Respect my space and get outta my face (Boundaries reviews)

[jack]

do it. now.

[johnsonic]

AHHH!!!

I'm a moron and throught PST was 4 hours from EST, so I thought I was cutting it close by sending it in at 2. Turns out it should have been 1!!!

Anyway, I'm really hoping the fightmaster posts our song (my 1st fight in a while), and in the meantime it's available here:

http://www.lefthandgreen.com/mp3/NWATJ_Boundaries.mp3

[Smalltown Mike]

Andy Balham

The vocals seem just slightly too loud, but I like this, especially the chord progression in the chorus. Folksy. Love the guitar solo, and wish that tone was in the song more. I mean, what’s the guitarist doing during the song? Standing around waiting for his part? There’s also a keyboard buried in there that I’d like to hear more of.

Ashok and the Squid

The rappish part that kicks in at :30 is cool. I must admit that when I saw 7:25, I got scared, but I’m digging this. Loads of emotion here. The line about Mozart losing his mind gave me goosebumps. Love the toy synth (for lack of better word) at 2:30. There’s enough variety with doubling vocals and panning and interesting lyrics that it keeps interest going, even though there’s not a ton of variety in the music. Not digging the noise at 4:40. Nope—in fact everything after that is just masturbation.

Dos Enemigos

Great intro. What a great groove. Love the gtr that comes in again after the chorus. I wish some really funky drums kicked in then, too. The vocals need to be richer; the vocals are good, I think it’s more of a mixing thing. Nice work.

East Bay Acolytes

Love the way the drums come in, nice piano, too. Really don’t like vocoded vocals, though, in general. Your rapping is a lot stronger than your last track. You seemed hesitant last time.

JoP

This desperately needs drums, which I assume you don’t have access to or you would have put them in. But even a simple programmed beat would help this a lot. And bass, too. I imagine Did you bump the mic at about 1:16? The groove that follows that bump would be pretty cool—with drums. You’re really close to the mic, too—step back and you should be able to let it rip a little better too.

Jordan Marshall

Some of the guitar sounds boomy. This sounds like it was recorded all live, and sounds great for that.

Melvin

Catchy, but the lyrics don’t do it for me. I like the chorus, the keyboardy synth melody.

The Motor Monkeys

Odd in a good way. I like that guitar lead a lot. The vocal/lyric seems to walk a bit of a fine line between cheesy and clever. Production seems pretty good. It’s got a good retro feel, and I really like that lead guitar. I mostly like the vocals.

Pegor

The timing problems are killing me. The lyrics sound clever enough, but it really sounds like nobody can hear what anybody else is playing.

Pigpen

Silly, silly, silly. Whatever.

Pink Pope

Really not my thing, though well produced and played. Nice voice. Gtr could be louder.

Primitive Screwheads

I liked it until the four count, and then it lost it’s edge. The breaks work well, though, as does the guiro or shaker during the breaks. Actually, good enough to listen to again.

Star-Crossed Voyager

This might have worked with vocals, but definitely lost me without vocals.

Thornberry

This really loses me. Not my thing, but also the programmed drums have too many cymbal hits. I’m not really digging the sounds, but the vocals are good enough. It is long, though.

XL Motherfucker

I dig the vocal style at first, but man does it fall apart. Sounds like one big in-joke.

No Way and The Joses

You don’t seem to be included yet in the official roster, but I’ll talk about you anyway. The first time I heard this I thought of “Ohioâ€

[philtr]

Oh, but it does have vocals!

I tried to send an e-mail to the fightmaster to use my remastered version, but obviously he felt it inappropriate to post.

http://the.filter.eu.org/scv/starcrosse ... ries_2.mp3

[Delicious Nick]

Andy Balham

Nice guitar strumming action. Singing is on key, production is clean. The ending was too abrupt. Not that I’m one to talk…

Ashok and the Squid

This is sick. The Francisco De Goya of song fight. I like the dynamic nature of the piece, I like the way that you play with volume. I don’t like the quality of the samples. There’s so much hiss that some of the subtleties are lost. Good shit though. Yeah, 7:00 scary.

Dos Enemigos

Nice uh, country guitar. (slide guitar?) wit the whammy thingy? Of course the singing was great but might need to be compressed, and maybe slaped with some eq on the low end. Maybe some very light rverb. But this one sounds like an actual song, one I would enjoy more live.

