Nur Ein IV Round Four "What Once Was Grand

[Ross]

Whew!

Thanks for doing the update Glennny.

Brutal - sorry to see Jon, Paco, Signboy and Henrietta go.

On to Round 5.

Nur Ein!!!!!

[glennny]

What Once Was Grand

Wow everybody! There was nothing but excellent entries this round. My top 6 all spent time at the top of my list. This was a very difficult round to judge. I still don’t know how it will end up (we’re missing a judges votes) at this point all you can say is that one of you will not be eliminated, for everyone else it is possible, and there are 3 or you who can’t win, but may or may not survive.

My favorites from favorite to least favorite:

Wreckdom- I very much appreciate the entry! Regardless of the immunity, this is a freaking excellent song. It’s so nice to hear the banjo and the ripping banjo near the end. You guys would’ve fit very nicely on Vaccination Records with Idiot Flesh and Rube Waddell back in the day. Your Nur Ein entries this year are the best I’ve ever heard from you guys. I love the groove of this. I love the fact that it’s just a solid 14 line sonnet with iambic pentameter. I love that it doesn’t feel forced. Sweet entry!

Swilington- You certainly embraced the title. I like the sonnets. What shot this to the top for me was the orchestration and composition. This is so Bob Scaggs or Flight of the Conchords. Cheesy but delightful. I’m not surprised to see this rub some judges the wrong way. This is SOOO California! The flutes and the bongos just cracked me up. The harps and the beats are delicious. The guitar is playing tight and within the abilities. I enjoyed this thoroughly!

Frankie Big Face- I’m assuming this won, we’ll see, it’s not for sure yet. This is just fantastic. What a great ride of melody and interesting chords! It’s very Beatlesy , but like the best Beatlesy you can be. The only this that drives me crazy is that terrible guitar solo. WTF? The tone sounds fantastic, but those incidental out of key sloppy notes are painful. Perhaps it’s a meta song statement for what once was grand, but that’s a grasp. Delightful freaking song man! BTW this loudness period you’re going through is making it hard to listen to your tracks, I have to turn them down so my cheap speakers can handle it. I vote for just a little more compression. Excellent take on the challenge too!

Andrew Reist- It sounds like you want this the most. I love your vocals! Catchiest vocal line yet. Piano is fantastic! The heavy part at the end is OK but not as strong as everything that leads up to it. What happened to you soloing? As I recall you can shred when you want to, yet you keep avoiding it? Is it time? You met the challenge but I don’t think you soared with it as well as you could have. Great song!

Tiny Robots- Upon 1st listen this was the clear winner. That’s because this is candy pop. It’s sugary sweet and immediately catches you attention. I have already razzed you guys about the damn claps, perhaps too harshly, but seriously, give it a rest or do something else with clapping. Like another pattern or something. This is a consequence of me being very close to the body of all of your work, being my BSS band mates and all. I’m probably hypercritical of you guys. The drum beat is awesome, the guitar solo is off the charts awesome (though half as long as it should be). I very much appreciate the just one sonnet 14 lines iambic pentameter of your lyrics. For the most part they are excellent. However were I in the band I would have a huge fit over the line “…fits like a glove” yikes, c’mon talk about clichés. These are obviously nitpicks, you guys can throw out an awesome pop song like nobodies business. Great Song!

Todd McHatton- Were it not for the challenge this may have been my favorite song. I think you met the rhyming requirement, but didn’t seem to seek the iambic pentameter. This was not required, but those who did got a boost in my eyes. This is just a lovely lovely song! Sometimes your breathy soft approach really works well, this is an enormous success as a song. The competition is so tough, this was an agonizing song to place. Don’t get me wrong I love the lyrics, but I thought the sonnet was pretty loose. If I’m wrong, and just stupid, I humbly apologize.

Signboy- you totally embraced the challenge! The sonnets are great too. I think perhaps the challenge tookm over a bit much. Although I love the riffs in the verse and in the chorus, I feel they perhaps needed more variation. They seemed a little slaved to the verbosity of the challenge. Again these are nitpicks, this song freaking rocks! I love it, and considered giving it top honors as well. The beat sounds great, your voice works really well! This is just a damn impressive track!

Paco del Stinko- I don’t think I have ever ranked you this low before. This is a good song. The sonnets are impressive. It just feels unfinished to me. Why doesn’t the bass come in? The drums? The Theremin? The zany backing vocals? Absent from this is most of what I like about your music. That said, the guitar is absolutely beautiful and perfectly executed. I very much enjoy your voice too! I have to believe you ran out of time or something. It just seems so out of character.

Ross Durand- You are an excellent artisan! I know every track you ever submit will be solid. The mix is fantastic the performance is excellent. The sonnets are good. This suffers for me because I’m a little bored. The writing just doesn’t seem that inspired to me. I hope you don’t think of my ranking of you here is a vote off. I’m hoping for some weird tie thing where everyone advances. This is not a losing song. It’s good. It’s just very tough to rank this crop.

Nouvre Pauvre- Handle me with care. I started singing it immediately. I mean it’s the biggest hit from the most super of all supergroups. I love the riff when George Harrison wrote it and I enjoy haring it when you play it, but I have a hard time giving you credit for it. I love your vocals in this song! You have such a killer voice with some fantastic chops. Your sonnet is fantastic! I really don’t want anyone to be eliminated.

Jon Eric- What kills me is the performance of the acoustic instruments. While the timbre of them is a huge freaking relief from previous entries, the little timing issues everywhere drove me a little nuts. That said, this is a great sonnet! This is my favorite of all of your vocal performances as well. It’s a bit of a crime to have you on the bottom of the list, but it’s sooo tough to come up with reasons to rank everyone in these later rounds.

