That's What She Said that started the fight (Review thread)

Discuss upcoming, current, and previous song fights.
jackfrost
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That's What She Said that started the fight (Review thread)

Post by jackfrost »

She said was all your fault!!!
Now apologize!!!
ex-kal
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Post by ex-kal »

b.ellison: that violin seems out of place somehow...seems a bit off key...its throwing the whole song off....other than the track is nice...i like the bells at "put the pieces in place", singing is par

buddy buchanan: did you say "i'm still jenny from the block" wtf lol...why are the vocals so low? quality isn't too good either....i can't really hear anything your saying. sounds like your freestyling...the beat is pretty interesting

Carpetburn: the guitar and drums is dope...singing is kind of shaky..i can dig the lyrics and the composition of the verses and such

Da Blump: singing is shaky too...but I like this track...fun guitar riff.

Evil e: I like the music on this one...interesting blend of sounds...claps i dunno if I like the horn...i'd probably like it better if it was a regular sounding trumpet

Ex & Intact: ats me and my bro.

giant snail: um okay that was reallly short.

Gurdonokl: I like the music....this track is like creepy sort of. after while it gets kind of boring...i can't really understand what you're saying all that well


hamnoburger: singing is on point for the most part...piano is on point...melody and overal composition could be more interesting i think...the bridge comes at the right part, i was getting bored....pretty cool tho, one of the best so far

i'll do the rest later guyz
gurdonark
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Great job, y'all

Post by gurdonark »

Although as a newbie I suppose I should wait until all other votes are counted, I found a space of spare time during this holiday, jotted down my notes, and am posting away. Great fun listening to these songs. Y'all have a lot of great ideas.

Here's my reviews:

Carpetburn--great melodic intro. The syncopated percussion is
interesting. The interplay of vocals and guitar is interesting,
although the guitar rather gets the better of the confrontation.
The propulsive pop fun of the "that's what she said" section is fun.
The Records-like walls of guitars work pretty well for me, as does the
melodic break and the little quirky instruments. The song goes higher
than the singer's best range, which is too bad, because the singer is
likeable. Overall,a lot of really good ideas and a fun listen, but the
gold is not a perfectly pure alloy.

DaBlump--1,2,3,4--rock-solid drums interspersed with guitars.
I like the call and response vocals. Fun little pop melody--traditional
but not cloying. The flat backing vocals are somehow endearing.
The layered vocals work well here, reminding the listener of retro
early 70s material. Garage pop can be fun, and this is a good example
of how. The "you're fucked up in your head" is not as witty as this
melody deserves. I'd love to hear a subtler, more comic lyric. I love
the way, though, that the listener does not believe the narrator for an
instant, which is cool storytelling. A nice song.

Ex & Intact--"this girl grabs life by the horns" and so do the
vocalists here. The beats fit pretty well with the vocal, but sound
awfully virtual in the way they're mixed here. Still, it's got spirit
and the spoken words are interesting. The vocalists work well together,
and the little understated guitar-ish melody line redeems this from
being just another hip hop drum machine exercise. This one needs some
variation--an instrumental break and a change of vocal pace, to keep ti
alive. I like the way the vocals are presented here--easy to
understand, not to labored with fx. The entire mix has a spareness
appropriate to the song, except the aforementioned percussion
imperfections. I like the extro really well. Not at all a bad one--did
not hold my attention as much after the middle of the song as it did in
the brisk beginning.

Jim Tyrrell--welcome to 1972. Did we all get our tickets to the Foghat
revival? What's that you said? Wishbone Ash? Wait, let me turn up my
hearing aid. Oh, Stevie Ray Vaughan, except the guy can sing? Or did you say Johnny Winter Live? I'm so confused. I know it's something about
blue eyed blues, but it's not fast enough or Memphis enough to be the
Cate Brothers. But that guitar line is incredible. Paging Dickey Betts.
Dr. Betts, please come carbon-date this song. What a great jaunty feel
to it, you say, singing into your stethoscope?. Welcome to Memphis
after all. "Rock n roll will make you rant and rave, it will lead you
to an early grave, but at least that's better than the other
ways"--Larry Raspberry. A fun retro song, well-mixed. It's nothing new,
but it's old in the best kind of way.

Tractor Trailer. Nobody can argue with a solid acoustic guitar intro.
The vocals come in a little muddy, mixed in a bit roughly. She said "I
don't need no more of you", but I wish her falsetto were a little
sweeter. The song has a languid band-playing-a-hip-cafe sound, but the
lyrics are from a youtube music video by a high school foursome I
imagine might be called Grave Consequences. Vim, though. Even vigour.
She turned around and walked out the door, which is really a relief,
because so often she used to break up with me and then expect me to
listen as she complained about her new beau. I enjoyed this
one--lyrics and vocal mix are its weaker points.

Melvin--A good melody, with a great use of bass and guitar interplay.
The echo on the vocals is less effective than other elements of the
song. I know the fellow's problem in this song--he needs to learn to
get off on poetry, or find a girl who does, or something like that.
Great Britpop. Needs more poetry. This one has me dancing along in my
chair, a bit. I love the retreat into falsetto for the "she" in "she
said". Life needs more Russell Mael and less Britney Spears. This is a
completely winning pop song. A treat.

Buddy Buchanan
A nice little keyboard melody, with a bit of static in the backing.
The beat feels right, but the vocals are indecipherable. Needs EQ help.
Here you have a fellow with a good, steady tone, and a likable voice
and yet most of the rap is muddied up by the mix. That electronica
behind the "that's what she said" does not work, although it might be a
great donation to the Freesound Project as a plumbers at work sample.
This one is interesting whenever the little light chill melody is in
evidence, and falls short otherwise. The rap ain't the word if the
words can't be heard.

