The Song Fight Bulletin Board

I had a nightmare that the fight never got posted. Fortunately it was just a dream.

I had a dream that the new songs were uploaded the day of the deadline.

Unfortunately it was just a dream.

Since I'm actually in the fight for once I too have a dream. Now, if only I could wake up and read the reviews of my song. Hmm..

While you're all asleep I'm ravaging... ah, I mean... listening to... your songs!
How's that for a night terror!? Uh.. yeah, that's not very funny. Or scary. Hmm. Well, earlier tonight I accidentally picked up a piece up cat poop with what turned out to be a wet glob of cat poop. That's kinda scary! Yeah!

Where's Melvin? Deliberately stopping short of tying with Octothorpe? It doesn't really feel very songfighty around here without Melvin.

On first listen, I'm really digging Jeff Travis Henderson, The White Hat, and Thanks for the Frisbee's entrees...nice work.

MY VOTE -
White Hat

TOPS -
Steve Durand, Frisbee, Sockpuppet,

Good -
Big crouton, Dynamic Rhythm, Ross Durand

I was mildly proud of my entry (could have done with more takes on the vocals, but it wasn't too bad), but now I've listened to them I can only think:

Big! Crouton! Wow! (repeatedly, with a machine gun bass drum)

wow, I must be way out of touch with the rest of you guys. I found almost all of these entries to be extremely disappointing. I think the optional challenge might've killed it. Ooh! Halloween sure is scary!... striving for that aesthetic certainly produced some bad songs this time around. Oh well. I'm sure no one really cares what I think, anyway. I mean, I'm just a new guy. And I'm too loud, right? Bleahhh...

No Horse Town wrote:I found almost all of these entries to be extremely disappointing.

Yeah, yours was rubbish.



Actually yours was pretty good, but I agree that there were some entries which maybe could have been a bit less 'scary' and a bit more musical.

adamadamant wrote:

No Horse Town wrote:I found almost all of these entries to be extremely disappointing.

Yeah, yours was rubbish.



Actually yours was pretty good, but I agree that there were some entries which maybe could have been a bit less 'scary' and a bit more musical.

Yours was one of the better ones, Mr. Adamant. The order of parts in your song has a nice sandwich-ey effect. The first lyrical fast part is a little sloppy in comparison to the rest of the song, but otherwise it's good.

I'm gonna be honest and say I'm definitely voting for myself on this one though. It's the rockin'est, the most creative, and the most fun to listen to. Ha! Diggin' my grave a little deeper there... how's that for Halloween-ey?!

I did like a handful of the others, so I'll get some reviews up eventually, if only to flop my unwelcome opinions around in y'all's faces. Just kidding buddies, you know you're the best. I love you. Don't ever leave me cryin' in the rain... dyin' in the pain... goin'... insane? Shit, the wolfman's at the door, gotta go.

I loved White Hat's guitar work. I'm a sucker for sweet repetitive riffs and rhythms.

No Horse Town wrote:. I think the optional challenge might've killed it. ..

yer mom

I blame Oust, the bastard. Time to listen to some songs

I apologize for my track... Mostly for not fading it out. I rushed to meet the deadline and didn't even have time to fade out at the end, so I hope I didn't waste an extra minute or two of your lives...

Other than that the vocal takes were rushed, guitar solo never got in, etc... but that's all just "well, send it anyway" kinda stuff
-Bax

Much obliged for the (mostly) good impressions so far.

Reviews to come later this week, but I have to say JT Henderson's entry this week is excellent. Found myself humming it walking to class today.

It's a little funny reviewing having submitted only one entry, but I'm a huge music fan, I do think critically, and though my skills are moderate-minimal, my awareness is huge. and the reviews is what the whole thing is about, right?

**As a side note, I would like to hear about intent. Is the pre-fight post where that sort of thing would go?
I mean, the first goal is to write a good song, but in this songfight thing as opposed to 'normal' songwriting, intent is really part of the process, and another angle where the writer has succeeded or bombed. I mean, the recording, performance, etc may suck, but does it really suck the way the writer intended?

Last week I had lots of complaints (unpublished) about icky/irky lyrics, but rereading my reviews here, I have almost nothing to say at all about the lyrics. weird.

