The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Yikes!
Sorry to see Ross and Sam go. Rather shocked actually.
cavedwellers final mix got submitted with 93 seconds to spare.
I had sent a safety mix 15 minutes earlier.

good luck everyone!

Sent a mix in late because Immunity but thought it would be bad form to show up smug and silent. Either one of you guys coulda used my immunity for real though and I'm sorry to see you go, especially after getting off light in your shout out song, Sam. You both sounded stellar as usual.
I thought I'd send something personal and heartfelt and researched, early in the week. Then I thought, nah...I'll do some clever social commentary and deftly-veiled women's issues or something. Nope. I then moved on to ... farce. Fail-sies with that. Then ... humor? then with it down to the wire it just disintegrated into me singing more weirdness at the Song Wall again. SoYeah. Also my computer is an asshat. I think there's going to be a robot uprising or something.

Ok, correction, there will be only one elimination from the rankings this week. I know, keeping you guys on the edges of your seats, right?

anyone else having problems playing songs on songlander? I've tried my phone, iPad and Mac, all songs play for a few seconds then crash. Is it my internet ?

thanks

Glen

It's working alright for me. If anyone else is encountering problems, let me know.

I only count 19 names on the songlander page. Someone's missing.

I also thought the title was "Diary Thief" the whole time. I think it still makes sense for the title though.

Yeah, I didn't get one in either. As I mentioned earlier on in the thread, I was busy all weekend. Not an excuse though as I had plenty of time earlier in the week. I'd written a song and recorded a guitar only version, but turns out the recorder wasn't on the right setting so I'd have had to start over anyway.

adamadamant wrote:I only count 19 names on the songlander page. Someone's missing.

I also thought the title was "Diary Thief" the whole time. I think it still makes sense for the title though.

19 is the right number. We had 23 in Round Zero and eliminated 4 in Round One. 23 - 4 = 19.

Of those 19 band names, one is immune and three failed to submit songs, so judges will be ranking the songs from 1 through 15.

Niveous, is this the highest dropout rate of any Nur Ein round ever?

Wait! Wasn't this title originally "The Stolen Diary"?
I did not see the memo removing the "The". Oh well.

Sorry to have people not submit. That's part of the challenge, I guess.

Because you are all worldly and erudite, it probably does not need to be said, but I employed the alternate definition of diary for my lyric. That is, a datebook or agenda. It's part of my longterm transition to becoming a full-fledged European. Or maybe just a Peon.

iVeg wrote:Wait! Wasn't this title originally "The Stolen Diary"?
I did not see the memo removing the "The". Oh well.

Sorry to have people not submit. That's part of the challenge, I guess.

There is precedent for this kind of switch.... However, as the person who posted the title, I can say with a fairly high degree of certainty that I never edited the title after posting, and that it never had a definite article in it. However, I've already made a few really silly mistakes in the last twelve hours, so don't trust my brain. For the record, the new title is "Byron Bay." Just that, no "The" at the beginning or anything.

Generic wrote: Niveous, is this the highest dropout rate of any Nur Ein round ever?

Nope. That record goes to Nur Ein VIII's "Looking Glass". 5 bands couldn't handle the waltz.

Oh, that's right. That's the only reason I survived that round.

Generic wrote: 19 is the right number. We had 23 in Round Zero and eliminated 4 in Round One. 23 - 4 = 19.

Ah I thought it would be minus 3 to get down to 20. Still, good odds for the rest of us.

So, is there one additional elimination or does everyone pass?

frankie big face wrote:So, is there one additional elimination or does everyone pass?

There are 4 eliminations this round. Three who missed the deadline, plus whoever winds up on the bottom of the judges' rankings.

It just goes to show, half of this contest is simply showing up.

Round Three will also have 4 eliminations, then rounds Four through Six will have 3 eliminations each.

I'm immune so I chose to be funny and flagrant. Cuz I'm happy I can sing and harmony real good and am witty and urbane and stuff.

I didn't get to listen to last week's songs so I thought I would get in here with some reviews this week. I listened in alphabetical and sort of ordered them as I went so these are more or less in rank order.

