The Song Fight Bulletin Board

You want a better thread title, make a damned thread. Geez. It's not like the deadlines aren't posted.

what the hell, i'll do my reviews early this time.

basket of hands: the beat is very clinic. is that a portamento synth with auto tune on it? i like the vocal tone on the higher part, but the clipping doesn't sound as good on the lower parts. the vocal "solo" is pretty good. musically, i dig this, but i'm not a fan of the vocals.

the divorce: me.

sober: are these drums live? there's a lot of phasing going on, and i'm thinking it's coming from those mics. unless there's an effect on them, and then i'm just an idiot. this is definitely a last call at a seedy dive song. that's neither good nor bad, and i have the same sort of ambivalence to this song. it's well-written, but at the same time i'm not loving it.

klownhole: ah, the return of the mighty klownhole. damn, i thought i may have had a shot at having the weirdest entry. there goes that possibility. this reminds me of a non-metal type o negative. like type o when peter steele is 50 and has intense back problems from using a chain as a bass strap. cool tune, but some of the cymbals are quite overpowering.

phunt your friends: cool, you've got a massive javanese gamelan type thing going on here. i like. i like a lot. in fact, i'm spending every second of this excited for the next. i like the tones you've captured a lot. you're my new friend. and you may have my vote. was this drug-induced? mad props if not, this is so out there.

smalltown mike: 12 am at the same dive bar...this is the first song played after the band finishes up for the evening. i'm really enjoying the vocal delivery, it's not at all expected. a strong point of this song is its length; it narrowly escapes becoming dull. i will listen to this one again, for sure.

flying brick: 1 am at the same dive. i'm envisioning it, now...it's similar to the bar in the blues brothers with the chicken wire screen (although obviously not a country bar). it's owned by a guy named ted who goes by the nickname "gator". again, the berevity of the song is a strong point, but nothing here really stuck out and got my attention.


i'm thinking phunt your friends will get my vote; we'll see what actually happens after some more listens.

don't hate me for being mean. it's just my dumb ass opinion.

flying brick
did you even play any of the music or is it all sampled? just curious. if it's live, it's not bad for standard blues bar fare. the vocals are hardly audible and mostly an afterthought. maybe you should concentrate on making one worthwhile song each week.

smalltown mike
it's well put together. maybe if you'd added some harmony vocals, it could give it more dynamics and wouldn't strike me as so repetitive, but as it is, it's pretty good. the vocals could be balanced a little better against the mix to bring them more to the front, as that guitar riff just kind of cuts through everything.

the divorce
this is really well put together. you seem to bring everything right to the brink of the red line, without ever quite crossing it. i really like that guitar when it comes in. the backwards stuff at the bridge is a nice touch too. yes, this is excellent man. very nice.

the klownhole surfers
i always love your stuff. great recording on that guitar. really fat tone. you guys need to do a video with naked chicks and monsters ala GWAR. i love the epicness. i can't understand two words you're singing and it really makes no difference. there's no ambivalence at all about this tune. it will be loved or hated. i dig it.

the sober irishman
i'm not digging the hard panning on the lead guitar and the keyboard. the guitar seems overpowering to the point i can barely hear the organ, which sounds great but is buried. the playing is very tight, but mix wise, it seems like everything is competing for volume. but this is very solid sober. nice job.

basket of hands
this pretty much sucks.

phunt your friends
maybe a bit too arty for my farty ass.

well, for me, it's down to 3. sober, excellent job as always, aside from my few issues with your mix. klownhole, love you guys, love the big, sheer, audastic nature of the beast, very solid and really whip crackin excellent live playing (i'd pay money to see you guys play), and the divorce aka the idiot king, really excellent tune that sounds like what the cure should sound like today.

here's my vote for the divorce and hoping that the idiot king gets that ever elusive, long overdue brass ring.

jack wrote:don't hate me for being mean. it's just my dumb ass opinion.
the divorce
this is really well put together. you seem to bring everything right to the brink of the red line, without ever quite crossing it. i really like that guitar when it comes in. the backwards stuff at the bridge is a nice touch too. yes, this is excellent man. very nice.

thanks.

btw, that synth is not reversed, it's side chained to the kick drum. the slow attack and release times give it a slight "reversed" feel. an easy way to make the sound without screwing around with aligning a reversed track.

