Sir Dread, the Terror Knight (night terrors reviews)

erik · Post by **erik** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 11:52 am

Here's what I thought of some songs. WARNING: I may give out advice! Ohnoes!

The White Hat: I want the accordionny thing to have more of a role in the song. It's just that one chord. Aside from that, the song is very well laid out, it changes up at all the right parts and bounces along nicely. I could have stood to hear some tasteful noodling in the middle there and have the song go on another minute or so. I would probably play this music if I was cooking dinner for a date, it's kinda fun and interesting and it sets a nice mood. wtg

The Weakest Suit: It's so darn major chordy, with the vocal melody following the chords almost identically. It all sounds like it bleeds into itself. Like, the vocal melody might be okay if the chords were doing something else. Oh wow, I thought it was going to end at 2:30. The ending is not awesome enough to merit a one minute extended outro. This song is not doing anything for me.

Thanks for the Frisbee: The intro is nice. Hmmmm, the vocals have a very nice reserved quality. I can hear spots where the scales tip from "reserved nerdiness" to "should've done another take" in the first section. This could be in a Wes Anderson film. Around 3:00 I start to notice the unwavering strum pattern and the lack of other instruments. It's a bit long to be so uniform in arrangement. You could totally start out with it as it is, and then introduce some other stuff at the end. Oh. The ending seems unexpected. This is a nice song, done well.

Suburban Bear Quadrant: Oh hell, that drumming is awful. Why is this 5 minutes long? Songs like this should be like 82 seconds long. I'm skipping ahead. Oh, I don't want to hear this whole thing. This might have been funnier if it was waaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy shorter. I don't like this song.

More later. Gotta go enjoy the weather!

Rabid Garfunkel · Post by **Rabid Garfunkel** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 12:24 pm

Hey kids, there's this magical thing called a Private Message on this board. If you're going to get all worked up about someone's opinions, then send them a PM and have a direct conversation instead of doing all this linguistic grandstanding in front of a (mostly) uncaring audience.

Please?

G&G is Guy(or Girl or Gal) and Guitar, yes.

I think I'd pay to see Gibbon & Guitar... ape & axe, that is.

Ha! Dueling edits! Take that, Auntie!

anti-m · Post by **anti-m** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 12:28 pm

No Horse Town wrote:And I still don't know what G&G means. I'm gonna assume it's guy and guitar.

That is exactly what it means -- although it can also be "Gal and Guitar."

Edit -- oops Rabid beat me to that punch. Carry on!

Steve Durand · Post by **Steve Durand** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 2:39 pm

Reviews

The Weakest Suit: kind of Low-Fi but that’s OK. The clipping is kind of distracting. Overall the lyrics aren’t really grabbing me but they’re OK. Gets somewhat repetitive towards the end. Overall this is alright.

Lockheed Symphony: Screaming over distorted sounds doesn’t really come across as scary to me. Some of the lines are kind of amusing “Your internet provider is experiencing difficulties”

Sock Puppet: The out of tune uke has already been mentioned but I don’t think it’s too bad and actually kind fit’s the overall tone of the song. Pretty nerdy lyrics about the physiology. I like that. I was kind of waiting and hoping for the lyrics to take a little bit more humorous direction but it’s pretty good as is.

Lopez and the Destroyers: I like the groove of the music but it sounds very canned. Not sure why you chose to use the vocoder. This is OK.

Jeff Travis Henderson: I like the flow of your lyrics. You have a nice full sound. Too bad it’s over so quick. Pretty good.

Bax: This sounds to me like it could be a Paco Del Stinko song but without Charlie’s crisp production or distinctive voice. It’s certainly got the same kind of concept that he would do. The levels between the vocal and the music are a little bit off. I’m enjoying the lyrics. The section after the tempo change seems like it is missing a guitar solo or something and just goes on way too long. This is good overall.

No Horse Town: I’m not familiar with the game that you’re singing about so the lyrics are kind of lost on me. I tend to like songs with a fairly strong melody and I can’t discern one here. When you start mixing the game sounds in with the guitar pounding away it just comes across as so much noise.

Mexican Chimpanzee: I guess I just don’t know what to make of this. Not actually a song. I kind of like the dark sounding music near the end.

Adam Adamant: This is another one where I would have liked to have a melody that I could grasp. The lyrics are OK but the vocal delivery doesn’t seem to match the lyrical content. Overall this is OK.

Rone Rivendale: OK it’s been a while since I’ve heard a Rone song. The backing track is better than before but you still kind of like to use those really piercing synth sounds. The words are reasonably good and I like that you didn’t try to rap and just used the narrative style. Based on the ending I guess that this is supposed to be from the perspective of a kid.

Lord of Oats: I like the musical atmosphere that you develop at the beginning. It’s suitably creepy. I can’t really get a hold of the melody. When you pick it up the music again after that flatline section you’ve really lost the feel of the song. I think you should have just ended it after about 2 minutes.

Suburban Bear Quadrant: I just can’t take this. After about 40 seconds I scanned ahead to see if it was any different but it wasn’t so I just quit.

