The Song Fight Bulletin Board

I'm looking at you, Lord of Oats.

i only listened to one song, and then voted for it. Is that acceptable around here?
Now go delete my vote please.

Wow, that's quick turnaround. Yay songs! Yay new title!

i'm excited to hear the finding nemoy track.

melvin - only you can submit a rap song and still remind me of weezer.

That Gert track is AMAZING!

Yeah, I'm diggin' the Gert too. It's like 5 songs in one.
Everybody got pretty creative on this title.

Another round of reviews. Whew. Here we go. No music from me this time, neither submitted nor unofficial.

Aardwolves -- I'll forego the comments about recording etc. and note that you've missed the vocal pitch in a few places. Surprising, that! Anyway, the structure is good but the performance sounds a bit monotonous. I guess the recording is to blame for most of that, so no minus points. I don't get the lyrics right now but I'm tired.

Adam Dachis -- Again, pretty cool vocal performance (sometimes slightly out of tune if we're picky). I'm missing the bottom end in this mix; no bass at all? Don't like. The piano is great, though. While this is certainly a solid and well-done song, it isn't anything more to me.

A Late Thaw -- The cross delay on guitar gripping noises is weird. The intro is fairly long but not quite too long. Vocals sound held back to me; there's probably a better way of singing quietly! You're moving a bit below your vocal comfort zone sometimes (or so it sounds). The song is fine but I think it's too long for this kind of stuff. On the other hand, that makes it great lullaby material, so it does fit the title (lyrics haven't been considered according to my personal policy of limited effort in reviewing).

Andrew Reist -- Doesn't really stand out to me in any way. You obviously know how to write and perform a song well, but that's it. For me, it's out of ear, out of mind.

Billy's Little Trip -- Pretty good, I guess, but I don't like it beyond all the guitar stuff, which is cool.

Blues Manufacturing Facility -- I think 909 (at least it sounds like that) just doesn't fit well with this kind of music, too synthy. Okay, I don't like it wherever it pops up but that's beside the point. The song is okay, just not really catchy or innovative. Gratuitious randomness doesn't help.

Finding Nemoy -- What really sticks out here is the lyrics (which I couldn't help but listen to because they are very clearly sung, if not entirely pitch-accurate). Everything else fits in well.

Flvxxvm Florvm -- Hmm, that's different. Cool stuff! Delightfully fuzzified instruments, interesting percussion. Caveat: your vocals are slightly behind the beat in many places. Still, with all the awesomeness you've got there, it's a vote.

Gert -- Really good performance and engineering. The "really" sung parts got me hooked even though I don't like the remaining vocals that much. The quiet vocals near the end are breaking a bit. Shame! Anyway, I guess this sums up to a vote.

The Hand Formula -- Held back as usual, that makes it a lot less interesting than it could be. Ending got cut off. Otherwise it's okay.

Johnny Cashpoint -- Average. Well, maybe the chorus is a bit above average. I think your vocals need more power.

Jonathan Mann and the Berkeley Social Scene -- What a combination! Combines well, though, looks like I was afraid of hitting the play button for no reason. A bit less reverb on the lead vocals perhaps? Pretty good song and its performance and engineering is way above average among the songs I've reviewed so far in this fight. That means a vote.

Lyricburglar -- The chorus is close to what I might have submitted if I'd actually cared to do this song. However, as far as I'm concerned, the best part of this song is the intro. By far. Does that make this a positive review? Dunno. Still, at least average.

MC Eric B -- The song is definitely cool. It's no secret that the vocals aren't that great (the melody isn't really exciting either but that's maybe a necessary consequence?). With a bit of systematic vocal practice this could be really awesome.

Melvin -- Arranged beautifully, good performance as usual. Still, the song itself? Not as cool as your previous submissions. I can't quite put my finger on the reason. Too bad my policy prevents me from reviewing the lyrics to make up for that.

noah mclaughlin -- Pretty average.

Octothorpe -- I was going to do it exactly the other way round: quiet verses and loud chorus. Anyway, that's hot! I admit to a positive bias when it comes to hard electric pianos (probably caused by Supertramp), but even considering that, this definitely gets a vote.

