In Case: This is a fairly good song. The male vocalist is good, but I don’t really like the high female vocal, the low one is fine, just a bit monotone and lacking the feeling that the male vocal possesses. It seems like the female vocalist is uncomfortable singing lower? So one or the other would be better than both. Overall: falls just short

King Arthur: It’s got that signature KA feel. Good instrumentation and mix. Some of the lyrics are great, some are not, like “I am the USA!” It’s got a similar theme to Masterhyde, but a different twist. Overall: Universal domination, KA style

LML: This sounds too distorted and, as someone else mentioned, too trebly. The lyrics are interesting, you do sound scorned. Not a big fan of the musical style. I do like the lyrics in that angry divorcé kinda way. Overall: so-so scorned

Magnetbox: I liked the way the whole song sounded at the beginning, then when the vocals come in, the feel changes. I don’t much care for the lyrics. As mentioned by other reviewers, it’s 80’s-tastic. Pretty good solo, I s’pose. Overall: April 22, 1983

Masterhyde: This is a little quite. I don’t like the sped up sounding voice. The lyrics are an interesting take on the title, and you can actually rap, a rarity here! Good job.
Overall: a fun history lesson

MC Eric B: See, now this is a case of bad rapping. You do have quite a big ego, being brand new here and all. This is not very good. Boring beats, bad rapping, blegh! Glad it was short. Overall: noob frontin’

Melvin: Nice full vocal sound on the chorus. Good harmonies as usual. A very well constructed song, great mix, just a little lacking in, what? Zazz? Overall: great but not very zesty.

Mike Lamb: This sounds like it will be an epic. The instrumentation and story is a little, well, epic and medieval for my liking. Overall: a trip to the Renaissance fair

Rone Rivendale: Man… I don’t know what to say. You’re seeking approval from the wrong audience maybe? but you sure do need the approval, don’t you? This isn’t singing or rapping really, it’s just talking. It’s so 1,2,3,4 yet the timing is still off. Overall: a needy spoken march

Ross Durand: Your singing is good, it’s just a little “beer commercial” for my taste. The lyrics were a bit trite, but the story was good anyway. Poor guy lost all his shit! The singing is good and I like the keyboards (?) in my left ear. Even though I don’t typically like harmonica, it works here. Overall: Miller Time

Steve Durand: This is fun and not a genre we hear often on Songfight. I don’t really like the lyrics or the vocals, but I guess they fit well with the music. Great horns! Overall: jazzy, but just lyrically lacking

Stylon Pilson: Nice bass line, everything seems too quite though. Songs about writing songs, um… I guess in this modern world, there’s nothing wrong with having 5 guitars (Phil’s got a lot too) or multiple computers, or a bunch of DVDs (you don’t have my Sixteen Candles DVD do you?), I guess it just sounds awkward in a song. Overall: Shopping list of stuff (in the garage).

Thanks for the Frisbee: Nice singing on the verses. It gets really loud all of the sudden in the chorus, but I like the emotion behind it. Not sure how it relates to the title. It’s a little sparse, but still good. Overall: you sound like a good friend

Three Hole Punch: There’s a lot going on here, maybe a little too much. The vocals are nice for a while, but by the end, they lost my interest. This is such a happy sounding song. I wish I could hear the lyrics more clearly. I didn’t like the ending sound. Overall: distractingly upbeat.

wormsweater: I like the harmonies on the doubled vocals. The piano is nice. It’s too bad that this is a song for last week’s fight. It was a good song, but… not for this fight. Overall: well done, wrong week

[jack]

i voted for the redmons cause their song just plain kicks ass. and it's good to have them back.

[Magnetbox]

Would getting a good snare drum that doesn't have a flat low sound help bring up the range? I'm planning on picking up a new snare, since I honestly am getting nothing out of the one I have.

Oh, yes, that will help. Also, tuning it properly helps a lot, but I can't help you with that. I spent two weeks trying to tune my drummer's snare only to have it sounding worse than when we started. Once you get a good sound in the room, you'll have the basis for something to record. Recording live drums is not very easy to do. There are a number of problems that come up which make it difficult.


On a side note, I noticed there is a lot of "very 80's" comments with my song. Honestly, I never really made that connection since there aren't any of the cheesy keyboard sounds I associate with the 80's. (I don't count synth B-3's, more like those fake strings and crazy synth sounds) I guess a delayed guitar is all you really need to get that authentic 80's vibe going on. Shame, I've always had a soft spot for rhythmic guitar delays... Oh, and 80's music, now that I think about it. I was surprised no one mentioned U2 as the delay settings are very close to what The Edge has used. Anyway, thanks for the comments everyone!

