The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Lord of Oats wrote:Paco, I would love for you to elaborate or clarify.

Oats, just calm the fuck down before you make a scene!


...!

Was there a song by oats?

Yeah, under the dead line, line. Pretty good, too. Just lacking structure, as in start to end emotions and delivery.

Bad Boys at Bat Mitzvahs
The vocals sound quite muffled to me on this and I would prefer them better enunciated. That said, the playing seems pretty good to me. As a song, it didn't really engage me and it seemed a little one paced.

Berkelyn Social Scene
I would have liked to hear more conviction in the vocal. At times it strikes me as almost disinterested. Well sung, but a little detached. This may be intentional of course. As a song, I found it a pleasant listen with an interesting variety of instrumentation to tickle my ear. Overall, it didn't particularly engage me either.

Billy & The Psychotics
I like the vocal delivery on this, particularly the little spoken asides. I found it well played and produced. It kind of rolled along nicely as I listened, but never quite got me really rocking along despite having a damned good go.

Bubble Pipe Media
Not really my cup of tea, but I thought there was some interesting sounds going on in there.

hillbilly
I'd like to hear the vocals being more prominent in the mix. I like the guitars too, but the vocals should have prominence IMHO. Overall, brief but pleasant.

Klownhole
I got bored listening to this for the second time. The music didn't offer me much and the story wasn't compelling for me.

MENBAH!
I like the slow build up of the instrumentation and the tone of the main vocal. So far, this is the most interesting entry in this fight for me. The change at around 2:27 doesn't quite work for me, though I like the idea of having something like that in there at that point.

Merijamby
I thought the vocal style was a good foil for the ukulele and the song worked well as a fun little ditty. The lyric didn't surprise me enough or wasn't cheesy enough to quite make me laugh out loud though.

Paco del Stinko
This, for me, was another case of the music being well played and produced, but the song failing to engage me. I had no idea what the lyric was about, which is fine sometimes if the music makes up for it. Whilst I think the music has some nice touches in it, by itself it was quite enough for me.

Ross Durand
I like the wistfulness and the immediacy of the lyric. I found it simple and effective and an enjoyable and engaging listen. I liked the ending too.

Shambles Square
Sound advice from a sagacious man (with a hat).

Zinkline
This struck me as having a very reverby 80's feel. The lyrics strike me as somewhat throwaway and I don't care much for the vocal delivery. I didn't find it an easy listen.

Lord of Oats
This also has an reverby 80's feel. At times it rather swamps the overall sound a bit for me, which is a shame as I like what is there. The breakdown and build up works really well for me. I think I'd like the vocals a little more prominent in the mix, but I did enjoy this one. I could have done without the extended ending though.

Glenny, sugar britches, damn bro. You dissed every one then reviewed yourself for half a page. I dont mean any harm to anyone, but some of you guys think you are a lil too big for your thongs. Nice to meet you ass hole, see you next week.

Andy Balham wrote:I had no idea what the lyric was about

Not my best lyrics, certainly. But they are supposed to be about the star of the show, who I mistakenly referred to as Billie on the boards somewhere, escaping from the kooky world of Lidsville. He found himself there after falling into a giant magician's hat. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lidsville Saturday morning in the 70's, man! Thanks for the listens and comments!

Howdy. I haven't been around in a while, but I thought I'd check in. I'm gonna offer some short reviews of your songs, and I might join in a fight in the near future if I can get it together. Glad to see this thing is still going. I'll mostly focus on the negative aspects, but don't be offended. Everyone loves criticism.

Hillbilly: Sleepy, feels like Beefheart filler. I like it well enough, but it doesn't do much.

Ross Durand: Music is simple but solid. Lyrical themes seem mixed up? Is it about the "you" character? Is it about old times? Is it about being homeless? I think it's about being homeless. Nice take on the title, good timing with "..and it was empty again", but, yeah, a few of those lines feel mixed up. Maybe it's just the gumball: I don't think a hobo would even consider buying a gumball.

Paco del Stinko: The bass is pretty damn good most of the time. The multitracked vocal chorus thing is overdone, but a good idea. It's energetic and almost catchy. The vocals are annoying but endearing after a few listens. The lyrics still don't make sense to me.. something about a flying car and being drunk?

Merijamby: Don't rhyme "more so" and "torso", cuz the Berenstein Bears animated kids' show theme song did it, and it is ruined forever. As I was typing that, I heard "trousers" and "schnauzer"... ouch. Music-wise, the main & backup vocals are both good, but the song is kinda boring. Ukelele doesn't necessarily have to stick to just two chords, y'know.

Berkelyn Social Scene: Take more risks? I know that sounds anethema considering the mellow vocals, but.. well, at least build up some energy. It kinda fizzles out, and the bass has a "farty" feel to it. Still, the song is more "professional" than most in the fight, and the singer reminds me of Broadcast crossed with Komeda, which could be awesome. Shoulda tried harder. Maybe.

Shambles Square: Whimsical! ..but it's relegated to "silly music". Part of me thinks you oughta take your rhymey lyrics and straight-up rap 'em. It's actually rather solid, but it's not gonna get listened to except as a novelty.

Bubble Pipe Media: Too crisp to be atmospheric. Oh, wait, it gets ugly, and reminds me of that one Mocket song. Is this art? OK.

Zinkline: I don't think the intro is catchy/direct enough. It settles in alright, though. The non-vocal sections are just kinda noodly and pointless. That should be your opportunity to rock out! The quick lil' repeated riff is good, tho. Vocals feel like a parody? You could have done it straight. I like the way you used the "out of a hat" lyric.