Older Brothers: Weird sounds at the beginning. It sounds like backwards vocals there near the start. It’s an interesting effect but I can’t make out what it’s saying. Generally the music is kind of cool but I have to work too hard to try and figure out what you’re singing.

Acid Cadillac: The music here is kind of incongruous with the lyrical concept. Another song that seems to be struggling to find a melody. This song could easily have been about 2:40 and have been complete.

Jimmy Jet and his TV Set: Decent guitar playing and singing . The lyrics tell a story that I can follow but they’re not really grabbing me. This is an OK song.

Ross Durand: Nicely recorded guitar sounds. Of the songs that took the “I’m having a nightmare” approach, this is the only one that really conveys the feeling. The dynamics really help with that. You’re little solo guitar licks are much better than usual. This is the only song out of the whole bunch that kind of creeps me out. Very Good.

Dynamic Rhythm Device: So, from the point of view of a stalker. The kind of whispered delivery works really well. I also like that the stalking is never consummated in the song. It just leaves it to the imagination. I like the nod to Girl From Ipanema at the end. Very Good.

Max the Cat: Ahh the return of Max the Cat. I am really looking forward to this. I’m a fan and I’ve missed him. Creepy narrative to start kind of goes on too long. Nice sound effects. You could do a mean Rod Serling. At about 40 seconds I expect the music to break in but it doesn’t. When it finally does it isn’t at all what I was expecting. Ultimately it just strikes me as being weird.

Mime: I guess that’s supposed to be someone getting strangled at the beginning. I find the vocal delivery to be annoying. Wouldn’t a “killer mime” be silent? I can’t take 4 minutes of this.

Big Crouton: Wow! Andrew I can see why you would get leg cramps from this. Nice full sound. Good singing. I like the chorus and the transition back in to the verse is good. Just the right amount of excellent guitar shredding. Very enjoyable. Good job.

Carpetburn: This seems to me to have more of a TMK feel to it than other Carpetburn songs. The music is good but it seems like it’s got several different musical ideas that don’t quite go together for me. I’d like to hear more of a melody in the verse. Things are kind of weak when the first chorus comes in. I can’t make out the words after the tempo change. Overall I think this is good.

The White Hat: Nice guitar playing as usual and I really like the addition of the accordion but wish that you had done more with it. The lyrics are nicely put together. This is very good although maybe a little too samey all of the way through.

Klownhole: I don’t know what to say about Klownhole. I guess I can see how some people could really get in to this but it’s not for me.

MC Eric B: The beginning piano part reminds me of The Exorcist so that’s a good reference to start a creepy song. Your backing tracks are definitely improving. You actually have some chord changes now. I still find your lyrics to be kind of simplistic and your vocal delivery still needs work but you are definitely improving. Keep it up.

Irony Man: ?

Thanks for the Frisbee: This is quite different from rest of the songs. I don’t think that you need to double track the lead and would have liked to hear some harmonies instead. Would also have been nice to hear some variation in the rhythm guitar as the song develops. Decent GnG song but not hitting the right buttons for me.

My Favorites are:

Ross
Big Crouton
Dynamic Rhythm Device
The White Hat
Jeff Henderson
Sockpuppet
Bax

erik · Post by **erik** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 6:22 pm

erik wrote:More later. Gotta go enjoy the weather!

Steve Durand: This song is okay, but it's very Monsterymashy and corny. It's like all single entendres about trickortreaters and I don't really want to listen to a song about that. This song isn't doing anything for me.

Sockpuppet: hahhah, yes. Wow, your voice really matches this style of music very well. I think this song would sound better if you got better vocal takes and really nailed the timing, because with the out of tune uke going you want to really nail everything else so that people know that you're doing everything on purpose (whether or not it's on purpose). Oh wow, harmonies come in at the perfect spot. This song is pretty cool.

Ross Durand: The song itself (countryish guitar with a spoke-sung vocal) sounds like it's gonna be a story song or a ballad, but then it's more of a list song. It seems to be the same line over and over again: inability to act, and then inability to act, and then inability to act. I wanted more variation. I want there to be a line or two that really makes me go, "Ouch, I know what you mean, testify" but such a couplet never comes. I would like this song better with different lyrics. This song is nice, but it's not doing anything for me.

Rone Riverdale: The fartsounding drums are awful. The first section is okay. The second section kind of destroys the energy that the first section is buidling up. It should get louder and more manic at that point. The vocals are not right for this song. Overall, I do not like this song, particularly the unconvincing definitional lyrics at the end of the song.

Older Brothers: Whoa. Why'd the song change after the intro? Some parts of this are okay, like the section at 1:06, but the music is too randomly stitches together (and not in a good way) the melodies aren't strong enough for my tastes and the music needs a bolder singer. I kind of lose interest around the 2:00 mark. I don't care for this song.

No Horse Town: I'm getting some serious "Only a Northern Song" vibes bleeding through this. Hmmmm... I think the way the song changes for the second section isn't the best choice: up to that point it sounds like the next section will be this big anthemic chorus, but then you throw in a breakdown before we even get a sense of what the song is all about. The second section kills the energy of the song and then brings it all back, as a Thermals song. hahhahah, what is going on in this song. I like all the parts, they're just not congealing for me here.

