The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Another thing I've been enjoying is just squeezing in little micro lead guitar rips in open spaces

Well, isn't that why John Bonham was such a great drummer? It wasn't just his hard-hitting drumming; it was the way he effortlessly filled the spaces in between.

Billy's Little Trip wrote:I love those snare flams.

Just a quick example of how I continue to learn stuff from Song Fight!

Back in marching band (uh... middle school, that is), I had heard the term "flam" and "diddle," but I had no idea what that meant. BLT's comment finally kicked me in the ass enough to Google the damn things:

I love me some Drumming Rudiments.

Now I have all new tools to fiddle with! Heh.

Billy's Little Trip wrote:

Chris Cogott wrote: You forgot to do the Nur Ein! thing...and how does one get over two hundred thousand posts?

Because I found a glitch and hacked into the harmonic capacitor neutron modulators here, so every night when everyone is sleeping, my posts for the day quadruple. It's some E-square over something or other thing. You wouldn't understand.

NUR EIN!

That's EXACTLY what I was thinking! I just didn't want to say anything.

Your song rocks by the way. Awesome use of the harmonica.

The ones that stuck out to me this week are:

Berkeley Social Scene
Christopher Cogott
Jon Eric
Minty Handy
Milo Dunderville

I think that's pretty much the same list as I had last week, but hey. You guys are awesome.

ps - On a side note, I installed a new video card to improve video playback (so I could use multiple angles in my drumcams), and now my computer freezes every time I turn it on. So naturally I might be boned for the next round.

And now, a moment of obvious IT support advice zen: remove the video card and put the old one back in. That is all.

Here are some random thoughts that I have put together about the songs that stood out for me so far.


Chris Cogott
Enjoyable arrangement. Harmonies have a dreamy quality that have all ready been compared to a few bands that do harmony very well. I would like to hear more lyrical content next time around. Solid production.

Boop Boop
I am an uber fan of singing on other languages!!! I did the same thing a few Nur Eins back and got hell for it. ( see Nur Ein 2, "Brownie Points"). I'm totally entertained by this track, and it's punchy and energetic delivery make me want to bust out the castanets. (Ha! I am just waiting for the jokes now)

Milo Dunderville
Two words... Tiki, Tiki.
No really, It's just hard for me to move past that part.

Minty Handy
Minty, the production quality of your work is not proportional to the amount of talent you have a songwriter and performer. If I had the means, I would love to build you the studio of your dreams, just to hear the excellent sounds you would make. That being said, you manage to make excellent sounds regardless of where or how you make them. I really look forward to hearing more.

Ok, that's all I have thoughts on at the moment.


.

Reviews, part 2! Listened on speakers this time.

Minty Handy - What a great intro. The drums have got enough oomph to contrast with the admittedly-cheesey-sounding instruments. Everything fits together nicely, just like last week, but the package feels a little tighter this time, and if you're ripping someone else off, you hid it better this time. Nice catchy verse melody. How'd you get the clavinet (or whatever that is) to have so much presence? Again, though, the challenge is a blink-and-you-miss it affair, and it feels like it was kind of tacked on.

Naked Philosophy - Interesting... not really your usual. I'm not a big fan of that whining synth sound. Sounds like a little too much verb on your voice. In the verse it sounds amateurish, and in the chorus, you're very difficult to understand over those hi-hats. Nice use of the challenge. I like your take on the title, but the lyrics feel a little cheap - Wal-Mart's a pretty easy target, right? For an idea that broad, I'd expect some real zingers, or at least a chuckle or two. In the end, this wasn't funny enough for its subject matter.

Noah McLaughlin - Lookit that, another one that sings the title immediately! Hey look, another use of foreign language! Weird. I guess a title this broad made people want to do stuff like that to stand out and get our attention. This is a perfectly passable song. I can't really think of anything in particular wrong with it, but neither does it reach out and grab me. I doubt I'll remember this melody or any of the lyrics tomorrow.

