The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Hopefully this fight won't contain any clipped art.

Bitch.

i would just like to remind everyone that Ken eats kittens and so vote for sos.

thank you.

Ken eats kittens?!

THAT IS FREAKING AWESOME. I AM DEFINITELY GOING TO VOTE FOR KEN.

SCS - songs about songfight? Spare us! When i realised you were actually singing about that, I had to stop listening. Sorry. Too meta for me.

STM - very Liam Lynch. Great backing music, and well done, but I wouldn't listen more than once (although maybe for the reggae section) - personally it seems like a waste of a good tune, but novelty always goes down well at Songfight, so you never know

CCS - good. But short, even for CCS.

King Arthur - Ah, nice opening. Hey I did this concept for 'Chaos vs Order'! I'm not sure I would watch a cop show called 'Clip Art'. I would listen to this again but lyrically maybe could do with some bite. I know that's not your bag, but your best lyrics are funny, then there's a deeper meaning. Maybe I'll get to that after a coupla listens ....

Links Vs Music - Ah ha ha! If you're going to novelty at least fuck with 'Imagine' I guess. A concept that works better on paper than in music, but hey, good thinking!

Supercar (son of) - Great opening. Great bass. What no 7 minutes of pedal wankery? Good. Lacks a singalong chorus. heh. nah, good.

Hateflower - I love the name, for some reason. I shouldn't, really. Hmm, wanky art. And then annoying Beavis & butthead meta-shit at the end. But well produced and suitably short.

Johnny Goes to Balham - Sorry, Andy - blame Blue. (in-joke only I will get)

Ken - You should do this every week. And eat kittens live on stage! Good.

Caravan Ray - this song only exists to carry that one pun, right? Great post-punk funk going on, and it feels wasted on a one-trick pony lyric - but damn what a backing track!

Sankyu Ruckystar - another good name. Fab sub-sonic bass (but there's some clipping on that) - cello gives me semi-chubby. Great music - I like it, but it doesn't leap out on me. I think it's the melodyline is inappropriate to the song? Damn good, mind, but with a bit more space between the words , and a different concept (you abandon the clip art theme for a more abstract thing pretty quickly anyway) this could be a barnstormer. Reminds me of some electronica in my collection so that's a good thing.

I have to vote for Ken. Or maybe SOS. Whoever can eat the most kittens in the next half an hour gets it.

Caravan Ray...Loving the music, the lyrics not so much

Carol Cleveland Sings...Hilarious

hateflower...really nothing to say but..wtfomghawt

Johnny goes to Balham...I'm at a loss for words

Kens super duper band n stuff...this song was average right up untill you mentioned Millenium Falcon..then it got like ten times cooler

King Arthur...gerat voice...funny lyrics

Link Vs. Music...nice song..but slow songs aren't really my thing

Sandcastle Surgery...A songfight song about songfight..hooray...kinda on the quiet side though..turn it up

Sankyu Ruckystar...pretty cool lyrics...nice background music..nice name too

Smalltown Mike...hilarious lyrics...nice music

sonofsupercar...for some reason this reminded me of the band Gorillaz..I think it's the way the vocals were done...anyway nice work

as for who gets my vote...I have no idea....I'll pick someone though

[/url]

Hateflower - What an aggrivating flaming pile of shit.

Johnny Goes to Balham - Right off the bat this has such a wonderful imperfection to it. This is like the song you wish would free you, but it never will. It's beautiful in such an ugly way. I'm not joking in anyway, I'm fucking impressed.

sonofsupercar - I feel like this is the fight where all the weird bastard children went. And I love weird bastard children, because I am one. This is great and very tight even though it's just ever so lightly lain on its own ear. The ending is great. The just POUND POUND POUND. God damn, people finally know how to make music.

Link vs. Music - I feel really bad because JohnnyBalham and son really started this fight off on an amazing foot for me, and this "Imagine" cover is really not doing it for me afterwards.

King Arthur - I'm not much of a foot-tapper, so how is it that my foot is tapping now? Perhaps you're just that good at making bouncy ouncy songs.

Sandcastle Surgery - You are a welcome, brooding force. I'm going to go get some sink water, this is so evil. I hope you'll work with me.

sankyu ruckystar - What is this well-produced but still original motherfucker doing here! This is fanfuckingtastic. It's dense and full and rich, without sucking total ass like most dense full rich songs do around here.

Ken - It's like I beat the last boss and he fell in the lava pit and I'm riding on a rocketboard to the ice cream store to get a chocolate cherry kiss from a pretty girl.

Carol Cleveland Sings - You and your bigshot actually makes legitimate music. I was listening to Spinto Band this morning and blah blah blah you're fucking awesome etc.

Smalltown Mike - Wow. You are pissed. And it's funny. But are you reeeeeally angry?

Caravan Ray - You make dirty music that I could bathe to.

WeaselSlayer wrote: it's just ever so lightly lain on its own ear

what the hell does that mean! the song beats itself up?