Jeff Robertson's 3-Chord Cloud of Sound
A wall of guitar starts us off, and it's "BIG" enough to virtually be a
clip, and then the vocals do sound clipped. Wall of sound does not mean
wall of unrestrained EQ. I have made that mistake myself, many a time.
I like the percussion. I like the melody. The mix is really
unfortunate. I think it's kinda cool to lo-fi the vocals, but this goes
beyond mere lo-fi into lo-listenability. Get Magix Audio Studio 10 for
15 dollars somewhere, and use its mixer religiously. Watch for the red
lights. Nice guitar line. I think this might be a really fun 3 chord
cloud of sound if the rainstorm of production values did not get into
the way. I never mind clipping in a good cause, and love noise, but
this one needs a more traditional mix.

Ross Durand--This is a really easy, jaunty melody, with a great
instrumental accompaniment. The first 35 seconds are smooth as butter.
The Seeds meet the Cowslips meet the Long Ryders meet the Partridge
Family meet someone really cool who writes free verse but still makes
his songs needlessly rhyme. The backing vocals are grand. The refrain
is a bit north of the singer's best range--I'd send it down a key or
two altogether,or better yet have the refrain bridge downward and not
upward. I really enjoy the way the elements of this song are so retro
and yet the song is as fresh as yesterday. I never realized that
richard carpenter and Muff Winwood produced songs together, until now.
A great harken back to pop classics, in a very non-bubblegum song.

Gurdonark--my goodness. A newbie with a softsynth. A spoken word field
recording on top of it. Aren't you supposed be in a field or something
when you do a field recording? What is he blithering on about?
Microphone, use the microphone, not the dictaphone. Not to worry,
she'll marry someone else and spare him. Three someone elses, now that
I remember it all. But good heavens. Sing, man. Sing.

Rum Dreams--Pretty intro with a neat little southern-rock guitar line.
Rambling, shambling vocals, of a piece with the melody, but the backing
is hard to make out. "halloween's my favorite, new year's is the worst"
is a good line. This is a short piece--not a bad listen, but it does
not "grab me". I'd like to hear the vocals remixed.


Wreckdom
A noisy beginning leads into a frenetic, psychedelic vocal, which is
hard to make out but sounds funny anyway. The rock guitar run is
energetic and interesting. Creative use of samples to pastiche this
into something odd and fun. Those synth grunts contrast with the heavy
rock of it all. Despite the vaguely Sonic Youth sense of "more
experimentation than meets the eye" here, this one is still rambling
just a bit too loose to quite fully cohere. "I'm going to give it to
her, that's what she said to do" wins the Bon Scott Lyricist of the
Competition award.

B ellison--This light-hearted, lightweight song has a lilt to it that I
like, but the assembly is more than a bit rough. I love orchestration,
but this song's mix doesn't work. A more stripped=down approach with a
cleaner mix might work better. I do like the leisurely feel of the
melody,and the keyboard-sounding sounds. I like that everyone involved
in this sounds as if they are having fun, but the song does not hold
together as effectively as it might as a complete song.

Evil E--a jaunty melody with a curious horn, but the opening line is
not prepossessing. The hand-claps sounds as if the robots are bored.
I like the basic melody of the song. I like the way this competition
generates a lot of songs that sound like light-hearted Britpop road
songs done in a rural canyon country garage. Goofy fun, but not goofy
enough and perhaps not enough fun in general. But I have a soft spot
for it anyway. A lot of track clean-up might make the mix better,
although I suspect some of the "live" feel is an intentional effort to
avoid sounding too virtual. I love the lyrics and bass only lines, this
works when simpler.

The Giant Snail--50s sci fi intros are always a "deal closer". This one
catches my interest from the beginning. That's good. Because there's
only beginning. Only. beginning. Don't ask me. She said it. That's what
she said. What is he saying that she said? 29 seconds of fame, 14
minutes and 31 seconds less than Warhol.

Ham No Burger--Virtual orchestration sequencing out a decent melody,
leading into vocals that are earnest but not entirely successfully
mixed. Here the production values disserve the piece, which would be
really cool as a simple keyboard and quiet vocal. I love that line "I'm
only a voice inside your head". The needles does die without the
thread, very true. Not a bad pop song, disserved by the arrangement,
mix and production values. Cool lyrics. Over the top in the right way.
Call VH-1! 80s music is back, and it's time to rent a bigger synth.

IP--Lovely intro. Very spare and pretty. Gentle, appropriate percussion
leads in. Solid girl-group female vocalist meets Brad from the Rocky
Horror Show. That cad really should not be seeing other women for 6
months, although this all sounds very complicated. These lyrics sound
infectious in the wrong ways. Do-wop parody with a light guitar line,
very interesting. Great dynamic feel to the mix, especially given the
use of so many parody elements and genre backing vocals. The extro is
dissatisfying. The punchline is missing. After the build-up of the
amusing situation involving the couple in early 60s conventions,
there's no Shangri-Las style confrontation and no Shirelles style
heartbreak and no Dionne Warwick psychic acceptance of the complexities of love. Leiber and Stoller would be disappointed, but Carole King would just wish Gerry let her sing more often. Good job.


Swillington--that's one raucous rhythm section. The spoken word is odd,
in a good way, and the near-nonsense rhymes are interesting. I love the
noise elements, but they must be more than a bit "hot" in this mix.
Yep, the little Media Monkey player declares global warming has
erupted. The orchestrated little ambience at 1:20, really more like a
cinematic interlude, is very nice. More of this, please. Then the chill
keyboard is very nice. This part of the song is 100x better than the
intro, until that percussion starts up again, which is just not as
effective. The pretty melody with the stereotypic horns are a nice
break. Pretty effective song parody. Lots of great ideas in this song,
but the execution is imperfect and the ideas don't hang together. Some
cool parts, though. Re-mix the noise parts and they might work, too.

