... (Blank Stare reviews)

[Bjam]

What are you looking at?

[rone rivendale]

Your chest?

[WeaselSlayer]

What the fuck, Rone.

[rone rivendale]

whaaaat?

[WeaselSlayer]

No, seriously, no emoticons. That was less than unclassy.

[rone rivendale]

get a sense of humor, you don't see her complaining about it.

[Bjam]

I'm with Luke on this one. I just don't bother to reply to something like that or it all goes blarghley.

[Damien Verrett (Jonas)]

Holy crap! This is fantastic! I never thought there would be so many entries.

[LukeU]

I voted for Melvin. Great job.

[ken]

I think King Arthur has my favorite Blank Stare.

[Thanks For The Frisbee]

i realize that with so many different fights there may not be many full reviews, but i had time for a few.

abominominous-I love it right off the bat!!
Wow this rocks. Great song . definitely a keeper. awesome music awesome vocals.

Damien-this is cool and unique.

Finding nemoy- nice and short, simple.

Hostess mostess- sweet piano track. The vocals carry a lot of feeling. Nice range.
I really like this song. Great job. Could have done without that “ beepâ€

[Paco Del Stinko]

Pretty varied fight. Nothing really pushing on anything else to get it out of its way.

Abominominous - Kickin'. I like the main riff, and the vocal line works well also. Good line about the stone/blood. Excellent.

Damien Verett - The slide is great, as are those far away vocals-or are they some echo business? Gets right to the point, which I don't get, I'm sure. I like it though.

Finding Nemoy - This is good. Catchy chorus, nice melody with the voices seperating here and there. I like the lyrics and dynamics also.

Hostess Mostess - Jeez, I'll be ballin' here! Nicely performed and sung. Anything added might make it too much. It's not long, but maybe shorter might've been sweeter? Not complaining.

Jolly Roger - This is good. I like the melody, the progression is passionate. Good vocal ideas. I like the "know me too much" line.

King Arthur - Nice, gently restrained. I like the bass and flangey guitar. Good lyrics. One of the ones coming up in the fight is probably my fave, but this is fine too. (I'll mention it when it comes)

Melvin - Nice guitar and vocal work. I like the descending chorus and the jumping vocal therein. Great bridge and good layering.

Mr. B and Mr. C - I like the synth line and sound. Good vocals ala Stan Ridgeway or someone. The chorus music is good too. Abrupt ending, but it might be enough.

Paco - I like how the 1st guitar, on left, smushes into one thing with the bass.

Pumpkin Buzzard - Some good lyrics and that fuzz bass/guitar is delightfully evil. Not crazy about the rhythm in this one, but like the acoustic complements.

Rone rivendale - Some good points in there, but where are the infamous beats everyone goes on about?

Ross Durand - When RUSH doze in and out during the TV test pattern. Scary first entry of the guitar.

Seamus - Very nice. I like the progression and the melody, good lyrics. The shaker is a good touch. I like this much.

UDAHL - Little off at points, but I like the progressions (again)

WreckdoM - Good theremin work and sampling. I know the Pookah from "Harvey" the movie, where's this from? Gonzo.

There you have it, though I'll be glad to elaborate if I'm not clear here. I'll vote for someone besides me before the deadline. Thanks for the tunes, see ya!

[rone rivendale]

"Rone rivendale - Some good points in there, but where are the infamous beats everyone goes on about?"

I experimented with doing a song without music. I figured a nice rap/rant fit well with that premise. I always try to do something different with each song. Whether it's by no music, or no drums, or speaking, or singing(eww), or whatever.

I can forsee alot of people hating it cuz it's lyrics without music. They might even contest it's not a song at all. *shrugs* let 'em say whatever they want to. I like it, and you must have a little bit going by your review.

That's all I'll say about it, I won't reply to every review I get in here. I do that too much.

[LukeU]

abominominous-another Franz Ferdinandish song. This is actually better than them. Pretty sweet.

Damien- Spirited Away. Thats all I can say. I might say something else if I may. I'll listen to this song every day. It's good.

FindingLeonard?Nemoy- Not even bad. noo sir not bad at all. You looked into my eye? You crazy cyclops, you!

HostessMostess-Lovely. Really. I like this song a lot. It reminds me of a song that's better than Bob Seger, but not as good as Ben Folds Five. It's a compliment, sir. Good job!

Jolly Roger- I'm not diggin this song as much as the others. I apologize.

King Arthur- All your songs are really well put together. Rad! Keep makin your music

Melvin- Jesus, this song is so good. I love it. Maybe better than Too Far Away. That was my other favorite entry of yours. Dude, I've listened to this song like 10 times. Great Job, Melvin.

Mr. B and Mr. C- So. Is this supposed to funny? Either yes or no, I don't like it. Sorry.

