Bill of Wrongs (Ten Lies reviews)

Discuss upcoming, current, and previous song fights.
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Bill of Wrongs (Ten Lies reviews)

Post by Albatross »

A thread full of painfully honest feedback on songs about painful dishonesty.
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Post by Rabid Garfunkel »

Anybody have a "pants on fire" smiley? Pantalones con fuego!

Heh.
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Lie lie lie

Post by martyr »

Longing to lie about what I think about your'alls songs!..

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
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Post by NatchDan »

When can the lies begin?
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Post by azwel »

never.....its a lie
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Post by WesDavis »

Oh hot Ten Lies is up. I can't wait to come home and listen. I'll actually have time tonight, so I may even get a few reviews up!
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Post by Steve Durand »

The download is still painfully slow.

Blue,
Are you going to mirror this one?


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Post by Ross »

Hey BLT,

the podcast says your song is 20:47 long. Are there unintentional duplications here?

ross
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Post by NatchDan »

Initial impressions:

TMK: Very indietronic catchy. I like it, but the call-and-response segments are just too chaotic to get my vote.

PigPen: I do pretty much despise country music, but this has got such a sense of humour to it it's slipped into my armour. I especially like the opening. xD Almost a touch too short, even. I'd also bet that the yeehaws were fun to record.

Steve D: Very catchy indeed. I love the bassline. Sounds like this is shaping up to be a very good fight indeed. I love the horns, also.

Odoriferous: The guitar work reminds me a lot of Friday-I'm-In-Love-Era Cure. The lower-pitched vocal is far better, and I like the backwards-sounding solo a lot.

Melvin: I loved your King Me entry, so I approached this one optimistically - My foot was tapping right from the out. You've got a hell of an ear for arrangements. I especially love the line "trade one love for ten lies".

Wages feat Project D: The right-panned guitar sound is ridiculously thin, which is a shame because it sounds like it's playing something kind of interesting. I don't like the growlier vocal. With some more time given to recording, I think this could be very good, but as it stands it's just okay.

Monte Carlo: Where's the intro? I like the rhythm you've got going on, very jazzy. One of the guitars is completely lost in the mix. It sounds like you're making the best of the recording setup you've got, so I'll say this: Recorded professionally, I think I'd like it. Sounds a little like laid-back ADTI.

Wes Davis: I like this. Some interesting vocal stuff going on, and you've got a very strong voice indeed. Take the one-line review as a good thing.

Lymph: A great bluesy stomp. Some escellent blues soloing going on, too. I like the line "It takes ten lies and an offshore account".

King Arthur: Sort of reminds me of Peter Gabriel, but something about it doesn't quite click for me. I couldn't put my finger on what it was, but it's certainly not bad.

Jack: I like the gospel-ish background you've got going here. Nice use of wah, also.

Finding Nemoy: This really reminds me of something but I can't put my finger on it. There's definitely hints of Death Cab, but there's something else, too. I like it quite a lot. I love the guitar work. A strong contender, for me. I'd love it even more if it built to a full-band finish in the last third (the pull me away section).

Project D: I gave my review on SomeSongs.

Primitive Screwheads: Too "Quirky" for me. Your voice sounds familiar, though. Did you do FAWM?

Ross D: A slow stomp with the bassline from Black Velvet and soaring pads. I like it a lot. Even the vocal pitch-shift, which doesn't often work. I like the idea of having ten lies granted to you as passing under the radar.

MC Eric B: After reading the King Me reviews thread, I wasn't too confident. I do have a soft spot for well-done nerdcore, though. It's not bad, but you could work on your timing. I'm not saying I could do better, but if it were punchier I'd like it a lot.

Signboy: You've got a great voice, and a wonderful sort of prog thing going on here. Some of the cymbal work seems a bit odd, but otherwise very good indeed. English like myself, I take it? xD

BLT: An interesting riff you have there. A pretty good voice, too. It's pretty reminiscent of Talking Heads. Catchy, but not my winner. I didn't listen to the whole 20 minutes, if that was a correct number.

Country Blumpkins: This feels like it's in a kind of limbo, with the guitar, vocal and pads being very ambient but the bass and drums being punchy and driving. It seems indecisive.

I'll listen to these again before I vote.
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Post by WesDavis »

NatchDan wrote: Wes Davis: I like this. Some interesting vocal stuff going on, and you've got a very strong voice indeed. Take the one-line review as a good thing.
OBJECTION! I have evidence that clearly shows a contradiction!

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Post by SteveHandPuppet »

King Arthur: The music is well performed and recorded, but the vocals seem kind of disembodied within the mix. Overall this comes off sounding like a theme song for some mid-budget 80's teen sex comedy, by some no-name artist, the kind of middle-of-the-road wants-to-be-edgy-but-still-playing-it-safe soft rock that oh I give up.

signboy: Wow, that's a lot of room noise, which is making this something of a difficult listen. Some kind of soft-rock ballad? Really not my thing. Too slick for my tastes; it feels like any spontaneity and life has been sucked out of this.