[Ross]

Ross Durand- This bums me out a bit. I LOVED your Shelton with Sunspots entry, I’m still grooving to it. This turn to Alt-Country is disappointing. This genre only works for me if it’s really emotional. I guess I really don’t like the genre unless you’re Son Volt. This is played well.

Sorry to have bummed you out, but I hope you'll continue enjoying Shelton, I'm glad that you like it so much.
For me the title ends up dragging me to different genres, whatever seems appropriate for where the muse takes me.
Oh, and I guess I wish I was Son volt

[Steve Durand]

Reviews


Ross Durand: This has a John Cougar/Bob Seeger middle America rock kind of sound to it. Solid songwriting. The harmonica is not so great. I like the guitar work right after the harmonica.

Stylon Pilson: Cute lyrics. It sounds like there is a solo missing after the singing.

Three Hole Punch: Not sure that I like the singing in unison with the piano. This all sounds very tinny, like was all played on toy instruments.

DM6: I really like that ‘hound dog’ sound of the guitar. Is that a resonator guitar? I’m not of fan of singing in unison with the guitar. I like this.

King Arthur: Sounds great, as usual. Nice little guitar licks. I’m probably just dense but I don’t think I get the point of your lyrics.

Magnetbox: I think this is very well constructed musically. Not really digging the lyrics.

Hand Puppets: I can’t make out the words and the distorted guitar just comes across as noise to me.

Just In Case: I don’t know why but when the female vocal first came in I really got a Sonny & Cher vibe off of this. I would have like to hear the voices sing some harmonies. Overall a good song.

Steve Durand: I originally wrote this song as a duet for myself and my wife but she got a cold and wasn’t able to sing so I had to rewrite a bunch of the lyrics at the last minute. It was a much better song the way I originally wrote it.

Cranial Biffida: Ack, I think that this made my brain split in two. Really not my thing. It sounds like a concert in Hell designed to make people suffer.

The Hell Yeahs: I think that you guys are really good at what you do. But... I really don’t like the whole Hell Yeahs ‘tough chick’ ethos. Unfortunately it makes it almost impossible for me to enjoy any of your songs. It’s not you, It’s me.

Melvin: This starts a little different for a Melvin song with the acoustic guitar. Well produced as always. I don’t think that the lyrics really hang together.

MC Eric B: This has got to be a joke. The lyrics are moderately amusing. If you really want to complete the joke you will friend flood and get 100 votes.

Rone Rivendale: At least you’re consistent.

Balance Lost/Balance Regained: This has a nice feel being in 3. It builds an interesting soundscape. I like the alternating voices. Good song.

Disciples Of Beer: The vocal delivery is really bizarre in places. Nice little guitar riffs in there. The story doesn’t grab me.

Mike Lamb: Oh, what a horrible opening line. That’s like “It was a dark and stormy night”. It sounds like part of a movie score. I’m not really one to talk but your vocal delivery doesn’t really sell the song.

Worm Eater: WTF, this is last week’s song.

Masterhyde: I’m basically not a rap fan but I like your voice and the delivery comes awfully close to singing. Don’t like the pitch shifted voice. Good lyrics.

The Contrapositives: I got this image that you walk around with your guitar everywhere you go so that if the impulse strikes, you can do a song, and you recorded this while sitting on the can.

Jonathan Mann: This is a fun sounding song. I expected the lyrics to be funnier.

Billy’s Little Trip: Although you’ve explained it, when I first heard this I had trouble making the connection to the title also. The vocals are too far back in the mix. I like the chord changes and had fun adding the horns. Since the original file was recorded on tape and sent to me as one track, it was difficult to try and get the horns to sit in the mix.

Jolly Roger: This is a Jolly Roger song? Well it’s good to try different things. The vocals don’t really fit in. If you got the Ratt Poizon guy to sing it would match perfectly.

LML: This sounds like it was recorded over the telephone. I think it’s an OK song but painful to listen to.

Thanks For The Frisbee: I like this. I usually like more of a full band sound but this works fine with just the guitar. I’m not getting the connection to the title.




Steve

[Ross]

Ross Durand:Overall: Miller Time

Hey, at least you didn't say, "Miller Lite.":-)

[Heather. Redmon.]