East Bay Acolytes

Yup. This song froze my computer, and then corrupted the cpr file!!!! I never got a chance to end the song properly. WAAAAA! But I still like it a lot. Which means it probably wont win this time. I like sappy stuff. I used:

Cubase
Cynic: vocals
Some old drum loop (free)
Land of Cockaigne Little Duck (free)
mda Piano (free)
Ugo Rez (free)
String sample from the ontology(I think)
Cubase double delay on the vocals, Cubase Vocorder.
Wave Rverb (not free)


JoP

This is what I sound like when I sing. Which is why I don’t. but you could be better, if you were a bit louder. You sound like you live in an apartment and your roommate is sleeping. Get a pop filter, stand further from the mic, and let loose, and you will have a 112.67% increase in vocal quality! Nice early grunge feel to it. Be nice with some other instruments. You must use a sequencer, since you play with the panning and such. Get some drum samples from the free sample forum at http://www.kvraudio.com. And a bass synth. Then you will be upgraded to gravity kills!!!!!!!!

Jordan Marshall
My only complaint is the micing. Nice voice. Nice live sound. I know three guys down at starbucks that play music exactly like that though… I’ll you what I tell them cello+guitar=awesome. (none of them have done it..)

Melvin

Booya! Nice fx and mixing. Loooove the melody and singing. Alright harmonies and whatnot. I listened to it 3 times so far. Are you making fun of songfight, I mean isn’t all this music folk? After listening for a few more times, it seems like it’s lacking in bass. But that’s my only complaint.

The Motor Monkeys

Wow. What a manly voice. I’m not saying anything bad about this song, this guy’ll kill me. The lead singer sounds like a 50’s folk singer. Nice vibe. But not my thing. By the end it grows on me.

Pego

Like free jazz. I was gonna do a beat like this with the piano all freaky. Good lead guitar action. But over all, like freejazz. It doesn’t work for me. Decent engineering.

Pigpen

Get a gate on your mic. Needs some 808! Needs some BASS. You’re killin me. Get a Bassline! Double tracking is ok. Nice logical lyrics. Cause you will get your ass beat or worse, but you’re a martyr, so it’s ok. Over all, I didn’t like it though. The concept was childish.

Pink Pope

Good voice. Good vocal fx. Nice stereo spread. Bad guitar fx.. I didn’t like the song though. I think girls would like it more.

Primitive Screwheads

Got some horrendous timing issues there. And this doesn’t sound like free jazz. On the other hand, it sounds like this wasn’t laid down track by track. I could never play live. Props.

Star-Crossed Voyager

I listened to the version with vocals at http://the.filter.eu.org/scv/starcrosse ... ries_2.mp3. My vocorder is better! No I’m playing. Nice beat. It’s like a happy you’re not alone. The song makes me happy.

Thornberry
Good job with the orchestral feel. But check out some better samples at: (if you’re broke) http://www.hammersound.net/ for sound fonts. Or good ol’ http://www.kvraudio.com. Otherwise. Nice themes and such, but I don’t favor the crunchy electric guitar sound that was used.

XL Motherfucker

I don’t like it. It sounds like it was done exactly like you want, so no further comments.good call on the bitcrusher.

Ross Durand

I don’t like country, unless I’m drunk. So I’ll tell you what I think of your song in a few more hours.

The Ill Cricket Crew

Don’t fence me in… you don’t sound like a rapper, you sound like cake. I like it. Expressive style and funny lyrics. Whoah, what a hook. Very cake-ish. Nice engineering. I like it, for a novelty. Props on the napoleon sample.

Thanks for the reviews guys and gals… I’m for Melvin.

[Ross]

Hey Smalltown Mike,

I notice you didn't review my submission. Any chance you'll give it a listen?

Thanks,

Ross Durand

[Rabid Garfunkel]

Wow, a little publicity and we're back to big fights. Welcome, new people. And remember, it's only personal if I call your mother by name while insulting her. Otherwise I'm just another anonymous schmuck online.

Andy Balham
Yeah, I can hear the Dylan. More in the round "o" sounds than anything else. j$ rocks the bass and, errr... organ.

Ashok and the Squid
I give this song three Jareds out of five. It did get complete listens to, didn't short you on that.

Dos Enemigos
Vox sounds... different... spatially than the rest of the instrumentation. Could be a mix issue. Delay on the slide? Chorusy sound detracts from the dirty feel that's implied by the acoustic guitar. Like the parts as parts, but not as a whole, sorry.