Bax: Great energy, great arrangement. Your drummer is awesome, or your programming is phenomenal. Excepting the length, it's like San Fran punk c.'81. Good stuff. // I see you didn't mean it to be so long. So it's like SF punk C. '81, no exceptions. Pass the Jello.

Jeff Travis Henderson: Awesome arrangement. One of those song where we don't have to know what you're saying at all, it's just good all together. I like the disappearing drums, BG vox, and WHOA it's over. OK. uh. I guess that's cool too, because I'm going to play it again!

Thanks for the Frisbee: ooo. nice fade-in. Great melody. Really great. I'm keeping this one. I don't think we're supposed to call them Gypsies any more, know what I mean? Some sort of break in the middle would be nice. There's a couple sketchy/rote rhymes in there, yet it survives all of this!

Adam Adamant: I thought, wow, he doesn't slip on that accent once. Then I see that you're actually a Brit, so you get no points for that. This was great, I really like 'spirit of a genre/era' music that isn't absolutely married to the past. Good work.

Klownhole: Oh! do the punkers just love halloween. This is inspired, well recorded and good. Spelling clown with a K is sketchy, but the word Clownhole is awesome. I like the laughing/noise at the end (but I'd edit it if you wanted to use it outside of this forum).

The Weakest Suit: I like when there's no extra, know what I mean? The recording quality doesn't matter, it's all song. In this case, the playing is good, I like the song, great structure, though it gets a little long at the end, but that's kind of a recording thing, right?

Steve Durand: I like that folks are going to the classic 'Monster Mash' and 'Thriller' genre touchstones. Your horns are cool, been listening to the new Spoon? nice ear-candy too. Pop filter please.

No Horse Town: huh, cool. Nice ordered chaos going on there. Kind of Factory records-metal. I bet it was fun to play.

Sockpuppet: Good song. Smart people are awesome. How'd you get that roomsy rocksteady sound? // huh. I just listened on better speakers and it's a uke and piano, more than slightly out of tune with some room. neat.

Lord of Oats: I want the 1st section shorter and raw-er, the 2nd section intro longer (the transition is VERY cool, I was VERY doubtful, but you kept me there somehow). Really, really good, so my complaints are very nitpicklish. Try adding that Trentzy trick of whispering underneath the yellsy parts. & More delay on the guitar solo please.

Mexican Chimpanzees: Well, uh, there's a 'fun' element I like, but it has that one part made in the computer, one part out sound to it. I would either try to process the vocal parts as much as the instrument track, or send the instrument tracks out to some cheap radios and amps to get things to mesh a bit.

Lopez and the Destroyers: I like the arrangement, but it doesn't change, at all, throughout. So it's, um, kind of flat? but not in the pitch way. kind of cold, but not in the Kraftwerk way.

MC Eric B: I think you could flesh this out and make it cool. F-ed up delay on the vox and a backup rapper please.

Mime: What Radiohead song is that Piano from? Lo cut on the vox please. I think I want to hear the vox more in the mix ( couldn't really make much of it out, though you are speaking clearly). Get/make a pop filter. Same arrangement problem as MC Eric, same-ish throughout.

Max the Cat: This was 5th in my cue, and I'd heard 2 of this type of intro already, but this is really good. Then it changes, I hate it, then I love it again. So I guess it's a love/hate thing.

Rone Rivendale: Great sounds. I'd like the rhyme better if there were a little (lot) more energy. You sound like you're reading. Even a little distortion would help. It's a performance, right?

Acid Cadillac: Crazy scary artifacting on the vocals. My speakers hate it. I pretty much like the song, there's some EQ stuff that needs help, but it's cool.

The White Hat: Well recorded, very well played, nice arrangement. Good solid song.

Carpetburn: It's great. I like the interpretation of the style, the sounds, and the sections, mostly. I don't really love the 3rd section, but it's still pretty good, and definitely well written. The guitar tone on the first solo-y thing doesn't really go with the other sounds at that moment.