[Reist]

No probs.

ps - just curious. When I read -

Round 5

Title "Spider to the Fly"
Non optional challenge : Composition must be Through Composed

I have a hunch that you came up with this challenge, not Niv. Am I right, or just overly suspicious?

[glennny]

I would deny it, but I doubt anyone would believe me.

Feel free to ask questions if you have any.

[swilington]

i don't know what to say. everyone did so amazing. it's hard to see Nouveau, Jon, Paco, and Signboy leave us. Nouveau, i've become a big fan of yours over this competition pllleeeeaaaaasssseeeee do nein!

[swilington]

Feel free to ask questions if you have any.

i have a question... what the heck is through-composed? i looked it up and i still don't think i get it. just no repeating of any melody? got any examples to listen to?

[JonPorobil]

Feel free to ask questions if you have any.

i have a question... what the heck is through-composed? i looked it up and i still don't think i get it. just no repeating of any melody? got any examples to listen to?

I know I can be a bit academic about this kind of stuff, but I can't think of any examples... at least not in modern pop/rock music. Anyone?

EDIT: Wait, correction: Thunder Road.

[Ross]

I believe thunder road has a chorus

[Reist]

Um, maybe I'm stupid, but I still don't get it. The springsteen song returns to the same chord progression multiple times. Are we just supposed to eliminate melodic structure?

[Ross]

Um, maybe I'm stupid, but I still don't get it. The springsteen song returns to the same chord progression multiple times. Are we just supposed to eliminate melodic structure?

I don't believe that song is through composed.

[Reist]

Um, maybe I'm stupid, but I still don't get it. The springsteen song returns to the same chord progression multiple times. Are we just supposed to eliminate melodic structure?

I don't believe that song is through composed.

Damn, so now I've been thoroughly confused. I have a feeling that without a modern observable example, this challenge is going to cause a lot of befuddlement and controversy. I know I'm already baffled, and the title hasn't even been up for a day yet.

[ken]

I'd like to suggest this as a definition:

Song form that is composed from beginning to end without repetitions of any major sections; each verse having its own, unique melody.

So think about a song with the following structure: A B C D

Ken

[Ross]

Um, maybe I'm stupid, but I still don't get it. The springsteen song returns to the same chord progression multiple times. Are we just supposed to eliminate melodic structure?

I don't believe that song is through composed.

Damn, so now I've been thoroughly confused. I have a feeling that without a modern observable example, this challenge is going to cause a lot of befuddlement and controversy. I know I'm already baffled, and the title hasn't even been up for a day yet.

Well so far what you have is merely the opinion of two contestants, but I would say that although the "Thunder road" chorus does not return the part after it is clearly a repeat of previous thematic material - that is my opinion, but I am not a judge.

[Reist]

I'd like to suggest this as a definition:
A B C D

I will gladly accept that as a definition.

[JonPorobil]

Um, maybe I'm stupid, but I still don't get it. The springsteen song returns to the same chord progression multiple times. Are we just supposed to eliminate melodic structure?

I don't believe that song is through composed.

It's not as though you can do a song that doesn't reuse chords ever. At least, not a very long or euphonic one. But hey, don't listen to me; I'm out.



NUR EIN!!!!!

[Reist]

I've got about 5 possible songs semi-prepared ... but I don't know which one to choose!

[swilington]

how bout this, can you return to a bass line with a different riff over the top?

[Paco Del Stinko]

Well, at least I left with some great company to sit on the bench with, although I hate to see them go. Thanks for giving me a go people, and you were all too generous with the nice comments regarding this particular tune of mine, but thanks again. I love the NUR EIN and all that it produces, and am looking forward to both the rest of this year's fight, and NUR EIN V as well.

Sideliners remember to vote in the final round. Stay tuned! NUR EIN!!!!

[frankie big face]

Frankie Big Face- I’m assuming this won, we’ll see, it’s not for sure yet. This is just fantastic. What a great ride of melody and interesting chords! It’s very Beatlesy , but like the best Beatlesy you can be. The only this that drives me crazy is that terrible guitar solo. WTF? The tone sounds fantastic, but those incidental out of key sloppy notes are painful. Perhaps it’s a meta song statement for what once was grand, but that’s a grasp. Delightful freaking song man! BTW this loudness period you’re going through is making it hard to listen to your tracks, I have to turn them down so my cheap speakers can handle it. I vote for just a little more compression. Excellent take on the challenge too!

First of all, I'm thrilled to have won the round. I like my song and my lyrics, but I just didn't know how it would be received, so I am excited.

Regarding volume, I'm going to try and make a quieter mix of this song and I'll post a link. I didn't know it was super loud until I listened on my computer speakers and I had to turn it WAY down. I'll try to fix this in the next round.

The solo is the first thing I played while recording--a scratch track if you will--and over the course of recording the other parts, I grew to really like it. Think of the piano solos on Aladdin Sane by Bowie.

I'm so sorry to say I haven't had a chance to listen to the songs this week because of work crap. So I don't even know if I deserved the win, but again, very happy and looking forward to the next round!

[Henrietta]

Oh noes!! That was a fun ride, thank you everyone. I made it much further than I expected to, given the mad amounts of talent and creativity here. There can be only one. Nur ein!!!!

[JonPorobil]

Oh noes!! That was a fun ride, thank you everyone. I made it much further than I expected to, given the mad amounts of talent and creativity here. There can be only one. Nur ein!!!!

For what it's worth, your elimination was the biggest surprise this round, as far as I was concerned.

It pleases me that I was eliminated in such good company.

And hey, Glenny: even though you ranked me last, your review made me feel so much better about it. That's the definition of a good review, if you ask me.

[Reist]

Hmmm, I wish I knew who judge number two is, so I knew who to suck up to this week.