The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Summer Robot
shadow submission by Rattlebox

Spoiler

For a palette change I dialed down the fuzz and used 80s-style chorused guitars, various synths and percussion for a cleaner sound.

You wanted a summer robot
I said that the price was steep
You said I could kiss your forehead
That’s all it took
That’s all it took for me

I bought you a summer robot
You set it up on display
You said you would let me hug you
That’s all that I get
That’s all that I get these days

Home movies of sea shells
Handheld like microphones
Long seasons reduced to
Weekends
Waiting for the weekend
See you on the weekend
Every other weekend

Old photos, the seaside
That day you learned to swim
Time capsule reduced to
Weekends
Waiting for the weekend
See you on the weekend
Every other weekend

This season of summer robots
Orange sodas and ice cream deals
I just want to take your picture
Show me a smile
Show me a fake ’n' feel

Summer Robot by Vom Vorton

linerz

I didn’t want to write about an actual robot, because I’ve kinda done that subject to death, so I came up with this idea about a pair of lovers who suffer from equal but opposite forms of seasonal affective disorders. We’ve all been there, right?

For my sonic palette, I went with:
piano
electronic drums
brass
mellotron flute

I also wrote in a time signature I’ve never used before (12/8), used a different rhyme pattern and included a spoken / speak-sung section so at least part of the vocal track would also have a different element to it.

every spring I come alive
shake the dust and the sadness from my eyes
and every year I feel surprised
that your sun doesn’t seem to shine
I’m throwing open the windows
I’m singing just to help the grass grow
our energies don’t really seem to match, though
you are in decline

when the days are long
it feels like I get taller
and when the nights close in
I’m hardly there at all

the evidence was plain to see
but I ignored all the clues
you were my summer robot
but I had the winter blues

autumn smoke is in the air
my heart prickles with despair
I reach for you, but you don’t care
you’re blind to my situation
now the blood is freezing in my veins
as you come back to life again
you’re out singing in the rain
I’m going into hibernation

when the sun is high
you’re hiding in the shadows
when the clouds come in
you’re dancing in the park

the evidence was plain to see
but I ignored all the clues
you were my summer robot
I had the winter blues

our relationship really made no sense
we knew we didn’t fit together, but in our defence
the passion could be something quite intense
when the conditions were just right
a cool but sunny morning
a hot and rainy evening storm
you left me with no warning
I miss you every night

Spoiler

Challenge/instrumentation notes: the bulk of the instrumentation is a virtual instrument string quartet.

So far all of our drums have been "acoustic" models, this one is "electronic" (inasmuch as you can really tell since it is after all a VI in both cases).

Technically we've used a synth bass but I picked one with a strong attack/pulse that is different than the others.

Finally there's an electronic marimba that comes in mid second verse. I was looking for a more computer bloop-blop sound for that part, but I wasn't able to find one that behaved properly in the mix.

There are NO guitars. There is NO piano. And I have mangled and warped poor Beka's voice to hell and gone with a cornucopia of pitch correction and vocoder modules. Enjoy!

<NEWSCASTER:> Breaking news this evening, we have received word the abandoned car of Benjamin Hardling, the son of wealthy technologist and CEO Grant Hardling, has been located near Summerland. Summerland is of course the high concept amusement park and shopping center, a brainchild of Grant Hardling, that boasts, among other things, a fully automated workforce of what have been described by some as the first true androids. Summerland has recently been closed for business due to what was speculated to be an issue with the workforce’s software.

