Keep the math book dry in the rain with (A Textbook Case reviews)

[Pigfarmer Jr]

He took a girl to eat
And he ran his fingers through her hair
When a car honked at her
He broke the antenna right there
When she walked she swayed
Like a tall stalk of corn
When she kissed him she wished
That he had never been born

He was a textbook case
But he could not read at all

Lyrics: viewtopic.php?t=12858

[Lunkhead]

Songs posted!

[V4nnim3l]

Berkeley Social Scene: Main riff sounds very police inspired, I like the vocals and the guitar sound here. Actually scratch that, the whole thing sounds great!

Brown Word and the Big Whine: Very groovy instrumental in the first part, and the second is brilliantly disorienting. Love the (baritone sax?) too.

Hostess Mostess: Extremely groovy 7 there, and the switching between that and the 4 works really well. I like the live recording as well.

Hot Pink Halo: I'd love to add this one to my frequently listened to songs, I absolutely adore the guitar sound and the overall atmosphere of the song!

James Owens: Very punchy synth bass! I like how unsettling the whole song is, and the backing vocals towards the end add a really nice layer as well.

Johnny Cashpoint: Brilliantly Electronic sounding instrumental here! It feels like the whole song is boxing me in (in a good way).

The Pannacotta Army: Transported back into the 80s with this one! I would almost certainly listen to this one again!

V4nnim3l: I think this is one of my better entries, and I released it as part of my album. Maybe slightly James inspired. Also I now realize the whole mix is a bit quiet, my bad...

This has got to be some of the best entries for a fight I've seen (though I haven't seen that many).

[crumpart]

Berkeley Social Scene: Main riff sounds very police inspired, I like the vocals and the guitar sound here. Actually scratch that, the whole thing sounds great!

Brown Word and the Big Whine: Very groovy instrumental in the first part, and the second is brilliantly disorienting. Love the (baritone sax?) too.

Hostess Mostess: Extremely groovy 7 there, and the switching between that and the 4 works really well. I like the live recording as well.

Hot Pink Halo: I'd love to add this one to my frequently listened to songs, I absolutely adore the guitar sound and the overall atmosphere of the song!

James Owens: Very punchy synth bass! I like how unsettling the whole song is, and the backing vocals towards the end add a really nice layer as well.

Johnny Cashpoint: Brilliantly Electronic sounding instrumental here! It feels like the whole song is boxing me in (in a good way).

The Pannacotta Army: Transported back into the 80s with this one! I would almost certainly listen to this one again!

V4nnim3l: I think this is one of my better entries, and I released it as part of my album. Maybe slightly James inspired. Also I now realize the whole mix is a bit quiet, my bad...

This has got to be some of the best entries for a fight I've seen (though I haven't seen that many).

Thanks so much for reviews! I’ll have some coming as well, but will be out of action flying across the globe tomorrow, and just dislocated my finger doing one final job around the house, so hand is in a split and will make typing difficult for a bit. Hold tight, they’re coming!

[WreckdoMelle]

The Pannacotta Army - This would've gotten some airplay in the late 70's, early 80's, I'm sure of it. Nice production, nifty breakdown, the synths sound cool, guitar sits so nicely in the mix - what is your secret?

Berkeley Social Scene - Dual guitars sound cool with the contrasting effects, nice tone in the solo. The second voice is a little bit low in the mix. I like the oohs part at the end.

Hot Pink Halo - I like the shimmery guitar alot. Good insight in the lyrics. The vox with their accompaniment sound really pretty.

James Owens - The ominous organ is clipping, or high in the mix, if that tone is intentional. The monk-like tonality of this song is really pretty, cool ascending progression in the breakdown (or is it a bridge? A turnaround?) and the angel voices are a nice touch

Johnny Cashpoint - poignant lyrics, case in point I live in Texas, ahem. Synths and crashy percussion sounds neat, the heyyy part sounds awesome. Wait, some of the percussion is sampled from Can? Nice!

Hostess Mostess - okay, ups for weird time signatures. Really good guy and guitar action here, and it sounds like you're live in front of real people, that's rad! The lyrics are so good.

v4nnim3l - This also reminds me of something you might hear on early to mid 80's radio. A song that is a story, except it's asking the hard questions...

Brown Word and the Big Whine - I recently got a bass clarinet, it doesn't work great but decently enough. I'm thinking of the revived quackery we're seeing, suspiciousness around conditions that are probably inspired by the whacked out rat race itself and surely you can't burn down the ENTIRE system, so "have some pills", "take a treatment", what next... Doctors wield authority of knowledge and authority to potentially use it to deprive someone, say an inconvenient woman, some other person who won't play along, of freedom and dignity, there's nothing in it for us in going "back" to THOSE kinda sensibilities. That's where all the hang-ups are.

Good title, I see some folks doing the kinda work that I hope artists would be doing regarding what is happening around the troubling concentration of power in the world and the motives thereof. Others have not forgotten the power of self, nor the power of love, nor the power of loving oneself (give hugs! I mean it!).

[AJOwens]

Berkeley Social Scene: The lyrics are sometimes a little murky in the mix, but the song has a churning, bubbling energy in the instrumental breaks, and a confident smoothness in the verses. The lead guitar arrangement works well, adding brightness and excitement. The background vocals feel a little too present for my taste -- not so much in the mix as the tonality -- and the bit starting at 2:12 runs a little long without developing, but with those minor quibbles the song has interesting parts, well put together. Nice go at finger-tapping during the solo -- trust me, it's easier on a synth!

