Besetzen Sie sprechen Deutsch (Man Speaking German Reviews)

[tonetripper]

Good reviews rdurand. Nice to see you around. I'm sure someone has said it, but welcome to Songfight!

[Jim of Seattle]

Seconded. You sound like you're going to fit right in. Good to have you. Keep reviewing!

Yeah, I know there's jazziness in there, and I hadn't thought of the French influence, but sure, you're right. Glad you like the slow movement. Thanks for reviewing with a bit of detail.

[sausage boy]

[Sausage Boy – I figured there would be a Hitler reference out there – I almost referred to Kennedy, myself. I think this is pretty effective but I personally question whether it is a “song.” In fact I wonder why people aren’t debating this more than the Ants piece. This is essentially sound effects with a news reel. An effective use of sound effects with a news reel, but is it a “song.” I’m going to have to say no.

The only reason I can think of for people not debating the unsonglyness of my entry is they have given up on me long ago. Now they just sit, and wait for me to make a further fool of myself.

[HeuristicsInc]

sausage - points off right away for submitting two songs this week. also, it's interesting, but i'm not seeing the point, really. i want to see more progress within the song.

j$ - catchy beat. j$ is really odd, but that's why we like him. the background chorus is brilliant. this one gets in your head... dangerous!

ross - good voice. this is definitely worth listening to.

ants - ooh, the controversy. i can't say whether this is german or not, but i believe your explanation, and either way the song's enjoyable. keep on doing what inspires you.

fluid - great drum/piano combo. the wind instrument seems off time. i like the lead vox and the music a lot, but the background vox seem to be off a bit. this is fun, generally enjoyable! strange, definitely.

ooh, getting tired. oops.

minty - vox is good. this is enjoyable.

land - flat... g&g doesn't do it for me tonight.

kap - vox rhythm reminds me of neubauten, although the music totally doesn't, except the guitar. fun. i like the way this drives along.

beef - interesting, different sound. the fast part is particularly cool.

gregorian - vox are too far back. i like the chorus or whatever this is, good vocal sound. the rest is ok. ending is kinda just silly, isn't it?

1: j$, ants, fluid, kap
2: ross, minty, beef

ok, then, j$ is in second, and kapitano gets my vote!
-bill

[EightLeggedOedipus]

Beef Animals – I really like the sound of this, but I will admit that even after looking at the lyrics I still have trouble decoding them and any relation they may have to the concept of a man speaking German except for his brief inclusion in the first verse.

What?!? Sausage party? Hate Machine? Ham and cheese? Food deprivation? Bat-eating, blind dates, and perversion? How could this not be about a man speaking German?

Ok, well. Yeah. Someone said <i>indulgent</i> and they were right. I got back Leaf's drum track, and I wrote this whole story about a guy on a blind date waiting for the bus, and a man speaking German is taunting him. But it just didn't gel too well, so then I scrapped it and just shot from the hip and was happy with the indulgent result. Sorry your abstract vision of a man speaking German doesn't match mine.

(Thanks, Boltoph)

[EightLeggedOedipus]

Ants
+++ Well-written, well-played +++
/// Hard to tell it's played on synth at first ///
--- nine minutes. no words ---

Beef Animals
+++ Leaf fucking rocks the drums +++
/// Indulgent lyrics ///
--- Sloppy timing on outro punk part. Boomy vocals on the choruses. Weird phrasing on "Pay-PER-clip necklace" ---

Fluid Probe Liaison
+++ Nice beat off the bat +++
/// Fucked up horns ///
--- Forced lyrics with crap cadence, pointless character bgvx. ---
+++ Enjoyable chorus +++
--- "Flat off his head" ? ---
/// Drum beat at 3:00 sounds <a href="http://www.songfight.org/music/dog_boy_ ... amiliar</a> ///

Gregorian Pants
--- Boring electro-synth loops with vocal "chanting" in speaking voice ---
+++ A drill sound +++

J$ with Hoosenbergler
+++ Fun stuff, what's that effect on the left ear guitar? +++
/// I'm not familiar with Kompressor either, but now I wan to be ///
--- Johnny, why do you record all your vocals in a bomb shelter? ---
+++ La la la la la +++

Kapitano
+++ Most German sounding +++
--- Cheesy drum sounds are unrelenting ---

Landstanders
--- The detritus of the fightus. Repetitive crappy GnG with monotone and horribly forced lyrics. ---