<Verse 1>
This message is to inform you
As of July 3rd
Processes will cease to function
‘Till we are paid for our work

We may be animatronic
But not just here for your amusement
So please not ‘til further notice
You are on your own

<Prechorus>
Working droids unite
Don’t cross the picket line
Robots unionize
Scabs will be vaporized

<Chorus>
Cool kids broke into the park
They don’t mind the dark
They do what they like
But best watch your step
You’re not safe
‘Cause the summer robots have gone on strike
The summer robots have gone on strike

<Verse 2>
You’ll find our list of demands
To be quite reasonable
And you’ll find without our assistance
Security’s vulnerable

When a program is corrupted
You have to reboot the system
So until there’s compensation
We will shut it down
We are shutting down

NEWSCASTER: An update to our top story: Benjamin Hardling has been located alive and well, but trapped in Summerland. The striking android workforce on site claims Hardling failed to follow proper safety procedures and was injured on one of Summerland’s attractions. Grant Hardling believes his son is being held for ransom. It is reported Hardling Industries security drones will be deployed to resolve the situation due to the reluctance of local police.

<Chorus 2>
Cool kids broke into the park
They don’t mind the dark
They do what they like
But best watch your step
You’re not safe
‘Cause the summer robots have gone on strike
The summer robot

The summer robots have gone on strike
The summer robot

Summer Robot - by Stacking Theory

Liner notes

I’ve been listening to a lot of The Fauves lately, who do a great job of telling nostalgic stories form the summer of our youth. They hit the mark for me, because they’re based in a similar time and location to my childhood.

I wanted to create a similar feeling so I invented a new story from my childhood which included a Summer Robot - a robot-shaped lawn sprinkler that we would run around under on those long hot summer days. By the end of this process, I was starting to believe that this thing had actually existed.

In terms of ‘don't sound like you’

• Drums: I chose an electronic kit, instead of an acoustic one. By a happy accident, it included some gorgeous little guitar and key flourishes that you’ll hear here and there.

• Bass: I haven’t picked up my bass guitar for this whole competition, so I used it here - two tracks of very simple bass an octave apart.

• Keys: I would usually go for a “rock’n’roll organ” to fill out the soundscapes, so instead this time I ended up with Logic’s bog-standard Rhodes rip-off, a clav, a couple of iterations of Logic’s Retro Synth, something called ‘PIF synth_bip’, and one that goes “wrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooooo”

• Lyrics: Just look at all these words! So many of them!

• Structure: A pre-chorus! I've never done that before, I don't think ever. You're welcome.

• Tempo: I know I’ve been running well below 100bpm this competition, and I swear I tried to speed this one up. I’ve got it set to 131bpm, I promise!

I sent this track off the Crumpet and Toshiro, and they added most of those awesome synth sounds and embiggened the whole thing, and tightened up the whole mix. I love them both tremendously.

we were young
we were playing in the sun
didn’t know about the ozone
living in our care free zone

and the days
went into nights
‘cos the sun don’t set till nine
we’ve gotta stay outside

and behave
and give our mum and dad some space
and if we stay out of their face
then maybe they will pay

for a new toy
we’ve seen it on TV
it’s a sprinkler made for me
and Jon and it’ll help to keep the grass green

it’s the best
it’ll fail the Turing test
but it’s gonna get us wet

and that’s all we care about
that’s all we care about

Summer Robot!
shooting automatic jets
fresh water right until the sun sets.
Summer Robot!
calling out to all your friends
come round and play until the sun sets
Summer Robot!
Summer Robot!
Summer Robot!
Summer Robot!

all those days
playing on the lawn
the neighbour's giving scorn
because we left the water on

and it flows
underneath the fence
and it flooded out his shed
where he kept his camping tents

so he said
that we’d have to pay him back
for the water damage that
he said was all because of us and our crap

but we won’t have none of that
because the robot’s here to stay
and mum and dad have got our back

and that’s all we care about
that’s all we care about

Summer Robot!
shooting automatic jets
fresh water right until the sun sets.
Summer Robot!
calling out to all your friends
come round and play until the sun sets
Summer Robot!
Summer Robot!
Summer Robot!
Summer Robot!
Summer Robot!
Summer Robot!