The East Bay Acolytes
Where's my glow stick, damnit! Slick piece, though it feels like, well, like the background music to some Aaron Spelling drama's teen angst scene. Like the character's walking down a nighttime street in the rain. Just waiting for the chick to come running out of a taxi to him. Oh, abrupt end. Guess the taxi hit him instead.

The Ill Cricket Crew*
Thought I heard your name in there, STM. This is like rednecky rap. Sort of. All samples and loops? Oh Canada, you give me hope for the future. Is that a nod to Soul Coughing in there ("I plug in and tune you out")? Strong song. Pleasant surprise, thanks!

JoP
Move the guitar(s) closer to the mike, and move your mouth farther away from it. Seriously dude, that thing could get wedged in your throat. Choking hazard!

jordan marshall
This song had better get you laid some day.

Melvin
Lyrics are entertaining. I have an insane bias against hand claps, though. Vocals sound like the Swamp Zombies. Which is a good thing.

Motor Monkeys*
"LA LA LA laLAlaLAAAAA" Who did that song? Peter Murphy? Simple Minds? This is good stuff. Sweet fucking vocal tone.

No Way and the Joses*
This is my first listen of this song, so I haven't internalized it yet. Keys give it an '80s John Cusack movie feel. Pretty cool.

pego
Dude, a lot of dead air bookending the song. Music to stalk by, this is. With a hangover.

PiGPEN
Uh, this isn't going to turn into another Coolio-'Weird' Al Yankovic thing, is it? Production's improving, though the one finger casiotone action brings the song down. You've got the (currently) marketable twerpy white rapper image down cold. Good rhymes, good work.

Pink Pope*
Geez, why do you waste your time with me? Youse guys should do more songs. Good work.

Primitive Screwheads*
Your classic boy-annoys-girl story. Sent the progressions to Albatross (the other half of p++) and his reply was...

"When did you go and join Green Day?"

Hey, we're Primitive. We're Screwheads. It's right there on the label. Caveat emptor.

Ross Durand*
I dig this, lyrically. The distorted guitar in the background, on cheap speakers, sounds like rain. That's the only complaint.

"Sweet/kinda creepy", that's awesome.

Star-Crossed Voyager*
It's in three. I dig it. Gonna go waltzing with hippos in the zoo now. Might dig up the voxed version later. Or maybe not. (There's major bias against instrumentals in the fights. Not that you won't be able to figure that out soon enough, heh.)

Thornberry
5:55? Maaaaaaaan. Listen to me whine, heh. Okay, okay, my freaking lighter's up in the air. Oh damn, that horn?/string?/solo synth line so doesn't mesh with the lushness of the rest of this song. Kinda like Pink Floyd wrote a song for a funeral, that's what I'm getting out of it.

XL Motherfscker
Your vocals are killing me. Back off 'em a little? Pretty please? I know there's music back there behind it all. Yeah, yeah, I know, "Fsck that, buddy."

* = stuff I really like. Too soon to vote, though.

[Spud]

Oh, but it does have vocals!

I tried to send an e-mail to the fightmaster to use my remastered version, but obviously he felt it inappropriate to post.

http://the.filter.eu.org/scv/starcrosse ... ries_2.mp3

Actually, I believe that you forgot to attach it.

[Smalltown Mike]

Ross Durrand

I don’t know how I missed your song. Thanks for pointing it out. I like the mix of acoustic and fuzz guitar. Some of the lines are really good, some need tweaking. I like; “I never did know when to stopâ€

[philtr]

Actually, I believe that you forgot to attach it.

Whoops. I feel like an idiot.

[Ross]

Thanks for the review Mike

[Hostage]

This is "Hostage" of Dos Enemigos

Nice uh, country guitar. (slide guitar?) wit the whammy thingy? Of course the singing was great but might need to be compressed, and maybe slaped with some eq on the low end. Maybe some very light rverb. But this one sounds like an actual song, one I would enjoy more live.

It's a lap-steel resonator played with a metal slide. Vocals were slightly compressed, but probably should have been compressed more and I agree; should have a little reverb. (the vox need low EQ?)

Vox sounds... different... spatially than the rest of the instrumentation. Could be a mix issue.

Yes I agree it is a mix issue. Vocals are completely dry except for compression.

Delay on the slide? Chorusy sound detracts from the dirty feel that's implied by the acoustic guitar.

