Put your plans on hold and write some reviews

[bgm]

All I need is a red guitar, three chords, and the truth.

And a really good microphone. And some beer.
But that's it.
And this paddle game. The ashtray and the paddle game and the red guitar, three chords, the truth, a really good microphone and some beer and that's all I need. And this remote control. The red guitar, three chords, the truth, a really good microphone and some beer, the ashtray, the paddle game, and the remote control, and that's all I need. And these matches. The ashtray, and these matches, and the remote control and the paddle ball, the red guitar, the three chords, the truth, a really good microphone and some beer. And this lamp. The red guitar, the three chords, the truth, a really good microphone and some beer, the ashtray, this paddle game and the remote control and the lamp and that's all I need. And that's all I need too. I don't need one other thing, not one - I need this. The paddle game, and the chair, and the remote control, the red guitar, the three chords, the truth, a really good microphone and some beer and the matches, for sure. And this.
And that's all I need.

[Jim of Seattle]

Our Plans Are on Hold

Really strong fight. An unusual number of really great stuff. A pleasure to listen to, thanks everyone!

Berkeley Social Scene

I think I hear what you’re trying for here, but I don’t think you’re achieving it. The song sounds like it wants to be more reggae or Latin or Cuban, or even R&B. I hear maybe Blondie’s The Tide Is High, or even a Jackson 5 hit. Needs a lot more energy and style. The sleepy indie band sound isn’t inspired enough to make this as fun as it wants to be.
Hey, I’m still working on your reviews, have had some trouble getting to it, but I’m halfway done.

Bgm

I have nothing whatsoever critical to say about this song. I think it’s basically perfect, and I almost never ever think that of Song Fight entries. Fantastic job. I’m actually keeping this one for my personal collection, and that is also rare. Man, if you aren’t signed, drop me a note. One of the finest Song Fight entries I’ve ever heard. VOTE

Billy & Psychotics

Hmmm. I know you guys write remotely, and the seams sometimes show, and this week they do too. The lyrics are rock and roll cool, as are the band and the song itself, but they aren’t the same song. The lyric sounds squeezed into a different song. It’s as if you took the lyrics to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and sang them to the tune of Penny Lane. Well ok, that’s a big exaggeration, but you get my point. The band sounds great, the vocals are great, but the songwriting is suffering, as I understand it, by the way you are writing them remotely. Now you’re going to come and tell me “Actually, smartypants, we were in the same room the whole time”.

Chocolate Chips

Pretty good. The tunes in both the verse and chorus are quite repetitive, and that keeps the song from generating a lot of heat. What’s here is some tuneful stems, but they need to be developed a bit more I think. Right now the song has an awkward quality that is working against you. The arrangement is pretty nice, and guitar solo section is fun, and the lead vocal is solid, I’m totally reminded of Herman’s Hermits. I like the slow down during the fade out a lot.

Dani House

I think this is really wonderful. This has a very unique sound that I like a lot. Simultaneously distant and intimate. It makes me wonder what else you have. The songwriting is off-balance but it feels confident and has a solid structure. It feels very fragile. For some reason you’ve convinced me that everything in the song is on purpose, and you know full well that you sound fragile and quirky. This makes me want to hear more. The zither-y thing that comes in later is a great choice. VOTE

DJ Ranger Den

Very lovely. Reminds me of Zooey Deschanel’s character in New Girl. The vocal harmony is a great idea when it comes in. The verse is catchy and memorable and pretty, but when you get to when you sing the title near the end of the verse, the catchiness fades away and the tune rambles a tad. Then we’re back to the verse and I feel comfortable again. The bridge is especially lovely with those harmonies, but it needs pretty much a whole melody rewrite; the tune rambles more than a tad. The first time listening I concentrated on the music, but it was obvious you want me to hear the words, so I went back a second time for that. Lyrically, you switch perspective a few times so I get into a confused lack of attention. At first it’s “she” then “we” then “I” then “You” etc. Lots of good imagery and catchy singable phrases, but I don’t understand it well enough for it all to gel. So after dissecting it I like it a bit less, but the overall effect is totally charming, so ultimately it gets a vote. Weird. VOTE

Foobar

I don’t think this feels honest enough. The song comes across to me as an exercise in going for a certain style, but I don’t think you’re tapping yourself enough, so it feels impersonal. The lyrics are heavy-handed and thick, but tons of cool stuff in them. Just pare it down to the best lines and streamline. The lead vocal is pretty young and raw, just needs a few years still. The arrangement concept is solid. I like the choices and the overall feel you’re going for. I’d like to hear this after you had a week with some higher end equipment, because I think it would be pretty cool.

