Besetzen Sie sprechen Deutsch (Man Speaking German Reviews)

[Jim of Seattle]

Better late than never. Favorites in blue

Kapitano
Kind of fun. Your German is amusing. I think this song probably works, and I think you got what you were going for. Hard to find fault, but as an innocent listener of the song, my reaction is kind of "so what". Not a lot to say, sorry.

Fluid Probe Liaison
A couple minutes into this and I'm doing OK, but the song is way too long for me. The story doesn't suck me in, and if it did I'd probably find the length alright. And after a while I get tired of the lead vocal delivery, and the repetitive tune and the same two chords and the identically spaced couplets one after the other.

Ants (Invisible) (Me)
Reasonably proud of this. I agree with J$'s comment about the noodling getting old. If I ever go back to re-write I'd clean up a lot of that and make it more conventionally tuneful in places. This is a very honest piece for me. I was trying very hard not to censor myself for the sake of what I thought people would like, and instead focus narrowly on what I liked. Things I love about it: The restlessness coming from all the unexpected twists. After a few listens they become more expected and the piece starts to sound much more behaved. I love the slow 4th movement and the jazzy last movements best. Actually, the whole piece grows on me after repeated listenings. [EDIT]I am actually liking it a lot less on repeated listenings, because it's starting to sound show-offy. Ick.[/EDIT]

Johnny Cashpoint
This is one of my favorites of yours, which we both know isn't saying a whole lot. Still, I do like this. I'm bugged by the self-referential nature of the lyrics. It really is a song about Songfight, so points off for that. I like the girls in the background. My favorite thing about the song is the general bouyant bounciness of it. I'm disappointed to not hear any actual Kompressor in it, even if it was someone else trying to do Kompressor, because that would be funny in contrast to the happy tone of the rest of the song. Curious why you left Kompressor himself out of it? Or maybe he's in there and I don't recognize it?

<font color=blue>Sausage Boy
As mentioned, I'm reminded of the Residents' Third Reich and Roll album. I hate that album, but I kind of enjoy this song. You've captured a really scary Nazi Germany sound., with all the crowd and the guns and especially that machine droning thing. And you don't wear out your welcome. Nice and short. You make your statement and get the hell out. Against all odds I like this a lot.</font>

Beef Animals
Very accomplished sound. You've captured a nice cement basement feel. Get the feeling you never quite decided what you wanted this song to be, so you threw the kitchen sink at us instead. The song wears me out, like those films where you're driving through downtown city streets in fast motion.

Land Standers
If I knew you were someone who was capable of writing real songs, I'd shrug this off as you being in a weird mood and dismiss it at that. But since I don't know you I can't say that, and I don't know whether this is musically as well as you can do. You do successfully create this sort of scary "this is a dream I had" feel with the lyrics and the spare feel, but you blow it with the "possibly because it rhymes" line, which makes me think you're just goofing off here.

Gregorian Pants
Not too bad. I kind of don't get it. The very Autobahn-ish midiness combined with the robotic delivery and tune make for a very sterile experience, so I'm prevented from getting too terribly into it. Reminds me of something I'd hear on "Sprockets". Sort of dull.

<font color=blue>Minty Handy
I appreciate the by-the-book song structure, both musically and lyrically, cuz it helps focus my attention on what you're trying to get across. I don't know that the semi-whispered delivery is the right choice. Not that I dislike it per se, but I think you could have gotten more mileage out of the song had you had a little higher energy delivery. As it is the song sounds like you could care less that the man took your woman away. Perhaps that's the case, but it makes an otherwise decent song feel kind of ho-hum. Still, good job.</font>

<font color=blue>Ross Durand
Best use of the title by far. I really like the idea that the man speaking German demanded more of your attention that what you were hearing in English. Wish I'd thought of that. Because I like this song so much I am going to nitpick: The payoff at the end of the bridge isn't enough for me. "Sound foreign to me" is too weak a line, and too on-the-nose. I wish you'd come up with a more artful and exciting way to say that, and I also wish you gave the bridge more musical energy to offset it from the verse. You have a profound lyric idea in this song, and I want the music to be bigger to match. This song stands to be much longer and to go much farther, then finish up coming back down to the solo guitar. All that said, this is my predicted winner of the fight, though I'm not voting since I'm in it.</font>

[sausage boy]

Better late than never. Favorites in blue

<font color=blue>Sausage Boy
As mentioned, I'm reminded of the Residents' Third Reich and Roll album. I hate that album, but I kind of enjoy this song. You've captured a really scary Nazi Germany sound., with all the crowd and the guns and especially that machine droning thing. And you don't wear out your welcome. Nice and short. You make your statement and get the hell out. Against all odds I like this a lot.</font>

Unexpected. Praise! I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family, and my manager...

Really, I would like to thank everyone for not getting to bent out of shape that I entered two fights this week. It just kind of happened. It will never happen again. Next week, I'm in three fights