The Song Fight Bulletin Board

A Friendly reminder:

Everyone who sent in a song for SpinTunes 16 (Official entries) is qualified to vote for the finals. Even the four finalists.
Votes must be emailed by Saturday at noon to count.

Final Round:

SpinTunes is "first past the post". The top-ranked four competitors in Round Three will pass on to the final round.

If one of the top four fails to submit a song, then a Round 4 shadow posted by the next highest ranked competitor will be promoted to official entry. (See Wild Card Reinstatement, below)

In this round, the judges do not vote, although they'll still review the songs.

Instead, everyone who has been eliminated in any of the preceding rounds (who also submitted at least 1 song) plus the contestants themselves will be allowed to rank the songs.

If there is a tie, the judges will vote to break the tie.

If there is still a tie, then I (Dave Leigh) will choose the winner.

March 21st (Saturday)
NOON - Judges reviews are due.
NOON - Eliminated competitors rankings are due.
4pm - Reviews are posted and a winner is announced!

ZOMG another podcast!? Truly, these are end times.

Here are the deets yo!

• Download or point your browser directly at the mp3
• Alternate download from AWS S3
• Point your podcast software at the feed
• View the podcast on iTunes

INDEX:

• 00:00:00 - Intro music
• 00:01:58 - Beginning-of-podcast blathering
• 00:10:54 - Cavedwellers - Kissing Contest
• 00:14:29 - Governing Dynamics - Sink
• 00:19:41 - Mandibles - Hurricane Camille
• 00:24:29 - Micah Sommersmith - Nuclear
• 00:29:14 - Menage A Tune - BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
• 00:35:25 - Jocko Homomorphism - Minnow
• 00:38:35 - Glen Raphael - Hand Washing
• 00:43:51 - Ross Durand - One Last Drink
• 00:47:42 - Jerkatorium - Oh Pandora
• 00:56:31 - Temnere - In Flames
• 01:08:13 - Steve Stearns - Surf Or Die
• 01:12:35 - Thoughts on Rankings
• 01:15:08 - Talkin' with Temnere
• 01:31:38 - Shoutouts

Hope ya enjoy!

Great podcast guys!

I think you guys are giving Ross short shrift. He had my favorite song of the 4. I hear you about production value. Most artists can't get away with G'nG, but I think Ross can. His guitar sounds great and his voice has enough character to make it feel complete, like something off Times They are a Changin' (Bob) or Clouds (Joni). Ultimately FJ went for Temnere tops, but we have Ross as #2.

REVIEWS: (in order of listening party)

Temnere – In Flames. Production is immaculate, like I said in the listening party, flawless victory. Clear separation on the kicks, and the rest of the kit. Nice job on the guitars, they definitely bring the thrash but also don’t overload the mix to the point of it being harsh on the ears. The hair metal vox are totally on point and my head was bangin’. As a listener this isn’t really my genre any more but as a producer you get the hat tip. Lyrically I was able to follow the gist of it, sounds like a lab guy who made a virus who subsequently escaped? At least that was my read on it. If I had a criticism it would be that the lyrics are somewhat allusive (and elusive). You sold the sense of regret but I’m not sure I got the story. Anyways there were no losers in this finals round, you killed this song and clearly have total mastery over your sound.

Jerkatorium – Oh Pandora. Another impressive production job. The disco high hats/ska beat combined with the rolling clav, bass and wah guitar gives it a light funky feel that lends itself well to repeated listens. I really liked how the vocals came out on this. The lead vocal tone reminds me favorably of a classic 60s/70s pop voice. Mickey Dolenz, Les McKeown. Combined with the clever storytelling device of the Pandora myth and its subsequent retellings throughout different cultures this entry displayed high songcraft overall and is as good as any in this round.

Ross Durand – One Last Drink. In a finals round with three other “full band” recordings, the simplicity of guitar, hand percussion and voice gave this entry a starkness and intimacy not present in the other recordings. As such, the bulk of the heavy lifting has to be done via storytelling, and for my money I think lyrically this was one of the finest songs of the round and arguably did the best job of meeting the terms of the challenge. I was hanging in there for each verse as the story unfolded and the protagonist’s situation got progressively worse. Arrangement wise the hand percussion was a wise and clever creative choice, perhaps dictated by time, perhaps not, anyways it doesn’t matter, it fit the tune perfectly and did what it needed to do to lend some additional texture behind the guitar part.

SHADOWS:

Glen Raphael – Hand Washing. Back when I was in elementary school once a week they used to show us a music program on PBS that featured different (non-rock) genre artists in studio. One I still remember to this day was Paul Clayton in studio with a group of male singers singing New England whaling songs, specifically the one I recall was Go Down You Blood Red Roses. Your entry took me right back to my classroom at Dennis Chavez 40+ years go. And it was a timely spin on current world events, so kudos to you for an entirely vocal arrangement that managed to transport me to a different time and place in my life. No easy task.