No delay, no effects on the slide. Its literally two takes recorded separately and panned left/right --"natural" chorus.

Thanks all, for the detailed feedback.

example resonator guitar:


example metal slide:

[Ross]

Welcome newcomers! So there’s evidence that someone besides me tunes in G4!

Ok, here goes. –

Motor Monkeys – Good song, nice structure. I think the drums do a lot to help make it work. The words don’t really draw me in, although I think they are well done. Good, but doesn’t have the “x-factorâ€

[Spud]

Star Crossed Voyager updated and No Way and the Joses added.

[Smalltown Mike]

Is there a deshead in here somewhere?

Nope, it's just me and four of my homeboys from the hood. And by homeboys, I mean old married guys with kids and one dude from Australia.

[Smalltown Mike]

I like the Star Crossed Voyager more with the vox, but I'd like it more I think if they weren't so obscured. The music is very electronic, so it would be nice if the vox weren't so.

[cynic]

A lot of entries this week, and the extended entry period must have been a facotr because a lot of them sound nice and polished. There will be reviews forthcoming, but there's only so much I can take in at once. Damn boundaries!!

[johnsonic]

NICE!!! Just got back from being away for the weekend, and I'm psyched No Way got posted! Thanks Fightmaster!

Reviews to come shortly...

[johnsonic]

Thanks to those who d/l'd our song and reviewed before it was up on the site!!!

Here we go... 8LO style reviews

Ross Durand

+++ I love how it starts and rock into mellowness. And how it's recurrent. I think this is a great song, like the dynamics +++
/// short fuzz solo, took a bit before I processed it was a guitar solo and not noise ///
--- Some production aspects make it hard for me to get 100% into, something could be done with the EQ in the master to fix it, needs the lights turned on... ---

JoP
+++ Background noise! could be cool... Could be good with more development +++
/// Sounds like a 1/8" audio card in straight out of a metal zone pickup ///
--- Needs drums, badly ---

PiGPEN
+++ No ID tag but I know this is you. SO not my bag, but inspired by that "video". At least there's a muse hidden in it +++
/// Meandering melodies ///
--- Meandering Melodies ---

Dos Enemigos
+++ Nice! I like the mellow, like the slide, like the production!!! Beautiful voice!!! If this was on a cd, it wouldn't be the lead track but a nice surprise, solid, like it! +++
/// I'd like to hear some harmonies to thicken some spots in the vocals, may have been a choice though ///
--- Not much to say! If this was on a cd, it wouldn't be the lead track. ---

Andy Balham
+++ Sounds nostalgic. This song reminds me of this band Gutterball from a while ago (I loved them) +++
/// I think it needs more nostalgic production. ///
--- Vocal Delivery, I'd like to hear more personal involvement ---

The Motor Monkeys
+++ Nicely programmed drums. Nice interplay between all elements of this song. After being anticlimatic, it gets ver dynamic +++
/// It's very anti climatic until it kicks up. ///
--- In my bed, in my head, I won't play your games. Cliche central. You may want to spend some time thinking of what you really wanna get across, take the convenient phrase that comes to mind, and reword it. ---

Thornberry
+++ You like bowie? This is a great song, many awesome parts! AWESOME dynamics!!! This is a good demo. Damn at 3:10 I could hear some chunkachuck. This is a very well written tune!!! Turnaround @ 4:30!!! Perfect fade-out song. +++
/// Sounds very much like stuff my folks listened to when I was cruisin' in their '83 plymouth horizon ///
--- Synth strings sound believable if they're surrounded by organic elements. When things are obviously synth, it always make me think of casio demo at K-Mart. This doesn't mean much though, b/c the notes were well chosen. Percussion louder. Percussion louder. Percussion louder. Needs more production b/c it can't easily get off with imperfections b/c it's so very computer generated. Grab a band and ROCK IT!!! ---

Pink Pope
+++ Awesome build uP! Nice! Female singer - nice line "my money my body my time". Clean production. Nice drum programming. +++
/// At 1:04 I'd like to hear it get bigger. ///
--- Anticlimatic ---

*** OK - Gonna hit my stoop, smoke a butt, and come back in reviewing songs by timestamp. ***

Star Crossed Voyager
0:14 - you can't sing, but you're glad there's a vocoder
1:03 - I like the string flourishes
1:16 - It's a good thing technology allows more people to access music
1:52 - When you think of it, people banging badger bones together around a campfire is using technology, but badgers aren't very acessible
2:50 - This didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth, but nothing I'd put on my stereo.
2:56 - If it came up randomly and was in the perfect setting, I'd be psyched this came on, it sounds optimistic.