Puppies and Flowers -- Strong negative bias against screaming and growling. It's probably okay but I don't want to listen to it too much to find out.

R. Mosquito -- Extremely overpowered! I can't listen to this.

Sockpuppet -- This feels quite out of rhythm at times but it's a cool song if you ignore that and some imperfections in vocal pitch. Arrangement is not particularly exciting but good enough that it doesn't matter. I'll probably be voting for this.

SomeGuyCalledNoel -- Neat intro. Good song! The guitars panned wide set in in a weird way. Don't know how to describe it. In terms of engineering, I think the acoustic guitar in the middle has too much body. Cutting frequencies somewhere in the mid range might have been good. It's really too bad you compressed it down this much (and with that I mean sampling rate and MP3); doesn't exactly make me want to listen to it more than once. I'll pretend it was good quality so you get a vote.

Todd McHatton -- I stand by my criticism of the vocals engineering. Other than that, this is a powerful song. Fast-paced, arranged well, etc. Cute ending. Keep it up and I'll start voting for you by default! Just like I'm doing now.

Tuba Toothpaste -- The chorus is a bit weak; doesn't stand out much and the vocals are dynamically uneven (apparently random syllables are a lot louder than the rest). I like the rest, though. Particulars: good vocals in the verses, nice brass.

The Weakest Suit -- A successful attempt to do something different, I guess, but I'm ranking this as artsy and that's a sure way to get no vote from me.

Summary: voting for Todd McHatton, Flvxxvm Florvm, Octothorpe, SomeGuyCalledNoel, Sockpuppet, Jonathan Mann and the Berkeley Social Scene, Gert. The order indicates (roughly) each song's awesomeness, awesomest songs first.

A Late That
I love the guitar playing. The singing is good except you need to enunciate waaaaay more. I can only pick out a few words of the lyrics here and there. At first I thought maybe you weren't even singing in English. For a simple song that's fairly long like this, it's pretty important to make the lyrics intelligible, I think.

Aardwolves
I'm sure you're sick of hearing this, but cute song. Your guitar is way too bassy. You my be pointing the mic too much at the sound hole, or putting the mic too close to the guitar, and you may want to EQ away some of the very low end of the guitar track if you can. (With, say, a hi-pass filter.) Also, is there a keyboard in there? It's hard to tell if there is or if it's just noise/compression artifacts on the guitar. It should be louder. Also if you could pan it off to the left or right if possible, that might help make it more distinct. Your whole track is very mono. It feels a bit too long for me.

Adam Dachis
I'm not really into the lyrics. The music's alright, and the singing's ok. I don't like how you rush through "everybody". This one actually kind of feels too short. And it doesn't really feel like there's a chorus or other hook, which is OK but it makes the song a little rambling feeling even though it's short.

Andrew Reist
I think you're way overdoing the whole "whoa-ah-oh, whoah-ah-oh" thing. Maybe it's just the specific songs of yours that I listen to, but I feel like I hear that in a lot of your songs. Good singing otherwise and good harmonies. The guitars might be a bit too loud and bassy. I usually roll off the low end of the guitars and leave most of that for the bass and drums, but that's just my preference. At least you've got monster riffs and hooks, and a real chorus. Plus I really like the synth line in the intro. More synth! Not sure how I feel about the megaphone vocals, they sound off key or something. Good chorus but the lyrics are kinda weak there. The guitar solo is good, and might sound cool doubled.

Billy's Little Trip
Decent rock song. I like the bridge the most. Your bass sounds kinda farty. OK overall.

Blues Manufacturing Facility
Been there done that. I don't really feel like I need to hear 3 minutes of blues jamming.

Finding Nemoy
I don't have much feedback about this one. I liked it. Nice guitar and singing, and I found the lyrics entertaining. Good work!

Fl... Fl...
Again hitting some genre bias against fairly straight blues. I like the outro the best, with the slide and the harp, etc.

Gert
Uh oh, another "super group" in the fight, time to get tough here. Starts out with some straight forward cock rock with some generic white fronting. Lame! Whoa, nice guitar solo. Dang. Des brings in the hooky chorus, shnap. Who is that on lead guitar anyway? This song seems a bit schizophrenic with all the style changes. It doesn't really feel coherent to me. Ending after the piano part feels kind of anticlimactic.


