It's not my fault (I Can’t Turn It Off reviews)
Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 3:10 pm
the darned thing is stuck.
Novum Stercore Non Vetus
https://songfight.net/forums/
Thanks for the nice review! I made a little project of learning to play rhythm changes on guitar over the last few weeks, so my wife (and lyricist) was primed to write charming lyrics for a catchy song in a major key. When I saw her lyrics I decided to just lean into the whole 1930s pop thing and see what Song Fight makes of it.genecawley wrote: ↑Mon Dec 14, 2020 9:39 pmNight Sky - Wow. This is a damn classic! Really great performance, as usual, but the song itself is especially great here. It’s so damn catchy. Overflowing with charm. Possible winner here.
Thanks, glad to hear you enjoyed it. Although when someone predicts one of my songs as a possible winner it usually puts the kiss of death on itgenecawley wrote: ↑Mon Dec 14, 2020 9:39 pm
The Pannacotta Army - This is the winner so far for me. Your stuff is uniformly so damn good, I can completely enjoy it outside of the construct of SongFight. It’s just pure joy for me. Absolute possible winner. PS. What movie are you sampling at the end?
My approach is pretty much that I try to make all my decisions serve the idea. Basically, I figure out what I want the song to be about rather than what I want it to sound like, and then I set up some ground rules (like, what kind of instruments I can use, how the structure relates to the lyrics, and so on) and see what happens. Outside of songfight I work as a visual artist / printmaker, and when I was in art school I found that I made much better decisions, and much more interesting art as a result, when I stopped trying for a specific outcome and focussed on the process instead. So with visual art, I figure out what I'm trying to say with the piece, set up a bunch of physical rules for myself based on that idea, then just see where the process takes me. I find it much more enjoyable and less frustrating than trying to aim for a particular outcome, so when I started making music I applied the same approach. The few times I've tried for a specific outcome with songs I've hated what I ended up with, which has reinforced the process for me.genecawley wrote: ↑Mon Dec 14, 2020 9:39 pmHot Pink Halo - I can’t figure out how you approach your songwriting, but that’s kinda what I like about it.
I sound like an entire band? That's awesome, because I'm, like, one lady with MIDI drums Huzzah! Glad you enjoyed this one. I enjoyed making it.genecawley wrote: ↑Mon Dec 14, 2020 9:39 pmBrown Word and the Whine - Love the sound of this. And the vocals sound particularly great this time around. Really like the lyrics as well. Great job. You sound like a great band.
Wow thank you - that's lovely to hear, and a generous compliment. And perhaps unsurprisingly, I struggle to accept any of it other than the phrase 'tedious by the end'.genecawley wrote: ↑Mon Dec 14, 2020 9:39 pmStacking Theory - This is really well-constructed song, but the arrangement becomes a bit tedious by the end. But it’s obvious that you have a talent for songwriting, unlike myself.
That is really how I sing. The only time I've pitch-shifted the main vox up was on Checkered Past. I've down-shifted backing vox on tunes before, Liberty Street and Sitting In The Life Boat.gizo wrote: ↑Wed Dec 16, 2020 4:13 amBrown Word and the Big Whine: I really really really really realy want to hear your voice unaffected. - I'm never sure if you're chipmunking or just a very particular singer. There's so much rock happening in here \m/
Well, there you go. I learn something. ThanksWreckdoMelle wrote: ↑Wed Dec 16, 2020 10:35 amThat is really how I sing. The only time I've pitch-shifted the main vox up was on Checkered Past. I've down-shifted backing vox on tunes before, Liberty Street and Sitting In The Life Boat.
I'll get this out of the way so folks can vote accordingly. It's all loops. There's no way I could play that. I've wanted to inject some afrobeat into my music for a long time, so I finally just googled "afrobeat drum loops". That said, I'm very happy with how it turned out, and I think I did a good job mixing up different loops. I'll continue to try to play or at least program the kinds of patterns Tony Allen would play.the panna cotta army wrote: ↑Thu Dec 17, 2020 10:28 amI love the drum beat, so inventive – I hope it’s all your own work from scratch.
Thanks for the review, that's similar to my feelings about it, save the million miles thing. The vocals and sax are so exposed that I hear every flaw. It's embarrassing how many takes the sax took. I'm not much of a jazz player, so trying to keep up with a chord change every 1.25 seconds in the A section was pretty taxing. I ended up recording the middle solo two bars at a time, and still couldn't quite get happy with it.
Thanks! 100% agree on the piano. I don't really play keys, and I was struggling to hear how to fit the piano in around the guitar. I think I mostly cracked the code with minimal comping, but it was poorly played and quantized, and looped without any variation throughout the song. I did ultimately realize that I should have replaced some of the chord hits with arpeggios and other simple figures and loosened up the time a bit, but I had reached my limit of working on it for the time being. This is a style that I will surely come back to in the future, though, so I'll get better at it.the panna cotta army wrote: ↑Thu Dec 17, 2020 10:28 amNight Sky – Opens up like Winter Wonderland or some similar kind of festive Christmas number in a jazz lounge style. The piano is a little rigid – I’d have like a bit more nuance to it. The sax flourishes and solo are nice, but it’s your vocal performance that really sells the song.
Well it makes no odds to me. Still a terrific song regardless of how the percussion came about. I just meant I would’ve been more impressed if it had been programmed from scratch.Jefff wrote: ↑Thu Dec 17, 2020 1:34 pmI'll get this out of the way so folks can vote accordingly. It's all loops. There's no way I could play that. I've wanted to inject some afrobeat into my music for a long time, so I finally just googled "afrobeat drum loops". That said, I'm very happy with how it turned out, and I think I did a good job mixing up different loops. I'll continue to try to play or at least program the kinds of patterns Tony Allen would play.the panna cotta army wrote: ↑Thu Dec 17, 2020 10:28 amI love the drum beat, so inventive – I hope it’s all your own work from scratch.