Ashok and the Squid
0:21 - This is 7 minutes long
0:37 - I like the shit you're saying
0:54 - You remind me of my roomate and have no room for convention
1:15 - what the hell is making that pulsey sound?
1:34 - I think you're in NYC now or something, you should come to our show saturday
2:00 - Thinking Talking Heads
2:20 - I like how there's no shortage of words
2:52 - It's like if TH and Modest Mouse had a kid
3:20 - CALAMARI!!!
3:50 - I'm hoping this takes a left turn in the next half
4:30 - I think it's coming
4:40 - YES!!!
4:47 - Never saw this soming at the beginning of the song
5:15 - this strickes me as a very art piece, that fuels innovation
6:00 - I will never play this on purpose, but respect it
6:20 - is that a baby choking?
6:50 - Kill that fucking mountain

No Way and the Joses

I was involved with this song. A while ago Carmine (guitars, bass, and song structure) came over to see how you use reason. We got some tracks, and it's been stuck since. When I saw the title Boundaries, I developed a few percussional Kaoss Pad things, played some crazy effected guitar, my roomate Cheif Takaha rocked some rhodes, Boltoph kicked the shit out of a vocal line, and I took Friday off to tray and stitch it all together as best I could. It's really very quite cool how things can evolve on their own time. I could have mastered it better, but I was scramblin' to meet the 2PM est deadline, which wound up being 1pm, so thanks reviewers and fightmasters!!!

0:02 - That's my cough
0:20 - I like the KP bass sweep
0:27 - Takaha's rolling rhodes!!!
0:52 - More time would be nice for levels and mastering
1:03 - Needs much more meat in the master
1:16 - Boltoph makes everything epic!!!
2:21 - needs a solo
2:57 - lower harmony is awesome

I dunno - I've heard this 50 million time so far, so I can't think of what to say... Glad to have a fight in!!!

East Bay
0:21 - Very sexy beginning
0:38 - Non singer again - vocoder shit drive me nutz
0:52 - Dude wrappin' is nice!
1:10 - lose the vocoder
2:03 - I was just lovin' this - lose the vocoder!!!
2:28 - Nice track

Pegor
0:10 - extended silence - UH-OH
0:47 - Extended silence usually means a song I don't like, proved here
1:40 - sounds like rambling, would you listen to this if you didn't make it?
2:02 - mebbe that was harsh, there's good stuff here, just needs much more development
2:40 - what chorus are you using?

Melvin
0:02 - I like the way it starts!
1:15 - See this on some "I'm 28 and wish I was 23 again" movie. Oh wait - is that just me?
1:53 - I like this ALOT

XL Moutha
0:03 - Ho sit! I don't like this
0:17 - Still don't
0:25 - like Velvet Underground much?
0:58 - Oh god... a vocoder.... WTF??? AGAIN?
1:22 - Not my chit, sorry

The Ill Cricket Crew
0:16 - HAAAA - I did audio for a commercial with this same song
0:46 - I like the sounds in here
1:03 - Bass could be tighter, even if you slide it around on the grid
2:01 - Trude just walked in, and said you're talking about your girlfriend (I plug in and tune you out)
2:36 - Oh sit - I hear ST Mike!!!
3:00 - Yeah!
3:13 - I wish that bass was titer

Jordan Marshall
0:03 - I hear challenged production
0:20 - I hear a good song in here
0:36 - I see ice forming on my presidente - gaadamn their beers are cold
1:06 - There's the spikey bass blasts, you might wanna pull the mic away from your acoustic
1:50 - angelic harmony vocals would be cool!!!
2:30 - Overall, good song!!!

Primitive Screwheads
0:10 - this could be cool
0:16 - Oh shit, nope
0:35 - geek rock irks me
0:50 - wow
1:12 - not my bag, sorry!!!

If I missed someone lemmeknow - it was a big fight!!!

ROK!

[Rabid Garfunkel]

Pink Pope
...Nice drum programming. +++

Albatross plays an electronic set, actually. His neighbors are much happier people because of it. Yo, Alby, can we have a little picture of the Spiderdrums?

[johnsonic]

Sweet!

In my future I was planning on a mesh-head roland kit -

Alby - good idea?

[DELETED]

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