Tone butter--pretty acoustic intro to this song. The vocals have some
microphone puffs, and they deliver a sordid tale in a humorous and
weird way. I think that Pierre is a good name, and the fellow should
have just answered to it. Cheaper than killing, and less complex.
I'm glad to have heard this try, but the lyric doesn't sell me.

The Weakest Suit--Vaguely nirvana intro leading into something less
than fully grungy. This one has an infectious feel to it, draws the
listener in, and the vocals have a sincerity that's nice. This is a
solid little pop song, with effective mix of elements that fit together
and good guitar work. Perhaps an instrumental break would have leavened this up a bit. Good song.

HEY DAVE!--The heavy percussion and vocals mix doesn't grab me because I'd like to hear more melodic elements from the guitars and synths. The backing vocal is kinda cool. The guitar run is nice around 1:00. "She turns your head with the length of her skirt" is a fun line. The
drums are way too far up front in this one. This one is not as easy to
listen to as its melody and lyrical ideas because it's just too noisy
on the mixing choices on the percussion.

Sheail--Pretty vocals and a pretty guitar line start this one off.
This ballad has the feel of a progressive rock band doing a ballad--a
bit mannered, but nonetheless nice. I like that light
orchestration--effective use of additional instruments, not too heavy.
The strings might be even lighter, so that they fade out by "exotic
shores" and become less predictable in their appearances. I really like
this one, perhaps in part because it sounds like something Greg Lake or
Peter Gabriel might have sung in 1972, while someone played a mellotron
and someone else dressed like a flower. Very pretty song. Well done.
I love that little guitar and keyboard break--so subtle, so nice.
Despite the damning with faint praise above, I must say again ,well
done. My goodness. I just realized. I'm going to vote for this one.

Steve Durand--What fun!! This is great. Needs a kazoo solo. Very inventive. Fun vocals, fun horns, fun backing. Great pan fx in the sounds placement. Nice instrumental break. Just a little too robust in the instrumentation for me, but that's not really a sin in this type of genre work. Creative! Great! This would be my runner-up.
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swilington
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Post by swilington »

I love the noise elements, but they must be more than a bit "hot" in this mix.
that's what she said :D
swilington, framed!, lack of sleep,
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Post by melvin »

B Ellison: I like this a lot. It sounds all broken and dusty in a good way. Very nice vibe. The warbly vocals just add to the authentic, old-timey warmth. Very lovely.

Buddy Buchanan: Nothing good here.

Carpet Burn: Awesome. Still one of my favourite bands. The more time I spend learning to play drums, the more I appreciate what a genius you are at drum arrangements. I’m taking notes. I love when the beat switches to being super straight and crashy, as it does at 2:06. That change feels great. Another very good track.

DaBlump: Like the Sublime vibe. Song kind of craps out in the chorus though. Needs a lift in the melody and/or some additional instrumentation to take it somewhere higher.

Evil E: Like the horns. The whole performance is pretty cool, but the song seems to wander around and not really hook me at any point.

Ex+Intact: This some of the tightest and smoothest flow I’ve ever heard on Songfight. Actually, it makes me miss that guy Masterhyde. Cool beat too. I think the song just needs a stronger chorus. Maybe a sung chorus? Anyway, hooray for hip hop that doesn’t suck.

Giant Snail: Complete waste of time. Mine and yours.

Gurdonark: You must be too young to know how short life really is.

Hamnoburger: Huh, this is kind of weird. I think this might be a pretty good song, but the vocal performance/production is kind of killing it, I’m afraid. I think the addition of some compression and mix tweaks could improve this considerably. Uh, not bad, I think.

Hey Dave: Hey Dave. You sound like a fun guy, and this chorus is amazing! It’s a little corny, but in a way that I really enjoy. Great track. I’ll listen to this again. Way to go, Dave!

i.p.: I usually dig boy/girl vocals, and this is pretty diggable. Man, I really wanted this song to take off at about 1:33, and was kind of disappointed to get a mellow solo instead. Is the tension in this song going to pay off? It turns out the answer is no. It really left me hanging. So I’d say this track has several great elements, yet I found it unsatisfying.

Jeff Robertson: The mix is kind of a disaster, but the vocal performance is pretty awesome. Song doesn’t really go anywhere, but there’s enough cool factor to make this a winner. You’re cool.

Jim Tyrrell: Old man bar band. Hate to be a dick about it, but that’s all I can hear.

Melvin: I can rarely make this excuse, but this song is incomplete. I submitted it one minute after the deadline, and if I had more time, I’d change a few things. Still, I think it’s a decent effort. The story: Last fall, there was a bat flying around my bedroom, and I just wanted to go to sleep and hope it would be gone in the morning, but my wife forced me to be a man. I ended up killing it with a broom. She doesn’t want an artiste, she wants a KILLER.

Ross Durand: This is top-shelf Ross. Great writing, great vocals, great production. Falters a bit in the bridge, but totally redeems itself with, “I love you but I can’t do this.” This sounds like classic radio pop. Excellent work.

Rum Dreams: GnG done with more soul than usual. Pretty little song.

Sheail: Hmmm. This is really well done, but it feels a little too heavy for my tastes. Actually, it might just be a little too smart for me. It’s, like, mature or something. Well done. I’m at a loss for words.

Steve Durand: This had me swingin’ right away. Then I was laughing with the first lyric. This is brilliant! Seriously great tune, Steve. And some of your best vocals ever.

Swilington: Yikes. Wait a minute. This is good. The vocals in the first section are oddly mesmerizing, and the spoken word bit in the breakdown is actually pretty hilarious. Even the noisy beats sound pretty awesome, whereas a lot of stuff in this “genre” just sounds grating and uninspired. The total mood shift towards the end is even kind of majestic. I think you’ve accomplished something here.

Tone Butter: “Name’s not Pierre”… that line made me laugh. Pretty good gag-track, but not much of a song.