Mime: I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, an elephant's faithful 100%. The lines flow with such unwavering regularity makes it uninteresting. Your voice is kind of creepy, but the lines you're delivering just make me think of the Joker from the old Adam West Batman series. This needs a chorus to break up the song, or if there was a chorus it needs to be featured more prominently.

Mexican Chimpanzees: I like the backwards-forwards vocals. That's fun, and the least unconvincing attempt at scaring me so far. The next guy sounds like a tool. The actual song is not bad at all. If this was a long lost remix to Love Cats or something, I would totally dance with a fat goth chick to this on Industrial Night at some dance club I always forget to go to. That is to say, on its own it's just okay, but if it was connected to something that felt more connected to, I would totally like it. This song is pretty good overall.

MC Eric B: Oh, I don't find this scary at all. I don't care for this song.

Max the Cat: Oh, nice crickets. This is very creepy, because I keep thinking you are going to go BOOGABOOGABOOGABOOGA at some point. If you do that, I will hate you. Nice flies. Whoa, here's a real song. hahahahah, what is going on. This is insane! hahahahahah This would be totally awesome as part of a short film directed by some young unknown Italian badass. This is really well done, and also awesome.

More later, I have to clean!

Mime · Post by **Mime** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 7:26 pm

erik wrote:Mime: I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, an elephant's faithful 100%. The lines flow with such unwavering regularity makes it uninteresting. Your voice is kind of creepy, but the lines you're delivering just make me think of the Joker from the old Adam West Batman series. This needs a chorus to break up the song, or if there was a chorus it needs to be featured more prominently.

Yeah I can see what you mean with the delivery. I'll try n play around with it more next time, actually put more feeling into it instead of "hey, I'm supposed to be creepy." Hahaha, I actually am honored that you compared me to the Joker. Effing awesome, even if a bit flamboyant. Yeah, I didn't have a chorus in this song. I wrote one, and looking back, I could've trimmed it to include the chorus, but hey, that's life eh? Thanks for the review.

And thanks for the reviews everyone else. Sorry about "quite frankly," it rhymed. Poor excuse, I know, but still. I upped the vocals in Maki so we'll see if I got it fixed. If not, I'll just try singing louder. It was tough doing the crazy vocals, so that just might've been it, we'll see. I see what you guys mean with the beat. Again, I think Maki's more interesting than the one I used this time, so here's hoping I've improved. As for the Seuss delivery, I don't really know what I can do about it except hope it comes over time and writing. I'm hoping to eventually get it so when I rap it's like I'm just talking (no shit, dumbass

), but it'll take awhile, so I apologize in advance. Maybe if I combine my efforts in how I do slam poetry with music, it'll work well. It'll at least flow better.

Cheers!

rone rivendale · Post by **rone rivendale** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 9:58 pm

I'm not sure what "fart sounding drums" are but thanks for listening to the song and giving an honest review, Erik.

I know I said I was reviewing the 2nd half of the songs a couple days ago... I've been busy. I'll review them tomorrow though. I got a day off work I think. (worked today on my day off).

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 10:38 pm

I'm not sure what the point to reviewing the songs is at this point except to say the ones I liked vs. didn't like, and to give a bit more info on my own song.

My favorites:

Jeff Travis Henderson
Ross Durand

I particularly liked the following:

Carpetburn
Dynamic Rhythm Device
Jimmy Jet
Lopez and the Destroyers
Steve Durand

These were simply a'ight:

Adam Adamant
Big Crouton
Klownhole
Lord of Oats
Max the Cat
Rone Rivendale
Thanks for the Frisbee

More information about mine:

My current philosophy is to try to do all my songs as completely different from each other as possible. It's actually what the "Sockpuppet" name is all about (it's a reference to the Internet nerd term, meaning the multiple identities of someone trying to hide themselves and/or prop themselves up). I'm happy with how it came out, though I couldn't get my ukelele to stay in tune (I blame the crappy intonation of my $10 uke combined with the fact I never really played one before) and while I did record many many vocal takes I couldn't get one with just the right rhythm. I do like how things are chronically off-kilter, though, since that's fitting with the subject matter. Also, about halfway through I subtly supplement the ukelele with a guitar with a capo on the 5th fret (making this also my first songfight entry where I used a capo, though not my first recording to do so; that distinction goes to my ironic cover of "Toxic").

The two things I want to do better if I rerecord it:

1. Better equalization (lately I've been on a "minimal mastering" kick but this could have used a bit more love)

2. Have the vocals recorded either by the lead singer of Melomane, or (more realistically) by Ken Mahru.

Incidentally, there are at least two scientific inaccuracies in the lyrics (I couldn't get decent rhymes out of anything more accurate): "serotonin overload, somewhere in your frontal lobe" - it actually happens in the reticular activating system, and "dopamine suppression is to always keep you guessin'" - while dopamine is the neurotransmitter responsible for voluntary muscle movements, that's only within the brain, and my understanding is that the RAS doesn't shut off dopamine transmission, it just prevents the nerve impulse from leaving the brain. The rest, as far as I know, is accurate. However, I'm not a neurologist and I got this information from a bunch of obsessive Internet browsing about it like 8 years ago (and many Internet-based sources are mutually-contradictory and apparently not all of the mechanisms are fully-understood to begin with), so don't cite this in an academic paper or anything.

max the cat · Post by **max the cat** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 8:37 am

Acid Cadillac : Hard to fault the song, I might work with a really good performer but reaching for attitude with effects doesn’t get it for me.