<b>Phunt Your Friends</b>
<i>HUM</i>
Uh. I did my duty and listened all the way through once. In the parts where it's not humming it sounds like something is going on.
<b>UPDATE:</b> The first time I listened was with conventional hi-fi speakers and the hum reverberated so much it drowned out the rest of the track. On headphones it's more interesting because the hum somewhat diminished.

<b>Smalltown Mike</b> +
<i>REGGAEish</i>
Probably the most catchy of the lot. Good vocals/recording/etc...

<b>The Divorce</b> +
<i>EMO</i>
It started out with some potential but then I got a little bored. Reminded me of something but I'm not sure what. Maybe a couple of things.

<b>Flying Brick (Dark Liberty?)</b>
<i>BECK</i>
This sort of song needs interesting lyrics or some amazing vocal performance to work.

<b>The Sober Irishman</b>
<i>COUNTRY</i>
Everyone has at least one genre where all the songs sound the same. This sounds just like every other country song I've ever heard.

<b>Basket of Hands</b>
<i>BLUES</i>
OK, make that two genres.

<b>Klownhole</b> *
<i>ROCK</i>
Amazing vocal performance. Tight. Uh, I mean "no comment".

Did anyone besides us <b>not</b> decide that licking == losing a fight?

ruin8r wrote:Did anyone besides us <b>not</b> decide that licking == losing a fight?

my song is loosely based about a drunk girl who licked me this past weekend.

Ours is about a city being destroyed. Which I guess is like losing a fight.

ruin8r wrote:Did anyone besides us <b>not</b> decide that licking == losing a fight?

What IS Klownhole's about? It's hard to tell....

Mine is about Greek mythology and suicide.

Would you rather have had 10 songs about fellatio?

The Sober Irishman wrote:Would you rather have had 10 songs about fellatio?

Well, when you put it that way ...

Basket of Hands: Wicked sounds once again, except for the vocals which have too much of the “badâ€

ps. Somehow I mixed up Dark Liberty and Flying Brick above. Sorry DL!

They're one and the same.

J$ - you're Johnny Cashpoint, right?

I didn't review the other song this week, but I just listened to your track, and I like it a lot. Just sayin'.

Meatwad wrote:

ruin8r wrote:Did anyone besides us <b>not</b> decide that licking == losing a fight?

What IS Klownhole's about? It's hard to tell....

Go to google and search for <i>enumclaw horse</i> but make you you type the query in with <b>your ass</b>.

ruin8r wrote: Go to google and search for <i>enumclaw horse</i>

I liked it much better when I was unclear as to exactly what your song was about.

Apparently I somehow failed to download the "Melvin" track yesterday. Was it a late addition?

<b>Melvin</b>+
<i>POP</i>
Well done. Reminds me of the 70's somehow. Tune is not sticking in my head so much tho.

Just listened through the entries

Basket of Hands - Needs hands on the mixing. The Simon & Garfunkel lift is the most interesting thing in this.

The Divorce - Might get my vote. Catchy and well recorded.

Flying Brick / Dark Liberty - Vocals could be higher. Not really grabbing me.

Klownhole - The silence at the beginning is confusing. Couldn't some be bothered to top and tail this? Is this recorded in a hobo's asscrack? Also - where is the singer?

Melvin - Catchy. The cymbals are a bit high for my taste. Backing vocals are great. Not as stuck in my ear as Smalltown Mike, but a more satisfying serving.

Phunt Your Friends - Sounds are good. Mumbling vocals are mildly amusing. Not that memorable.

Smalltown Mike - Bog reggae always works for me. This is catchy, although the lyrical topic, while appropriate to the style, is annoying in a funny way.

The Sober Irishman - Like the sounds. I'd like it better if it was a little dirtier - sometimes the improved recordings miss out on something. I f it had a little more of the Standells or Sonics sound it would work better for me.

Listened through everything three times - sort of disappointing how short some of this is. Will be deciding between Melvin and Smalltown Mike tomorrow sometime.

Cheers.

Just registered to tell you that "The Divorce" is a smokin' track.. kudos.