Lockheed Symphony: I live near Providence RI, and I've done my darndest to get into the whole noise thing. unsuccessful. SO, your song is good in that it's mostly well recorded (vocals are just plain hard to make sound in the same space), all of the elements transmit well to my sucky speakers, and unlike alot/most noise stuff I can hear what you're saying and, if you meant to be funny, you succeeded. **On second go around, I really like the lyrics (again, if you meant to be ironic/funny). Putting 'your ISP is experiencing difficulties' with 'your 13 yr old daughter is pregnant' is awesome. You'll never be comfortable again.

Iron(y) Man: nice harmonica.

Older Brothers: I feel that it's important to limit (as in dynamics) electronic sounds. Pure tones are speaker killers. How did you do that vocal thing? I like it. Maybe switch up drum sounds for the different sections, they don't really fit the softer part too well. Good variety overall, and pretty good sounds.

Jimmy Jet and his TV Set: Good song. I would encourage you to find a shitty (but awesome) vocal mic to give you automatic vocal vibe. Maybe you could even play with your delivery to find a vibey-er place to come from.

Suburban Bear Quadrant: RRRAAWWRR! what-core is this? Not my thing, so let's see... I think it's too clean for what it is. Throw CamelPhat across the mix bus. Too long. I think you gave up at the end, you shouldn't. Commit!

Ross Durand: Similar feel to my song, You're a better player though. Pretty good, I'd like your vocal to be edgier, (see Jimmy Jet above). Great guitar recording. It's a tough title for a chorus, I think that's why most of us left it as a line.

Big Crouton: Man how do you make this stuff? I always think of gallons of Jack Daniels and months long studio sessions with this level of Mëtal Perhaps you are just a master. Please put your vocal through that Tube Screamer (or Amplitube or whatever) and yell.

Dynamic Rhythm Device: This is me. As I mentioned in the pre-fight thread, I have respect for those who are able to just plain get this done each week, give yourself a hand. // That said, alot of my complaints about other folks' songs are about the mix, so I know mine kind of sucks. I wanted really up-front vocals, but it's a bit too crispy on small speakers/ipod headphones. I also had some grand plans and unfinished (unfinishable) verses, so hopefully the gist of the song survives the editing, maybe not. I had good fun though. Give a listen on headphones, can you spot the Bee Gees and Antonio Carlos Jobim? (references, not samples).

Thank you SongFight!

madtho wrote:**As a side note, I would like to hear about intent. Is the pre-fight post where that sort of thing would go?
I mean, the first goal is to write a good song, but in this songfight thing as opposed to 'normal' songwriting, intent is really part of the process, and another angle where the writer has succeeded or bombed. I mean, the recording, performance, etc may suck, but does it really suck the way the writer intended?

My two cents...

The song, as all songs and pieces of dare-I-say art, should stand alone, apart from intent.

In this information-rich, rear window environment that the information age has ushered in, well, if you happen to learn more about the artist's intent for a song that upon first listen you really couldn't give a crap about and that changes your impression and appreciation for it, that's great. Until/unless it's what makes you decide to shell out your cash money for the piece.

Then that's advertising.

Caveat emptor, yo.

madtho wrote:some really kind/fair/constructive reviews

holy hell, you're a real nice fella. Now, in comparison, I'm twice the jerk I was yesterday! Hell yeah!

Worthless reviews of my own, come and get 'em while they're hot!


Mime: Stupid fuckin' intro. Super-annoying vocals. The bass pulse is cool. Did you just say "...quite frankly?" Ack. The lyrics are worse than the vocals. Hey, the music never changes. It's too long, and it's boring, and it's bad.

Steve Durand: I get it, it's a monster mash kinda deal. The samples are cool, and I guess it's well done. You got some pop on your P's there, Steve, but not as bad as some other people here. The guiro or whatever loses the rhythm a little bit. Horns are good.

The Weakest Suit: I like the difference between the verse and chorus parts. And the transitions are comfy. And I actually like how the last part goes on so long... but since you say bay-bay-ehh so many times in that last part, I think you should have left it out of the chorus. The constant strummy kinda bugs me too... I wish there was a riff or a.. thing.. in there. But I guess it works with this style of song.

Lockheed Symphony: The lyrics are funny, but it seems like this is just another take on trying to be "scary", and that's all it is, a joke on scary. Not much of a song. I liked the noise and all that, but it should have coalesced into something instead of just farting around.