Adam Adamant : Fun

Bax : Killing her softly… somewhere in the mix the track got lost. Maybe a shorter fade? Good Song

Big Crouton : Wow what an production, a little thin, may be the MP3, drums are not present enough but ambitious, epic, needs a big studio with a shit load of outboard gear and Phil Ramone or Elliot Shiner. But I’m not sure song deserves all this love and care.

Carpetburn : Very ambitious project. With all the counter rhythms and 5/4’s and slow downs and quick changes this is setting out on a production nightmare. A week isn’t time enough to do this justice unless one has Queen’s technical crew. This mix is too thin to make the impact needed to get emotionally involved with the song. I also could use some rhythm glue, a kick or hat pushing things a bit more. Obviously you are very talented don’t hide yourself behind it.
Dynamic Rhythm Device : Great vocal attitude, simple effective, the little touches the two different guitar solos all good. The monochromatics work because of the subtle accents. The lyric could be worked a little more, loved the “detective” kind of slips in unannounced.

Iron(y) Man : My kind of demented entry, could have left out the title at the end for more irony. Whispering was a little pitchy:). Loved the production.

Jeff Travis Henderson : Fun well done tad brief. This is the kind of song that actually demands production and got it.

Jimmy Jet and his TV Set : The lyric could work harder. If I’m reading this right the protagonist is being haunted by metaphorical lovers. If so, I want more detail, more personal names placed dates. What I’m trying to say is it’s too general needs to be personal or it’s just Halloween.

Klownhole : Thanks for the mosh!

Lockheed Symphony : Love to see this live. I loved the mundane terrors. I think they could have been even more mundane for more humor. Not sure about the distortion. Maybe a little hint of musical fright in the cacophony.

Lopez and the Destroyers : Loved the lyric, the vocalist was inhumanly great. The track didn’t seem to have enough punch but all in all nice job!

Lord of Oats : Interesting intro, too regular metal loved the amp hum really no lie, bass drum feels a little shaky in the rhythm department. Guitar solo humm

Max the Cat : There is nothing scarier than organized religion…

Mexican Chimpanzees : That was fun. I liked the sound choices.

Mime : The death scene at the front was fun but the piano loop looped too much. Words need a good edit,

No Horse Town : The trouble with putting words on music after the fact is that they can have a rather aimless point of view. I see here a diamond in the very rough, very rough.

Older Brothers : I might have stayed with the stranger music that you used for the intro. The track becomes too regular for the vocals. I’m perverted. Pervert me totally. Drums could have been more interesting throughout.

Rone Rivendale : The vocal and the track don’t connect emotionally until Mommy. Proof that the describing is not as effective as the actual result. The old acting axiom show don’t tell… but if you tell, tell well.

Ross Durand : I like this song but I’m not sure about not waking up. I’m not that afraid if I know I’m sleeping and it’s just a dream. I might have looked for a way to be awake but still in a dream. That would be scary.

Sockpuppet : good silly, but the groove is a train wreck, bells are fun, learned a lot though.

Steve Durand : “A good Monster Mash type clone. Would be a great song for a Broadway horror musical, like Little Shop of Horrors or Rocky Horror. Very professional sounding.” I can’t improve on that assessment.

Suburban Bear Quadrant : My throat is still totally traumatized, that’s giving up one's larynx for the team. A little long but effective.

Thanks for the Frisbee : The lyric is very strong but set in an emotional musical place that flattens it out. I think the music and vocal should be grittier. This would work very well spoken and under scored.

The Weakest Suit : This is reminiscent of some songs that I can’t put my finger on at the moment.

The White Hat : Great guitar work, not enough attitude in the vocal. I suspect the harp is some kind of loop? Hope that’s not true for the guitar. Decent lyric, hard to judge with out a more edgy attituded vocal.

MC Eric B Love the costume here’s some Tootsie Rolls, played it for some of my Republican friends.

What about a songfignt re-write. Based on the reviews we fix what's wrong and re-submit?

glennny · Post by **glennny** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 9:03 am

Acid Cadillac-It’s a lazy little song. I’m really missing the drums. It doesn’t hold my interest for it’s full length.

Bax- Nice drums! Song is pretty “by-numbers”. Executed well, but not really interesting.

Big Crouton- Here we go! Beautifully over wrought and silly. I hate the lyrics but I think I’m supposed to. This makes me laugh a lot! This is a contender. This reminds me of Helloween oddly enough. I kinda wish the vocals were buried more to be true to the genre, yes I’m saying your vocals are too good for the song.