Johnny Cashpoint
This feels kind of monotonous to me. I think the rapid fire vocals go on a bit long, without a different phrasing coming in. The drums are pretty painful, just pounding on quarter notes most of the time. The whole thing kind of feels a little robotic due to lack of syncopation. The "everybody calm down" section at the end is my favorite part. Dang, there is some major noise of some kind in this track at the end, like mp3 compression artifacts or something. OK song overall.

Jonathan Mann and the Berkeley Social Scene
This is a collab between me, Glen, Martin, Ken, Jonathan, and a couple of his friends. I really like the song. I didn't actually record much for this but I did some of the mixing, and I think it turned out OK. It could be louder I suppose.

Lyricgurglar
Not much feedback about this one either. I enjoyed it. Great reuse of other lyrics, along with some good edits and additions.

MC Eric B
I'm into the reggae feel a bit more than your rap stuff. Your singing sounds a bit awkward to me. Something about the phrasing isn't flowing well, I think. You maybe should throw in a chord change in your chorus. It gets kind of monotonous on that same chord.

Melvin
This is heading straight into genre bias territory for me. I can't stand these kind of songs which are built primarily of a specific hit song. I mean, you do it well, and everything sounds great, but it's just not a style of music I'm into. Combine that with the rapping, which is something else I'm not that into, and it's like the perfect storm of genre bias for me. Sorry!

Noah Mclaughlin
I don't really like how loud and distorted this is. It's also kind of simple and repetitive. I like the part where the guitars drop out and you hear the super low bass the best.

#
Fun song. Who are the guests?

Puppies and Flowers
This was some fun thrash for a bit. The lyrics are kind of turning me off. At about the halfway point it starts to make me think I'm losing my mind.... It's going a little overboard with the pounding eight notes. Cool mosh part. Where's the solo?

R. Mosquito
Ow. Too loud. Wait, you probably can't hear that. TOO LOUD!!!! Sounds like shit, because it's all noisy. Too bad. I can kind of make out that there's a sort of fun rock song in there. Totally unlistenable like this, though.

Sockpuppet
Nice song. Is there bass? If so it could stand to be louder. I can't tell it's there on crappy iPod headphones, not that that means much.

SomeGuyCalledNoel
Nice pickin'. This has an Elliott Smith vibe. I like it. You could double up the vox for a thicker sound like he does. Oh wait, you are doing that now. Cool. I really like this one.

The Hand Formula
Needs a volume boost. Also needs some more energy. And some more variety. It's a bit sleepy...

The Weakest Suit
I'm not into pot songs. This song doesn't have much else going for it for me.

Todd McHatton
Bit of a jammy/Dead sound here. That's OK with me. I like the beat and the feel of the song. Good playing. Overall good but it just kind of peters out at the end though.

Tuba Toothpaste
You need to back off your mic and/or trim the bass off your vocals. And it sounds like you maybe need a windscreen/pop-filter. The guitar could be louder. And the vocals quieter. OK song overall. You remind me of Steve Durand. (You're not Steve Durand, are you?)

To celebrate the fact that for some odd reason I wrote some stuff for this fight last night at around 4 pm... and finished it around 11-12 whatever it was... AND we’re mere days away from the start of the regular season... I present my reviewing format for this fight:
I shall provide initial, first time listen commentary in three categories: Initial Sarcastic Response, Second Thoughts and Final Judgment. At the conclusion of the review, songs of merit (any merit) shall move to the second round of this season’s playoffs. I shall listen to those songs a few times each, and par it down further, depending on my interest...

FF:
(ISR):This one is so bad to the bone, it feels like some rumour’s gone round this songfight town. To be fair though, it did inspire me to drink one bourbon, one scotch and one Fireball shooter. This isn’t a song, it’s a riff. I like the harmonica, but the rest offers me nothing.
(ST): When I saw this name, I thought of the other FF songs I’ve heard in the past. As it’s been a while, I can say that my expectation has been surpassed by the quality of performance and production...but still...
FJ: Not into it.

THE HAND FORMULA:
ISR: Snooze.
ST: what? Huh... oh. Right. Snooze.
FJ: kinda crappy.