Jocko Homomophism – Minnow (Marketing Pitch). Greenlit! Although I swear I’ve heard that pitch before, maybe from that Sherwood Schwartz character on the second floor. He’s always talking about that idea or his other one with the two divorced parents with multiple kids. I think he calls it Eight Is Enough, or Full House, or something. Now where’s that intern kid with my half-caf dirty chai?

Menage a Tune – BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! A fine addition to your stable of harp and vocal songs, which have been a welcome change from the usual instrumentation. This song reminded me favorably of a song poem (assuming everyone who does this is well familiar with the song poem phenomenon). Lyrically it certainly meets the terms of the challenge; there are a couple of instances where the vocal might be a bit wordy for the musical underpinning but these are minor quibbles, you have a beautiful voice with good range that you really let fly at the end; I would have loved to hear that during the verses as well! I was interested to know if you perform and record the instrument and vocal tracks together or separately?

Micah Sommersmith – Nuclear. Well heck, between the lovely accordion, the lyrical subject matter and the vocal delivery you delivered a smartly-executed quasi-sequel song to Talking Heads “Nothing But Flowers” that was one of the most impressive entries of the round. Not sure if for me the story would’ve quite been a Darwin Award winner as this is more societal commentary, but when it’s done this well, who’s complaining?

Mandibles – Camille. From the opening drop your arrangement had me. Guitar, clave and an easy groove. Your entries have consistently featured the best singing in my opinion and that continued through this entry. I could listen to you sing the phone book and be singing right along from Aaronson to Zzyewczski. I do think the choice to do the hard break to the bridge and then resume at a slower tempo robs the tune of the easy, freewheeling feel that was so strong at the beginning and makes it sort of lurch to the finish line a bit. Still a very listenable, likeable tune.

Governing Dynamics – Sink. I got serious Procol Harum vibes from this one between the organ and slow tempo. E-Bow guitar? Nice. The ethereal spacey vocals added to the funereal, sparse feel of the arrangement. Some really nice lyrical touches in this “Took me far too long to learn/the whole things rotten stem to stern”. Very good production keeping everything audible with all the reverbs going on. It never got too swampy or hissy. My only suggestion would be that I don’t know if for me both the bridge/last verse are necessary. I think at 4:52 in length, this would be just as great a song at 3:52 with a couple of edits or less space between verses. One man’s opinion.

Cavedwellers – Kissing Contest. Another one that grabs the listener instantly from the first 4 bars then kicks the door in once the drums start. That chord structure in the first half of the verses simply freaking rules. I got psychedelic Revolver vibes all over from this tune. Very nice mix and the use of guitar/drum interplay kept the live feel throughout. The solo melted my face right off my head, and took two days in surgery to reattach, so I’ll be sending y’all the bills for that. Another song I rate among the best for the round.

Spintunes 16 4

First, Mandibles vote went:
Tenmere
Jerkatorium
Steve Sterns

Now, listening to the other songs, it’s seems we had a very different interpretations of the challenge. I loved the Darwin awards as a kid, and I took it to mean write a song about one of the Darwin Award winners. I think Ménage a Tune and we were the only ones to do so (correct me if I’m wrong!). I was frankly a little underwhelmed by the songs this round; i understand- that week the world was (and still is) crumbling to pieces. Allowances can be made. I am attempting but failing to do shorter reviews this week, so I’m listing them all in the order as if I were judging. Here’s my method: assigned a score based on challenge fulfillment. Then, listen to two songs, decide which I like better. Listen to the next, fit it where the liking is. Continue with each song, putting between a song I like it better and one I like it less than. Once I’ve done that for all of them, I go back to the prompt score. If you did really well, or really poorly, the rankings move up or down one or two spaces accordingly.


Mandibles- Hurricane Camille
What? I really like our song this week. It’s super catchy and full of puns. Also going to truths to write it was probably the last social interaction I’ll have in person for a long, long time. I originally had the very end bit (as I watch you dance etc) in all the choruses, bit truth talked me out of it. He was right! I loved singing this.

Tenmere - in flames
A song bio is desperately needed the lyrics are super vague and I think I know how it fulfills the prompt, but I might have made up half the story. That said, it’s my favorite of the official entries. Opening is awesome. The vocals are a little low energy for you, though. Maybe I’m just picking up on the slower than normal for you tempo? A bit of a video game boss fight vibe. Love it.