Billy's Little Trip: I like the musical twists and turns; some unexpected chord progressions thrown around (such as the end of the chorus). The vocals aren't as compelling, so I'm a bit frustrated that the mix favors the vocals. I think this would be greatly improved by a wider and more distinct stereo spread. I want to hear the guitars! The bass and guitar(s?) are playing the same riff through the verse, and the guitar just gets lost behind the bass.

Klownhole: Wow, this gets repetitive fast. Not much to see here. Isn't this sort of vocal processing passé by now?

Jack Shite: Nice recording, performance and mix. I'd suggest that the tempo is just too slow; the staccato guitars just kinda poop out too soon before the next beat. Other than that, I like the basic, stripped-down feel to this and the multitracked guitars. Good tone.

Melvin: Great performance, recording and mix. Vocals are sitting in the mix nicely, good stereo mix. KingA and Billy's should use this as a reference for what I'm talking about. Good dynamics as the song progresses. This is damn catchy.

Steve Durand: Something about this seems out of sync with itself. The horns don't seem to have a lot of "bite". This is too much of a genre exercise for my tastes.

Ross Durand: Synth pad/washes are a big no-no in my book, so this is just isn't going to appeal to me. The rest is well done, except that it just settles into the same-old blues progression or whatnot.

Monte Carlo: The guitar is clipping pretty badly, and the echo/reverb on the vocal is fairly distracting. The mix needs a lot of work: it could benefit from distinct stereo imaging and EQ'ing the high ends out of the drums.

Finding Nemoy: Nicely recorded acoustic. Unfortunately, I don't have much interest in "Heartfelt Ballads of Yearning and Woe™"

Project D: This is alright, although it all sounds a bit distantly mic'd. The doubled vocal is a bit too prominent for my taste. Bring the bass up. Good use of stereo placement. Some good songwriting bits.

Wes Davis: Heartfelt Ballad of Yearning and Woe™? Skipped.

MC Eric B: I'd say this was the same old, derivative stuff, but you'd probably think I was talking about calculus.

Odoriferous Valley: Parts of this are not bad, in a sort of soft indie-rock way, but the vocals are squatting all on top of the (superior) backing. The fake corny low vocal voice is stinking this up. The acoustic guitar picking breaks seem artificially bolted onto the rest of it. I think this would be a good candidate for another round of development to focus on what's right about it and drop the useless appendages.

Primitive Screwheads: Recording sounds a bit amateurish. Genre exercise. next.

The Country Blumpkins: Arrg. It burns. It freezes. Nasty synthesizers twisted it.

NatchDan: Oh god, this is Earnest. HBoYaW™. Next.

Pigpen: Genre Exercise. Next.

Lymph: Boogie Genre Exercise. I managed to listen to this longer than most other GEs. That left-ear cymbal is out of control. Pull it down a couple notches SVP.

Those Meddling Kids: Synths, huh. This has a sort of Manchester stench about it. Sorry, really not my thing.

Wages+: That sure is a lot of distortion/flanging/etc. on the right-ear guitar, and it still sounds thin and distant. Sounds like the guitars aren't being close-mic'd. The goofy vocal doubling is making this too hard to take seriously. Performance is pretty sloppy, as if it was a quick take on something hastily put together.

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Post by Billy's Little Trip »

rdurand wrote:Hey BLT,

the podcast says your song is 20:47 long. Are there unintentional duplications here?

ross
No, that's that damn "VBR" thing I tried for the first time. It freaks out all of the media players, so even though it keeps things sounding good, I think I'll go back to 192kbps.

So to everyone, my song is only about 3 minutes long, so please listen all the way through, it's a fun song.
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Post by WesDavis »

SteveHandPuppet wrote:Wes Davis: Heartfelt Ballad of Yearning and Woe™? Skipped.
There is neither yearning nor woe. I decided to write a cheesy love song. Not my usual style, and I reckon it shows.
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Post by blue »

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Post by Billy's Little Trip »

NatchDan wrote: BLT: An interesting riff you have there. A pretty good voice, too. It's pretty reminiscent of Talking Heads. Catchy, but not my winner. I didn't listen to the whole 20 minutes, if that was a correct number.
No, it's only about 3 minutes long. You should listen to the whole song, it has a cool ending, in my opinion of course. Talking Heads huh? Yeah, I guess I can see that, maybe. :wink: Thanks, Natch.
SteveHandPuppet wrote: Billy's Little Trip: I like the musical twists and turns; some unexpected chord progressions thrown around (such as the end of the chorus). The vocals aren't as compelling, so I'm a bit frustrated that the mix favors the vocals. I think this would be greatly improved by a wider and more distinct stereo spread. I want to hear the guitars! The bass and guitar(s?) are playing the same riff through the verse, and the guitar just gets lost behind the bass.
I was intensionally putting the guitar behind the bass in the verses as just an accompanied sound, but meant to bring the guitar forward in the choruses more. It's funny that you mention a wider stereo mix. I felt it too, so I did two, and the one I didn't submit is very wide stereo. But I thought it sounded too common for SF. Thanks for your comments.
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Post by azwel »

ah. i guess fightmaster didnt get my email. i like being low key anyway. seeyas
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Post by NatchDan »

WesDavis wrote:OBJECTION! I have evidence that clearly shows a contradiction!