GERT:
ISR: Kickass.
FJ: Possibly the greatest moment in musical history since the invention of the mouth harp.

Andrew Reist:
ISR: I like it. I like guitars that crunch for a reason. I like it.
ST: You ever listen to stuff and it reminds you of SOMETHING but you don’t know what that something is??
FJ: Moves on to round two.


MC Eric B:
ISR: nothing. I got nothing.
ST: did nothing for me.
FJ: Not moving on.

The Weakest Suit:
ISR: Seems fun off the top. 80’s ish.
ST: Something about it just seems decent and fun, so this one is surviving... like an 8th place team with a chance to knock of the big dogs if all goes according to plan.

Adamdachris:
ISR: Nope. Seems campy, like I’m about to attend a highschool play.
ST: At a poor highschool with a meager budget.
FJ: Something seems redeeming, but all in all it’s just not good enough.

Noah McLaughlin:
ISR: Has merit. Reminds me of the Clash. But then again, it seems every second or third song I hear from songfight reminds me of the Clash. Go figure.
ST: Fading interest... the loose, drifting clean power chord guitar is not working.
FJ: Nah.

Octothorpe:
ISR: How is it that Octothorpe sounds EXACTLY the same from the last time I listened... a few years ago now?
ST: This piece sounds like the sound track to a children’s show... like “big comfy couch” (with beer stains). Hmm... that lead was the FIRST piece of music I’ve heard (other than the gert one, which doesn’t count seeing as gert is really made up of professional members of famous Canadian bands like Loverboy, Honeymoon Suite and Triumph)... anyway, first one that I actually went... hmmm.
FJ: You won’t get my vote, but you’re moving on due to the solo... cause you may still knock of a contender or two. Especially if amuses me to do so.

JOHNNY:
ISR: I seriously get shit for liking your stuff. I have a friend who just doesn’t understand why I like it. I don’t either, but I do. Maybe it’s the familiarity.. I dunno. But you sound way better than you did before, but same quirky 80’s on acid thing going on, so I like it more. LOL
ST: short, sounds good.
FJ: I liked it. Sue me. Moving on.

MELVIN:
ISR: This song makes me horny for some sexual healing. I like you Melvin, I really do. But this is not my thing.
ST: Yeah. I like Melvin. Bring Melvin back. This is kinda... um... yeah. Well produced. Yeah. It’s..um... good production.
FJ: I can not in good conscience allow you to continue to do this to yourself. Get back to being a cool pop-punk rocker.

SOCKPUPPET:
ISR: I wasn’t going to review this one, but magically, the review wrote itself.
ST: Nope.
FJ: Shall not be moving on.

RMOSQUITO:
ISR: Eh. Very dirty, fuzzy, and I’m not buying it. Nice punk rock dead milkmanish vocal thing (sorta). But then, I just wrote “nice punk...’ so, um. Yeah.
ST: I don’t believe you.
FJ: eh.

A LATE THAW:
ISR: Very quiet, timid....singing seems to have tuning issues. Guitar sounds nice and haunting, dynamic, I like that part. The vocals don’t work.
ST: I have no second thoughts.
FJ: Guitar good, vocals not. Shall not move on.

Billy’s Little Trip:
ISR: Beatles intro. Riff is cool, guitars are cool, singing is ok. I like the textures of your guitar parts. Gotta good grungy thing going on. Drums sound good, as does production. Groove is interesting, catchy.
ST: I like it. Shall move on. Has cool bits in there. Sounds like a real band. I dig.
FJ: Moving on to the second round.

LYRIC BURGLAR:
Is this that dude Knig Arthur? Sounds like his voice.
ISR: You remind me of Gordon Lightfoot. But weirder. There are things I like. Good groove, sits well, a bit dark in its tones, but I’m liking it.
ST: Not sure about it... but It will move on for a better listen.
FJ: Moving on.

TODD MCCHATTON:
ISR: Wow, I like this. You sound like you got some talent. I like the quirky, jazzy elements (but they never SOUND like jazz, more tonally jazz things with a more folksy-rock vibe). Moments remind me of Zappa. I like. Very musical. Well done.
ST: No need, will move on to the second round, for my listening pleasure.
FJ: A contender in my world for sure...