Adam Adament- Nice farty distorted bass. I think this would actually be a lot better without the keys. Just drums, fuzz bass and vox would rule. The keys cheapen it for me, it’s much cooler when the keys drop out. The chorus is pretty week compared to the verse and overall vibe of the song, but overall a very enjoyable listen.

Carpetburn- No WSA this week, we had other projects to attend to. I’m a huge Carpetburn fan. This submission doesn’t disappoint. I find myself listening to Carpetburn between Braid and Bloc Party. OK this song, the five is awesome. The tappy minus the Bear guitar licks keep me incredibly impressed with Furry Pedro. The “wee ooooh” hook is by far the best hook of the fight. This probably gets my vote, but I’m still thinking about it. Great song!!!!!!

Dynamic Rhythm Device- Bright Eyes fan? This is musically tedious. The electric lead guitar is terrible. The acoustic lead is pleasant enough. It’s too long. I’m bored.

Jeff Travis Hendersen- I love it!! This is a keeper. Reminds me of the Exploding Hearts. Great riffs, nice nuance piano. Way too short! I want more!!!!! Good stuff! Great vocals and harmonies. Very cool!

Jimmy Jet and his TV Set- Herky jerky sense of time. Please use a click track. I’m not so interested in the sonice voice, I wish it was less shticky. Do you really speak with that drawl? Or is it that Bruce Springsteen, Dylan, fake country accent thing?

Iron(y) Man- Hello Central Scrutinizer! Why?

Klownhole- This fight would not be complete without Klownhole. Very cool! After the song played loudly on my speakers at home, my 2 year old daughter in her 2 year old voice said “Yay! Yay!” and kept clapping. I ghuess you got her vote. Good entry!

Lockheed Symphony-OK daughter is screaming in discomfort and disapproval. I agree this is crap. Oooooooooooooooh scary.

Lopez and the Destroyers- Silly, cheesy, I’m bored.

Lord of Oats-Nice dark tune, I don’t like the lead guitar. It’s a little plodding. OK but not my favorite.

Max the Cat- tedious story listening, but hilarious “house of God” bit. I love the musical bit, I wish the ratio was different, more music.
Mexican Chimpanzees- I don’t get it. Why does Night Rider show up?

Mime- Tedious, wandering piano without a song. Not into it. Delete.

MC Eric B- Muppets! No flow. This is lame and dumb.

No Horse Town- Very cool rhythms! The song isn’t very catchy. Yeah, I overall don’t like it. I love math rock, maybe more than any other genre, but I’d pass this album by.

Rone Rivendale- Cool key riff! Dumb rap. The riff keeps me listening, but I kinda want you to shut up and have a 2nd good idea.

Ross Durand-Sorry I missed the review before, been digging this song all week. This is a great little folky number. The lead acoustic is fantastic! Is that you? Evil E? It’s a nice hook, this is a keeper, goes right into my best of ROSS Durand collection also. I’m not a lyrics guy, but they’re fine. Great playing on the acoustic rhythm and as mentioned lead.

Sockpuppet- Whew! Good music again! I love it, although I was anticipating on 1st listen for the candy pop to get attacked by nothing not dissimilar to Klownhole. This is fun in it’s own right. Very Magnetic Fields.

Steve Durand- Yes!! Great chorus, horns, production!! This is a contender! I love the death march allusion in the horns. Good track! This goes in my best of Steve Durand collection.

Suburban Bear Quadrant- Wall of crap.

Thanks for the Frisbee- What can I say? This guy is a genius. Maybe the only guy and guitar I really enjoy. Great melody, beautifully written song. OK, it’s not the least bit scary, but it’s fantastic.

The White Hat- Damn it, you’re such a bad ass guitar player!! The awesome guitar playing carries the OK song. Enjoyable, but the rest of the song doesn’t do much for me. You’re the guy I want to hear do cover songs, I can imagine them being a lot better with your playing.

Older Brothers- OK lot’s of good and true criticism on this one. I was aiming for “neat”. Yes the drum machine sucks, couldn’t get a real drummer to sign on for this one. So Martyr and I wrote this song, we had great melodies and harmonies written that we could not perform, especially me. I’ve been waiting for an excuse to do my backwards English forward thing. The 1st verse is the same lyrics as the 2nd. I recorded a scratch acoustic track forward. Reversed it. Then sang backwards English over it. The backwards English part was the easy part, the keeping of any kind of melody in time was the bitch, and admittedly I failed. I still thought it sounded creepy. Then I reversed that track and dropped the scratch guitar. So listen again (if you’re interested) and listen for forward English with a backwards feel. My lyric sheet read

“Eezee ti Kate Ahvoh ti Kate
(easy it take over it take)

Paish vuh tooah tneb oass teg Ewee
(shape of out bent so get you)

Fless Dissool Dibrom Rohee vuh dloh Kate
(self lucid morbid your of hold take)

Dicenni puh ewee Zrate
(Inside up you tares)

Udnyme rohee naw ugneeawthmoss
(mind your on something)

Note: of course you need to read this bottom to top , right to left to hear it forward.