Rabid Garfunkel - Nice piano licks. Why does your voice sound like it was recorded in a steel coffin? Some of those high notes are near-misses, and that makes them grating. I hope your wife enjoyed this song more than I did. Did I hear whispering?

Real Sign - Rocktastic intro! Sounds like we're near the bottom of Realist's range in the verse. I was just about to suggest using some harmonies to fill out her voice, and then they came in! You read my mind! Interesting strategy to call such overt attention to the whispering challenge. I think it works, at least. Overall, it's a good song. Lyrically it's fine, performed with the utmost of assurance. I just wish it were a little hookier.

Sid Denison - Oh, instead of getting the title out of the way right off the bat, you got the challenge out of the way. Way to shake it up, dude. Whoa, these drums are intense. They bring it in. You're probably the go-to Songfighter for contrapuntal harmonies. I considered throwing some of those into my song, but it was busy enough anyway... and I ran out of time. The rhythm here draws you in and hypnotises. Perhaps one of your best songs ever. I'm not sure you needed to include so much background noise, but it's only a little distracting. Runs a little longer than your usual, but I don't mind in this instance.

Therman - Again with the mastering! You're the loudest guy in the fight, no doubt. You've also got an impeccable sense of hooks. This song proves once again that simplicity is usually catchier than complexity. Unlike last week, I don't have a whole lot to say about this song. Good work, and I'll see you next round!

Same Day Positive - Ouch, poorly-played violin. The whispers don't show up great in this mix. In fact...... Actually, I'll save your feelings and cut this review short.

Who Fly - Taking a risk with opening on those awkward-sounding vocals. Let's see if the music coalesces around it. Sure enough, the little piano licks and the background screaming really help drive it home, and once the drum comes in, it's a solid groove. That muffled piano adds a bit of etherial 60s flavor. That awkward vocal turns into a really strong hook before all's said and done. Good job - I'm concerned for my own survival where you're involved.

So in the end, my short list would be:

Billy's Little Trip
Chris Cogott
Hoglen & Wages (yes, really)
Sid Denison
Who Fly

if you're ripping someone else off, you hid it better this time.

Ouch. I gotta say, that's entirely uncalled for, dude.

erin. wrote: I am an uber fan of singing on other languages!!! I did the same thing a few Nur Eins back and got hell for it. ( see Nur Ein 2, "Brownie Points").

As I recall, a fair amount of the grief had to do with the fact that the phrase "Brownie Points" has no appropriately idiomatic translation.

This may be true, but I just couldn't find a way to sing the words "Brownie Points" in English with any amount of conviction. I really hated that title!!!
Speaking of titles.... where's the new one?

MintyHandy wrote:

if you're ripping someone else off, you hid it better this time.

Ouch. I gotta say, that's entirely uncalled for, dude.

I didn't intend it as a jab. We've all been busted borrowing from influences that, in retrospect, seemed obvious.

Check out Berkley Social Scene's "Hollywood Wax." Then "My Sharona."
Nouveau Pauvre (Henrietta)'s "What Once was Grand." Then "Handle with Care."
Or, most damningly, my own "Bullets and Lovers." Then "Heat of the Moment."

Two out of three of these examples are really good songs in spite of these lapses in originality. And for the third, I apologize.

No hard feelings, Minty.

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
-Albert Einstein Me. I totally said that, you guys.

MintyHandy wrote:And now, a moment of obvious IT support advice zen: remove the video card and put the old one back in. That is all.

It's never that simple (especially when you're a raging pessimist like me). I'm sure this situation will look better tomorrow - right now I'm just really pissed off.

Generic wrote:Or, most damningly, my own "Bullets and Lovers." Then "Heat of the Moment."

No, the Avril Lavigne one was your most damning rip-off.

No hard feelings, Minty.

Done and done.