The Hell Yeahs: I think that you guys are really good at what you do. But... I really don’t like the whole Hell Yeahs ‘tough chick’ ethos. Unfortunately it makes it almost impossible for me to enjoy any of your songs. It’s not you, It’s me.

That's cool, girls aren't for everyone, especially tough ones.
No really, thanks for the review. We know that it's all a matter of personal taste.

i voted for the redmons cause their song just plain kicks ass. and it's good to have them back.

Thanks Jack!! I thought you were mad at us for not being able to go to SF Live. Glad you're not!

[Thanks For The Frisbee]

i thought i should mention what my motives were for writing the song for this title. nobody really gets the connection which is understandable, its not too obvious.
it has to do with feeling a sense of responsibility...like it belongs to me to do something.

[stylonpilson]

Thanks for all the reviews. I've responded to select quotes below (generally responding to each remark by the first person who made it).

I don't see what's wrong with 3 computers and 5 guitars...

That's partly the point. It's the fact that 3 computers and 5 guitars doesn't feel excessive to me, whereas when my parents were growing up, and their parents, and their parents before them, such indulgence would have seemed absurd.

"It's fuuuuuuuuny" was awkward, but it was fine from there. This is very mellow and moves along nicely, but the drums slow it down a lot. I like the concept, I just wish the whole thing flowed better, more smoothly.

I agree, I feel that some of the vocal lines were a bit messy, and if I'd had more time I would have addressed that. When I'm listening to my own songs, I find that if I've missed the note by a fraction, it feels like I've missed by a mile. It's quite a curse. In what way are the drums slowing it down? And I'm not sure how to interpret "I just wish the whole thing flowed better, more smoothly."

I like the bass line a lot.

Thanks. And thanks to all the other people who complimented the bassline - I was fairly pleased with it myself.

are you signing with your jaw close ? Sounds like it. liking the lyrics. The music and melody are a bit boring.

Jaw close? Close to what? I can understand why you find the music a bit boring - it's not my best. Mind you, you should have heard the first draft. That had about ten times the boringousness.

Again, thanks to everyone who said nice things about my lyrics. I'm (a) glad that you can hear them and (b) glad that they are doing something for you.

Good take for the title, but the way the song is put together it just kind of bops along and doesn’t seem to reflect the mood of the lyrics all that well, the music seems somehow detached.

Valuable feedback - I'll take this on board for future fights.

I don’t like the lyrics much, they seem uninspired compared to your other tracks. Love your voice BTW. It’s a pretty great recording, though pretty quiet.

My other tracks? You mean, all one of them? Are you sure that you're not confusing me with some other person?

The quietness is due to atrocious mixing. Basically, I mixed the bass guitar about twice as loud as it should really have been. On the one hand, this means everyone heard my bass line and complimented me on it, but on the other hand it means that everything else is relatively quiet. This is why the song sounds quiet.

Songs about writing songs, um…

I agree entirely. But it seemed like a fact that was too important to neglect. I realised, as I was working on the lyrics, that six years ago I wrote a song that covered basically the same subject matter. It felt significant that I am still in roughly the same situation.

It sounds like there is a solo missing after the singing.

Yes, there was meant to be a solo there, but I was waiting on a contribution from a distant collaborator and by the time I realised that the contribution wasn't coming, it was too late.

[Steve Durand]

That's cool, girls aren't for everyone, especially tough ones.

I've got no problem with girls. I've got three daughters myself. It's the attitude that bugs me.


Steve

[Heather. Redmon.]

Yep, I know that's not what you don't like, so I thought I'd dish just a little bit more.

[Billy's Little Trip]

<u><b>Billy's Little Trip feat. Steve Durand's Brass :</b></u>
Man am digging your stuff. its pretty fresh and original within Songfight. always looking to hear what you come up with next. Am telling you one of these days you'll get my vote, one of these days..