Here we go!

ken mahru - This is a good sound for you. It suits your vocal tone quality. I really like your lyrics! And I'm a lyric snob!! Especially the bridge. That's a great fucking lyric. Personally, I would have sung that part higher and with more life because it's so good and it would have contrasted the rest of the song more. As it is, it kind of sits in the same vocal range. But that's my nitpick. If your guitars were like 100% more abrasive, this could be a Bob Mould song.

manhattan glutton - Another lovely voice in its best range. Great verse melody - I may have to steal that. I like the rhythmic contrast of the chorus but there are a few lyrics things there that bother me, at least when I'm listening to analytically. (the words "mentally recording my everything" - that's the part I don't like) Ooh, I like this part after the second chorus. Cool song.

balance lost - I really like your voice. So English. Song starts great. Quirky and interesting. Like the British Archers of Loaf. Then it gets a little lost rhythmically during the (second?) chorus. So close to being really good. Had to go back and listen a second time for vocal harmony and, honestly, there is little to none. :/ But anyway, it's a good song. I would like to cover this some day.

inflatable vegetables - This is such a weird song. It took a minute for me to get a handle on the harmony. But it's actually pretty good. A little wordy. Lots of four-syllable words. I like the bridge a lot. A nice contrast to the rest of it. Good job.

rabid garfunkel - Weird but strangely poetic. And delivered in a wonderfully weird setting. Would be easy to write this off but I think there's more right here than wrong.

carlo bruno, jr - This reminds me of when faith no more is doing their 70s soul thing. But then there's no Mike Patton and I'm sad. As usual, wonderfully wonky ESL lyrics. I like this but I don't love it. You've made much better songs but even you're mediocre songs are entertaining and compact. Good job.

nick soma - I like the concept of this song a lot. Good angle. I just wish it weren't so busy all the time. Maybe that was the point, to reflect the cluttered nature of the diary but it was exhausting to listen to. Some space between verses or verse and chorus would go a long way, I think. Good singing.

DuToVa - This is like a lost Mumford and Sons track. I like the man's voice. The woman's voice sounds a little uncertain and the pitch suffers a bit for it. But it's some nice vocal harmony on the chorus and a nice song.

cavedwellers - Hmm...this song sounds so labored to me. The tempo is a bit plodding, I think. It took a LONG time to get to the second verse. I like the chord progression in the chorus and the vocal harmonies are nice. Wow, that bridge. I don't get that at all. (I understand the concept. Just takes me way out of the song.) Anyway, nice singing, good mix. Song is okay, imo.

paco del stinko - Nice guitar playing as usual. The song sounds disorganized to me. Parts that seem like they should be longer are too short and other parts too long. Or something. I don't know. I just didn't like it. Sorry.

michael j. samuels - Interesting and ambitious, if not weird and creepy. An interesting interpretation of the challenge. The problem is I kept waiting for something to happen and nothing happened that didn't already happen. You could have ended after the first chorus and this would have been just as (maybe more) effective, imo.

chocolate chips - Interesting idea. Some sounds (like the first notes you sing) made me really happy but it wasn't enough to overcome what I think is a weakly organized song.

dj ranger den - It sounds like you had fun making this. I did not enjoy it but I wouldn't fault anyone who did.

adam adamant - WHY IS THIS SO FUCKING LOUD AND DISTORTED AND RUINING MY SPEAKERS?! I generally like your stuff. I don't understand why you did this. I feel like this could have been something good but the mix is dreadful. Can't remember if there was vocal harmony but not going back to check.

=================================================================

à tous les monsieurs - I'm too close to this stuff to review it fairly or rank it. Thanks for letting me be a cabaret singer this week. And two thumbs up for employing child labor. Jazz sweatshop! You are the Nike of jazz. I will say this: you shouldn't hide your excellent guitar playing so much. Almost goes criminally unnoticed.

frankie big face - I didn't intend to do an a capella doo-wop thing but then it just kind of happened. I know there are out of tune notes and stuff but I think the song is fun and funny so hopefully those notes will add to the charm of it. It was nice to have a song just emanate so effortlessly for a change.

if I were a judge I'd rank 'em in an order something like this:

Cavedwellers - Really well done and I'm enjoying it even more now on my 2nd listen. Strong vocals. Lovely melodies (and harmonies.) The synthy breakdown bit is a bit out of nowhere especially because it goes into the strings afterwards (really nice) but it helps give the song a unique feel. My top track of the round.