Minty handy
/// Got that Casio demo (minus Wesley) sound ///
--- Vocals recorded through a telephone ---
+++ But surprisingly an awesome song. So catchy and hummable +++

Ross Durand
+++ Decent fingerpicking, though repetitive +++
--- Woodstock reject warble. Politico lyrics ---

Sausage Boy
+++ The good crap-song of this fight. +++
--- It goes on too long ---
/// A thrity second edit of this would be the intro track on my SongFight DnB Mix ///

[j$]

--- Johnny, why do you record all your vocals in a bomb shelter? ---

Equipment limitations. (a tie mic). A Sure S-58 is on my purchase list (but it has been for about a year so don't hold your breath) ...

[Kapitano]

Kapitano. Maybe I'm just in a mood, but I didn't dig this either.

What would you dig from Kapitano?

OMD with amplifiers? I like a good thumbs-in-beltloops chugalong. This sounds great. The Status Quoisms you mention aren't too much at the forefront. Doesn't really go anywhere From about 1.30
onwards, but I could listen to this again, so ... good!

Yeah, the second verse has a lot of small differences musically, but no big single difference that makes you sit up and take notice.

Also, if I were doing this again, I'd make it 10-20 BPM faster. It's at 110BPM because at the outset I had trouble pronouncing German rapidly.

I can see the OMD comparison, but they were nowhere in my head for this song.

Excellent. The music, performance, and production fits the content great, of course. I don’t speak German either, so your translation was fine with me. Writing rhymes in another language seems like a challenge.

It's quite time consuming, but turns out to be a good way to learn a language. Prior to this fight, the only German I knew came from a misspent youth reading about European philosophers.

The first version of the lyrics - from which exactly one line remains - was based around quotes from Wittgenstein and Heidegger. And it was dreadful.

I quite fancy trying Japanese at some point - it looks fascinating. No articles, genders or inflected cases. And over 500 ways to say 'Hello'.

kapitano gets my vote!

Oh wow!

+++ Most German sounding +++
--- Cheesy drum sounds are unrelenting ---

Most German pop music is unrelenting. It's been said (probably not very accurately) that German pop music comes from marching bands, and British pop music from stage shows.

You just don't like samplers. Well, when a decent physically modelled drumkit gets produced, I'll be using it, and you'll tell me I've got a real but boring drummer.

[tonetripper]

Ants (invisible) - The moonlight sonata tribute is obvious. The second part reminds me of Mike Oldfield in the beginning. After that it does have a very Bach feel crossed over with Weill. At 3:43 it sounds like a mistake and not an accidental. At the 5 minute mark it leans, from my perspective, to a more jazzy sensibility which would derive its origins from New Orleans, although one could could argue that these origins are steeped deeper in classical music. Maybe that is where you feel the Berg or the Schoenberg, although I tend to feel that placement more at the 7 minute mark. The last part sounds to me nothing like any of the prior composers mentioned by you, but has a definite leaning to Scott Joplin or ragtime music which is definitely not German. One could say that this type of music could be attributed to 19th century Germanic composers, but I think it's a stretch. This is where you lose me in a lot of ways. I hear your need to be clever with your musicality in trying to define the title, but by virtue of your statement it is a suite, and the influences seem to be somewhat all over the map. I find this piece well played, but definitely gratuitous and not a reflection of the title. This is why I question why you would post such a piece as this in the first place. There have been far more clever instrumentals submitted by others that have indicated a title far better to me. This is just simply good piano noodling and in my opinion not a song. Sometimes this type of thing is better left to your warm-up. This is my 9 minute review for your 9 minute piece.

Beef Animals - There are a lot of good elements in this song. Good mix, good singing, great drums, but my major issue is where any of those lyrics tie in with the title. Well played but not Man Speaking German. Could've been called Girl Speaking French for all I know.

Fluid Probe Liaison - There is something about this song that doesn't really do it for me. Seems a little long in the tooth and the seemingly comedic concept seems to wear thin on me after a while. Really liked the horn parts.

Gregorian Pants - I kind of like this. It's kind of like Einsterzeinde Neubauten mixed with trashy Euro disco. Definitely Man Speaking German. Sounds make tonetripper happy. Good, just wish there was a translation posted in the song archive.

J$ - I don't know Kompressor as he was before my time at SF, but this song makes me want to know some of his music. There is a hookiness about it that seems to have invaded my being throughout the week. Cool tune.