One of these days I'll click with you? I can live with that.
Thanks Dre

BLT- I really like your sound already, but adding those horns….I hate you…this song is awesome and those horns are perfect. Nothing to complain about. Solid OUTSTANDING song. Love the brak track

Cool, someone that can enjoy the randomness of this song for what it is. Don't hate me just because my song is horny. Sorry, I've been trying to fit that term in somewhere and that was my best attempt.
Thanks Fris

Billy’s Little Trip – I like the feel overall, I always envy those who can make these kinds of changes work – the words are pretty obsured to me, which is making it hard for me to access the song (checking lyric board) – ok, not much help. My thoughts on titles: those who don’t give a crap may skip ahead. I see three basic ways ot interpret the title part of this contest and I tend to go for the strictest. (1) “Inspired by” (that’s how it’s phrased on the page) so the song doesn’t necessarily have to have this title, just be inspired by it. Under this interpretation I could have submitted “hey Jude” this week (except that I didn’t write it) because I own a Hey Jude album and it belongs to me. (2) I trust the artist that this song would have that title. (3) I buy the premise that if the artist put this song on an album it would have this title. I think most reviewers take approach #2, I tend to take #3. So Even though the song is interesting, I have ot grade it low for this title, because – even though you may have used the title as a starting point, I’m a #3 kinda guy. The horns are good, but a little shocking given the overall song genre. Good, but laregely because of my title issues (mine, not yours) I’ll give it an OK.

I'm OK with OK, lol. My take on the title thing. I honestly feel that if I just find ways to fit in the title, I'm doing nothing but making words that rhyme.... not saying that I won't someday if my feelings call for it. Some people are great putting full energy into any song they sing, and I envy that, but I can't. Not that I'm anything special, but when I write a song that I'm going to sing, I have to feel it and believe it, as I'm sure most do, otherwise I'm just a crappy voice screaming about nothing. As most of you have heard, I don't have a great voice or any special "Yngwie" talents, so all I have to offer is my truthful energy that I try to project. I've noticed a few others here also seem to have a similar philosophy, so I don't feel like a total misfit, lol.
Also, I'm glad that you thought the horns were shocking, that what I was going for. I personally like the huge contrast of the clean horns "over" the dirty, nasty, smelly, homeless, greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes background music. 8)
Thanks for the comments Ross. You are a major player here, so I do respect your opinion.

Billy's Little Trip featuring Steve Durand's Brass: I like it. It's kind of angular and kind of careens along semi-haphazardly, and I mean that in a good way. I think I would have preferred the horns as a backing to the last final choruses rather than as a solo, but that's just me.

Thanks Steve. Yeah, I would like to do a song with Steve in that way someday too. I've got a grand anthem buried in me somewhere and when I can get it out f me, it will be featuring Steve's brass, that is if he is willing of course. angular?....I like that, lol. Thanks

Billy’s Little Trip featuring SD- This is your first miss (for me). I’ve liked all of your entries up to this point. Nothing against SD, the SD part is by far the best part. It’s weird that all the instruments and vocals sound low-fi and trashy then a beautifully recorded horn comes in over it. The step up from the “radio” intro to the “full band rock power” is underwhelming. It really doesn’t sound dramatically better as I think it was intended to. The drum sound is Horrible! I really like the vocal performance however, still too low in the mix. The chord pattern is pretty boring, I’ve come to expect some great riffs from you and it’s not to be found in this song.

Yeah, I can honestly agree with you from a guitar players point of view. It was very simple, but that was my intension here. I had a bouncy easy to follow beat in mind from the second I started writing this song. I wish I would have put a little more bottom into this one before I sent it off, but true to the song, life was trying to take my time from me, so I had to make decisions.

Billy's Little Trip: I really like this one! I love the lo-fi sound and the vocals remind me of some band that I like (just can’t place it, sorry). Oooh, you cussed too, that must have slipped by wormsweater’s radar! Good music, I just don’t know if I would have chosen horns in this one, the horn playing was great, don’t get me wrong, Steve. Overall: Lo-fi cool.

Thank you Heather. I'm just trying new things. I'm an adventurous person by nature.

Billy’s Little Trip: Although you’ve explained it, when I first heard this I had trouble making the connection to the title also. The vocals are too far back in the mix. I like the chord changes and had fun adding the horns. Since the original file was recorded on tape and sent to me as one track, it was difficult to try and get the horns to sit in the mix.

I'm glad that you had fun Steve, that's all that matters. As soon as I get this digital recording thing down, I'll give you more to work with in the future. The only thing you could have done to get your horn to sit right would have been to dumb them down and dirty them up, but that would have defeated the whole purpose of trying to get a unique mix. In my opinion, I wouldn't have changed a thing except pulling the vocals out front a tad more.....but just a tad.
Thanks again Steve, you are a true musical master.


By the way, my review is coming along shortly. 8)