Irony Man: bleh. Not clever or funny. I don't even see the irony. Should I? Now I'm giving this too much thought. Look what you've done!

Suburban Bear Quadrant: I wish the original guitar dropped out right when the distortion comes in, instead of slightly after. Then when the lead guitar comes in, it's totally out of character with the song and bad. The few screamy parts where you're saying something are OK, but the barking and shit makes me forget about those parts. Too much filler. Too long. Yeah, now at the end I'm trying to "listen to your words", but I sure had to get through a lot of bullshit to get here. Too bad, this could have been good if you'd actually tried to make a song and not a big waste of time.

Klownhole: I kinda like this. Guitar's good: nice little bits of feedback which do their part without upstaging anything. Vocals are good too, maybe just a little teensy bit too loud? Maybe not tho. Not sure about the drums. They sound kinda tinny.. I wish they had more punch (except at the end, then they get better - the first clang clang clang kinda signals that). But that's just my aesthetic preference, there's nothing wrong with the playing of 'em. I kinda wish you rambled some other stuff at the end instead of repeating the stuff from before, but again, I could see where the repetition might be good from a different point of view.

Lopez and The Destroyers: At some point I think the Steven Hawking voice should have packed up and left the party. It was OK for a while, but when it starts echoing like crazy there's just no point. I like "oh well, let's have a dance party" at the beginning, and what immediately follows. The music is totally fun and it changes enough to keep me going. The alarm noise is cool. Feels like it kinda fizzles out in the 2nd half, tho.

Rone Rivendale: I really don't dig the talky (except the way you say "night terrr....", that's kinda cool). But I really do dig the music... for a while. I kept wanting a third part. I'm pretty sure it needs a third part, maybe something kinda odd with bells or a weird time signature or more instrumentation of any kind. Yeah, replace the calling out to mommy part with something like that.

Carpetburn: The first part annoys me. Quite a lot, actually. But then I keep listening, and it gets way better. Not the vocals, the only part of that I liked was the "ooh wee-ooh" on what I thought would be the chorus (the victorious part). But the music keeps changing, and that is frickin' awesome! Even tho the lame first part comes back, it's cool that it goes into a whole new section after that. I love this kinda stuff from a songwriting point of view, ya know, the hardly-ever-repeat-a-part stuff. So even tho I don't really dig a lot of the execution of it, this one is totally my second favorite (me being my first favorite).

No Horse Town: yeah, I had a hard time singing that first part, but come on guys, this is totally sweet. He's all moping about how he can't beat Night Terror... and then he gets ready to give it another try... and there's all these cool samples from the game and the music totally fits the progression of what's goin' on.. and shit, he fuckin' beat the Night Terror! And that is one hard guy to beat. He can take down over half your life meter with one eye-beam. There's a lot goin' on in there and it's all a lot clearer than it was with my ah.. "BBQ". I pulled off a 19/8 time signature at the end and it still sounds all pretty and fluid. It embiggens the song and doesn't just make it all "look at my mathy-math". I love this song! And I voted for it! Yay me!

Dynamic Rhythm Device: it might be good for a movie. I find it very boring to listen to, tho.

Bax: Would have been better if it ended right after the 2nd verse. I'm not feelin' the slow part. Yeah, like dude said, the drums are good. That's all I got.

Lord of Oats: Is it a guiro? Hhwwiro? It's used too much. I hate the "inside-a-me" or "in sodomy" or whatever line. The lyrics are bad in general, but I could see that possibly being intentional? Oh well, they're still bad. Without the guiro, I think the music would be pretty cool. I like the change to the 2nd part, but the lyrics are still just as predictable. The guitar solo doesn't make sense to me, is it what's pulling you out of the abyss? Does it represent your climb? It's a long climb. I think some fast singing or something could have done better than the guitar solo. Overall I like the music enough just because of the contrast between the 2 parts, tho.

Adam Adamant: It's good. I like the sandwich effect with verse - fast talky - middle - fast talky - verse. Or whatever we call those parts. And it's fun, and it's just long enough for what it is. Some of the vox are a little too slurred for my taste.

