Al Gore Band – Hmm. I feel like there is a dearth of MUSICAL noise groups on this site. My experience is that noise-core groups historically try to play as loud and as furiously as possible, it gives their nonsensical lyrics something to work with/against. But all the “noisy” artists on this site are minimalists. Like, if you put these lyrics over Converge’s “Jane Doe”, it might be kind of cool. But over a click track and an out of tune acoustic guitar, it’s not cool. Just sounds lazy and slopped together. Maybe it’s not, but that’s how it sounds to me.
Berkley Social Scene – I love the chorus, it’s really driving. Good contrast to the rather plodding verse. Without the chorus the verses would be lame. The only qualm I have is the “mind”. Sounds like it’s being sung by a Nordic vampire. “Mawwwand!” Cool solo. I’m not sure the 8 bars leading up to it are necessary; they seem to sap the song of a lot of the energy you work hard to build. You guys always do good work, and this one is not an exception.
Billy – I really like the piano riff, but it is waaay, waaaaay too hot, as already mentioned. I’d be interested to hear how this would sound with an acoustic guitar replacing the piano. Not saying it should, just saying I’d like to hear that. DJ’s vocals fit this music really well. Whoops – non-chord tones at 2:35 don’t do it for me. I know that the lyrics mention “falling” but I don’t feel that it worked, although I know what you guys were going for. I like this one, not as much as last week, but still good.
C.Layne – This is neat. I love the bluesy/jazzy guitar line beginning at 1:03. What amp are you using? It sounds great. Nice drop out at 1:20. Mmm, the synths that follow would have been better replaced with a distorted guitar, me thinks. I love the understated vocals. They really play well with everything else. This sounds like a more serious Eels song, maybe off the record he wrote about his dead sister. Cool distorted/filtered noises at the end. Great work!
Dealin’ Doug – So what’s with the History Channel intro to the Black Death? I can’t make the connection. Let me listen again. Oh wait, now I get it. You’re the “Im not dead yet” dude from Monty Python’s Holy Grail. The synths don’t go with the fuzzy guitars.
Dirge & Sara – We really struggled with this one. It finally came together from 10PM the night before to 3AM the day of due. The chorus guitars sounded a hell of a lot louder in the ‘phones than it did on the submitted mp3. That’s why you don’t mix on cans. Solo gets a little pitchy at the end. I like the delay on the accented Hendrix chord (EEG#DGx) at the end of each chorus. Sara did a great job given our constraints. I tried to go for a musical vibe that I usually don’t delve in. I think it was fairly successful. We had fun, which, as my career counselor and my youth hockey coach told me, is all that matters. I’ll send them my bills. Let’s see what those fuckers say then.
DJ Ranger Den – I dunno. I love your voice. It is two parts snark, one part innocence, and three parts folksy proto-punk. The piano just doesn’t really push your voice anywhere this time. I feel you need something more driving to lend your voice some structure (see your submission for “Who Said I’m Dead?”, or the recent ones you’ve done with Billy). I would be more interested if there was a full band behind you on this one. The lyrics are neat, so I’m disappointed that the music isn’t. This would work if it was on a record and bookended with angular post-punk style numbers, but it doesn’t hold water on its own. (Oh, just read some more reviews, BLT says you played the piano on the B&TP submission, too. Hmm. That one drove, this one doesn’t. Maybe that was intended?)
don’t reply – Cool. Don’t instrumentals get panned on this site? I think this one is neat. Like I mentioned about DJ’s song above, this would be really cool on a complete album – I’d love to hear the crazy white-boy-party Daft Punk-style dance tune that comes after this one. I like how the climax subtly occurs at 1:59, then it all starts to chill again. Good work.
Elephant Finger – Ugh. I have enough problems with the English language that I don’t want to attempt to tackle another. I don’t know that I really care for the minimalist arrangement, either. Could use more variation.
Jon Eric – This is politely awesome. The song flows really well. Cool use of dynamics. This reminds me of a snarkier Ben Folds. I really have nothing to say other than this is a very good song and you did a great job.
King Arthur – Funk soul brutha. What’s going on with the kick at 0:17 and 0:31? Doesn’t jive with the beat. I like how the title line leads back into the opening lick. Nice chops. Good contrast with mind vs. heart. Somebody mentioned they didn’t think this was an “inspired” effort, but I disagree. I think this is the kind of tune you do and you do it well.
CharlieOh – Mmm, well, the phrasing isn’t really that interesting. I’m not a huge rap fan, but I do know that people who don’t listen to much rap usually only listen to rap that has incredibly varied phrasing. Your syllable grouping and rhyming pattern is very monotonous and as such doesn’t provide enough interesting things to hold my attention. The snare (if there even is one) has so little crackle to it that it actually sounds like another kick hit, so no variation in the drums, either.