Anyway, Martyr was never able to deliver his lead vocals. So you were stuck with glennny vocals. I really like the bass line if nothing else. Anyway, thanks for the kindness, and I hope you got a little “neat” vibe from it and I understand if not.

OK favorites: Thanks for the Frisbee, Carpetburn, Steve Durand, Ross Durand, Jeff Henderson, and Big Crouton. I predict Big Crouton will win, but my vote goes to Carpetburn. I just freaking love the track and I can’t get enough of it.

Ross · Post by **Ross** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 9:39 am

glennny wrote:reviews

Hey Glennny, if you didn't leave me out on purpose, I'd love a review - thanks.

Ross · Post by **Ross** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 9:41 am

fluffy wrote:so don't cite this in an academic paper or anything.

Crap!!!!
I guess I'd better reprint.

rone rivendale · Post by **rone rivendale** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 9:42 am

Rone Rivendale- Cool key riff! Dumb rap. The riff keeps me listening, but I kinda want you to shut up and have a 2nd good idea.

That's funny

Well I'm glad you liked the musical part. I've been doing alot more guitar in my songs lately (completely computerized btw).

furrypedro · Post by **furrypedro** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 9:49 am

Rone Rivendale wrote:I'm not sure what "fart sounding drums" are...

Those are drums that sound like a fart dude - possibly from using a program called Beat Your Ass, I can't be sure

Rabid Garfunkel · Post by **Rabid Garfunkel** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 9:57 am

fluffy wrote:though I couldn't get my ukelele to stay in tune (I blame the crappy intonation of my $10 uke combined with the fact I never really played one before)

Is it the Rogue cheapie that Musician's Friend was selling as Deal of the Day months back? If so, try tightening the tuner screws. Seems to help on mine.

erik · Post by **erik** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 10:30 am

erik wrote:More later, I have to clean!

Lord of Oats: It sounds like White Stripes covering Metallica, until you start singing. The affectation on your voice isn't working for me. The first part is very repetitive, I would have liked more variation, even if it was just a short chord change for the refrain. The stylistic change seems unwarranted, and then the second part is just as repetitive as the first part. There's really no need to keep noodling on like that for almost 2 minutes. I kept waiting for something to come back, a vocal line or a reprise of the themes in the first part of the song, but then it's just a fade-out. This song isn't doing anything for me.

Lopez and the Destroyers: Oh hell. I don't want to listen to a synth playing a short riff over and over combined with computerized vocals. I do not like this song.

Lockheed Symphony: No.

Klownhole: hahahahah, this song is so tempo-ey. What is going on here. I want the riffs to flow better from one section to the next. hahahahah, the slowdown part is cool. I wish I knew what this song was about.

Jimmy Jet and His TV Set: Oh, the little riff part sounds hard to play, and that is distracting. This song is okay, but it's not doing anything for me.

Jeff Travis Henderson: Nice. I don't like the tone on your electric guitar when it jams on that one chord, but everything else is nice. Oh, what the hell. Where's the rest of the song? The ending is unexpected. It sounds like 1/3 of a song at that point. The entire song that this is part of would be cool, but this little snippet isn't enough for me.

Irony Man: No.

Dynamic Rhythm Device: This is nice, and creepyish too. Great song here. It gets a bit cheezy starting in the second verse. I could have done without the last minute or so, it doesn't seem to add anything to the song at all. But overall very nice.

More later!

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 10:48 am

Rabid Garfunkel wrote:
fluffy wrote:though I couldn't get my ukelele to stay in tune (I blame the crappy intonation of my $10 uke combined with the fact I never really played one before)
Is it the Rogue cheapie that Musician's Friend was selling as Deal of the Day months back? If so, try tightening the tuner screws. Seems to help on mine.

That's the one. Tightening the tuning screws was the first thing I did to keep it in tune, but it's not the tuning that's slipping, it's the intonation and/or my playing style.

glennny · Post by **glennny** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 10:56 am

Ross wrote:

Hey Glennny, if you didn't leave me out on purpose, I'd love a review - thanks.

I edited my reviews to include you, sorry about that, trying to alphabetize from the jumble, I missed you.

Ross · Post by **Ross** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:08 am

glennny wrote:Ross wrote:
Hey Glennny, if you didn't leave me out on purpose, I'd love a review - thanks.
I edited my reviews to include you, sorry about that, trying to alphabetize from the jumble, I missed you.

Thanks man, and thanks for the kind review - I'll tryto get mine done today as well.

PS - the guitar is me, not Evil-E.

big crouton · Post by **big crouton** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 1:31 pm

Well, I'm about to get started on reviews, but before I do, I have a question for everyone who has heard my song.

Every time I've listened to this before today I've noticed some pretty gross clipping pretty much any time that the lead guitar is in, but this morning I took a listen to the song for the first time in a few days, and I no longer hear clipping. What the heck! Anyways, my question is this: was I crazy before when I thought I heard clipping throughout my track, or have I simply lost my ablility to hear clipping over the past couple days? This is really weird for me. Someone tell me the truth.