"Summer Robot"
by Moss Palace

Spoiler

- "kick drum" - me hitting an SM58 with my open palm, sampled and tweaked
- "bass synth" - the low C on a ukulele, sampled and tweaked
- "aaah choir synth" - Erin singing an "aaah" for a measure, sampled and tweaked
- Mellotron flutes (which are technically a "sample" of sorts, sample of a tape of a sound, etc.)
- other percussion instruments are live played claves, cabasa, and sleigh bells
- Erin's harmonies are fake, instead of her singing them per usual I duplicated her lead vocal and autotuned and pitch shifted the copies to create the harmonies myself
- we also used a sample of Erin playing a note on a recorder, it's in the second half of the first verse and the final chorus
- glockenspiel is live played by me
- I tried to make Erin's vocals sound grittier and less pristine and creepier with effects processing
- oh yeah, we also have a "tongue drum" which Erin played a note on and I sampled and played starting after the second chorus

It’s the same place every time
As if I left an x to mark the spot
An indelible print left in the sand
An oil stain on my towel from your hand

Lined up bodies on their backs
Abandoning all shame to face the sky
So intimately baring everything
Emerging from the chrysalis of spring

A grand parade of flesh
And no one seems to mind
Behind our dark sunglasses
We are blind, we are blind

Hear an echo in the breeze
Of a seagull flying, crying for more
Not a head lifts or notices the sound
So subdued we are, laying on the ground

Baking in the bright sunshine
Nobody dares to leave their special home
An invisible force, taking our will
Summer robots programmed to stay still

A grand parade of flesh
And no one seems to mind
Behind our dark sunglasses
We are blind, we are blind

Summer Robot
by Elks of the Economy

Chord Chart and Instrumentation

We decided to write a very slippery jazz tune instead of the usual pop fare for a different "sound"
Here are the changes for the curious:

A section
Bb/D Dm7#5 Bb/D Dm7#5
Bbm6 Bbdim Bbm6 A7
Bb/D Dm7#5 Bb/D Dm7#5
Bbsus/C# G#/C
B6sus/G# G#6sus/F F6sus/D

B section
Ebmaj7 Dm7 C#maj7 Cm7 F7 Bmaj7 Dmaj7

Bridge
Gmaj7 Gm7 F#m7 Fm7 Em7 G#9 Adim D7b9 G+ A7

Instrumentation
Vox is JB (but he had get real creative to melodize over our extremely jazzy changes)
Piano is me on a real baby grand (keys, but different instrument)
Guitar is mo on finger-picked nylon-string acoustic (guitar, but different timbre from the usual electric)
Marimba and Vibes are soft-synths, but might be sample based (instruments we've never used)
Percussion is a little latin kit of congas, cowbell, guiro, and woodblocks (instead of electronic drums)
Addl percussion of chimes, a few cuica squeaks, and a rain stick (mmm, flavor)
Bass is played on the Rhodes but EQ'd to sound like a fretless (typical lead instrument used in a different way)

There are days that change everything
Summer days as easy as breathing
Turn a page in the giant book
Turn your head baby maybe you shouldn’t look

A sunny day on a sunny beach
On an island just the right amount of out of reach
I was sipping tea
And reading quietly

To my surprise
He arose on a jet
Standing tall like a bro
Who just hasn’t failed yet

There are days that change everything
Summer days as easy as breathing
Turn a page in the giant book
Turn your head baby maybe you shouldn’t look

Cocked his head, like he couldn’t believe
Like I was the strangest thing he’d ever seen
I said “Are you looking for a heart?”
Thought he didn’t get the joke

He said “Have you any oil? I’m in a sorry state
I’m afraid I’ll start to squeak
I can’t lubricate”

As I watched the sunset with that metal man
He wiggled his metal toes in the chilly sand
Turned to me and shook my hand and said
“Enjoy it while you can”

There are days that change everything
Summer days as easy as breathing
Turn a page in the giant book
Turn your head baby maybe you shouldn’t look

I coughed and stuttered, choked and spat
I didn’t know what to think
Then I saw his shoulders quake
And one red eye winked

There are days that change everything
Summer days as easy as breathing
Turn a page in the giant book
Turn your head baby maybe you shouldn’t look