Tractor Trailer: That’s gotta be Wages. Voice is sounding good as usual. “She’s a bitch and life is a whore,” indeed. Good line. Song’s not really doing much for me though.

Weakest Suit: I like the way this just drives along. I also like the unaffected vocal performance. The overall result is rather trance-like. Also, it harkens back to some golden-era indie rock. Sweet. I like this.

Wreckdom: The lyrics and vocal performance of this song are totally likable, but not necessarily in a musical way. The track sounds cool, yet I couldn’t imagine listening to it again, and I guess that pretty much reveals my opinion.

This week, I'm most impressed by B Ellison, Carpet Burn, Hey Dave, the Durand Bros., and Weakest Suit.
hi!
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furrypedro
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Re: Great job, y'all

Post by furrypedro »

Thankyou you for the reviews so far everyone, but this comment confused me
gurdonark wrote:Carpetburn:... the gold is not a perfectly pure alloy.
since
dictionary wrote:al·loy Pronunciation[n. al-oi, uh-loi; v. uh-loi]
–noun
1. a substance composed of two or more metals, or of a metal or metals with a nonmetal, intimately mixed, as by fusion or electrodeposition.
2. a less costly metal mixed with a more valuable one.
I think I know what you meant
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Re: Great job, y'all

Post by gurdonark »

I completely mangled that metaphor, practically to the point of malaprop.

The gold was alloyed with lesser metals would have been better, but still a bit clunky.
Furrypedro wrote:Thankyou you for the reviews so far everyone, but this comment confused me
gurdonark wrote:Carpetburn:... the gold is not a perfectly pure alloy.
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Post by jackfrost »

Lots of slower, more patient numbers this time. For the most part, it was a pleasure listening to these tunes. For a few it was torture, but that will always be the case.

B. Ellison – I like this quite a bit. I like the melody and the lo-fi-ness of the recording. The mixing/production feels a bit muddy in places, but the song shines through just fine. I like the way the melody takes it’s time throughout the song.

Buddy Buchanan – I really thought this couldn’t get worse, but then at around 1:00 the electronic frog started croaking. It drowned out the vocals nice, but it was annoying as well. If you’re going to rap, put your vocals up front in the mix, otherwise you just hear the same loop of music over and over. Ultimately, this is boring and pointless.

Carpetburn – Nice sounding rock song. The instrumentation is solid and recorded well. The vocals seem a bit spotty in places, maybe a little off key, or maybe I’m just not used to your voice. Overall, though, this is way above the songfight par, and solid dreamy gold to my ears after enduring the previous song.

Da Blump – Great instrumentation and verses. I find the chorus to be weak in comparison, but that may be due to the style you are writing in this time. I don’t recognize what band name you’re playing on, but this sounds like a Sugar Ray/Barenaked Ladies song.

Evil E – I like this song too. The soundscape is built up nicely, and the singing is solid. Great job!!!

Ex & Intact – This is a very rare occurrence in songfight, a rap that actually flows. The rap and the instrumental part are all very well done, but the chorus is very un-catchy. There is no hook in this song to my ears, and it’s begging for a solid chorus. I’m not usually a fan of rap music, but I really enjoyed this and I’m looking forward to hearing more from you guys. Welcome to songfight.

The Giant Snail – If you’re going to submit a 30 second “song”, at least make it intelligible. There is nothing here to review. Waste of time.

Gurdonark – People, this is mothafuckin' SONGFIGHT. If you’re going to bitch about a girl, at least sing it with a bit of emotion. The way this is presented, I don’t care about it. It sounds fake and the speaker comes off sounding like a pussy. You need a punch in the head to come to your senses. Get the fuck over it and submit a song next time. Maybe you could buy the domain SPOKENWORK.org from MC Eric B and start your own thing. As it is, you’re wasting my time.

Ham No Burger – Nice change from last week’s hard rocker. This is getting me wondering, what is your real style? Anyway, I really enjoyed this song. It’s nice and slow and the journey is well worth it. My only complaint is that some of the low vocals sound a little out of tune. Small complaint in a great song though.

Hey Dave – Tight, two minute pop song. Of course, the chorus is the main emphasis here, and it’s great. Something about the production is off. Maybe it’s just the distortion wash on the guitar that I don’t like. I don’t know. Simple, catchy pop songs are the hardest to write. Congratulations, you've achieved it.

i.p. – This song is cute. I like the double vocals. The guy sounds a bit too much like Rivers C for my tastes. The end of the song is disappointing. If you’re telling a story, give it an interesting ending, don’t just end it in the same place. It ends just when I want the story to begin. If the rest of it wasn’t so good, I wouldn’t be so disappointed in where it leaves me.

Jeff Robertson – This is a songfight staple, a song with vocals so distorted that it totally derails any melody and washes into a distorted monotonous mess. From what I heard, I think I’d really like this song if the vocal effect was removed. The instrumentation is great, but again overshadowed by the vocals. The rock was brought, though. I appreciate that.

Jim Tyrrell – Blues? Is this even considered an original song? Everything is very competent here, but I’ve heard this song a billion times. Sorry.

Melvin – I like this song. The chorus is perfectly delivered, and the verses feel heart-felt. Frontrunner, of course, and I'm hearing a Melvin-ness to this that I am really enjoying.

Ross Durand – Hey, the first two lines of the chorus have almost the exact same melody as “Mother and Child Reunion” by Paul Simon. This is without a doubt my favorite song from you, but, man, I just can’t NOT hear Mother and Child Reunion now.
“No I would not give you false hope, on this strange and mournful day” is the part I’m talking about. It comes at 00:20 on the sample on this page.
http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Simon/dp/B00 ... 767&sr=8-1
This is my absolute favorite song about ordering eggs and chicken for breakfast, and the first song with a reggae beat to chart in America.