PUPPIES and FLOWERS:
ISR: Too quiet. You clearly don’t listen to enough Metallica, or don’t own a limiter. Sounds like you wrote it last night and did the whole package in like 5 hours. And you’re trying to offend someone, somehow. I can see right through you bitch. Off the top of my head I’d say lots of SOD, NomeansNo, and Ehepdream are in your musical diet.
ST: Many. More than you’d care to admit. Possible lines have been crossed. Law suit possible.
FJ: a fucking masterpiece of course.

Finding Nemoy:
ISR: sounds good, even though it’s not my thing and I really won’t listen to it beyond this fight. Like the vocal tone, for it’s goofy vibe. President’s of the USA... BIG TIME.
ST: It’s well done, so it shall get a lift into the second round for that reason alone. I think it has “grow on me” potential as well.
FJ: see you in the second round.

JONATHAN MANN:
ISR: I’ve heard this progression before... often. Santana is haunting this one as well. This sounds good, and shall get a move into the second round of my ridiculous process... but I gotta tell you, I just dont’ find the vocal delivery believable. It doesn’t sound like you want anyone to calm down, it sounds like you’re performing at a wedding, and no one’s paying any attention cause they’re not drunk enough so you’re not that into performing the tune and delievering the actual message.
ST: Yeah, that’s pretty much how I see it there Mr. Cohen.
FJ: Will move on, and we’ll see how it goes after a few listens. I did notice that the chorus felt stronger as the tune progressed. Lead was cool too.

Blues Manufacturing Facility:
ISR: Nope.
ST: Nope.
FJ: Nope.

AARDWOLVES:
ISR: I like a good female vocal.
ST: I’d like it better if I could hear it.
FJ: Fading fast, losing interest... nothing capturing me... um... nah.

SOME GUY CALLED NOEL:
ISR: Nice guitar playing. Sweet. Singing is ok, something is getting in the way there...
ST: I’m getting tired... so I’m gonna go with my gut and move this one to the “second round”.
FJ: Probably better than I’m hearing it right now, due to listening to too much at once...

TUBATOOTHPASTE:
ISR: The band name didn’t do it for me. Reminds me of that guy uh... damn. Some guy I’ve heard on here before. It’s ok.
ST: It’s ok, but it’s not moving on... cause.. its’ too cheesy for me.
FJ: Yeah. I’ll comfortably move on.

Lunkhead wrote: #
Fun song. Who are the guests?

There are no guests. Just me, Crash, Mad Dog, and Elvis.

http://www.mightyoctothorpe.com/band/

[quote="Leaf" [insanity cleverly cloaked as reviewing convention]
[/quote]

Those might be the awesomest reviews I've ever read, in terms of pure entertainment.


Puppies and Flowers jumped out of my laptop and punched me in the face.

Lunkhead wrote:Starts out with some straight forward cock rock with some generic white fronting.

That's racism, and also cockism.

You remind me of Steve Durand. (You're not Steve Durand, are you?)

Tuba Toothpaste is not Steve Durand. We are someone else.

Lunkhead wrote:Billy's Little Trip
Decent rock song. I like the bridge the most. Your bass sounds kinda farty. OK overall.

Farty, lol. You're the only one that I've heard that from, and now you have me saying it. I even thought to my self, gee, I think my bass sounds kinda farty, I'll fix it later. Welp sir, later never came.

Leaf wrote: Billy’s Little Trip:
ISR: Beatles intro. Riff is cool, guitars are cool, singing is ok. I like the textures of your guitar parts. Gotta good grungy thing going on. Drums sound good, as does production. Groove is interesting, catchy.
ST: I like it. Shall move on. Has cool bits in there. Sounds like a real band. I dig.
FJ: Moving on to the second round.

Yeah, this song originally started with the snare intro, then everything kicked in. But it seemed too bla, so I used the same riff as my pre chorus to kick it in. After my mix down and listen, I thought, HA, this sounds a little like revolution. Completely unintentional of course. I should have done that scream with it, lol.

Dear Octothorpe,

Please take my name off your list.

- A fan

Lunkhead wrote:
Tuba Toothpaste
You remind me of Steve Durand. (You're not Steve Durand, are you?)