Reist wrote:

MintyHandy wrote:And now, a moment of obvious IT support advice zen: remove the video card and put the old one back in. That is all.

It's never that simple (especially when you're a raging pessimist like me). I'm sure this situation will look better tomorrow - right now I'm just really pissed off.

Generic wrote:Or, most damningly, my own "Bullets and Lovers." Then "Heat of the Moment."

No, the Avril Lavigne one was your most damning rip-off.

Dang, you're right. Leave it to the Canadian to point it out.

Jon Eric - "Crush"
Avril Lavigne - "Complicated."

You do the math. I live in a glass house.

@ mattb5: Heyyy, thanks.

@ glennny: That's possibly the least painful review I've ever gotten from you. And I mean that in a good way (but the timing, aside from the 3rd verse atrocities, was the way it should be in my Cohen-inspired intent)

@Jon Eric: A steel coffin? What are you listening through? (That's a non-confrontational question, btw, I didn't check the mix on ear-buds or computer built-in/monster treble speakers, but the other variety of speakers/headphones it was run through didn't give that impression... I should really get back to the IRC for questions like this, eh?). And yes, she did. The whispering is under the "Isle of you" lines, saying what it sounds like (if you've got a differently twisted mind).

Boop and Sid did it for me this round, and BLT reminded me of why I enjoyed the early Everclear (before I learned way more about Art than I ever wanted to know, oy). Nice PacNW flavor, yo (but damn, stop cutting the lower frequencies in the harp in the mixing, or cup/close up your hands over the front of it to get a little more "honk". Y'don't have to have the mike in there in that airtight cup, that can be tweaked with a li'l distortion or amp modeling applied to the harp's track). Listen to the Walters (Big and Little).

And Minty, I'm really enjoying.

Is it the moment of truth yet? Damnit... tenterhooks...

Generic wrote: I'm not sure you needed to include so much background noise, but it's only a little distracting.

Just noticed that there is a stray seagull that snuck into the second chorus. That shouldn't be there - it was supposed to be in the instrumental break. That is the last lime I work with live seabirds. They are completely unprofessional.

Generic wrote: You're probably the go-to Songfighter for contrapuntal harmonies.

I had to google that to see what it meant and didn't understand what came up, but I assume it means singing 2 different things at the same time. Yes, I do that a lot - I'm not sure why. It has been something I have had fun playing with from when I first started multi-track recording. But it makes a lot of my songs very difficult to play in solo G'n'G mode.

Rabid Garfunkel wrote:
Is it the moment of truth yet? Damnit... tenterhooks...

I've just caught word of at least one source of delay. I don't want to name names, but let's just say that I don't plan on saying up any later than usual tonight.

I hope that delay isn't much longer. I have until 9pm tomorrow night to get my entry written and recorded, then I'm going out of town until the following Wednesday -- needless to say, those disappointed in my production chops (which is to say, those like myself) and looking for something more ukulele-straightforward aren't going to be disappointed this time around.

I plan to rip off CCR this time, specifically Bad Moon Rising.

Ego check edit: here I am assuming I even made it to the next round. Der.

Generic wrote:[We've all been busted borrowing from influences that, in retrospect, seemed obvious.

No, we've been "accused" of it. We stand on the shoulders of giants.

From what I can tell there appears to be at least one set of scores missing. I believe Niv's standard is to post the new title and challenge at the same time as stage results. I can't speak officially for "The Judges" or niveous, but that's how it looks from here.

MintyHandy wrote: I plan to rip off CCR this time, specifically Bad Moon Rising.

Good, I love that song.

Ego check edit: here I am assuming I even made it to the next round. Der.

I'm no judge, but I'd say you're probably safe.

I keep my expectations low. That way I'm often pleasantly surprised. o.O

meanwhile, I am sitting at my soon-to-be-repaired-under-recall Yamaha piano with sticky keys (including middle C yay) and pounding out dark, angry, impatient chords.