Rum Dreams – This is another song that takes it’s time to good effect. I like this one, and think you achieved exactly what you set out to do. Nice noodling guitar also.

Sheail – Like Rum Dreams, this is another nice slow song. The instrumentation is lusher here, and I find myself really, really liking it. This is a contender for my vote for sure. The high piano notes are the perfect accent. Love the chord that ends the phrase at around 2:55-3:00. This is a very professional sounding tune.

Steve Durand – First impression: “Pard’ me boys, is that the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?” Fun, fun song. Sounds very big band with perfect horns. Harmonies are flawless. I enjoyed this one quite a bit.

Swiligton – I like the robot voice better than the one in the slow part. Instrumentally, this is very interesting and innovative, but the robot voice does nothing for me. I find I like this song, though, in spite of not wanting to. The end sounds like a Radiohead/Sigur Ros attempt.

Tone Butter – Popper-stopper please, Pierre!!! They’re not expensive. Lyrics that glorify domestic abuse/murder are also not usually a plus for me.

Tractor Trailer – “Ta-rack-tu Tah-rail-lu? Optimistic!” If you get the reference here, let me know. Seriously, this is a cool song. Great vocals. Weak drum fills are a bit distracting, but the vocal performance compensates for the most part.

The Weakest Suit – Could you not afford more than four chords?

WreckdoM – Once the chorus kicked in, I was sold. Lyrics are a treat to listen to. Music is wild. Vocals are creepy to good effect. Another WreckdoM song I like. Hopefully this one will generate some votes. It’s one of the frontrunners, imo. More originality here than in most of the other songs here combined.
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EmbersOfAutumn
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Post by EmbersOfAutumn »

My first review on SongFight - That's what She Said.

First of all, I thought, in general, all of the songs were good. They were pleasing to listen to and covered a variety of genres.

B. Ellison -
Comments: The song was calming and had a very nostalgic feel to it, piano and strings style--definately something that sounds like it would fit in right alongside an oldies station repertoire. The echo on the vocals fit in with the feel of the song, but made it a little hard to hear what was being said (to me, at least... then again, that's not my strong suit.

Pros: The Glockenspiel (I'm guessing) and Organ were a nice touch. Vocal pattern on the chorus was catchy.

Cons: Started to drag a little closer to the end, especially as the vocals were dragged out with every line. It kinda fit in with the genre of the song, but it was a little overdone, in my opinion.

Overall: 7 of 10

Buddy Buchanan -
Comments: I'm not a rap fan. I was in the 90's, but it was a short-lived phase and, even then, very selective. I probably wouldn't be a fair judge on this song because of that. However, I have to admit, the song didn't grab me too much, mainly because of the things listed in the cons.

Pros: Um... sorry, can't really think of any.

Cons: Vocals too soft, the abrupt absence of everything half-way through the song, and what the heck is that growling thing that goes on to the end of each verse? It reminded me I was hungry, as my stomach was making sorta the same sound.

Overall: 1 of 10 (sorry)

Carpetburn -
Comments: The intro grabs me right away, as that is the kind of thing I love for my intros. The chorus set a nice difference between itself and the verse, which is a good thing to accomplish. Something in the bridge kinda was a little too high-pitched for my ears. But things went back right with the verse and chorus again after that.

Pros: The Intro and Chorus were particularly good, I thought. Riding the brass (couldn't tell if it was a hat or crash, because I'm not a drummer) made a nice soft percussion for the verse and intro. I'm also a huge fan of what I call "Dueling Vocals", two vocal tracts that are singing different things at the same time (ala Taking Back Sunday). Outro was nice, too.

Cons: The bridge kinda was hard to get through. There was a part or two throughout the song that got a little cluttered with the guitar patterns.

Overall: 9 of 10

DaBlump -
Comments: I like the Ska feel to the song. It has a very catchy rhytmn, and the counterpoint vocals with distortion is a clever idea. However, it seems, in general, a little naked. Seems like there should be some 'tinsels' added to it here or there to give it a little flavor.

Pros: Addictive rhythms are always good.

Cons: This is just a personal thing, but I've never been a fan of using a lot of profanity in music. I can't really count that against you, because that's just the style you were writing. But I would guess there are others like me who would be a little picky about something like that. And mentioned above, it was a little repetative after a few minutes. A breakdown or some added flavor would have been nice.

Overall: 6 of 10

Evil E -
Comments: The horn (trumpet or harmonica?) and claps gave it a feel-good feel, folk rock style. The intro had a nice beat, too. The clapping bridge kinda was cool.

Pros: The claps were a little heavy, but other than that, a nice percussion to add to the song. Very happy feel song.

Cons: By the end of the song, adding syllables to one syllable words got a little straining (she told me-e, she-e sa-aid). That could work if used a little more moderately.

Overall: 6 of 10

Ex+Intact -
Comments: Again, not a rap fan. I'm not in a good position to judge rap right now, because I watched "Malibu's Most Wanted" yesterday, and all I can think of when I hear rap now is "Traffic, Traffic, looking for my chapstick, there's a Ford Maverick." No offense to you at all.

Pros: Rap prides itself on a good beat, and the beat was pretty solid with this song, so per the genre, you accomplished what needed to be done.

Cons: It's rap, sorry.

Overall: 3 of 10

Giant Snail -
Comments: Dude, where's the song? It was way short! It actually sounded like it could be a great intro to lead into a song, but intros don't stand alone very good. It just is kinda empty.

Pros: Sounds like Movie Orchestration, which is nice and a not-too-oft traversed genre on here.

Cons: 0:29, need I say more?

Overall: 1 of 10 (sorry man. Really liked your last project, looking forward to better next go around)

Gurdonark -
Comments: From the get-go, I got a video game music feel from it, which is fine with me, cause I listen to it all the time. It just didn't seem like it fit to me with the deep, disembodied voice in the background and the intermittent phaser. Kinda was like "Lullaby for a Creepy Man".

