The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Title: No One Else
Challenge: No Guitars

Abominominous

Billy's Little Trip

The Bovine Recyclery

Frankie Big Face

Merisan

Paco Del Stinko

Puce

Ross Durand

Tex Beaumont and the Dirty Hearts

Thank Glennny For The Frisbee

<a href="http://www.glenncase.com/m3u/NurEinRound4.m3u">STREAM ALL</a>

The Jury will now deliberate. The Jury's decision as well as the new title will be posted on June 8th at 1PM(EST).

NUR EIN!

Stream all works now.

ROCK!

Glenn Case

As mentioned, here is a link to my unsubmitted No One Else.

bwell wrote:As mentioned, here is a link to my unsubmitted No One Else.

Wow, that's REALLY a shame that you weren't able to get this in on time. This is a very pretty, melodic song, and it would have probably been near the top of my list this week. One of my favorite BeWells songs I have heard to date.

ROCK!

Glenn Case

Abominominous all the way on this one. Awesome.

First impressions.

Abominominous - I'm curious: did you write this song using a guitar, and then arrange it for other instruments? This is an inspired arrangement. High marks!

Billy's Little Trip - Oh this is fun! My kids are gonna like this one. Oh, well they would have, were the f-bomb not in there. Drop a radio-edit version on me, and I guarantee lots of airplay around the house. I'm really enjoying this. I know you're a guitar dude, but they'd just get in the way here. The drums might be a little too out-front, or maybe it's just my computer speakers.

The Bovine Recyclery - "You lift me up like family / You're the antithesis of gravity". NICE. As usual, this is goofy good. It's a little bit on the novelty song side. It'd be fun to cover this.

Frankie Big Face - Man, I wanna learn this and play it this weekend. The Balsams has a grand piano up there just waiting for this. This is a fine piece of work, Frankie.

Merisan - This is so well-performed. I'd love to read the lyrics (I didn't see 'em in the lyrics thread). Then that instrumental. Oh man, gorgeous.

Paco Del Stinko - I've been listening to Mr. Bungle the last few days, so this intro grabs my attention right away. This is a solid and original approach. I'd have liked it to be a bit more dynamic as it went along. It just felt like it wanted to take off, and never quite did. A very good song by SF standards, certainly, but up against some very stiff competition here.

Puce - This may also be my computer speakers not doing the mix justice, but the vocals sound trapped behind the funfactory instrumentation. Actually, as it goes along, I begin to get used to the arrangement, and I can pick out the vox easier. Aw, more F-bombs to keep the family from hearing a song they might otherwise enjoy. Why don't you boys play nice music? Seriously, excellent work here.

Ross Durand - Is that a guitar? If not, it's serving the purpose of one admirably. You've probably already explained your instruments somewhere here, but I haven't seen it. Anyway, about the song: Very good vocal work. The song is less predictable as it goes along than I was afraid it might be at first. Another one that would kick asses and take names in a regular SongFight, but might run into trouble out here in the Nur Ein.

Tex Beaumont and the Dirty Hearts - Love those drums. I think this is my favorite Tex Beaumont song ever. The last thing you want from me is a Peter Gabriel comparison, so I'll just say great job.

Thank Glennny For The Frisbee - I guess there has to be a song I like least, and I guess this is it. It's not a bad song by any means. But the thin vocals and the lack of 'punch' make it hard to compete with this field. I feel bad saying that, because I know I can listen to this one again and really enjoy it for what it is. But you know, Nur Ein.

BONUS: The Bewells song was posted while I was typing these up. So...

Bewells - Yeah, it's a real shame this didn't make the cut. 'Cause it'd probably have made the cut, y'know? What do you use for a piano? That sounds great.

So, that was pretty awesome. Y'all are good. I'm not even gonna try to rank these, because 1) I'd need to listen to 'em all again, and 2) I don't HAVE to rank them, thankfully.

bwell wrote:As mentioned, here is a link to my unsubmitted No One Else.

Absolutely beautiful. This would have given Frankie a run for his money for the top spot in my opinion.

jimtyrrell wrote:Is that a guitar? If not, it's serving the purpose of one admirably.

Appalachian Dulcimer

Nice!