Micah - nuclear
Funny, topical, true, and yeah, if you ascribe to the prompt interpretation that isn’t using an actual Darwin Award, brilliant take on the challenge. The melody, especially in the chorus, is interesting and holds me. Great music, and I notice more in the lyrics every time I listen, which is fun. KEY CHANGE(s)! Great song.

GOverning Dynamics - Sink
Is this about sirens? The music is really lovely, vocals a bit pressed. Really good mix, great melody. I don’t have much else to say. I enjoy it when I listen, but forget it a bit when it’s done.

Cavedwellers - kissing contest
Double dip! Great groove, great vocals. Story is alright. You did a good job of having both. Music is why I’m here. Love the instrumental break. The sound is great all around.

Jerkatorium - Pandora
I see what you did there, what with the greek myths. Not only is it not Darwin awards, you didn’t even come up with the story! Counts, I suppose. Im all about Ryan’s backing vocals. Ooh ooh!! So good. Again, a slower tempo than we usually get from you, but it’s somewhere between upbeat and sentimental, so we don’t really get either. Choose one, either faster or slower (faster imo). Second verse makes an interesting, but came from nowhere. Double vocals are great, Chumpy. The bells in the bridge is great. Why jar and not box? More rhymes?

Ménage a tune - boom boom boom
You get a bump in rank for prompt fulfillment! Good lyrics. Good harp. Vocal are a little flat (mostly in delivery, and a tiny bit in pitch). I want a little more life in them! I’m not wild about the Palestinian accent verse.

Steve - Surf or die
I like the e piano a lot and the groove is good. The melody is not very exciting, and the lyrics feel a bit uninspired. Your vocals are a low energy- your high harmony has the level of energy I want. I like the thing you do at the end it’s really cool. The panning on the Oohs are awesome, my fav part

Glen Raphael- I don’t need to wash my hands
I feel like I’m listening to a song recorded in an Irish pub (I have a bunch of CDs of stuff like that). It’s good, but the production is really bad. Understandable. Do I hear the quantifyers in there?

Ross Durand - one last drink
Great fake out with the story, and then another fake out! You die anyway! This song did not hold my attention. Too long, but needs to be for the story. Melody too repetitive.

Jocko - minnow
So short. Why no singing? I was so excited when it first started. Instrumentals are really fab, but I want singing!

YAY a podcast!

Thanks for the reviews, y’all!

Chumpy wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 20, 2020 10:29 pm

ZOMG
[*]00:19:41 - Mandibles - Hurricane Camille

Hope ya enjoy!

Ryan, I’m disappointed! Mandibles DID have a song last round- You are Free! Though, that one was sung by Truth, so maybe you thought it was faster Jackelope?

Thanks for the lovely words, all! I am delighted you got to have the true meaning dawn on you in the storm of puns thrown at you, Ryan. And Chumpy, how dare you say my puns aren’t funny. Yes, we changed tempo- we slowed down about 40 clicks at the bridge, and then stayed at that tempo for the last Chorus.

Note: in SpinTunes, judges opinions mean next to nothing in the last round, unless there's a tie for first place. But if this round had been earlier, I think it's safe to say that we'd have at least discussed DQ for a number of them. I try to communicate that thought process in this review.


FINAL ROUND! Dave here. And this round, having consulted with William Hoover, we're judging as Dr. Lindyke, who now takes over as "I" (it's like Firestorm... just go with it).

Here was the challenge:

Darwin Awards: Write a song about something that seemed a good idea at the time, but ended very badly. Maybe you should have given it a little more thought...

In addition, we gave you this very good piece of advice:

For a good idea of what we have in mind here, I suggest you look at the criteria for the actual Darwin Awards. Keep in mind that a Darwin Award does not require death.

I feel I have to point this stuff out because of an overwhelming tendency (among competitors and judges alike) to inadvertently overlook the challenge in the zeal to make a song. As for me, I'm going to judge you on exactly what you were asked to produce.

You can win a Darwin Award for some incredibly stupid choice leading to an absolutely ironic and avoidable result that removes you personally from the gene pool. And while you can survive, your reproductive ability cannot. Furthermore, you never, never, never get such an award for causing the deaths of others. Keep the consequences of your dumbassedness to yourself, please. For me, this made it pretty easy to sort the entries based on story, even when the musicality is impossible to rank. So don't expect a lot of feedback on your excellent music other than to say it's excellent.

I'll list these in order of preference, best first.

1. Steve Stearns - Surf or Die
You never disappoint, Steve. And neither does the ghost of your surfing doppelganger. Removal from the gene pool? Check. Stupid choice? Check. Targeted at the idiot? Check. The music is, as always, infectious. Solid, tight lyrics and solid musical craftsmanship. It's the one song from this group that I found myself just humming or whistling during the week. For me, you win. Let's see what the crowd says.