Frankie Big Face - Fun song; I really like the harmonies. The refrain "I keep every appointment in my stolen diary" is quite nice. I dig the bridge.

Ken Mahru - Catchy. Great mix with strong vocals - it sounds just like this kind of song should sound I figure ... reminds me a bit of The Cars.

DuToVa - This is probably the most surprising track of the week for me considering what you submitted for the first couple of rounds. This is quite nice (if a bit by the numbers in a genre I'm kind of tired of..) still those complaints aside... I'm guessing if you were to play all of these songs to normal people this one might actually be the most popular. People eat this kind of thing up.

Balance Lost - This is a cool track. I like the singing. Some catchy stuff going on. Great guitars.

Manhattan Glutton - It's quite nice. It makes me think of Ben Folds with acoustic guitars instead of piano.

Inflatable Vegetables - Super weird song! Nice. I don't think I like it as much as your "Average Circus" which was one of my favorites of the round but it's still quite cool in a very different way.

Carlo Bruno Jr. - I didn't get into this one as much as your songs from first two rounds; but it may be more of a grower. I think reviewing/ranking songs after just a listen or two is ... well it's good in a way - you get an immediate reaction sort of deal, but most of the music I really love takes me some time to get into, you know? Anyway, I'm ... going off topic.

Paco Del Stinko - Good ... great guitars, cool harmonies.

a tous les monsieurs - Really cool harmonies ... the whole vintage thing; it's nice. The horn solo is great.

Nick Soma - I like almost everything about this song except for the vocal harmonies which I don't think work too well. The melody is pretty catchy, I like the tone of the lead vocal ... and the lyrics catch my attention a bit. Vaguely Weezerish...

Michael J Samuels - Interesting experiment... but ... it never really gives me a good reason to get into it.

Adam Adamant - I like some elements; there's a bit of a "Loser" - Beck feel with the looping slide ... but the distortion is really off-putting.

Rabid Garfunkel - This one doesn't work for me really ... some neat sound choices but the mix isn't as clear as it could be; which seems .. well I don't get what the intended effect is.

~~~

My own song was pretty ambitious/experimental in a way (each section is in a different key - trying out some modulation trickery .. and there's no repeating sections) I like my mix (although it's maybe a bit bass heavy and if I had more time I would have recorded the acoustic guitar over again as it's slightly sloppy in places) and some of the melodies are quite nice I think. Not really sure what the response will be from the judges although Frankie's review isn't very encouraging.

~~~

DJ Ranger Den - some amusing lyrics! bit meandering. Fun backwards vocals at the end.

frankie big face wrote:Because you are all worldly and erudite, it probably does not need to be said, but I employed the alternate definition of diary for my lyric. That is, a datebook or agenda..

Are you saying "Diary" is not used in that way in the US?
What do you call something like this:
http://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/offi ... cross-sell
?

Is it an "organiser" or "datebook" or something?

Caravan Ray wrote:

frankie big face wrote:Because you are all worldly and erudite, it probably does not need to be said, but I employed the alternate definition of diary for my lyric. That is, a datebook or agenda..

Are you saying "Diary" is not used in that way in the US?
What do you call something like this:
http://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/offi ... cross-sell
?

Is it an "organiser" or "datebook" or something?

Exactly. Organizer (with a z), datebook, agenda, planner - all those things but never "diary." (<---period inside the quotes!)

We are loony.

Here's a link to a US site: http://www.officedepot.com/catalog/sear ... Ntt=agenda

frankie big face wrote:Another lovely voice in its best range. (the words "mentally recording my everything" - that's the part I don't like).

You're hanging on every word I say! You're stealing my diary!!! /s Thanks Frank, I'm trying to get more comfortable with myself in this more natural range.