Woo Hoo, my last appointment for this afternoon canceled, so I get some me time before my house fills with psychotic scrambling. Because when everyone comes home, I have this disorder where I try to make sunny side up eggs, but I get impatient at the last minute and start stirring them frantically. This can go on for hours.


Abominominous = Very dramatic intro and outro. Killer lyrics. Very full sound. I love the distant back up vox. A perfect blend of awareness and dream state. Plus some great complimenting sounds and FX. I really like it.

Billy's Little Trip = Steve Durand is my horn section on this wall of noise. I simply love that man's hornyness.

The Bovine Recyclery = What a fun bouncy song. You can't see it right now, but I'm dancing in my chair. No wonder Bjam can never stop talking about you. great song.

Frankie Big Face = Wonderful song. This is so comfortable. Like reminiscing a fond memory. So well played and written. Well done.

Merisan = Erin, you have such a beautiful voice with such a mellow range. Lunk is no dummy working with you. But I must say, he backed you up perfectly. Pretty good for an old guitar slinger. What a nice song you guys, I really like it.

Paco Del Stinko = This sounds serious but I can't seem to wipe this grin off my face. You are such a creative composer. Everything you do gives me a vivid mental picture. I will admit that it's disappointing not hearing your guitar, but you sure filled the void nicely. I am pleasantly engulfed in this song. You sir, are a true artist. I like it.

Puce = This is like a candy store of sound. I feel like Charlie Bucket walking down the isles looking at all the pretty colors and shapes with my mouth watering. The vocals are so complimentary to the shelf after shelf of delectable sweets. This wins the golden ticket for entertaining sound. I like it.

Ross Durand = You are so consistently awesome! I don't know how you do it. You found a sweet spot years ago and have stayed true to it. This has such an old school feel with a 21st century originality intermingled. This song makes me sway to the melody. very nice, I like this song.

Tex Beaumont and the Dirty Hearts = I'm always impressed by your vivid writing style. This has such an Australian flavor, it's just so awesome to listen to. Not that this sounds like Midnight Oil, but I've always loved how regional their music was, and you seem to stay true to your home land too. I can listen to music like this forever. So well performed and image provoking. I like this tune.

Thank Glennny For The Frisbee = Such honesty and simplicity. Some one called this too thin, but that's exactly what I love about this song. The metaphoric creativity of this song blend to make such a great story. Then backed by some shredding mandolin and a solid bass. I really like this song. Nice work guys.

jimtyrrell wrote:What do you use for a piano? That sounds great.

That is the Steinway grand piano included in Apple's Symphony Orchestra GarageBand Jam Pack. Although, I'm using it with Logic Express instead of GarageBand.

As unmentioned, here's a a link to my unsubmitted No One Else, posted at the obvious URL in case people were peeking around between Friday night and today.

It's tough leaving a song alone for ~5 days. Lots of class acts in this fight.

Plat wrote:As unmentioned, here's a a link to my unsubmitted No One Else, posted at the obvious URL in case people were peeking around between Friday night and today.

It's tough leaving a song alone for ~5 days. Lots of class acts in this fight.

Pure genius Plat.

Not reviews, not rankings (except very generally), but a few comments. Based on one listen to encourage others to post as well (thanks for your comment Jim and Chris), so not as detailed as I'd like.

Dang this is great! What a great set of ten songs (even yours, Puce )

A few thoughts in alpha order

Great starter by A-bomb. Neat to hear you work with different tools. One listen leaves me wanting to listen again to get another pass at the words because what ever they are the vocals are delivered very convincingly. Best one from you this fight since Let Me In, I think. I expect you'll be moving on.
If a complaint - too long.

BLT is sounding cool as always - horns sound good, but pretty low in the mix (using my Bro against me?). Very cool, very fun. Nice work without your reliable geetar.

Bo/Re - hype aside. This sounds great, much fun. Well produced, interesting words. Some neat changes and "floating" chords (not sure if that's well communicated, but I know what I mean). I expect you'll be moving on.
If a complaint - a little frantic feeling - leave yourself some space sometimes.

Frankie - Top notch. You own this song, but if i had to describe it I'd say it sounds like David Bowie covering Billy Joel. Early in Nur Ein! I was thinking it would be neat to have you in the regular fights, but now, in a purely selfish sense, I'd say please stay away I especially like the pumping quarters in the bridge. Very good melody work. Minimal piano applied just right. I expect you'll be moving on, but I hope they get rid of immunity this round.