Lord of Oats · Post by **Lord of Oats** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 1:36 pm

You might have made a borderline clippy mix that will clip on some systems and not on others, or at certain volumes, but not others. I've made some mixes that sound fine on speakers, but will noticeably clip on certain headphones, if they're loud enough. As far as I know, you're actually overdriving the speakers, (you know, the way they used to get guitar distortion,) which basically sounds like garbage, most of the time.

furrypedro · Post by **furrypedro** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 1:53 pm

Thanks big style for all the reviews and nice words/constructive criticism/crude insults for Crumpetburn, and thanks especially to those fans of 5/4.

Disclaimer: anybody offended by these reviews can eat shit

Olda Brovas: The verse reminds me of 'You stole the sun from my heart' by the manics. I like the idea and the effect with the vocals but it does get in the way of a coherent song a bit. I've been listening to Roxy and elsewhere recently on your recommendation and so I'm definitely hearing the influential connection a lot more now, but this is like a revamped version spliced with some krautrock. The forward vocals here are a lot more solid than on previous entries, and that beat that comes in at 3.32 is really good, it would have been cool if that had developed a bit like you'd carried it on in reverse at the intro and then flipped it round and got a bit of a groove on, or had more of a build up in the ending bit in a kind of Radioheady post-rockish type way. Overall, possibly a bit overdone with the phasey and wibbly effects in places but it's rammed with ideas and interesting chord changes so good work. I expect stick from lyrical fascists.

No Horse Town: Hey this is fucking cool, to be sure I like stuff with a bit more twinkly guitar but this is math-tastic and there's not enough stuff like it on SF, done well at any rate. the change at 1.16 is great. I reckon loads of people will think this sounds made up on the spot but it sounds like you must've spent some time working out the intricacies and dueling guitars. I'd love to play this live.

Ross: I'm digging this. Every now and then you hit the nail on the head and this is one of those times (unlike for example, the deux freres track last week); the thing is this feels really natural, not even slightly forced, it's almost like the song plays itself. I'd rate this on the same level as most of my other favourite folk singers, Cat Stevens, Nick Drake etc. Good take on the title too.

Lockheed Symphony: Good name. Some would say a predictable approach to the optional challenge but you're definitely committed to it. Lyrics are hilarious - "You have SARS!!". Great drumming too, I would assume based on past experience that someone like blue is behind this, but if not I want you to drum on one of my songs sometime. Not that I wouldn't want blue to, I just wouldn't expect him to stoop to my level. Back to the song, the organ outro is a nice touch to a song that is otherwise devoid of melody. A noteworthy effort (which could possibly get irritating - I'm on the fourth listen now).

Klownhole: I'm gonna put this on my phone and walk around town playing it really loud like all the local rudeboys with their jackets hanging off their shoulders and their pikey rat-tail mullets, and when I walk past them they'll probably gather round me for a beating and I'll do my best impression of the singer and hopefully, just hopefully, they'll be really freaked out and fuck off to some other street corner. Either that or I'll have to find a way to cut all their dirty mullets of with my rusty knife so all their friends will know that I beat their asses on that fateful night

Iron(y) Man: Awesome, that's one less song I have to review. Thanks!

Max le chat: I like this fight, I don't have to comment on as much music as normal, of course I don't have to do anything but you know how it works. So we've got about 30 seconds of a pretty good impression of TMBG with a squeaky voice. well done, and not forgetting the pretty good Vincent Price impression at the beginning too.

Suburban bear quadrant: hmmmm, loud and distorted.......5 minutes! oh man, skipping.....still really loud and screamy........and about 3.48 in it starts to calm the fuck down a bit. One good thing about writing good songs is that you don't get people like me just describing the song as they listen. the tragic thing is from the first 10 seconds it sounds like you can actually play but you don't have to be able to play to do the following four minutes. A bit harsh but I am so ner

Crig Bouton: Dramatic! harpsichord metal, like it. The dragon definitely comes in the night for this one. Hahaha, this is fucking genius. This had better get ridiculously proggy at the end or I'm not gonna hold out for all 5 minutes though, I'm in that kind of mood. Okay, after the 2nd chorus I'm checking the time.....solo right on cue, it is very well played but.......I'm dissappointed by the utter predictability of this song but can't fault it in any other way. I'm a huge fan of structural inventiveness so this loses more than a few points there, I'd like to hear you guys take a leaf or two out of No Horse Town's book. I didn't notice any poor production issues here, clipping or otherwise. Top work Mr Reist.

The White Hat: My favourite new discovery of this year is a band called Smoke Fairies, the way you play guitar on this track reminds me a lot of them although this is considerably more upbeat. Also I don't want to shag your voice, but nonetheless you are an immensely talented chap. I am very please you chose to return to Song Fight after your monstrous haitus otherwise you may have been swallowed by the archive and never discovered by me. I like to hear a version of this without the concertina, it's not bad but kind of detracts from the bluesiness. Great song.

Amaadnndpant: Wow, this is quite radically different from last week's effort. I think putting distortion on the drums and bass certainly helps this sound not as cheap and cheesy. This is an okay song and your Strummer vocalising is interesting but I don't like the style as much as the last one. It works well, but we all have our preferences.