Brown Word and the Big Whine: Fat synth bass on a good groove, ominous lurking pads, slinky sax, dark murmuring from the guitar, and then an absolutely bonkers breakdown that keeps things fresh. I always enjoy your vocal delivery (your voice reminds me weirdly of someone I know up here) and your lyrics are fascinating as usual. The song maintains an interesting vibe throughout.

Hostess Mostess: Live guy and guitar, with a strong delivery on both. Crystal clear lyrics, using forceful images to make good points. A basic I-IV groove with a VI-V turnaround, but the rising section is novel, and the modulation is welcome.

Hot Pink Halo: The roaming synth bass, sinusoidally blunt, unexpectedly unifies an arrangement made of complex overlapping rhythms. An absence of clear rhythmic drive gives this entry a meditative mood, but the vocal delivery adds intensity and urgency. For some reason I especially like the melodic turn at "our affliction."

James Owens: I wanted to duplicate the synth bass that I remember from Wendy Carlos' Moog rendition of Henry Purcell's "Music for the Death of Queen Mary" in Stanley Kubrick's "Clockwork Orange." (To hear Carlos' original now, you might have to watch the opening sequence of the film.) The influence on my entry is obvious, but instead of an awesome thunderclap, I ended up with some sawtooth farting. Bumping the volume didn't help.

Johnny Cashpoint: Punchy synth bass and an intense industrial sound that leaves us reeling. Entertaining lyrics to match.

The Pannacotta Army: An upbeat, professional, straight-out commercial sound, done well. You certainly have the hang of writing, arranging, performing and recording songs in an adult contemporary genre, and your singing is good. I think the lyrics are sometimes a little weak; apart from that there's no reason this couldn't find its way onto the radio. Have you considered teaming up with a lyricist?

V4nnim3l: A dreamy, distant sound, seemingly in suspension, but juxtaposed with gripping, anxious lyrics. The instrumentation is busy, with everything participating but nothing really stepping out to define the arrangement. Nice musical turns with a sense of progress and growth, and a distinct personal mood.

[crumpart]

Ok, I'm far away from my dad's terrible internet connection (so, I'm at the library), and I'mm down to only wearing my finger splint at night, so I can type! Yay!

Berkeley Social Scene:
Love the little call and response bits here. I quite like the main vocal delivery as well, but I'd prefer it to have a little more cut through with some eq or something. It's a nice soft vocal tone, and it's getting a little lost for me in amongst all the instruments. Pretty solid showing. Well done!

Brown Word and the Big Whine:
Love the sound of that synth bass and the talky vocals. I know you've had some vocal difficulties recently, so I'm glad to hear that you're able to find a way to still make music. I would like the vocal to be mixed a little louder or have a bit more cut through. The horn is really fun.

Hostess Mostess:
This is live??? Incredibly impressive. I can barely remember my own lyrics when performing live, let alone play something in seven, lol. The melody is very enjoyable and really catchy. "We're sharp like swords, but they're only words..." is a lovely bit. One of my favourites of the round.

Hot Pink Halo:
This is me. Wrote the chorus for this for Spintunes, and then consulted Songfight to see if it could help me on the verses, and boy did it! I loved writing this. I was pretty angry about something and wanted to turn that anger into something positive, and this is what came out.

James Owens:
This one threw me for a bit of a loop the first time I listened, but it's settled in a bit better on repeats. Interesting emphasis on "razor", not what I would choose, but to each their own. I think this one would work better for me if there were some breaks worked in somehow between the verses/sections.

Johnny Cashpoint:
Love the synth bass. I have a similar note on this one as I did for James Owens; I want more space between the verses/secions. It's a bit of a wall of lyrics as is, and I think some more work on the melody and structure would go a long way.

The Pannacotta Army:
100% in my 80s synth wheelhouse here. The melody is so catchy and the pacing is spot on. Light, but very fun. A favourite. No notes.

V4nnim3l:
Really like this one. It's quiet, and there are a few little technical glitches, like some pops(?) and the end cuts off before the tail fades, but those are easy fixes. It would be interesting to hear this one with some drums or percussion. Your voice sounds great. Well done!

[Mostess]

Hostess Mostess:
This is live??? Incredibly impressive. I can barely remember my own lyrics when performing live, let alone play something in seven, lol. The melody is very enjoyable and really catchy. "We're sharp like swords, but they're only words..." is a lovely bit. One of my favourites of the round.

Yup recorded live at North Star Lounge in Ann Arbor, Michigan at open mic night the night before the SongFight! deadline. I did bring lyrics on a piece of paper and I'm still irked that I flubbed the "pull up forests by the root" line a bit because that's my favorite image in the song. And indeed I break the 7 pattern a couple times. I was planning on doing the bridge in 7 as well but I let it slide into common time and in retrospect I like the shift back to 7 for the last verse.

Anyhow thanks for the reviews. I am remiss in not reviewing but it was a good fight and kudos to all. I hope you are all well.

[Lunkhead]

The results are in and the fight has been won by ... The Pannacotta Army!