Merisan - Dare I comment ?:-) Beautiful. Lunk, you may have missed yer geetar, but it isn't evident here. Very nice song as always. good arrangement, vocals are....Merisan (that's a good thing). I expect you'll be staying in.
If a complaint - could have benefited from more variety in arrangement as the song goes on.

Paco - this is enjoyable. It's interesting to hear you without your guitar. The song holds together nicely, but I think I hear that you miss your guitar here and I think the arrangement suffered compared to your usual work. I like that it's not quite as out there as possible, but still contains that Paco flair.

Puce - good Puce, but I do feel you pulled a few musical punches (arrangement punches) compared to if you were fighting this week. I love hearing your voice go all frantic at the end, super fun.) Seem like risky lyrics compared to some of yours.

In a set this strong I'm proud to be here and happy to hear how well my song sits in the mix ( I think, anyway). I love playing my dulcimer, which I probably don't do often enough. (It's a little weird since there isn't a fret every half-step.) So I appreciate the challenge having me incorporate it. I'm proud of this, whatever happens.

The Tex is good as always, nicely arranged (do I hear Caravan Ray singing really high on the left there near the end?) Yer a good user of Garageband.
If a complaint - too long - but I see why you ended up there based on combanitorics.

TGFTF - This sounds like more Frisbee than Glenny for some reason (the guitar challenge?). A good song, but somehow I feel it's not quite as solid as some of the others you have done this Ein! and I agree with previous comments about thin or tinny in the mix.

Any negative comments I've made have been for the sake of reviewing in general. This was a very enjoyable listen all around. I do think a few are quite likely to make the cut, other than that.....we'll see what the judges have to say.

Nur Ein! QOTD (well of today anyway) What would be the best play order for this if it was an album?

Wow! I'm impressed! We had very little time to work on our song, I'm still too close to it and have a bit of a studio tan. I have no idea how the judges will judge this round.

I won't be surprised if any of these songs get top honors.

Merisan- If I had to bet on a winner for this round I would bet on this one. This is gorgeous and flawless. This is haunting and gorgeous and perfectly executed. How are we supposed to compete with this? This makes my all time Song Fight favorite list. You guys need a guitarist in your band?

Ross Durand- When you're on, you're really on! This is one of my favorites from you. This is very Zeppelin III to me, yet very your own style. I guess the dulcimer carries with it that mood. Wonderful wonderful song!

Abominominous- This is fantastic as well! This is a little shocking, only in that I suppose I pigeon holed you in a particular genre, and this is a departure. I like your comfort zone genre, but this is great too.

Paco Del Stinko- Dude, you're just a freaking genius! I'm always incredibly entertained. This will go nicely in my PDS collection. Those backing vocals make me laugh, I love it! No complaints, wildly impressed per usual.

Billy's Little Trip- this is a BAD ASS groove! Is that a fretless bass? There's some weird intonation going on, that's not a criticism, there's something very appealing about the bass sound. Love it dude!

Tex- Wow! This is very groovy! Love the bass playing. Great singing and a very enjoyable song. The keys sound cool, however I think another organic/acoustic instrument would work a bit better. Good stuff!

The Bovine Recyclery- On 1st listen this was my favorite song of the fight. it's very very very very poppy sweet. As the RD and Merisan tracks grow on me, this remains nothing short of pop brilliance but still more total pop than I prefer. Fantastic playing/singing/production. Umm maybe this is my favorite, I don't know, it's soooooooooo good!!!

Frankie Big Face- Man I love your voice! This time I hear a little more Robyn Hitchcock than Davey Jones. Great piano playing, nice dynamics. The song doesn't really knock my socks off, very well done, maybe you sound too comfortable playing piano and I'm just incredibly jealous. I wouldn't be surprised if this wins either.

Puce- This is a delight to listen to, especially from a production standpoint. Very very very cool noises.

TGFTF (us) - The time crunch almost got us. I didn't get to start on my part of it until late Tuesday night. My mix is a headphone mix at 4AM, I regret not waiting to hear it loud on speakers. I was pretty pleased with the song until I heard everybody elses masterpieces.