Pros: ... Lots of use of the title of the song... that's good I guess.

Cons: Kinda hollow for a song. Casio + repeating weird guy = not a very good song. The sound effects could work, but they were too unpredictable and not paced very well.

Overall: 1 of 10.

Ham No Burger -
Comments: Not meaning to sound biased, but I've liked some of your past projects, so I was looking forward to this one. The intro had an Elton John/Journey feel to it (were it straight piano instead of keyboards). The slow strings gave it a fuller sound too.

Pros: Likable music, and the strings and keyboards played well together.

Cons: After a while, it kind of had an 80's soap opera theme song feel to it. That may not necessarily be a con, but it started to make me think of who killed JR, and I kinda got distracted.

Overall: 6 of 10

HEY DAVE!
Comments: HEY DAVE! EASY ON THE INTRO! Sorry. I just heard Hamnoburger, and the intro woke me up. The rhythm guitar is a little fuzzy, but not necessarily in a bad way. It kinda sounds like a 60's pop song, except for that guitar. Followed the old-fashioned VCVCBC pattern (Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus). I kinda wanted to pull out a tambourine...

Pros: Catchy. The back-up singers made it kind of cool, fitting in with the genre.

Cons: The guitar was a little fuzzy. The song also seemed a little rushed for everything that was in it (3 verses, 4 choruses and bridge in 2 minutes). I guess that's just efficient, though.

Overall: 7 of 10

i.p.
Comments: A lot of people thought "The 60's" when they wrote this song. The Male/Female vocals idea was really good, and kind of clever, as that's "What she said". The chorus had a nice build to it.

Pros: All in all, a pretty good song! The Chorus and Bridge were really nice, especially the Bridge back to verse lead in. I thought the vocals were really clever with the Male/Female difference.

Cons: The ending was really abrupt. Abrupt endings can work, but it caught me kinda off guard, is all.

Overall: 8 of 10

Jeff Robertson...
Comments: Catchy. I like the organ in the background as a background instrument.

Pros: The bridge was cool. I also liked the fill when "That's what she said" was sung.

Cons: Vocal distortion can work, but only if: 1) It's not overused. 2) It's not really used for singing too much of the melody. You kinda got nixed on both of those really. It just was a little too much. The guitars were a little too fuzzy too.

Overall: 5 of 10.

Jym Tyrrell
Comments: Ah, the ol' Blues-Jazz-Rock mix. Kinda got a jazz lounge singer swing to your lyrics.

Pros: Nice bridge guitar lick. Post Bridge verse breakdown was pretty cool too.

Cons: The Jazz Lounge singer really doesn't appeal to me personally. The Bridge had some strange alterations in percussion that kinda drew attention to itself. Outro had a couple of music drops that sounded out of place.

Overall: 5 of 10

Melvin -
Comments: Nice guitar riff and piano on the intro. Again, a little biased because I like your previous stuff too. I have a real problem about letting stuff like that creep into my opinions.

Pros: I love the chorus and the post-chours "Wooo"s. Kinda got a Beach Boys feel to it. The little guitar add-in pieces added some nice flavor to it. Very well rounded song too.

Cons: The chorus was way too enjoyable to be as short as it is.

Overall: 10 of 10

Ross Durand
Comments: Catchy riff for the verse. The chorus is likable and the post-chorus riff has a nice effect to it.

Pros: The guitar riffs are cool. The song, as a whole, is good.

Cons: The guitar on the chorus rings a little and is a bit louder than the rest of the song. It makes the chorus sound a little cluttered. The bridge is a tad cluttered too.

Overall: 7 of 10

Rum Dreams
Comments: Hold on, lemme turn the volume up and start the song again... Islander beach feel to the intro--I like it. I'm a huge Buffett fan, and expected to hear "Son of a Son of a Sailor" at any moment.

Pros: Acoustic Guitars are always a plus.

Cons: Could have been mixed better volume-wise. Certain parts have huge differences in vocals vs. music volume. Song ends way too uneasily.... caught me completely off guard.

Overall: 4 of 10

Sheail
Comments: Did a different start 30 seconds into this? I could have sworn I hit the song skip button or something... Did it again at 2:00. Man, that's a breakneck change in feeling between the chorus and verse.

Pros: The music is nice throughout. After the first song, er... the intro, the music has a nice feel to it. The strings add a lot to it. I love the acoustic riff at 3:30.

Cons: Too strong of a change in the feeling of the song between the chorus and verses. Also a little long for this kind of song. Seems like it would work better as a 2:30 - 3:30 song.

Overall: 5 of 10

Steve Durand
Comments: I think I boarded the Chattanooga Choo-Choo. I love swing, and it's an odd but nice change from the other songs. For swing-jazz, it was handled very well.

Pros: The vocals had a very nice blend, including some great harmony. The instrumental bridge was very catchy.

Cons: None really, it was just a well rounded song.

Overall: 9 of 10

Swillington
Comments: "All your base are belong to us..." Wait a minute, that's not right. Did Microsoft Voice do the vocals for this song or something? It's really creepy.

Pros: The beat coming in at 1:50 was pretty nifty, and was pretty good from then to the end. It just seemed like a totally different, song though.

Cons: "And it makes me want to drown". Tell me about it. No offense.

Overall: 2 of 10

Tone Butter -
Comments: Humorous little song. I'd hate it if my wife called me Pierre, too. Song needs a hook, though.

Pros: Moody Blues-esque feeling. The acoustic is nice.

Cons: I know you were going for the humor, but the music needs a little more. Also, a bit repetative on the lyrics. Would have been better if you added in some more verses.

Overall: 4 of 10

Tractor Trailer
Comments: The music is catchy with some nice bass riffs.

