"Mr. Hot Dog is the rat!" (Mr. Sandwich)

[Albatross]

Is BLT in this one?

[the idiot king]

i'm gonna take this time to ask for leniency for all of the jitter in my entry. my computer was barely functioning and i managed to squeeze this track off of it. i may remix/remaster and post it somewhere if people like the song.

[boltoph]

If it were kosher for me to stream songs at work, I would be listening now...but I'll be checking it all out tonight. Less people than I thought, in the fight...psyched to hear the G4 jitter.

Hey Idiot King, I work in Davis Square for a publishing company, in a MacIntosh IT / design dept. If you're interested, I can try to help you out with your G4. I reimage and repair all sorts of Mac machines, all day.

[drë]

WoW, thats the best Weakest Suit Song i have heard so far. you sir got my deserving vote.

[The Weakest Suit]

WoW, thats the best Weakest Suit Song i have heard so far. you sir got my deserving vote.

wow, indeed. that's the first time someone has said something like that about one of my songs. thank you.

[JonPorobil]

Agreed, actually. I'll have full reviews, probably tomorrow.

[the idiot king]

Hey Idiot King, I work in Davis Square for a publishing company, in a MacIntosh IT / design dept. If you're interested, I can try to help you out with your G4. I reimage and repair all sorts of Mac machines, all day.

]

wow, thanks a lot! i actually just need to do a clean re-install and all that, but i'm in the process of moving everything over to my new laptop anyway. thanks for the offer, though!

[Saucalito]

I liked the idiot kings a little, and Boltoph's song was pretty good (But I loved and still love "ottoman" by Boltoph), but I agree with whoever it was, I think The Weakest Suit has the strongest case in this fight (Yuk Yuk). I really like where it breaks into a 3/4 thing and some of the vocal touches are nice too.



Sauce out

[TVsKyle]

I gave this fight my initial skim-through, and so far, Spy vs Pie has my vote. I think they've really got something special with that one. Full reviews later.

[MintyHandy]

No reviews; a bit tipsy and not really in the mood to put thought into it -- but wanted to say TV's Kyle got my vote. I really like where you went with it, and I have a soft spot for simple and silly.

[Denyer]

please do not review my song. I realise it is a bad song and why so I don't need to hear about it. I wanted to make a song for fun then I realised I shouldn't have sent it in. so save some time and skip that one, both reviewing and listening.

[Saucalito]

I don't pay too much to lyrics often, but I was listening to The Weakest suit song yesterday, again, and initially I assumed it was about some typical nothing type boy/ girl stuff, but the lyrics are brilliant and hilarious. A little strange, a little gross maybe, but really clever. So Kudos, Mr Suit, I had a good out loud laugh yesterday while driving.

[jeff robertson]

I have not had a chance to listen to this fight yet, and probably won't today, but can someone please tell me if any of the songs are parodies of "Mr. Sandman" ?

[the idiot king]

Botolph- this actually reminds me quite a bit of blur. Yeah, it doesn’t even sound intentional; like the harmonies are a little Chris Cornell, but this could be a Blur b-side. Unfortunately, the key (hyphenated) word there is b-side. Very well recorded and mixed, but there’s not a hook that grabs me.

The Idiot Kings- me. i'm actually kinda proud of this one.

MC Paul Denyer- Nice dissonant beat. The lyrics are a bit immature, and the vocal double is a bit too sloppy to understand in some parts. This needs some sort of hook, I’m finding my overly short attention span wandering.

G4meboy- the mix is atrocious. I would compress the hell out of your vocals and add a high pass filter around 100 Hz if you’re going to be singing so quietly. It’s tough for me to actually vote on this because the vocals are so overpowering and I can’t really hear anything else. It’s a shame, I dug the intro loop, too.

Spy Vs. Pie- great vocal harmonizin’. The metal click towards the end is annoying and overshadows the cool vocal effect. The vocal melody isn’t quite doing it for me, but this isn’t bad.

The Weakest Suit- I like the dynamic performance quite a bit. I’m finding myself drifting a bit, which I don’t like, because this has a lot of potential. I think if you really just went up and belted it out once or twice on the vocals in an appropriate place, I’d like this a lot more.

Ross Durand- I feel like the rhythm guitar should be double timed and more chugging, less strummy. This would be a great rocker with that one change. Not bad, but I just can’t get the guitar part in my head out of my head when I listen.

Lord of Oats- Just when I thought it was getting a little boring for my liking, you bust out into a sandwich rap (no pun intended). The flow is a little jumbled in one or two spots, and I think there could have been a little more variance in the vocals, but otherwise this is top-notch. Definite keeper, and possibly my vote.

TV’s Kyle- hmm. Two obvious keepers in a row. This will make my decision making a bit more difficult. I like the ambience a lot here, and the 60s vibe of this is perfect. I love the stops and the chromatic bits. This is really just awesome.

Level Nivelo- I like the ambience quite a bit…was this take recorded live with room ambience? The song itself is ok, but my waning interest at the end just barely prevents this from being a keeper.

LSK- ???