Metaluna – Holy shit, how’s it hangin’, Geoff Tate? This should have been on the Q2K album – it might have made that record listenable. Solo is tight, I love the harmonizing. The solo actually was a little short – I like big, epic solos spanning multiple chord changes. Or maybe it was the perfect length given the overall shortness of the song. Fantastic work. Your voice gets away from you a little bit in some places, but overall it’s a great vocal performance. I look forward to more from you.
Monkey Touchers – What do you get out of this?
Noah McLaughlin – For a second I thought this was Ross Durand. This is really good. I love the keys just floating off in the background of the chorus, quietly whispering where the song is heading. The reverb drenched single note guitar line is pretty. You sing within yourself very well and the song is constructed to use that as strength rather than make it a weakness. Somebody mentioned this on Jon Eric’s song in a previous discussion. It applies here, too. The only thing I could ask for is a little more dynamics, I wish the overall level of the verses would be lower and the choruses louder. Really, really great tune!
Paco Del Stinko – The first four chords remind me of something… That will drive me crazy. Argh! Anyway, this might be my favorite Paco song ever. I would have cut the song almost in half, seems like it would have been a perfect 2:45 song, but it was still awesome. Holy shit, there’s a bass solo! Is it because I commented on your bass chops last fight? Ha! God damn, you are a nice bass player. The groove laid down during the chorus is awesome. Where’s the tone on the outro guitar solo? Kind of anti-climatic.
Pannacotta Army – Hmm. Everything is very competently arranged, well performed, mixed, etc. It just doesn’t ring a bell in my head like the other entries did. Listening to it again… Still no reaction in my gut. The kick doesn’t really match up with the bass line, maybe that’s it. Overall level is way too hot. I do like how you incorporate the title into the verse and not the chorus. That’s a nice touch.
Pigfarmer Jr – Hey, nice work on not recording this for “Has Been For Years!”
I would have added a little percussion at some point. The cello at 1:21 is a nice touch. Again, this is another song that would work really well between two rockin’ tunes on a record or a mix-tape. Initially I wanted to tell you how much I didn’t like this, but can’t. I quite like this one. Nice work. Also, glad it’s not about dogs or babies.
PiGPEN – I’m not quite sure all the controversy is warranted here. What I got out of your song was irony. First off, you’ve got white boy rapping on top of music that sounds like it should be the theme to Inside Hollywood or The Sportsmachine. Hilarious combination. Secondly, the line “made me feel completely emasculated” is perfect. So basically you’re writing from the position of a man insecure about his level of success. In reading the conversation I see you are a 1%-er. And there it is in the lyrics, too. That’s funny. And nobody has any complaints about you using the word “nigga”? Seems slightly ironic, maybe? I don’t have a problem with it. I thought this was fun. Not as cool as the spoofy rap song from last fight (The HATE Noise) but in the same realm. Nice work.
Ross Durand – For a second I thought this was Ross Durand. Wait – doh! It is. I love your guitar playing. It’s a style I’ve wanted to master for many years but have never gotten around to. You have a very nice vocal range. You can move up the ladder without straining and then move right back down again comfortably. I’d be interested to see how your voice fits in a full band setting. Nice work, as usual.
Sep – Someone already said this was horrible. I’d submit songs at nothing less than 128k. 64k has just too much digital compression.
sonofsupercar – Vocals are too loud and too far forward in the mix. Drum sound is cool. It’s like a drunken Dylan? I picture this song sounding better if it sounded more like early Pavement. (Wait, wouldn’t everything sound better if it sounded like early Pavement?) Mumble the vocals a bit more, distort the guitars a little with fewer open chords. Overall, interesting submission.
Sportswriters – Like Metaluna’s song should have been on a turn-of-the-century Queensryche album, this should have been on any recent Collective Soul record. Do you tune down to E-flat? I like E-flat. The very opening clickety-clack riff is cool and I’m glad you let it sit under everything throughout the song. It sort of holds it all together. I agree with your comments on the time sig – you don’t even notice that it’s in an odd meter, it just all flows really well. Drums are well done. Cool work.
State Shirt – Hmm, didn’t see the double time section at 1:26 coming. That’s pretty cool.
Tony/Juan/Adam – The opening “UUOOOGH” should have been a “BOOOOM”. You guys lay down a pretty crunchy groove, but then the vocals let it all down. I dunno, they’re not too bad upon second listen. I don’t like the doubling of the end of each line. I’ve seen too many rappers do that with their 50 member posse. This should have been just the one vocalist is what I’m trying to convey. Overall, pretty cool if you’re into what I call “Nu-Metal”.
Yyarrell Bros – Hmm, sad sap lyrics start it off. I feel like I’m 19 again and hate everyone for not feeling as sorry for me as I do. I’m glad I’m not 19 anymore and don’t really ever want to go back there. This song doesn’t do it for me. Believe me, I still feel like that sometimes, but when I write songs about it now, I try to slather those feelings in vague, drippy metaphor, so people won’t suspect that I’m being overly self-absorbed. The music is interesting enough that with better lyrics, this would have been a neat tune.