Kapitano - Well produced. Sounds are solid and the performances are great. This is definitely Man Speaking German. Possible Vote.

Landstanders - Eeeek! Noise floor central. There must have been something that you could have used to beat that. It's almost as loud as the music. Nice ideas a la Devendra Banhart, but not as high vocally. I think in general you need to make these ideas a little stronger. There is a tentativeness that sounds like your ideas are not truly formed.

Minty Handy - From the first time I heard this I immediately liked this song. Made me smile when the German guy spoke. Sounds like a typified situation of an American travelling abroad. Nice job on the mix and lyrics. The parody is very funny. WINNER.

Ross Durand - The finger picking is nice, but the pitchiness in the vocals is a little hard on the ears. Not bad for a first time out. It can only get better from here.

Sausage Boy - I love the sounds of this. Make tonetripper happy. The sample is good and visceral. The controversay of having Hitler sampled is a card well-played in a fight with a title such as this. I'm surprised it didn't happen more. Although sample heavy I appreciate the use of the last sung part to identify it as a song. Nice and odd. Well done SB.

Pretty good fight for such an odd title. My vote went to new-comer Minty Handy. it was a very well written song. Kapitano was second followed by J$.

[MintyHandy]

This is my first feedback. I really enjoyed a lot of these songs!

J$:

/// Any homage to Kompressor is a good homage
+++ La la la la la
+++ Every near-rhyme with Kompressor makes me smile

Georgian Pants:

/// It's like kraftwerk without the cadence
+++ Well-crafted for this style
--- Unfortunately, I don't like this style very much

Kapitano

+++ Great mix, great vocals
--- I wish it had started at the second verse, where the additional instruments do
/// Your beats are better than your drum machine, should we take up a collection?

Ross Durand

+++ Your guitar and voice are good...
--- Your lyrics didn't resolve into a cohesive whole for me, though
--- And I kept wishing for something, I don't know, BIGGER
/// There's a message in here, can't tell if it's about fascism or apathy

Fluid Probe Liason

+++ Strong piano, that and bass sucked me right in
--- But the horns and vocals pushed me right back out again

Minty Handy (my song)

/// I like singing into the telephone!
/// That's my wife (pitch-shifted) speaking the German parts

Landstanders

--- Three notes and a monotone do not a listenable song make

Beef Animals

+++ Frank Zappa reborn!
--- Some parts ( like at 1:47 ) just don't hold up to the rest
+++ But I love those Zappa-sounding parts ever so much
/// I wish I could play stuff like this

Ants (Invisible)

+++ Lovely piano suite, simply lovely
--- Perhaps the piano tuner speaks German?

Sausage Boy

+++ Undeniably a man speaking German
--- Whether this is a song, however, is debatable


I'm giving my vote to J$, although Beef Animals would have taken it had they trimmed the fat and gristle.

[Bolio]

Really liked the horn parts.

reed instrument (what is that?)

But the horns

Yes, Saxophone Claus stiffed me again this year. Been in Tenor Denial too much, pining for an alto.

[Ross]

So I thought I'd respond to some reviewers as many here seem to do. I don't know if there are conventions, but I just figured I'd respond to everyone in some way.

Kapitano Wrote:

I think we've found the new Josh Woodward.

Given what I saw here last week (my first) I take that as a high complement, thanks.

Niveous Wrote:

It's got words, music, some meaning.

Not your bag, but I'll take the meaning part. I like to try to write things with meaning.

J$ wrote

I like it - though the swell at 1.30ish should be paid off with a rhythm section kicking in there.

I felt the same way. I'm still learning about my recording set-up and I ran myself out of time. It really doesn't go where it should musically at the "bridge."

HeuristicsInc wrote:

this is definitely worth listening to.

What can be better than knowing it was worth the time? seriously - I think we've all had experiences where we wish could get our 2 minutes or so back. A nice complement - thanks.

EightLegged Oedipus wrote

--- Woodstock reject warble. Politico lyrics ---

I'm not exactly sure what the first part means, but I apologize in advance for future entries - I tend towards attempting relevant songwriting.

Tone tripper wrote:

the pitchiness in the vocals is a little hard on the ears.

I'm not sure what you mean by "pitchiness" but wouldn't mind it being clarified - self-improvement, you know.

also:

Not bad for a first time out.