2. Ross Durand - One Last Drink
Nice attention to detail on this one. "One for the road" is both stupid and avoidable, but it's that kick "you know where" that wins the Darwin. And, you didn't even have to die to do it! You're getting dinged a bit for some difficult lyrical phrasing, but I think you know that was coming. No points off at all for the busking style, by the way. I'd throw some money in the guitar case.

3. Temnere - In Flames
I'm not ready to give this one a Darwin Award. It is literally overkill. And there's no indication that the protagonist actually removes himself from the gene pool. While I thoroughly enjoy the performance on every level; on grounds of weakly meeting the challenge, I can't let it break into the top two.

4. Jerkatorium - Oh Pandora
Guys, I love ya. But I've got the same problem here as with Temnere's entry. It's both overkill and not enough. Yup, she sets evil loose on the world; but Pandora herself (at least in this song)...? Meh. She just gets a bad rep and a new address. Besides, I don't think you adequately sold the stupidity of the decision. Give it some foreshadowing besides one "leave it alone" from your dumbass brother-in-law. How good could his advice be, anyway? The moron winds up chained to a rock getting eaten by birds. As you note yourself, she was set up. No Darwin.


SHADOWS

Glen Raphael - Hand Washing (SHADOW)
Cute song, but no Darwin. See above.

Jocko Homomorphism - Minnow (2020) - Marketing Pitch (SHADOW)
No Darwin. If anything, Robert's chances of procreation have exponentially increased.

Menage A Tune - BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! (SHADOW)
This gets not merely a Darwin, but are actual Darwin Award winners. I wouldn't exactly call the tune inspired (it's a pretty standard formula), but it's a neat concept and could be developed. I suspect you'll get grief for the 'politically incorrect' bridge. I wouldn't let that bother you too much. Ironic humor is a part of the Darwins, and this does describe an actual winner.

Micah Sommersmith - Nuclear (SHADOW)
While it's a nice commentary on the suburban American nuclear family in the tradition of 'Little Boxes' and 'Pleasant Valley Sunday', I don't see anything actually Darwin-winning happening here. Societal malaise isn't what we're looking for. Now, if the "when this family goes nuclear" line were not metaphorical it would be a different story entirely. It still wouldn't be Darwin Award-winning (as the idiot wouldn't be taking out just himself), but at least it would be another story entirely.

Mandibles - Hurricane Camille (SHADOW)
As a native son of Charleston, SC, I can tell you that hurricane parties are ABSOLUTELY Darwin-worthy! Or can be, if you don't survive. I wish this were an official entry. I'd have given it some love.

Governing Dynamics - Sink (SHADOW)
I'm SO glad you broke out the eBow. I love that thing. A nice anthem-ish tune going on here, not rambling at all. And good Darwin-worthy choice of subject. Listening to sirens at sea...? Not a good decision.

Cavedwellers - Kissing Contest (SHADOW)
What's a Cavedweller? It's like a Jackelope, only slower. Unfortunately, getting sick ain't enough for a Darwin, with certain very specific exceptions that don't appear in this song.

Cybronica wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 21, 2020 3:18 pm

Ryan, I’m disappointed! Mandibles DID have a song last round- You are Free! Though, that one was sung by Truth, so maybe you thought it was faster Jackelope?

Crap, how did I miss that? Of course I know that song, and I enjoyed that song immensely. We do some preparation/research prior to recording each podcast (despite all evidence to the contrary) so I'm not sure how I got so confused on that point. I apologize, and I'm embarrassed that the flub got published in the podcast.

Anyway I loved every Mandibles submission, and I look forward to you crushing us into the dirt in future SpinTuneses, SongFights and Nur Eins.

Jerkatorium wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 23, 2020 4:09 pm

Cybronica wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 21, 2020 3:18 pm

Ryan, I’m disappointed! Mandibles DID have a song last round- You are Free! Though, that one was sung by Truth, so maybe you thought it was faster Jackelope?

Crap, how did I miss that? Of course I know that song, and I enjoyed that song immensely. We do some preparation/research prior to recording each podcast (despite all evidence to the contrary) so I'm not sure how I got so confused on that point. I apologize, and I'm embarrassed that the flub got published in the podcast.

Anyway I loved every Mandibles submission, and I look forward to you crushing us into the dirt in future SpinTuneses, SongFights and Nur Eins.

Ah, no worries! There are lots of songs to remember. And ah you make us blush! We came up with a good crop of songs this spintunes that I’m proud of. And I quite enjoyed your songs, and the podcasts! We have yet to crush you illustrious jerks, but hope springs eternal; once we finally get our voting bots properly programed, that’ll be the end! Haha