Question of the Day- Song Order if this were an album. I enjoy ordering songs a lot. Here's how I'd do it and some reasons why:

Track1- The Bovine Recyclery- Grab the listeners attention quickly. This is short and sweet like a good intro if you will, for the song that is the album.

Track2- Tex Beaumont & The Dirty Hands- This establishes a nice groove and is very versey. This gives a a good setting.

Track3- Merisan- The single. Our 1st wave of emotion from the happiness of the BoRe down to this sombre and chilling beautiful song.

Track4- Puce- Wrecked by the emotion of the Merisan song, the listener must shake it off and carry on. Puce makes the saking it off noise very well. The heightened affectation in the vocals is indicative of one's struggle through hardship.

Track5- Ross Durand- This would end side 1 on vinyl. This gives a glimmer of hope, the organic sounds breathe so fresh coming off of the chilling Puce production.

Track6 Paco Del Stinko- Side 2 begins. This sets a dark tone. Squashes the hope that came from Ross.

Track 7 TGFTF- I see this as the "solo" of the grand song of this album. Lot's of frantic melodic intertwining at the fastest tempo of the album. Frisbee's lyrics are very dark against the happy music almost suggest a resigning to the darkness.

Track8 Billy's Little Trip- This is the dance song to me. I imagine the listener realizing his situation and drinking and dancing in this dark place.

Track9 Frankie Big Face- After the party of Billy comes reflection. A sentimental self reflective view of your journey thus far. Very sombre and contemplitive after all you've been through.

Track 10 Abominominous- Brings it all home. The epic huge song that could only go at the end. Big string section always indicate the end of the album. This album ends with a bang not a wimper. It's a good summation of the journey of the album.

(The Bewells is the B-Side to the Merisan single)

OK - rankings for this week. Got to admit, standard is very high of course, no duds whatsoever - but all the same, I wasn't really blown away by anything either - maybe I'm just in a negative mood - I actually rated 2 of the songs I liked best as the last two - based purely on recording issues, that isn't normally like me - anyway:

1. TEX BEAUMONT - Yeah, I'm giving Tex top position this week. I was very happy how this came out. Basically, the title "No One Else" really threw me - much too vague - I need very strict boundary conditions or I can't even get started. So I went to the regular fight title, "Sugar Shaker" (which just happened to be due on the same date) and threw it in as well. The result was a strange story about a ficticious sexy female sugar cane cutter who gets eaten by a crocodile. I have spent a lot of tme working around the cane towns in far north Queensland - it is a very imposing landscape. For me anyway, this nicely captures some of the 'steaminess' of the place.

2. MERSIAN - Wonderful vocals. Sam may have been nobbled by taking his guitar off him, but it didn't really help us. Next weeks challenge should be "All female vocalist to sing with a mouth full of marbles". This reminds me of Natalie Merchant/10000 Maniacs (circa. 'Our Time In Eden'). And wandering off topic...I have spent the last several weeks watching "The Little Mermaid" virtually non-stop courtesy of my 3.y.o daughter - and the girl who does Ariel's voice annoys the hell out me. She is supposed to be a frikking mermaid with a frikking beautiful voice but it just grates on me when she sings that bloody 'I want to be human' song - whatever it is called. Erin - could you please write to Walt Disney and ask them to re-make the movie with you as the voice of Ariel. That would be much better.

3. PUCE - Bastard! Your half-arsed throw-away stuff is still better than everybody else. The music here is really great. Maybe some more variation in the vocal melody would be good - but still - pretty good, and far less Savage Garden than last week. Love the gratuitous swearing too. I don't care what anybody says - as far as I'm concerned, swearing is both big AND clever.

4: BORE: Happy and bouncy and jaunty. I like that. Very Ben Foldsy. I still have issues with the trivial lyrics - but it isn't really bothering me so much this week

5. ABOMINOMINOMINOUS: This is very very good. I think. Just not connecting with me. I can easily see how this could really float somebodys boat. It has quality written all over it. But just not really my thing.

6. PACODELSTINKO: This may grow on me - but for now I miss your guitar. Sounds like the slightly weird song on an Alice Cooper (say, "Steven" on "Welcome To My Nightmare") record that I might fast-forward through.