Actually this is my second entry:-)

It can only get better from here.

Smells better than poop?

What about a comment or two about the song? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts after seeing how you think on some other issues.

Minty Handy wrote:

Your guitar and voice are good.

Thanks. People seem to agree on the guitar, but the voice appears to be a matter of opinion.

also:

/// There's a message in here, can't tell if it's about fascism or apathy

Interesting - I didn't think it was either of these. The beauty of art!!

Thanks to everyone for the welcome and for the honest feedback. I hope to stick around a little.

[Kapitano]

EightLegged Oedipus wrote

--- Woodstock reject warble. Politico lyrics ---

I'm not exactly sure what the first part means, but I apologize in advance for future entries - I tend towards attempting relevant songwriting.

Everyone here likes meaning in their lyrics. Not everyone can handle meaning they disagree with, or seperate it from whether they enjoy the music.

I have no idea either what a woodstock warble might be, reject or otherwise. Something to do with Snoopy's bird friend?

Tone tripper wrote:

the pitchiness in the vocals is a little hard on the ears.

I'm not sure what you mean by "pitchiness" but wouldn't mind it being clarified

It means being slightly out of tune. Odd, as I don't recall you failing to hit the right notes.

[MintyHandy]

In the US, Woodstock is a New York city that hosted a huge hippie-oriented concert in the 60s. So Woodstock == hippie, I believe. Although I like the Snoopy idea better.

As for the pitchiness, the more perfect your pitch, the harder it is to suffer even the slightest variation. While many people may hear a person completely on key, a few folks might hear that it's a bit off -- and if they're anything like me, it's actually painful at times. Like a temporary migraine. Then again, I didn't hear that in any of these songs, so I dunno.

[tonetripper]

It wasn't apparent in the whole song. And one could say it was character induced, but I heard it at the top of the tune. Perhaps pitchiness was too strong and I should have indicated the specific word where, to me, it was a tad out. I don't have perfect pitch, that's for sure, but absolute wouldn't be off the mark for me. I can hear things in relation to other notes that don't sound proper.

Out of tune isn't bad if it is character driven, so maybe I should listen again and verify the issue I had with it. I also wanted to do my bit for the community and do some reviews for some other fights as there seems to be some slackers on the boards these days, not reviewing even fights they are in. As far as the song-writing goes I didn't mind it, but it didn't move me either. Over the time being here I think an alternate taste to the mainstream takes over and sincerity sometimes takes a beating. Basically be sincere at your own peril as there are some who only want to be jokey. I think I will hear better from R Durand. That is all I meant.

[Ross]

Thanks to Kapitano and Tonetripper for their replies. I've spent the evening finishing and mixing my tune for this week so I'll be brief:

I also wanted to do my bit for the community and do some reviews for some other fights as there seems to be some slackers on the boards these days, not reviewing even fights they are in.

cool, thanks - I wish I had had time to review the other fights this week. The feedback is good to get.

be sincere at your own peril

I'm highly experiencedin this area, as I'm sure many girls from my high school days could attest. But I think I'll keep trying for awhile.

I think I will hear better from R Durand. That is all I meant.

I hope so. Thanks for the clarification. I didn't mean to be confrontional.

[Bolio]

Not a SINGLE one of these songs under the 'Fightmaster's Picks' ??? That's a snubbing of epic proportions!!

[j$]

Tell me about it. Especially in a fight where I feel a slight shadow is hanging over its critical reception/vote ratio. Minty Handy wuz robbed I say, robbed!

Perhaps fightmaster hasn't found the time in his busy busy schedule to listen to this fight yet? Last week the list changed/expanded a few hours later to include fights previously unmentioned ...

[Kapitano]

I feel a slight shadow is hanging over its critical reception/vote ratio.

You mean there was cheating? Surely not. I can't imagine anyone doing such a thing.

Minty Handy wuz robbed I say, robbed!

Agree there. Not that voting and winning matters much, but it would be nice if we could vote for our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd favourite songs. Certainly there were enough good songs.

[MintyHandy]

I vote that this songfight thing is really fun, and I'm going to keep doing it until my head asplodes.

Also, you guys are very kind.

[erik]

OMG I can't believe the fightmasters are picking songs that they like and listing them under "Fightmasters' Picks". Someone should tell them that area is for listing songs that other people like.

[MintyHandy]

Perhaps there should also be a "Beastmasters' Picks"?