Pros: The music actually isn't bad. It has a southern rock feel that's actually pretty pleasant. Nice outro, too.

Cons: "I don't need you no more", Axl Rose style. Enough said. Also, a couple points for the language. That's just me again, sorry.

Overall: 3 of 10

The Weakest Suit
Comments: ... Sorry, getting a little tired now I'm at the bottom of the list... Seems like the song needs a little spice to it. The guitar riff is nice after the first chorus.

Pros: Not bad overall. The bridge was a nice respite from the trancing repetition up to it. Just what a bridge is supposed to accomplish.

Cons: Vocals are a little soft. Kinda drags after a while, too. The bridge was a nice break, but I was kinda already starting to drift by the time it got there (at 3:00).

Overall: 6 of 10

Wreckdom
Comments: She may be your drug, but I feel like I'm on drugs listening to this.

Pros: It had an end to it.

Cons: It had a beginning.

Overall: 0 of 10


These are all opinionated, so please don't take offense if I didn't like it. Thanks for all of the songs.
"Out of all I've learned in Life,
You always keep your friends close to your heart,
cause they'll help you if you're falling down..."
- The Ataris - Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, B, A, Start
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Æpplês&vØdkã
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Post by Æpplês&vØdkã »

b.ellison-the vocal takes seemed like a little bit much. the song seemed kind of solidly written. didn't really stick out as being that remarkable. seems a bit too warbly. probably intended, but whatevs.

buddybuchanen-well, it's already old school sounding by the time it starts. the vocals are just a little bit too low in the mix. i heard something about batman in there. it's not that bad. from the lyrics I can understand, it's kind of cool, but I can barely hear. them. the chorus is even less intelligible when that frog of a bass appears. it seems like a trunk rattler though.

Carpetburn-nice clean guitar on this one. the vocal take kind of needs a little bit of a de-esser, but whatever, it's songfight. the song craft here is pretty well done. that chorus is a mess of 'what she said'...oh, nice electronics in the break. not perfect, but pretty well done.

Da blump-please give me permission to sample that breakbeat in the beginning. while I'm at it though, the mix is pretty good. the vocals could be a couple of decibles softer, but no real problem. i actually like this one a lot. the vibe is pretty groovy...sounds like the type of song that would get big on a college radio station. a very 90's sounding ode to intoxication. i like that line about bambi.

Evil E- catchy. attention grabbing first line. i really like the horns and the clapping (or whatever that is). While its cool, the lyrics aren't really that great. granted, they don't suck. it just starts kind of meandering after awhile. 'will you ever look past the little world that you've created' is a cool line. same with the drugged out whores and dirty hippies part.

Ex + Intact- man, I really like your flow. The snare doesn't really fit the music though. It's not at crisp as it could be. Definitely a laid back groove though. The lyrics have some nice lines in there. quite a few lines. i really like the part when you're describing the academia of the girl or so. I'd definitely give it a high rating if i ran into it on a rating site. the ending is a bit abrupt though. whatever.

The Giant Snail- whoa, this is weird. sounds like the kind of stuff I'd listen to if I were...well, listening to really strange music. it's short. so short I'm almost motivated to write a really long review of it. but I'm not, because there isn't much to review. i actually would have liked a little bit more. whatever.

Gyrdonark- That is delishisly 8-bity. I really like the way that the voice kind of emerges out of it. I'm curious though. Is that a movie sample, or you talking into a band filter. It's actually really cool. One thing that you could have definitely done with it that would have made it better would have been to turn up the voice a little bit. It's definitely an original approach.

Ham no burger- this definitely sounds a bit midi. However, I do kind of like your singing voice. It reminds me vaguely of the guy from mew. That really don't matter. It could be a little bit better done though. It's a little bit too epic for its own good I think. Kind of a put a lighter in the air track. Only it's not a power ballad. You've gotta have a guy with a mullet for that. 'The needle dies without the thread'...doesn't make much sense. eh, oh well.

HEY DAVE!- this is one of the only times I've heard something that's largely in 7/8 time on this site. The distorted tone is a little bit too tinny, but I think that it kind of works. The way that you did the chorus with the vocals was pretty cool, I thought. If it were any longer than it is though, it would really wear out its welcome.

IP-mmm. 6/8 arpeggios. I really like the doo-wop bit. It's cute. The song lyrics seem to fall in line with a lot of the regular lyrics. However, they're wittier, methinks. I really like the 'don't you know I've done it too because I'm a step ahead of you' kind of me giggling. The solo is not that bad either. It's the first time we've talked in months. I like it. That's a really snazzy bit. I actually really liked that.

Jeff Robertson's 3 chord cloud- the mix is very flat, and the distorted vocals really don't contribute much to the track. The lyrics aren't too terribly original either. Not that I can make them out very well. The distortion on...everything makes everything hard to hear...hmm. I guess.

Jim Tyrell- well, it's definitely a very bluesy track. it's not particularly what I would call a stand out though. I mean, it's kind of cool, but also kind of...bland. Nice guitar work though.

Melvin- giving me that stompin beat. I'm trying to figure out if the bass intentionally has a little bit of that distorted edge or my headphones are just crap. I like the vocal echo that you've got going on in here. It's definitely one of the more infectious tracks here. It's a little bit repetitive. The woowooowoowoo bit bit is definitely delightful. Lyrically, the part about getting the bat in her room was one of my favorite parts.

Ross Durand- the song sounds old. like, it doesn't really seem like anything I haven't heard before. Actually, it seems to be almost like every song i've ever heard. All at once. Ranging from w.nelson's crazy to g. barkley's crazy. It's not that bad...but it really doesn't grab me.