Billy & The Psychotics: Shiny tones, at first, but it gets old. Kinda boring groove overall, but you exploit it well enough. Confident vocals are a plus. Somehow, the song just gets less exciting as it goes on. Pretty good use of the title, tho.

Klownhole: Heavy stuff is wasted. Spoken-word throw-away "at the end of the album" (in the 90's). I guess it might work in a certain context. The "rejoice" bit is almost effective.

MENBAH!: Cool rhythms. Oh, shit! It danced crazy. I like it! Ohh, and it came outta that with some nice piano emphasis. Pretty cool!

Bad Boys at Bat Mitzvahs: There's some definite talent with riffin' / texturin' going on.. too bad it ends up being a "jam". Doesn't work for me.

Lord of Oats: The drum machine feels too drum-machiney. With all the ghost vocals, I really wanted something to burst out. Fast synth riffs take up the last third of the song, and they only occasionally get interesting. This could be alright on a certain soundtrack, but I find it boring for standard listening.

I voted for MENBAH! and Zinkline and Berkelyn Social Scene, in that order. Honorable Mention: Paco del Stinko.

No Horse Town wrote:Shambles Square: Whimsical! ..but it's relegated to "silly music".

Relegated? Silly music sounds like a promotion to me!

Agreed. Far too much "serious" music in the world.

Regarding the Klownhole entry. Everyone's reviews are accurate. The spoken word is a known bug that we are working to fix, we apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused. Our normal singer (hollerer) wasn't able to join us that day, he was performing in a Bainbridge Island production of Jesus Christ Superstar, where he plays the role of Jesus in the style of Ian Gillan.

I'd like to say that this entry violates some standard that we have tried to establish in the past. Some standard of excellence, integrity, drunkeness, etc... But, um, nevermind.

Meatwad wrote:Our normal singer (hollerer) wasn't able to join us that day, he was performing in a Bainbridge Island production of Jesus Christ Superstar, where he plays the role of Jesus in the style of Ian Gillan.

That is fantastic! I am an un-apologetic lifelong fan of JC Superstar, having grown up with the Gillan-roled album. Too bad you guys didn't jump in on the JCS cover fight a couple years back. Anyway, is there ever any reason to apologize for Klownhole? I say nah!

There are six chords in the Merijamby song, if you don't count the variations. HOWEVER, I know why you got that impression.

This one time I was all "Man _Road to Nowhere_ by Talking Heads is so awesome, and it's just two chords!" And then I figured out the chords, and there are actually like 5 not even counting the opening choral bit.

Just sayin'.

Glad everybody seems to either like, or not be completely repulsed by our little ditty.

JB

Lord Of Oats - I was hoping that the reverb drenched voice at the intro would dry up when the song kicked in, it might've made a nice effect. This starts off like it's going to take you somewhere but ends up not going too far although the arpeggio section at the end is fun. But yeah, it just kind of wanders around in the middle. A distinct chorus would be good and maybe even a guitar/scruffy sound dropping in and out would've been cool. Glad yer back around, and have something to say, though.

So the story with Merijamby (not that anybody cares) is that JB was in the area for work and came over to our house for pizza and a song. Our friend Amy (of The Bourbon Drops) was there too. JB played uke and sang, obviously, and Erin and Amy sang backup and played shaker and tambo. I set up a couple mics and recorded them live in our living room, then added the slide solo later. We all worked on the lyrics. It was a lot of fun!

Lunkhead wrote:So the story with Merijamby (not that anybody cares) is that JB was in the area for work and came over to our house for pizza and a song. Our friend Amy (of The Bourbon Drops) was there too. JB played uke and sang, obviously, and Erin and Amy sang backup and played shaker and tambo. I set up a couple mics and recorded them live in our living room, then added the slide solo later. We all worked on the lyrics. It was a lot of fun!

I like it. Sounds like a fun time smiley song.

Lunkhead wrote:So the story with Merijamby (not that anybody cares)

I care! I was going to ask but thought you all might ignore the request. I love stories behind songs and how they came about. Congrats on the win, too!

The curse of Menbah is alive and well!

Congrats on the win, Berkley mods with the co owner of this site. You really were in my top three picks this week. Cereal.

My wife loves you guys and hates me even more now for not making fun music. 8)

Billy's Little Trip wrote:Congrats on the win, Berkley mods with the co owner of this site. You really were in my top three picks this week. Cereal.

My wife loves you guys and hates me even more now for not making fun music. 8)

Long, classical-piano themed introductions will make your music Mirthful again. Fear Not!
-Your Pitchy Friend {jaunty wink}

ps. kudos to the winnners, ya!!

Is there a place where I can listen to older entires? I've been crazy busy lately (I'm juggling write now as I write this) but feel I still owe it to give opinions, even if I can't vote.

bubblepipemedia wrote:Is there a place where I can listen to older entires? I've been crazy busy lately (I'm juggling write now as I write this) but feel I still owe it to give opinions, even if I can't vote.

The music archive. You can pull up music by title or band name. Found easily on the front page. You sir are quite welcome.

Billy's Little Trip wrote:

bubblepipemedia wrote:Is there a place where I can listen to older entires? I've been crazy busy lately (I'm juggling write now as I write this) but feel I still owe it to give opinions, even if I can't vote.

The music archive. You can pull up music by title or band name. Found easily on the front page. You sir are quite welcome.

There's also http://sfjukebox.org/