7. ROSSDURAND: So Ross - according to your complex song marking schemes - how do you assess somebody who addresses a "No Guitar" challenge by using an instrument that looks just like a guitar and sounds just like a guitar? You have been the most consistant in this competition so far in my opinion. Hope this song doesn't make you come a cropper. Maybe the judges will like it. It didn't do a lot for me.

8. FRANKIEBIGFACE: This just conjures up unpleasant images of a 3-in-a-bed nude romp with Billy Joel, Paul Macartney and David Bowie. Nothing really wrong with it - fine if you like that sort of thing I suppose - but not my cup of tea.

9. BLT - This is a truly great song. I want to do a cover version of it. SD's horns are just perfect, and "motherfucker" is a word that just isn't used enough in contemporary music as far as I am concerned (though what exactly is the motherfucker that is going down? I thought it was the sun at first - but it is night isn't it? Does it actually make sense? Whatever.)...BUT...this is the 3rd week in a row I think I have had issues with your chorus. I think the "whoooas" are throwing it off. Anyway - in this field - one strike and you are out.

10. GLENNY/FRISBEE - I like this song a lot. All of your songs in this comp have been good, last week especially. But this week recording quality/production/whatever just letting it down. Sadly - that may be the difference between staying or going.

Hey that's pretty cool, Glen. I'll listen again but in that sequence.

Ray - I love "Steven" on that record - it's actually one of my favorites! Check out the Easy Action album by Cooper: very early, wiggy, and poppy. (Now there's a law firm you don't want to hire)

Three posts in a row? Could I be any more lame? Here are my thoughts on the songs, listened to the second time, in Glennny's suggested album order with the Bewells as bonus track, but here returned to convenient alphabetical form.
.
Abominominous - So somber right into hip and now drive. I like where it turns around the "confess" lines. Great layering and instrument choices, I found it more dizzying in the beginning and more smooth and falling down the magicians hat by the end. Excellent song and who needs guitars anyway, right?

BLT - Summery and colorful right into heady and gonzo. Good mix of rock, sun, and swoozey good times. I'm sure this would get people dancing like fools at a party. The vocals could be spiffed up a bit, but sit well, and SD's horns are always great.

BoRe - One mans' trash...This could almost be a TV show theme. Intricate and bold, this is good-time fun and w/o any apparent flaw. Super.

Frankoleum - I think the mood of this along with its honest feel are enough to win the round. It's a song, not a production, and it just feels real. Good melody sung confidently, lyrics and chords interesting, dynamics all there. People will be crying listening to this. That's great!

Merisan - Reflective and airy, this is well balanced w/o being too dark or light. The vocals all around are very nice and although a guitar would probaly fit in there, it sounds more than fine as is. Tasteful.

PDS - That voice is the worst. When I got the chords, vocals and bass done, it felt dense enough to not over-do the layers, hence the one teeny key on the right.

Puce - Surprisingly dark, it rocks and creeps you out a little. I'm not a long time Puce expert, but this chorus sounds instantly recognizable to me as one of yours. Not to say ripped off or borrowed, more as a signature. I like the coldish feel here.

Ross Durand - The strings sure sound nice, esp. after all the keys. I like how the song builds, on many levels, to its climax and gently ebbs away. Nice melodies and vocal work too, all well done, if almost too thick at times (mix-wise). I like the high end stuff being taken care of percussively. Good song with feel.

Tex - Some occasional wobbles aside, this is some of the best singing I've heard from Tex and related. The moody seriousness works well, esp. so as it's an airy arrangement. Nice layers and arrangement w/ good visuals.

TGFTF - Smiths-like mix of upbeat music w/ darker lyrics works well, on top of a good melody to boot. It could be tighter, but it's energetic and has a warm charm to it. Very both of you guys, this continues to be a great team up. Gotta say the bass lines and sounds are fab, but the mix distracts a bit. (I did see the head-phones comment, Glen)

*Bewells - Sentimental feeling, but genuine and not too gushed out. Very nice and almost fragile melody, it's got ease w/o the cheese. There are nice traditional type changes in here that send it home emotionally, especially the ending.[/b]

I predict Frankie to win and look forward to watching the show from the very talented bench. Good music all around - thanks for it!

jimtyrrell wrote:The drums might be a little too out-front, or maybe it's just my computer speakers.