Rum Dreams- The production sounds very multi-tracked. It needs a little bit of production.However, the song isn't really all that bad. Such a melancholy track. Makes me not too thrilled. (sigh)

Sheail- I like the chord progression here, I also like your singing voice quite a bit. Oh, nice strings and piano. Actually like the emotion and dynamic that you put into the track. The musical arrangement could probably speak for itself when the vocals stop. I'm moderately impressed by this song.

Steve Durand- Listening to that song reminds me of going to watch cats. It's kind of fun when you first see it, but you can't really tolerate it more than once. Not that it's bad. It's just got that type of showtune quality that makes me completely zone out. Too much going on at once. Eh, nice instrumentation.

Swilington- Damn. That is a hard-ass kick drum. I really like this song. It's got that really weird quality that I was kind of looking forward to with the giant snail but never got. The crazy vocal programming style combined with the random string break and the fat bass definitely makes my head smile. Honestly, this is going on my hooray list for this contest.(listens again)

Tone Butter- What the hell. This is one of the most unusually macabre songs I've heard in here. It's definitely kind of funny, but it sadly wears out its welcome after being too repetitive. (sigh)

Tractor Trailor- The music doesn't strike me as all that thrilling. Now, the melody isn't that bad.I'm kind of lost. Everything in the mix seems a little bit flat. By no means my favorite. Kind of plain sounding.

The Weakest Suit- The chord progression doesn't work all that well. The constant major chords don't press my smilebutton. I'm kind of bored. Sorry. Same four chords. No real movement.

WreckdoM- This is a really hyponotic song. The lyrics kind of make me giggle in that weird disturbing way that you frequently end up doing. The production seems just a little bit upside out. Kind of reminds me of something that might be found on http://www.speedbass.net with the music at times. Cool.


Favorites- WreckdoM, Swilington, Sheail, IP

Close- Melvin, The Giant Snail, Da Blump, Ex
ex-kal
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Post by ex-kal »

lol @ "its rap sorry"

you really need to open your mind embers. prejudice at its finest
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Post by jackfrost »

ex-kal wrote:lol @ "its rap sorry"

you really need to open your mind embers. prejudice at its finest
wow. it never ceases to amaze me how quickly some people jump to play the race card on every occasion that someone else disagrees with them. embers goes out of his way to give props to the beat and what he really thinks about the song. basically, he said, it's all right, but not his thing. i don't find anything racist in his review. i basically said the same thing. accusing someone of being "prejudice" who took the time to listen to your song and write an honest review of it, is just plain ignorant. actually, you're lucky so far, people around here usually fucking hate any rap music and are much more vocal about it than embers. i pity the foo' who submits a rap song and thinks he'll be taken seriously.

and with that, worms and squirms, i am a death pod no longer.
EAT STEEL BITCHES!!!
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jack
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Post by jack »

so you are saying prejudice is the same thing as racism?
Hi!
ex-kal
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Post by ex-kal »

lol @ racism
HamNoBurger
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Prejudice vs. Racism

Post by HamNoBurger »

Prejudice and racism....... not the same thing, kids. I tend to have a prejudice towards rap music myself - it's just not my favorite genre. With that said though, I seriously doubt that makes me a racist.
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LSares
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Post by LSares »

man, nothing to great on this round. Can't anyone make a song about the phrase "thats what <i>she</i> said" ?
jackfrost
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Post by jackfrost »

i definitely think prejudice and racism are connected on some level in our society. maybe i'm just prejudiced in thinking that though. :roll:
actually, who cares. this whole site is just a bunch of amateurs making amateur songs and people passing judgement from behind the safety semi-anonymous screen names. that's exactly why this site is so great. prejudices are inherent. people are constantly making snap judgements on songs as they are hearing them the first time and broadcasting their thoughts to the world. it's awesome. i wouldn't change a thing about songfight.

oh, and
luke wrote:man, nothing to great on this round. Can't anyone make a song about the phrase "thats what <i>she</i> said" ?
where can all the artists send their songs to get your approval before submission?
ex-kal
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Post by ex-kal »

a good way to find out the relationship between prejudice and racism is to consult this magical book called the Dictionary.

Prejudice is just that Pre + Judice (Judge)
pre-judging.

racism is a TYPE of prejudice. everytime someone says prejudice there is no need to assume race is involved.
there are many types.
agism
sexism
vegetarianism

and also pre-judging a particular genre of music.

to say "I don't like [insert genre]" is pretty closed-minded. i'm not responding to him disliking my song, I thought it was pretty weak myself. I just am not a big fan of prejudice.
Open your minds, there is some wonderful rap music that you're missing out on.
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Bjam
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Post by Bjam »

ex-kal wrote: Open your minds, there is some wonderful rap music that you're missing out on.
Exactly. Obviously you've never heard Wham Rap! Rap at it's freaking finest :D (Though the album version is slightly better than this video version; at least this still has the awesome chorus)
Songfighter since back in the day.
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Post by jackfrost »

boring. let's go back to the prejudiced reviews now please.
i'm sure there is wonderful rap and wonderful country and wonderful opera out there somewhere. let's just leave it all out in the aether and get back to motherfuckin' songfight.
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Denyer
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Post by Denyer »

let's stop fighting about what is and isn't racist and we can all agree that rap is shit.
Niveous wrote:It's a song about your dick and there's just not enough material to satisfy.
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Post by i.p. »

I'm glad people like our song! Thanks. I sympathize with the complaints about the abrupt ending and feeling unfulfilled, because those are my complaints of the song as well. But hey, it's songfight, not a lot of time to think it through, and we are trying to record an album right now too (not as i.p., but as Sharkfighter... album to be released soon... BUY IT).

anyway. Thanks for appreciating the song for what it is. I like the songs i've heard so far... I promise to write reviews this week, even though I promised last week and failed.
i.p. is: James Bean, Lex Butera-Smith and Ivan Becker-Wayman (and some friends now and then).
i.p. on the forums is Lex Butera-Smith
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