My vote’s either with Lord of Oats or TV’s Kyle…I’ll sit on it for a bit.

[Duncan, of Level Nivelo]

No, Jeff Robertson, none of these are "Mr. Sandman" parodies.

In the order they popped up (aside from mine own):

<b>G4meboy</b>- I like it, the music's got kind of a Blue Öyster Cult feel till the vocals come in and seem to have been recorded in a different room. Not really sure what you were going for with the vocals changing the way they do- is it meant to imply that loving the sandwich equals a hidden childhood/effeminacy that the "rocker" hides inside?

<b>Lord of Oats</b> - like the folksy opening into the low-key techno. The laid-back groove of this had me zoning out about the 4 verse, but then you got my attention again with the 80's girl rap (do you like the cars, the cars that go boom?). I feel the same way about UB40's cover of "Red Red Wine", though.

<b>Spy vs. Pie</b> - rockin' it out. Bringing the Subway references. Nice harmonies.

<b>LSK</b> - wow, sounds like something I did with my stepbrothers on a bored Friday night in high school. And by that I mean "masturbation".

<b>TV's Kyle</b> - I know you hear "They Might be Giants" as often as I hear "go write for children's cartoons", but this reminds me of TMBG attempting a pastiche of Pizzicato Five. Diggin' the vibe, especially the "eat me anyway". Extra points for the triplet rhyming in the lyrics. Vote Contender.

<b>The Idiot Kings</b> - Wow, bringing the Portishead/emo stuff. Nice.

<b>MC Paul Denyer</b> - Kind of an Eminemy thing you have going on here. Like Eminem, I dig the lyrics more than the music. Gonna have to call genre bias on this. Did enjoy the talking over the music.

<b>The Weakest Suit</b> - Catchy, nice. Nice bluesy slowdown. Vote Contender.

<b>Botolph</b> - This is really awesome. Solid work, nice job. Vote Contender.

<b>Ross Durand</b> - This is really cool if you watch your avatar while listening to this. Song reminds me of Counting Crows. Well-crafted lyrics.

<b>Level Nivelo (me)</b> - Yes, that's room ambiance, though I transposed the entire track down a step to get that TMBG vocal styling I wanted. This was just me and my ukulele. New microphone, woo.

[g4meboy]

<b>G4meboy</b>- I like it, the music's got kind of a Blue Öyster Cult feel till the vocals come in and seem to have been recorded in a different room. Not really sure what you were going for with the vocals changing the way they do- is it meant to imply that loving the sandwich equals a hidden childhood/effeminacy that the "rocker" hides inside?

I mainly just had the change for comedic effect. Don't know if you guys find the change funny at all, but it's worked at live shows. Glad you like part of it though. Hah.

And yeah, I've never used compression before, and that's the main thing people tell me I should do. I'm definitly going to figure out how the whole thing works. Also going to make my own pop filter until I can afford a better mic / filter.

Thanks for the reviews guys. In your honest opinion, should I stick with this rockish style or do the rap I used to?

[JonPorobil]

Boltoph – I keep checking my speakers to make sure I didn't accidentally bump the treble all the way up... Sounds like the lyrics are pretty good, though. Nice guitar playing, overall competent. It sounds a little hollow when the electric guitar jumps in for the first chorus. When the second verse, I admit I'm a little exhausted by the idea of there still being three more minutes of this. I do like the harmonies in the chorus, though the phrasing reminds me of some mid-90s mainstream rock stuff. I don't think the fake ending is doing you any favors. Overall, pretty good.

G4meboy – Neat little loop drums, but why do they disappear when the guitar comes in? Your vocals are too low and too dry. A little reverb, and maybe be a couple more inches away from the mic. Your lyrics suck. I'm not liking the contrast in vocal delivery between the verses and chorus. A bridge might have helped. Thanks for keeping it short.

Idiot Kings – The music and delivery are way too serious for the silly lyrics. I like the backwards noises, and the introduction of the acoustic guitar for the second verse is professional all over. After about 1:30, the file seems to be corrupted, and comes out as nothing but garbles brown noise from there on out. Sad, as I was enjoying this song.

Level Nivelo – This is pretty lame. The lyrics are just kind of stupid for a while, then the curse words come out of nowhere, and I just can't figure out what you're trying to get across. I like the uke, and the melody is rather nice, at least, but overall, I can't say I'll ever listen to this again.

Lord of Oats – The Earl of Sandwich didn't commission the sandwich, he just shoved some meat between two slices of bread and named it after himself. Your rhymes are really awkward, like you're forcing your song into a direction to suit the rhyme. “Thee” should pretty much never be used in a song. “Whether you're cold or charred” is another example. You'd never have said that if there were no rhyme scheme, because it would have sounded dumb. I find I'm actually enjoying the music a little, after the guy-and-guitar section is over. Have you ever tried harmonizing with yourself? Some spot harmonies would probably make this song sound a lot better. My knee-jerk reaction to a rap bridge like this is to cringe, but then you've actually got really good flow. Some (not all) of the rhymes sound forced in the bridge, too, but your flow is really skilled, so I'm impressed. That could have been the whole song, as far as I'm concerned.