Glennny

The mic for your vocals isn’t very good, so the vocals are muffled. A lot of sparkle is missing, and that’s not doing you any favors at all, because the quality of your voice is such that it needs sparkle. Also, your singing is out of tune enough that it’s hurting you. I like the whimsical Mraz-y arrangement and instrumental performances, and the songwriting is good enough. I’m not telling you what to do, but if you went out and got a better vocal mic, and also either did some auto-tune or else multiple takes of every line until you get them really in tune, you’d be instantly miles improved.

Gregg Boethin

Really nice work. This is a big fat Almost. I love the story idea of the woman’s leaving being postponed because of a storm. I was totally on board. (subsequent listens I realized it might not have been a pending break up but just some unspecified trip – not as interesting to me). The second verse is disappointing though because the idea isn’t developed. What I thought was going to happen was that because of the storm she had to stay a couple extra days, and there in that winter chill the two people end up reconciling and she cancels her trip and happily ever after. But you kind of stop after the first verse, and you just repeat the talk about the storm. Totally top drawer idea for a country song, but you are missing the opportunity. Musically the songwriting is great, no complaints, and you know how to write a bridge, with the funny frostbite line leading back to the chorus. Vocally, also very close. You mostly have the country style down (for better or worse), but there’s still an amateurish twinge in there that I wish could go. So, definite vote, but not quite where it could be. VOTE

HATE Noise

Good. I’m so far out of this demographic that it might be my review is coming from a faraway land. The backing tracks are terrifically balanced in their thickness. I’m not too hot on the subject matter, not because I’m anti-pot or anything, it’s just kind of boring that you’re really just saying “weed is good”. Kind of dull. But musically there’s so much cool stuff going on. You’re really pros with that. That rumble at 2:30 that pops in the right speaker shows your great attention to creative detail. That chorus with the jazz cigarettes is just so cool. Great job. VOTE

JoAnn Abbott

Wow, this takes me back to my years of listening to aspiring workshopped musicals. So after going through once I had to dust off those ears and listen again like this were one of my colleagues in the workshop. I don’t hear these kinds of songs often on SF. Obviously, having accompaniment would make a big difference, but I assume you didn’t have that available, and I assume the a cappella is out of necessity not choice. Also I assume you are singing in place of the actor(s) who would perform this, so no comments about production or performance, I’m treating this like it were a musical theatre song being workshopped.

It’s a bit too tuneful for the Gollum character for me, especially in the bridge (1:23). I can’t picture an actor playing Gollum and pulling this song off for that reason. Mostly the lyrics are in character, though there are a few lines I didn’t buy that sounded pulled out of the rhyming dictionary (“he is our foe”). Going back and forth between the two sides like was done in the movie would be fun to watch, I’m with you there. I think the song needs to go someplace dramatically though. He starts off pretty much in the same place he ends, so there’s not a lot for an actor to play. I would prefer seeing each side getting a full verse to have their say, and save the quick back and forth for later and let that conflict build throughout the song. That way you have somewhere to go that’s more of a build.

Kasper

Fun. Like pretty much everything about the songwriting and arrangement. Reminded of early Joe Jackson. The vocal has a young quality but it’s not too bad. But your mix is right down the center to the point of being in mono. You need a LOT more stereo in the mix to separate all the well-played instruments and give the song a ton more energy. And the added guitar in the chorus is so grating I instantly hate it. Simply swap it out for something else. Still, nice job as a demo. VOTE

The Lookouts

Pretty good. I don’t have any real solid complaints here, but I’m not digging it by my own taste. You sound like Neil Young whose voice I don’t care for. The band sounds terrific and is mixed well and the song is cool and catchy. This is very nicely done and I’m voting for it because liking it and it being good are two separate things. VOTE

Manzfield

The guitars are recorded pretty poorly, so it’s hard to get into it, and the lead vocals, while an admirable attempt, don’t have the weight to stand up to the metal and are buried in the mix a good deal of the time. I kind of like that the song meanders all over from chorus idea to chorus idea. Recording needs a lot more high end to give it the needed punch.