Paco Del Stinko- This reminds me of a Megaman X song at times. I forget what stage I'm thinking of. This is a pretty cool track.

Pumpkin Buzzard- Nah, sorry this is kind of nausiating. Is that how you spell it? I don't know.

Rone- God, this is a great track. But man, it's not the gas station attendants fault that you pay too much for gas. Don't shake your fist at him!!! Damien says- He doesn't even rhyme well.

Ross Durand- Pretty blank track. Good job fitting it in with the title. Hm...

Seamus- Good acoustic track. Get a better mic and stuff. It will make it sound so much better. And then, beat Jordan. He deserves it. Heh...

Udahl- nope

WreckdoM- Is David Duchovny's voice going to be in here? Scully! You have to believe!

[Ross]

Ross Durand- Pretty blank track. Good job fitting it in with the title. Hm...

I didn't "fit it in" with the title. I created it around the title. thanks for the compliment, none the less.

[j$]

If anyone wants to hear it, I have slightly improved (in my opinion) on my original mix of Mr B & Mr C's 'Blank Stare'

[UDAHL]

Rone Rivendale - the peoples poet
WreckdoM - casio spazio
Abominominous - 17 poles indeed
Seamus - campfire folk tune with pleasing samba shaker addition
Jolly roger - busking in a movie theater?
Paco del Stinko - adonai
UDAHL - of my 11 entries this one is closest to what i meant to do
Pumpkin Buzzard - vibe and tones are cool but waaay too sloppy
Mr. B and Mr. C - mtv day 1
Finding Nemoy - what no garfunkel ?
Hostess Mostess - i don't believe in piano
Damien Verrett - kinda wanders and needs whistling or maybe kazoo
Melvin - frick yeah, this is the shirt
King Arthur - i don't know much about this kind of music but you sound just like it
Ross Durand - in a gadda da fantomas...

[Thanks For The Frisbee]

i voted for the most original and best sounding song!!
there is some talent in this fight. if you had the time to post 11 songs then congrats to you...you all should win some other award...that takes time and creativity....which i only have 1 of.....you form your oppinioin which one, but melvin and finding nemoy are the songs in this fight that i like the most and thats all there is to it. i really liked all the songs but ive been singing these in the shower.
i know everyone will vote according to thier taste, but if melvin doesnt win i hope f.n. does.
peace from the stinky grease

[jeremiah_jacobs]

Wow, there are a LOT of contests now....jeebus, SF is getting WAY too crazy.

Anyway, like others, I wish I had more time for detailed reviews, so I'm stealing UDAHL's model.

melvin - massively cool pop, but that b section kinda fell down a bit. Still voted my fave. Your lyrics are consistently...well, lyrical. Well done.

Wreckdom - Loop, textures, offhand edits of obscure source recording....shake and serve.

Pumpkin - I pressed "Next" at :31

Mixdown - Hey, a guitar <a href="http://www.answers.com/troubadour&r=67">troubadour!</a> Perfect coffeehouse acoustic folk. Can I get another latte, please?

jollyroger - EMO something or the other? "....ice cream into space..." +5 awesomeness.

hostessmostess - What, no Jesus? This'll really keep the kids subdued on the Sunday services... Just kidding. I think you had a really good vocal performance, but it seemed a little meandering at times. I like that you dispensed with rhyming. The digital feedback loop @ 2:39 was a pleasant textural addition, too

UDAHL - The bassline sounds like it would be really cool if there was any low end on this recording. I really like the vocal performance.

paco - The man in the shower cannot sing. You were subjected to a lot of Styx as a kid, and for that, the world owes you.

Ross Durand - That organ is sure annoying. "Next" at 0:33.

roner - Oh, poetry.

nemoy - Listerine tastes awful. Bah doom baaah dooo.... My prediction: you're going to be one of the few/only SF folks that will break mainstream, and you'll do it via either an indie film or advert. Melvin earned my vote for a better written "song" (and a few other elements), but I think you're right up there with him. I'd really like to have you sing his "Sign My Box" just to hear it.....but I digress....

Damien - Neat instrumentation. Quirky. Easy to read email by.

Abominominous - Great name. Screaming lyrics I can't quite make out, but the band seems to keep the timing together rather well. +5 on listenability. From a production standpoint: any reason you didn't double the rhythm guitar track and EQ some of that mud out of the low/mids? I liked the drumming a lot.

Mr B - Hey, someone found a demo tape from '87!

King Arthur - Jesus Christ, what are you doing here? You were supposed to be nine songs up! You're late! Do I hear Alesis drums?

I hope none of you are offended by my quick reviews - they're all meant to be taken taken in a lighthearted way.

[king_arthur]

Abominominous:

Umm, a little too abominominous for me.