Jeff Travis Henderson: Digging at Fox News is way too easy. Too much ego in the vocals (says me, ha!) I like that it's short. I like that it seems like it's gonna bust into a big thing and it doesn't. It's catchy, but not as catchy as Courtney (my gal) thinks it is.

Big Crouton: I guess it's supposed to be cheesy, but man I can't stand some of the rhymes. And I wish the music was more heavy / malicious / uh.. metal? I've never heard Dragon Force so I dunno, maybe the quiet canned-sounding thing is just another school of metal, but it sure doesn't rock me. The vocals don't sound very metal either. Sounds like you're talking at us while the band plays in a closed room behind you. I guess that's what happens when you uh.. "fight for love". I'm glad you tried to do something fun, tho.

Ross Durand: Probably the most actually "scary" one, until the vocals break and get all passionate. It builds up too big. The guitar solo thing doesn't seem to fit. When it comes back down, it's too late, the spell is broken.

Max The Cat: I do like the super-funny "safe in the house of god" bit, even tho the chipmunk vocals are hell to listen to. But I can't muster the patience to make the journey there again, and the "calling from inside the house" thing really kills the funny.

Sockpuppet: I'm really surprised you were so stoked on this one. Your last one was way better. The lyrics are all forced around the music with screwy emphasis: "reh-tick-yu-lurr", "mis-fye-UHR-ing", "meh-can-ICK-al". I get it, it's the physiology, like you said. OK. Big deal. Seems like that's all it's got. I do agree that the out-of-tune ukelele is kinda cool.

The White Hat: The simple harmonica is nice. I'm glad it's there for emphasis and not for some big shrill solo(s). Honestly, I usually hate harmonica, so it's cool that I don't hate it here. The song doesn't change, and that bugs me, but I guess that's the blues for ya. I can see why everyone likes it.

Acid Cadillac: Worst microphone clicky-poppy ever. I guess the super-loud vocals on the chorus (and the terrible lyrics) are the scary part? I guess the guitar on the chorus is OK. Everything else is bad.

Older Brothers: Man, I hate the backwards talking. The music is alright (except for that metallic squeaky thing), but even when the real lyrics come in, it feels like the vocals are just shitting all over the song (except "take it over, take it easy"). It's too long, as well.

Jimmy Jet and His TV Set: Really bad pre-chorus or 2nd half of verse or whatever it is ("like I fell for... you.") Really bad chorus too. Hey, this one's too long too! I always forget that lots of people like this kind of music. Dave Matthews or whatever the hell it is.

Mexican Chimpanzees: More backwards shit. Ugh. Then we got some stupid halloweeney talking, which doesn't even sound convincing. Then you try to be "scary" by yelling, I gotcha. Well, this part at least has some music, and it's not necessarily bad music. Sure doesn't sound like nightmares tho. And then you laugh. Mmm... poop sandwich!

Thanks for the Frisbee: suffers from the same lyric-forcing problem as fluffy's song: "lye-UHNS", "terr-EHRS"... well, honestly, it's not nearly as bad in that respect. I do like the guitar emphasis of dun-dun-DUN after "to the ground" in the 1st + 2nd verses. The abrupt ending's pretty OK, but I wish it got there sooner. Wow, this song is really bumming Courtney out. Thanks a lot mister! Gave you a frisbee, and the thanks I get... is what? The freakin' holocaust?! Well, it's been goin' around lately.

MC Eric B: fuckin' Halloweenier than anything, because it's got fuckin' HALLOWEEN. Ack. This is absolutely horrible. Yes, in EVERY way.


Sorry, I swear I'm not being mean for mean's sake. Nothing personal, but I really thought most of it was pretty bad. Now Courtney is mad at me for being so harsh, so I guess I'll pay the price for my honesty!

No Horse Town wrote:Digging at Fox News is way too easy.

Hahaha I know. I'm sort of embarrassed of that line. It's a little bit like having a line that says "Down with the government" of "Taxes suck, man" or "War isn't really that fun, is it?".

There's nothing wrong with kicking FOX 'news' around. Kick it while it's down! Get'em boys!

Rone Rivendale gets the Keyboard Riff Most Meant To Be Turned Into A Humongazoid Guitar Riff Award. Congratulations, Mr. Rivendale!