Odilon Green

Same problem as Kasper, in that the mix is too much down the center. Except that strange crunchy kick drum which is the only thing that extends to left and right. Kind of backwards that way. The lyrics have too many syllabic emphasis mistakes for my taste. I’m a stickler for that. And the arrangement is awfully grating after a while. It’s got that sound where it doesn’t need to be on very loud for me to feel like turning it down. Funny idea for a song and I enjoyed the experience one time through though.

R. Mosquito

Laughed when I saw it wasn’t over when everything stopped. I can hear a lot of work and effort here, but it doesn’t really add up for me. The vocal is too buried. Mixing it low doesn’t hide the fact that it’s a weak-ish vocal performance. And it has too many buzzy colors in there, so I find it kind of irritating.

Ross Durand

One of your better ones for sure. You do some very clever things here. All you need is the reference to lingerie and we have enough of the picture to move on. And you completely seal the deal with “….again”. That’s some slick songwriting right there. This song needs to have a life outside Song Fight. Couple vocal misses in there which need a re-take. But wow, truly excellent. VOTE

Shelby Garrett

I think this is probably wonderful. I’m frustrated that the combination of the vocal style and the vocals being low in the mix makes it so I can’t understand the lyrics well enough. But very catchy and I’m reminded of DJ Ranger Den. Lovely voice, lovely playing, catchy well structured song, I wish I could hear the words better. Despite that, VOTE

Snoop Sloop Troop

Well, your influence here is pretty obvious. Maybe too obvious. This could be some Bonus Track stuck on the end of a re-release of Duck Stab or the Commercial Album. Ignoring for a moment the fact that it’s a little too much of a Residents copycat, taking it on its own terms, I think it’s terrific. The key change in the high melody thing and subsequent freak-out after the vocal is a cool idea. I’ve never loved the eyeball’s nursery rhyme songs much though, so this would be middle tier Residents for me. Still, you could do a lot worse. Now be less derivative. VOTE

Troy Jones

I know this is very sincere. I could not for the life of me keep my attention on it. The subject matter of the song is a lot more emotional than the song is, musically. It’s boring. “Kick me in the balls” and “gay bar in town” stand out as a little crude for the style.

Tuners Union

Totally great. I’m completely reminded of the Beta Band. In fact, are you actually the Beta Band? The resemblance is uncanny, so I wouldn’t be surprised. This is the second song in this fight that’s pretty much perfect. I heard bgm’s before yours and was blown away, but any other fight and this wins by a long mile. That Eb chord at about 1:08 is a lovely surprise, and that r&b/soul bridge takes the song into a welcome soulful direction. Man, I can’t touch this. VOTE

[bgm]

Hey thanks for the reviews everybody, I really appreciate it.

Jim of Seattle:
Wow, thank you so much.

[Calliopeva]

Wow, Jim, what a great review! Thank you for putting so much time and thought into it, I am flattered.

Yup, the accapella was not by choice- my accompanist had life happen to him I guess, I never heard back from him. I'm working with someone else now, and Canadian Girlfriend is sounding fun. I don't really play anything myself- I love to "doodle" on the many instruments I own, but haven't had any lessons on them.

My background >is< Broadway oriented- at least I have a huge collection of albums from there, and have been in a few musicals. It is one of my biggest influences, along with children's songs, medieval & folk songs, and hymns & contemporary Christian. Oh, and Tom Lehrer, Tom Smith, Wierd Al and...ok, so I have 11,000 songs in my ipod. Anything can pop out.

I hadn't thought of building the dramatic aspect in the song as you say; At that point in the film the wimpy Smeagol personna is arguing with the Gollum part and is able to temporarily banish it, but it comes back very soon. I do agree with the parts being a bit too tuneful. With a backing track to work with I would have tried to make the two voices more distinctly different. More seductive/bully/evil on the one side, more afraid/nasty/coward on the other. I hadn't thought of going for a full "LOTR- The Musical" till just now...thanks to you *grin* Maybe for the FAWM?

heh, caught me out on the rhyming dictionary too, well spotted! I have Rhyme Zone on my favorites list.
thanks again!
JoAnn

[RangerDenni]

My reviews are really meandery. I don't do them a lot because I always feel funny about them and Quite Self Conscious. Also, I don't like to criticize people but cannot say anything that I do not mean. As well, my ears have outpaced my engineering expertise at this point. I hear things and do not know how to explain them - or even more unfortunately to make things happen themselves in my own work, although I'd like to say that I'm improving every now and again.