What I mean by "on its ear" is that it's like there are some very "normal" musical ideas that are being put through a sort of freaky filter which makes them come out twisted mutants of their former selves. It's a huge ol' compliment.

oh. you mean it's obvious how bad we want to be Aerosmith.

Well, yeah, I just wanted to break it to you gently.

j$ wrote: Caravan Ray - this song only exists to carry that one pun, right? .... it feels wasted on a one-trick pony lyric

shadow_speaker wrote: Caravan Ray - Loving the music, the lyrics not so much

Comments are understandable and much appreciated, thank you.

However i just wanted to add that in my opinion - this tender and touching study of male bonding is one of the finest lyrics I have written!

Oh well - horses for courses I suppose.

(mind you - the lyrics are only 2 days old, and like children and puppies - lyrics are always cute when they're young. Next week when they start to get old and ugly I'll probably agree with you)

class was cancelled, so here are reviews!

caravan ray: it started out with the weird high pitched vocals sounding like a j$ song. the vocal melody is pretty cool with the stringy guitar. i don't see anything wrong with this. good job. YOU ARE THE LEADER. what language is that?

carol cleveland sings: i love you. also. i have an aunt named carol. she used to live in cleveland. i don't know if she sings, though. my only complaint is that i wanted more. you've been doing really short songs lately.

hateflower: i like the part about touching the breasts, etc. other than that, i don't really enjoying it. the speaking part was way too far left and sounded really boxed in.

johnny goes to balham: this is really awesome. i like this more than what you did in tiny paws of fury this week. the guitar tone on this is really sweet. YOU, MY BRITISH FRIENDS, ARE THE NEW LEADER.

ken: i like this ken better than the really well produced ken. the songwriting on this is really great. it's a catchy, fun song. IT IS NOW TIED BETWEEN KEN AND JOHNNY GOES TO BALHAM.

king arthur: very king arthur. somewhat humorous lyrics are a plus. i've never been too fond of your production. i can see myself enjoying your music a lot more if it didn't sound so much like it was done in a studio. i don't know if that makes sense. i guess i just want it to have more of a live punch.

link vs. music: the song is pretty good, but the vocals could stand out more. i really enjoy the piano/string combo.

sandcastle surgery: please don't win songfight by tapping into local publicity. the song/lyrics are pretty enjoyable though. your voice sounds like rodney anonymous, which is a plus.

sankyu ruckystar: i enjoy this sort of thing as backgroung music - until the vocals come in. the vocals ruin it for me. i was hoping it'd just be the music.

smalltown mike: the reggae bit is kind of cool. the story is kind of amusing, but it's not really memorable.

sonofsupercar: very modest mouse meets cursive. i like both of these bands, so this is good. a very cool melody with a cool rough sound. you guys know that you're good.

I'm not good at reviews. But I did really enjoy Ken's song, sorta reminds me of the Rentals. Also really diggin' the bass line in the King Arthur song. The Sankyu song is cool as well, just wish you used a different microphone for your vocals. And the Son of Supercar song is fucking rad. Definitely a keeper.

But my vote goes to Smalltown Mike. Funny shit!

caravan ray: uh wow. this is the best thing i've heard from
you. wow. it's great but the ending is a little abrupt. i'm going
to listen to it again right now. yeah wow. i want to vote for you.
but so far this is the only one i've heard in this fight.


carol cleveland: it seems clever. you always do something
interesting. but this song doesn't really do anything for me.


hateflower: this left-ear talking is annoying. 'penis', the word,
is a serious buzzkill. the rest of this is dumber.


johnny goes to balham: i love that dubby stuff going on in the
background, and this chorus is perfect. good lyrics too. catchy
and super.


ken: wow this is also great. i love the bass. that synth is cool
too.. what is it? good lyrics too. this is awesome.


king arthur: i love that bass playing. excellent lyrics and
recording as usual. america's favorite old fart. awesome!


link vs. music: two songs referring google in a row. i guess these
lyrics are trying to be funny, but i'm distracted by the ripoff
music. is that subtle 'clip art' commentary?


sandcastle surgery: i don't mind songfight-referencing songs, per
se, but for some reason it's making this song particularly annoying.


sankyu ruckystar: not bad, but it doesn't go anywhere.


smalltown mike: hahaha. very funny.


sonofsupercar: awesome. i love the helmet part. i can't critique
it. it's awesome.

fodroy wrote: what language is that?

English.

Caravanreuagh: I've listened to this a bunch of times, and in parts it's maybe my fave song you've done, but the whole thing is sort of dizzying and incoherent. The 1-2-3-1 structure and vague story make it seem to end before it really starts. In the end, I'm just confused. Your mixing could use a lot of cleaning up. Try to build a little more of a bed with the rythm section, or find an element that'll carry from part to part to bring the song together. (Turn the freakin drums up)

CCS: Art or pat palp? I guess that's the question you're asking, too. More making fun of modern artists, less obvious lyrics.