Hooray for jokes nobody else is going to get.
*shakes head, grins, wags finger*

And yeah, HBoYaW™ was what presented itself when I read the title. I'll try harder next week. Promise. xD
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Post by jb »

azwel wrote:ah. i guess fightmaster didnt get my email. i like being low key anyway. seeyas
Fightmaster got your email, but you sent a link, not an mp3 file. send the file, we'll post the song.

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Post by Caravan Ray »

Cool cover art Rabs!
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My Ten Lies Reviews

Post by MC Eric B »

Billy's Little Trip - Overall I liked it. Vocals on the chorus remind me a little of somebody who's drunk, but that gives it style. Also, I like the background "whoooos" on the chorus. It makes it stand out and more catchy.

PigPen - A great song. Intro is very good, but over 1 minute long is a little too long for it. Vocals and the atmosphere of the song remind me a little of Billy Corgan/Smashing Pumpkins. The part in the middle where it gets very soft is good, but again kind of long. I listened to the song 3 times though and not sure why it would be called "Ten Lies" though.

Finding Nemoy - I started off not wanting to like it because it was pretty stripped down musically, but it grew on me. Kind of catchy actually. I like the singing too.

Jack Shite - The production is very crisp and clear. Are the drums electronic? I like the effect that was done on the vocals (maybe layering?). Everything fits together very well on this song. The guitar goes great with the tune of the song, which perfectly matches the drums and the vocals. The level of the vocals also seems a perfect fit with the music. Not sure about the falsetto part at the end though. Makes you seem kind of weak. Maybe that part is just too soft. I like the way the songs ends though, with the guitar slowing down. Overall a really good song.

Klownhole - I like the vocals, but the music just seemed like a lot of noise/feedback/distortion to me. Not my kind of thing.

Lymph - I liked this. A bluesy/jazzy song with funny lyrics, but serious sounding music and vocals.

Melvin - I like the soaring vocals. The music is catchy. The song kept changing things up, keeping it interesting.

Monte Carlo - Sounds like a garage band. I did not hate it, but I did not really like it. The way the vocals were recorded/sung seemed creative.

Project D - I like the vocals, but the music seems kind of muted at times. The music is very good, so it would have been better to hear it more clearly. Overall a catchy song.

King Arthur - Vocals seem a little loud sometimes as compared to the music. Vocals sound a little like Weird Al, but there is nothing that funny about the song. The music sounds talented and serious, but the vocals are all about resumes, which seems like an odd fit to the serious music, unless that is the point. Overall I liked it, but it did not thrill me.

NatchDan - I like the haunting vocals and guitar, but the keyboard did not seem to fit too well. Maybe it was too loud. The keyboard sounded fine when it was by itself in the middle of the song. Overall I liked the song though.

The Odoriferous Valley - Pleasant to listen to. I liked it.

Country Blumkins - A little too many "Ye Haws" in the background. The chorus could have had something extra musically, to differentiate it a little. Overall I liked it.

Primitive Screwheads - I liked it. It could have had more of a change musically in the chorus though. Might have been better without the farting type noise, but that did seem make it seem more silly which maybe was the point.

Ross Durand - I love the lyrics!!! The music is great too! Very creative having the Genie do some of the vocals. I am actually going to vote for this over my own song, which is a first for me.

Signboy - I like the vocals. I like the music. Not particulary memorable, but still a good song.

Stever Durand - Pleasant sounding, I am not sure the vocals went too well with the music. I liked the music solo parts the best.

Those Meddling Kids - I liked it. Once the vocals ended, the last 1/3 of the song seems like it could have been a little shorter.

Wages feat. Project D - I liked the song at the start, but it gets kind of repetitive / boring after a while. The vocals and music were fine though.

Wes Davis - Good singing. Song gets a little boring for me after a while. Since it is just you and your guitar, I am not sure there is much you could do about that though, but making it 4 minute long did not help. The echo effect about 2/3 of the way through helped, and the soft guitar solo right after that was good too.
Last edited by MC Eric B on Sat Apr 14, 2007 7:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Rabid Garfunkel »

Caravan Ray wrote:Cool cover art Rabs!
Cheers, yo. Just can't trust those little girls... :lol:

Early favs: Ross Durand, King Arthur, and Melvin :shock:. The strong way outnumber the weak in this fight. Even our hand farting sounds decent, heh.
Last edited by Rabid Garfunkel on Sat Apr 14, 2007 9:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: My Ten Lies Reviews

Post by Billy's Little Trip »

MC Eric B wrote:Billy's Little Trip - Overall I liked it. Vocals on the chorus remind me a little of somebody who's drunk, but that gives it style. Also, I like the background "whoooos" on the chorus. It makes it stand out and more catchy.
That's because I was drunk. Thanks Eric, glad you liked it. :wink:
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