Bax: Cut all the sections in half and this probably would have ahd twice the impact. I think the second half is a cool change but I've lost interest by then. I prefer the execution to the actual song.

Lopez unt der Destroyers: Stephen Hawking would make a kick ass front man for a rock band. The playing/programming here is pretty neat but the music's not blowing my mind, it's solid in a lift music kind of way. The little flourishes are fun and that noise at around 2 minutes reminds me slightly of the middle bit from 'All I Need' by Air which is a great song. Definitely not feeling the title in this one though.

EB Deric M: A bit hammed-up but it slightly reminds me of Buck65 only I don't identify with any of the lyrics. Not too keen on the chorus but the effect on the vocals works pretty well.

Ronandale: That is one fucking dirty synth sound, like it. The drum sounds are kinda cool but the fact that the beat never changes detracts seriously from the dynamics of the song, and I'm aaall about dynamics. Just cos Roning's in the dictionary now doesn't make it good but you do sound more confident now, there are a couple of vocal inflections that you didn't used to do.

The Weakest Suit: Lo-fi-a-riffic! yeah, good song which it may take me a few listens to get into but is likeable in a way that most stuff (even the well done stuff) that gets submitted here isn't. Good effort, I can possibly see myself yelping along to this in a month.

Mex Chimps: Have you guys heard Otto von Schirach? That intro is definitely the creepiest thing I've heard so far so I might award you the Honorary Optional Challenge winner award, the Bavarian sounding voice swings it. Once the song kicks in about 3/4 of the way in this really isn't my thing, but that filthy synth right near the end beats ass.

Flacid Cadillac: The second vocal at 50s is way too loud. The guitar tone is quite good but there's not enough here to keep me interested, even if it were a great song which it is not.

Sockpuppet: I care not for tuning issues but there are a few places where the ukelele feels like it can't keep up with the song, sloppy rhythms innit. The delivery reminds me of Fog which must be a good thing.

Jimmy Jet: I can't really say that much about this, it doesn't sound too bad but it's not connecting with me. After further thought, you should write songs that are more like Thanks For the Frisbee.

Thanks For the Freezbee: You should never freeze bees, it's cruel and unusual. You should however write more songs cos they're all very good. What I should really do is say in everyone elses reviews "y'know that Frisbee feller, write more like him, he's what you call "good"." Will I vote for it? oooh I dunno, depends on whether I'm in a rockin mood or not when I come to voting......

Dynamic Rhythm Device: This is very tasteful, not sure if you meant it to be so noisy, but I dig the sombre, slightly hispanic vibe going on. The uber-quiet drums are strange, I don't think i would've heard them if I weren't listening on headphones but it's probably a good thing cos the track doesn't need drums as such, but minimalist percussion often helps in this kind of song. This is quite good, I'm not sure I'll listen to it once the fight's over though, which maybe I should.

Steve Durand: Classic Rocky Horror type stuff. The little details like the screams, laughter and spooky synth work pretty well but I can't really get into it precisely because of the camp-ness and cheese horror angle. I gave it a couple of listens and decided that it belongs on an episode of Scooby Doo. Well done!

Jeff T Henderson: I've heard that this tune's a bit useful. Damn it needs to be longer, I don't often say that about songs, I suppose I can always just listen again can't I, better to be too short than too long. Great momentum and dynamics, all the little breakdowns with the finger clicks and Oohs are super touches. Quite a few mix issues though: One guitar sounds like ass, you're voice clips all over the place but it's all academic really. Having listened to this I am now worried that people will think I tried to rip it off for Maki.

Mime: Hahahaha, "hang on, I'm not quite dead...." Oh I don't like how this is going, the vocal level is all over the place, pops like hell and the delivery is a bit pants. Beats and loops don't do anything, they're not awesome, the piano bit is okay but not good enough to be the whole song. I wish I'd given up halfway through - it was naive of me to expect a mime to provide anything entertaining...oh wait, I just listened to the intro again, I take it back, you should take up acting.

Oaty Lord: Anybody asking for 5 minutes of my time better have a damn good reason. I have to admit the intro sounds really good with the gradual atmospheric build-up. The introduction of the guitars drags the song back into the mediocrity I was expecting, the vocals further remove a veneer of quality and yet as the song goes on it's relentless grind gradually sounds more and more coherent. Unfortunately just as you start to build up a head of steam it's broken by the second part, which pains me because I'm usually a fan of unexpected changes in songs. The second half here however is a bit cheesy and not particularly well executed, this contrasts very badly with the dark industrial stomp of the 1st half which has atmosphere by the bucketload. Kudos for being ambitious, you nearly pulled of something cool but there are a few too many cracks for my liking. The first half is mainly production issues - chugging guitar and vox don't sound as good as the other parts, the second half feels unnecessary but I appreciate the effort put into this.

Right, you all suck, I'm voting for me. Nah only kidding, it's between No Horse Frisbee and it's gonna go down to the wire depending on my fickle mood.