Damien Everett:

I like the way the sound keeps changing - effects added to
the vocal, new sounds, or things like the fluteything that
come and go. Umm... borderline keeper depending on how much
other good stuff there is in this fight...

Finding Nemoy:

This is a good example of using doubling on the vocal track
to make a pitchy voice sound good in the overall mix. The
lyric doesn't entirely grab me, but I'm old. Keeper 'cause
it's something I think I will enjoy hearing now and then when
it comes up in the rotation...

Hostess Mostess:

Keeper. Sweet song, I wish the vocal was a little less pitchy
(although I could imagine Paul Williams singing this, and pitch
is just a suggestion for him). This would fit into a movie
soundtrack really well, too... hmm, little bleep there at 2:35.
Piano background works really well. Some sort of little glitch
at 3:16 right before the vocal comes back in, which I wouldn't
have noticed except that this is such a nicely delicate song.
Beautiful.

Jolly Roger:

Little instrumental intro was interesting, but kinda distracting
the way it faded out and then a completely different sound comes
in... I'm not hearing a bass, and it feels like it could use
something to fill in the low end. The rhythmic phrasing is
weird in places, doesn't seem like it supports the lyric very
well. This performance / recording isn't a keeper for me, but I
copied the song into my "hxaro possibilities" folder...

me:

Hey, this one actually sounds decent in the context of the other
stuff in the fight... of course, Melvin is next, so I'll probably
be mortified when I hear their sound compared to mine... lyrically,
this is one of those songs where the title inspired a certain train
of thought, but it's not a very accurate picture of me the person.
If that matters...

Melvin:

Good lyric, you grabbed me at the start and kept me interested.
Keeper. I like the way the instrumental backs out under the start
of the second verse and then builds up to the chorus. I tend to
like my guitars a little less blasting, but there's a good melody
and chord flow going on, too. I thought the expression was more
like, "the lights are ON but there's nobody home..." If the lights
are OFF, maybe it should be "off AND there's nobody there..." But
a good strong focused song, good stuff.

Mr. B & Mr. C:

Yeah, this is fun... musically it's not quite my thing, but the
song as a whole works in an Octothorpe kinda way. Keeper.

Paco del Stinko:

Wow, comes on strong from the opening note. I'd like for the vocal
to be a bit more on the notes, though I did pick up the line about
the guy in the shower singing off-key... the music just seems very
forceful and assertive and the voice is a little more in the direction
of nerdy. Good song, keeper.

Pumpkin Buzzard:

The rhythm in the drums is very solid and steady (machine?) and, for
me, the messiness in the rhythms of everything else just doesn't match
up. Further we get into this, the less "my thing" it is.

Rone Rivendale:

So, okay, who's this guy whose songs everybody is covering these days?
Hmm, I'd like to hear one of our hip hop crews take this vocal thing,
chop it up and rhythmatize it, and put a loop under it... well, maybe
I'd like it, maybe I wouldn't, but I'll pass on the "voice only"
version. Umm, with just one mic open, you can't get it any cleaner
than that? A lot of hummbuzz in there - if you're not using the internal
mic on the laptop or something, you oughta be able to clean up the sound
a bit just by moving further from the monitor, pointing it differently
or something...

Ross Durand:

Okay, we're 30 seconds in and I'm wanting to leave... umm, I guess there's
some sort of in joke here that I'm not getting? Is that really you, Ross?

Seamus:

Keeper. Little noisy, but a very nice song in there. Some very nice
lyrics - "break me off a piece of what you're thinking..." and the line
about the empty chair.

UDAHL:

Okay, I hear there's a bass in there, but... the usual comment about lack
of bottom end. Umm, didn't do it for me...

WreckdoM:

Keeper. In reference to comments on one of the other songs... this one
made me smile... breaks off rather abruptly at the end, but you knew
that, huh? The music is fun, it contrasts with the seriousness of the
voiceover in a way that makes it interesting to listen to.

[jute gyte]

Pumpkin Buzzard:
The rhythm in the drums is very solid and steady (machine?) and, for
me, the messiness in the rhythms of everything else just doesn't match
up. Further we get into this, the less "my thing" it is.

You're actually backwards there, although I can hardly blame you. The other instruments are steady while the drums (not a machine) are very messy. This song is literally the first time that member of PB has played drums at all. Thanks for all the reviews!

[rone rivendale]

Rone Rivendale:

Umm, with just one mic open, you can't get it any cleaner
than that? A lot of hummbuzz in there - if you're not using the internal
mic on the laptop or something, you oughta be able to clean up the sound
a bit just by moving further from the monitor, pointing it differently
or something...

I've had the buzzing problem with my mic for a long time and I don't know how to fix it. It's not the mic that came with the computer but it is plugged into it. It's a mic that came from my stereo. It has a foam cover on it so I don't know the problem.