It's not me.

melvin wrote:Dear Octothorpe,

Please take my name off your list.

- A fan

It's not that easy.

mea culpa for not getting to the paper thin reviews in time. penance: super-fast, insomnia-driven reviews of a more manageably-sized fight in no particular order:

adam dachis
--- forced lyric rhythm ---
+++ wacky irony +++
+++ short +++

todd mchatton
+++ fun +++
/// too much vox reverb, maybe; it's too wispy ///
--- repetitive, especially the chorus ---

johnny cashpoint
+++ opening smack in the face +++
/// vox are little hot ///
+++ lyrics; leonard cohen reference = vote +++

sockpuppet
--- meh ---
/// everything about this tune is literal: lyrics, tone, tempo ///

#
+++ successful self-reference +++
--- still doesn't excuse a poor, off-tempo edit: out of sync performance ---
+++ chorus +++

noah mclaughlin - vote b/c this is precisely the song i wanted to make
+++ loud and purposely rough around the edges +++
+++ irony between lyrics, message and music +++
--- needs a bit more bite, especially in the 'tween sections ---

flvxxvm florvm - vote
+++ pulse-pounding blues +++
/// solos 1 and 2 are pretty awesome; #3 outstays its welcome a bit ///

melvin
+++ groovy fun +++
--- over-referenced; lyrics are a hypertextual buffet ---

lyricburglar
+++ intensity +++
/// chorus is too similar to the verse ///
+++ production and panning +++

blues manufacturing facility
--- casio drums ---
--- vox effect ---
--- FF did it better ---

jonathan mann and the berkley social scene - vote with enthusiasm
+++ guits +++
+++ leonard cohen vibe to the lyrics; please post them! +++
+++ ... and into the permanent collection it goes... +++

the weakest suit
+++ cool bass effect +++
--- marijauna lyrics are boring ---
+++ short +++

tuba toothpaste
--- muddy vox ---
--- cheesy keyboard sound ---
/// tries for, but does not achieve Capitol Steps-style satire ///

aardwolves
/// you have got to get some decent recording equipment: your voice and quirky lyrics are worth the investment; shall we pass around a hat or something? ///
+++ truly original take on the title +++
--- samey, and the longer it goes on, the more punch it needs ---

puppies and flowers
/// alice and chains bred with megadeth ///
--- overproduced boredom ---

mc eric b
+++ kettle drums riff +++
--- out-of-sync out-of-tune singing through your nose ---

andrew reist
+++ cool rhythm guit tone and riff +++
/// the lead guit tone doesn't match ///
+++ cool fun song +++

gert - vote
+++ ROCK! +++
+++ dynamism: this song changes gears like a beatles song. and like a beatles song, it all works beautifully +++
+++ solid songwriting, performance and production +++

someguycallednoel
--- near clipping ---
/// you need to sonically separate the vox and the guitar more ///
+++ melody +++

the hand formula
/// this melody sounds awfully familiar ///
+++ quirky instrumentation +++
--- samey ---

billy's little trip
+++ awesome opening sonic assault +++
+++ original lyrical take +++
+++ solid production + enthusiasm = vote +++

r. mosquisto
--- holy god, my ears are on fire! ---

finding nemoy
+++ lyrical take on the title +++
+++ good, fun song +++

a late thaw
/// cool band name ///
/// solo pushes right up to the 'bored' point ///
--- are you singing in english? it's like tori amons lyrics without the remotest sense of comprehensibility and no melodic interest ---

nyjm wrote:sockpuppet
--- meh ---
/// everything about this tune is literal: lyrics, tone, tempo ///

A calm relaxing song about the city being destroyed by a giant monster is literal?

Thanks for the kind words (which are as kind as can be expected!) - over the coming months I hope to discover how to do vocals without being able to sing. I think my lyrics are alright though, so I've posted them in the lyric-y bit.

Mea culpa. I am boring. Time for a new melody.

In other news, I am very happy for a new R. Mosquito entry. This one is great. And I Wish I Was So Sure is one of my favorite songs. I listen to it all the time.

Also, the Jonathan Mann/Berkeley Social Scene track is great.