This was intentional, but I may have snapped that snare a little hard. *Explanation to follow.

rdurand wrote: horns sound good, but pretty low in the mix (using my Bro against me?)

Setting the horns back in the mix was also intensional. *Explanation to follow. Oh, and the "using your Bro against you" wasn't intentional, but now that you mention it, NUR EIN!

glennny wrote:Is that a fretless bass? There's some weird intonation going on

Not a fretless, but I'm happy you heard what I was going for. It took me 3 bass tracks and some creative EQing and bending to get it, but it's so translucent under the layers, I'm surprised you heard it. You sure have an ear for the strings.

Caravan Ray wrote: "motherfucker" is a word that just isn't used enough in contemporary music as far as I am concerned (though what exactly is the motherfucker that is going down?

The general use here is simply the night. But the other options are, the moon, The metaphorical ship that has set sail, the mood, the 24 hour segment of life that has been hectic and you want to close it out with some dancing and drinking and maybe a nice horizontal mambo.

Paco Del Stinko wrote:Summery and colorful right into heady and gonzo.

You always have the right words for me. I would never think to say heady or gonzo, but that is exactly what I was shooting for.

*Explanation of my goals here:
Anti-contemporary was the primary goal. This song is intended to have a traditional sound with a current BLT vibe, thus the placement of the horns, drum placement, abrasive verbiage, bass intonation, headiness, gonzoizm, etc.
There are no solos here. Everyone is having fun, giving it their all and everyone is welcome to join the party. If this was live, I would have been throwing people shaker eggs, whistles, tambourines and most definitely a cow bell to the prettiest drunk girl.......or Paco. Thanks guys.

I will be the first to say, with the exception of Steve's horn section, this song lacks the talent level of this group. But I will also say, it's the way I like to do my thing, it's a fun song and I had a blast doing it. These challenges have really pushed me to explore new things.
NUR EIN!

Abom-this is really good. I love the drums! I like the flow of the lyrics, especially since they keep attention without necessarily rhyming which is refreshing. There is nothing I dislike about this song.

BLT- I like the bassline. I agree that the horns arent in the mix more fully. By the way I wasn’t aware that we could use eliminated players to supplement our songs , but hey its good to know that now. Actually I really think you guys have great chemistry and should exploit that more often.

BoRe- I don’t like this song as much as your previous entries, but its still solid. I think I just don’t like the style you chose this time. I agree with the ben folds comments. You sure do work it out nicely on this song.
Even though its not my fav. BoRe song I think its still going to be very close to the top this round.

Frankie Big Face- nice piano work man!! I like the lamenting lyrics and the mood of the song . This song conveys a lot of emotion which I think is really good. Awfully simple, but not simply awful. The simplicity really brings the feeling to the surface.

Merisan- vocals are king here. I always love the harmonies you have. Beautiful.

Paco Del Stinko- this song is STARVING for a guitar! The song is good as it is, but it would be even better if we were aloud to use guitars. Considering the challenge though I would say made a great song.
I always like your entries, I am confident that you will stay for the next round, maybe not at the top but in there none the less.

Puce- I was sure you were going to use a guitar this time just because you can. Great job…blah blah…I cant get over my jealousy right now so I will move on. Awesome song though seriously.

Ross D-this might be my favorite so far. Your vocal melodies and depth are really impressive. Actually this might be one of my favorite Ross Durand songs ever. Great work!

TexBDirty-this is very ricky martin. And though I hate ricky martin ,as a musician and a person , I like this song. Very well put together.

GlennnyFrisbee- okay, all I can play is guitar and poorly at that. This challenge effectively neutered me…figuratively. But Glennny is so awesome that he made all this music off of a crappy one take guitar song that got deleted out of the mix. We were almost a casualty of the deadline because time was short and I couldn’t get the song to glennny till late ,but considering everything I think it turned out well…I hope the judges agree.

My rankings, excluding puce and GlennyFrisbee.
this is just the order of my own taste. not who i think should go.
I don’t want to see anyone go…but, such is NUR EIN

1. Ross Durand
2.Abom
3.Frankie Big Face
4.merisan
5.BoRe
6.Tex
7.Paco
8.BLT