LSK – If you must fart into a microphone and turn it in, it's always good to keep it short. Thanks.

MC Paul Denyer – PLEASE tell me that this is VBR, that my audio program is incorrect in telling me that this is 12:55. Okay, your synths are way too distorted, the piano is intentionally cacophonous, which I hate because it makes the whole thing actually painful to listen to. Why would you want to do this to your listeners? Your vocals are two low, so I'm only catching every few words. Oh, good, it's over already.

Ross Durand – I remember voting for your first entry. That's always so weird. Glad to see you're still around. Anyway, for this week... The rhythm guitar is a little too high in the mix, and the whole thing is a little too treble-y for me, but it's a good song, all the instruments are well played, and you can sing. These are important things that you can't take for granted on Songfight. I don't really have much else to say about this song. Not your best work, but you seem aware of that already.

Spy Vs. Pie – This is cute and catchy, but your lyrics don't really fit into the melody, which is kind of sad, because it makes the whole song feel sloppy and awkard, and makes it less memorable. Is that answering-machine rap in the bridge really necessary? Hmm... Good harmonies. Can't take those for granted.

TV's Kyle – These lyrics are silly, but I don't mind them so much, if only because the rhymes are actually clever. I like the clavinet that comes in for the second verse. I'm a little surprised that the vocals are consistently understandable, considering how much echo you put on them, but hey, whatever works. I also like the “ba-ba-bah”s in the background. Just a really strong mix. If I had to point out something wrong, it would be that your tambourine is too high, but even then not by much.

The Weakest Suit – You should try mastering. Nice lyrics, good melody. Not sung particularly well, but not particularly bad, either. Not unpleasant to listen to, at any rate. The lyrics, the melody, and the simple arrangement all work together and make this song much greater than the sum of its parts. I like how some of the lyrics are kind of funny without making the song any less sincere.

I keep going back and forth between The Weakest Suit and TV's Kyle for my vote. I'll probably decide right before the polls close.

[Paco Del Stinko]

Boltoph - I think that this is super, all around. Maybe it doesn't deliver a knockout punch melody some may look for, it's certainly melodic and works up plenty of feel. Nice overall balance between all of the sections and layers within each, and as a whole to boot. That nice soaring, airy feel that I enjoy is here as well, kinda Lennon-y at times. Love the playing and singing performances, so unforced sounding. Top shelfer.

G4meboy - Love the music, scruff and all, but have to join the distracted by the mix crew. I like the silly lyrics enough but the delivery is only occasionally effective, not including the aforementioned level inbalance. Good ideas though, mostly.

The Idiot Kings - Nice and moody. I like the slo-mo, but not draggy, feel. However, both as a right clicker and in the stream-all playlist, the song poops out for me as well - it just stops playing. I'm not very smart, so where'd it go?

Level Nivelo - I like the to the point of this light song, though there's a whiff of sadness here. Nice progression especially at the end. I enjoy your music when you pop in for a visit and would love to witness an east coast vs. west coast duel between you and Minty Handy. Regardless, good tune.

Lord of Oats - Nice intro, especially when it's dropped for the bass drum. This works well because it's kept simple. The clean and articulate mix is good under the non-cluttery lyrics and easy melody. The lyrics could afford to have a slice of cheese or two removed. (lameness intended) I like the rap but would have been laughing if they machine gunned a few lines double time or the like. Good fun tune, if bordering on too cute at times.

LSK - Yippee!

MC Paul Denyer - This one sounds like it got away from you and you couldn't reign it in. I like the axe line, as brutal as it is, and like the disturbed guy storyline. However, this is mostly too sloppy to be effective and hard to understand all of the lyrics.

Ross Durand - Good mood here, but it sounds like it's almost losing its foothold at times, rhythmically. Good progression here though it borders on going around too many times. Almost electric Neil Young leads at times sound good, especially as they're not going all gymnastic on us. I like this, but feel it just misses the target, overall.

Spy Vs. Pie - This is good but sounds kind of right off the paper at times vocally. The bridge and choruses work better than the verses, I think. The song is good, but sounds like a warm-up for a better version or next project. It's right there, though.

TV's Kyle - The rubbery sounds keep this from sounding like it's 1965 or something, and that's good. Kind of airy, I like the slightly quirky melodies and relaxed but uptempo feel. It doesn't make it as a tv show theme or a jingle, but seems as though it's related to things like that somehow. Nice that it's not threatening ala Denyer. and not as near cartoony as Spy Pie.

The Weakest Suit - Boy oy boy, if I don't hear the Stones in that chord progression at the start every time this plays. I can't shake it, but I still dig this tune. I am a fan of the sleepy-time change and I think you are as well, both here and in other songs of yours. I wasn't a big fan of ending the song in sleepy mode at first, but now I like it. It just makes me want to turn off the light and go to sleep. Unfortunately, it's 10 in the morning. Nice song though, and comes across as sincere.

[Ross]

This was an interesting fight. Thanks for all the reviews.

I voted Idiot Kings.

Been busy - but reviews may still be forthcoming.