Hateflower: Way to go, Entrant To Songfight Who Is Self-Amused At The Expense Of The Rest Of Us #12,231. HAHAHAHAAH that sure was funny, how you shat on a mic and sent it in. I'm sure it wasn't a waste of anyone's time, and didn't add at all to the burden of maintaining a cool site where people try to make good, free music. I mean, I'm sure no one begrudges having to shine through this trash every week. Thanks a bunch, cocksuckers.

J$+AB: So I challenge you to keep working on this mix until this song really shines. It has a lot of good elements, good variation, but all of the elements seem to be fighting for the same sonic space. Maybe it's time to stop songfighting and spend a couple weeks at a time on a song. Anyways, the chorus is really good, and the sound is still improving. Crank those drums! The chorus lyric is a cop-out. You can find something better to say in there.

Ken: Well this is a very sweet song and I won't mind losing yet another fight to you. Coulda used another drum take. Reminds me a lot of Explino's first album, the vinyl-only release from 1992, with the bassist from Polvo.

King Arthur: This could really used a couple more layers. The left-speaker guitar is mostly inaudble, as are the drums. Why is that? A big strummy acoustic in the middle to fill things in, or some organ or harmonies.. it is very bare.

LINK -V- MUSIC: Way to go, Entrant To Songfight Who Is Self-Amused At The Expense Of The Rest Of Us #12,232. HAHAHAHAAH that sure was funny, how you shat on a mic and sent it in. I'm sure it wasn't a waste of anyone's time, and didn't add at all to the burden of maintaining a cool site where people try to make good, free music. I mean, I'm sure no one begrudges having to shine through this trash every week. Thanks a bunch, cocksuckers.

Sandcastle: See, you'd think I'd pan this, but thing song is funny as hell. Very twee. Songfight needs to be poked occasionally, and this is a cute way of doing it. I wish I was drunk and playing on this, too. Keep submitting. Also, read the help-and-how-to forum for some info on making your song audible.

Thank YOU, Rock Star: One of your bass instruments has to lose some low end so that the rest can be heard. Sorry, but that is the rule. If you have a big whuffy bass drum and a big whuffy bass patch, you can sometimes get them to clear up by putting them all in the same compressor. This song would be cool if you hadn't felt like you had to repeat ten words three hundred times, and if the mix weren't so heavy. There's a fine line between overrepetition and telling us your life story, and this song doesn't seem to make any attempt at all to find it. In fact, it's hard to even qualify it as a song. Decent, but I think you could do a lot better.

STM: Another cute pastiche that doesn't really get the job done. I like it, it all sounds good, but you could have wedged a chorus in there and really had something, Dead Milkmen-style, that would have been worth keeping.

sos: recorded live in the rock room. i gave up on the mix eventually, there was just too much room noise to make sense out of anything any more. i wish we had repeated a single chorus instead of narrating over that bit, but c'est la. Hands Away! DRAW SOMETHING. Bridge probably needs a sample over it. I'm pretty proud that we kept the tempo down thru the whole thing - that is always a challenge for us. aaaah.. what the crap, my mp3 is mono. god-damned stupid #$%#@$ vintage warmer, always flipping on the 'mono' switch without me noticing. hmmm.. maybe not. well, sorry everything is so right-up-the-middle. i dunno what happened there.

blue wrote:Ken: Well this is a very sweet song and I won't mind losing yet another fight to you. Coulda used another drum take. Reminds me a lot of Explino's first album, the vinyl-only release from 1992, with the bassist from Polvo.

Monitoring the electronic drums was a nightmare. The latency was horid.

I would just like to point out that I have only won two fights (solo), and sos was not in either of them.

The only fight I have part of a victory in is the Cancer fight with the Mosswoodians. 31 votes to sos' 12.

Ken

i blame you for anything you're in, not just the solo stuff!

and i figgered the latency had something to do with the crazy drumming. reminds me of a certain marcus kellis experience..

blue wrote:J$+AB: So I challenge you to keep working on this mix until this song really shines..

Blue, if you want to mix it, you only have to ask

As for the lyric cop-out, yeah, but this was the fourth rewrite. The second, verbose story-style version was/is by a long way the best, but hey, someone suggested that I put too many words in my songs ...

I might post the various mixes of this song to my website, if anyone's interested in the song that never was ...

j$

blue wrote:Turn the freakin drums up... Crank those drums!... Coulda used another drum take...mostly inaudble, as are the drums...

You're not a drummer by any chance are you?

(BTW: thanks for the comments - very helpful criticism)

Carolclevland: I love that very secretary vibe, awesome instrumentation, I felt like I should start a musical in my life with this song

Johnny goes..: I had a good time listening to this, but I felt like I should have been drinking to this song

Ksdbs: like the rhyme that’s fine, says mr time.

Small town mike: one word ……poetry (the angst of the office word). I feel it.

Son of super car: I just joined cacophony of sound …rawwwr