So thank you for your comments (both on DJRD tracks and the Psychotics ones). Here are mine.
x Den


Berkeley Social Scene
I like both the tight beginning and the open-ended, uh... ending of this. You guys are always really tight though [Edit: after a read through of remaining reviews saw that there was a performance line up change. Very nice!!! (*overlimit smily*) ] I wanted to hear more backup vocal and a different effect on the lead sing. The rhymes left me a little bit "meh," but I'm being picksy. This isn't going to be a favorite of mine from you and I won't listen to it over and over if I was having a BSS afternoon, but it's really nice to hear right now. I smiled at the "pop music gold" concept. Again, nice vocal. The chord changes in the solo bits are tasty and it doesn't get old or wanky at all. Sometimes the instrumental bits and arrangement comes across a little showboaty and "look ma, guitars!" to me ... but this one did not at all ... it was the perfect amount (uh ... ... (I almost deleted this sentence.)).

bgm
I feel like I want more texture in this, but this could be because this seems like a bit of a stylistic deviation from some of your other material. I can't explain it. It is very well produced, of course, but it just seems ... rawer... somehow? I don't want to call it One Dimensional, because it's not - but because you didn't put things all over the spectrum coming out at times that are just here and there in precisely the right places (like on some of the other tracks here) - nothing got in the way of the drive to the solo, and then the push on through the song to the end. Not in a bad way, because there are all these tasty harmonies, but there is a lot of horizontal in this song and not as much vertical. This is kind of a matter of taste and style and a very abstract thing to say. Sorry I can't be less vague. Is this even a review? I don't know. You make yourself difficult to criticize, so that's good. I'm just gonna have to say this is well done and call it a day, you see. (*overlimit smile-y*)

Billy and the Psychotics
this is probably one of my top three least favorite of our songs. I don't listen to it. it's not Chris' fault either. writing it was like pulling teeth. There's no Psychotics entry this week because I'm just hacking right now. I feel like a crazy person. Again. Chris did fine. It was actually a really cool Thing to work with. Flarg to this.

The Chocolate Chips
I've become a fan of your vocal since last Nur Ein and have thought that it is cute. Parts of this were too weird for me though, song-wise. If you didn't have THAT vocal, it wouldn't fly at all. Yes, about being "too weird," I can't believe I said that. The rhyme of fold to on hold didn't do your opening chorus hook justice. i couldnt think of a good chorus though and i really liked the opening hook. The synth was hokey, but this may have been Quite All Right. The solo was just great. The slow down at the end is inexplicable. You know I dig your synthy stuff, even when it goes off the grid.

Dani House
Ok. the hiss is bothering me and there's a lot of things I want to say. The hiss stopped bothering me though and I got over my cynicism pretty quick because your performance really grabbed me and pulled me into the mood of the song. Wow. Brave stuff.
There is some really nice and intimate layering in the latter half of the song and I can imagine this being really effective (especially that part where you sniffed and it sounded like you are the SADDEST person EVER in the world. So CONFUSING and I want to bring you a sweater!) - like in a movie on something. For a really good last love scene. Ever. I think I like this. I'll probably listen to it again, and I'm not just feeling sorry for you.

DJ Ranger Den
to DJRD....
(This title is about different parts of Me talking to myself and how that looks in the mirror. i guess that's why the pronouns get confusing in a lot of my songs. I did worry a bit about this sounding kind of Manic Pixie Dream Girl-ish ... but I guess it was so self-referential, we needn't have worried what They think of Our work about what She has to say.)

Foobar
I could have done with a breath of silence before the track launched in. It was abrupt. I like the rhythm instrument ("churg-chuga-churg-chuga") that one in that background. It does a lot for it. It's kind of romantic against the piano, epic and movie like. It makes me want a little more epic effect on your voice, or an eq decision that makes your vocal deeper and scary and more God-like or something. I do like your lyrics a lot. You're singing these heavy lyrics kind of soft and gently. You could sell this a lot harder and scarier because the ingredients are there.

glennny
Except for the weird buzzy bass after the harmonica solo and the harmonica solo itself kind of annoying me and a couple things that were over the top too much distract-y too much change-y, this was pretty close to perfect for me. I'm one of those people that wishes I could continue hearing something I like because I LIKE it and so I want it to keep going and not change into something else because it is clever or nifty. I'd like the clever thing to happen a few bars later and not have 85 songs in four measures. This is probably because despite best efforts to educate me, I am simple. This was really brilliant and I wanted to get it - so I really loved about 78% of it. The rest flew right over my head.

Gregg Boethin
You have a really interesting country vocal, the likes of which I've never heard before! It's almost like... nerdy country! You could probably do something with that in a Make New Ground-ish kind of way. I could have stood this song a little quicker, it drug on an on a little bit for me. Maybe that was the feeling you were getting at. I don't know what it's like to shovel snow though and maybe that was the intended vibe. The bridge was well written. The guitars were really twangy and didn't really move like I'm used to guitars moving when I hear country (whatever that means) It felt kind of blocky and the arrangement could have been a little more subtle as far as placement in the space goes. Of course, I'm in that place where my ear hears that but my hands don't do it yet.

The HATE Noise
This is creepy and extremely well done. The wooshy-woosh behind the snare is off-putting to me but it changes timbre with your chord progression and I get that it's part of the plot and so I feel really well taken care of. Even the high whistl-y synth bit that comes in which I have heard as a device in this genre of Thing makes an appropriate entrance and exit and so does not get to shrill and pierce-ly overstatement-like. You're not reinventing the wheel, but you aren't formulaic in the least. I hate to say anything that's not hopping up and down and clapping because it is cleverly rhymed in the right places as far as I can see. Great musicianship.

JoAnn Abbott
Your vocals are getting a lot stronger each time you make a track. It's a cleaner recording each time. It could have been shorter, given your limitation. As a dramatic reading, the emotions were well conveyed. I think that with instruments, the hook would have probably played out as a little bit less repetitive - or that maybe it would have come across as that being an asset rather than standing out there all alone like that. By itself, those particular notes are an often used motif in the recitative-y-esque bits of musical theater. In a collaboration that probably would have smoothed out for you.

Kasper
Except for the weird, weird synth (perhaps that it's a little high? it's kinda cute, even though) and the guitar being at an odd level - this is pretty frickkin awesome. your tones and the vocals and the solo were all cool. I don't know. something about this makes me really happy. I could have used a DAT-DAT-DAT-DAAAAH! (BOOM!) or something at the end instead of a fade out. Writing this while I'm in a chat room with you is a really stupid idea. Flah. Your lyrics came through though - and I wanted to say that. That's a thing for me.

The Lookouts
What an interesting voice and what a cool chord progression! Something about your cymbals is bothering me, or maybe what the effects are doing to them against the piano. Still, this is the kind of piano pattern that Chris wishes I'd do in Psychotics. Things don't really seems to be syncing up quite together (I actually looked to make sure I didn't have two of you going at once in another browser). Good chorus words. Arrangement-wise? Less is more for something like this, really. If this were taken and shaken a little bit to the right and to the left, or given a good swift slap - it would be a right fine tune! Right now it's a set of real nice ingredients and some impudent drumming that needs a support group for wayward drummers.

Mantzfield
I didn't really get it. There are parts of this though, which tell me that you DO know how to sing and that you can put music together and play your instruments and so listening to this as a performance piece I did feel disorganized, disturbed, confused, off-put, and sectional. Like it was presented to me this way. Or maybe you're just messing about. Or maybe I'm deeply insulting you. Still. Love that squishy-squashy-crushy guitar.

Odilon Green
This started really abrubtly. This is going to be one of those songs that people either like or hate. Maybe. I feel iffy about it. The claps almost almost sunk you, and the weird mode you used and the clash of the chord and the constant hang on the "off" notes. Not sure about the voice over - it's sort of funny. Reminds me of the Napoleon Dynamite soundtrack in a good way. Just that kind of "I'm gonna play this keyboard with these funny notes because it's hilarious." But I think I get it. The bari sax (?) sample sinks it on the Pro side for you, for me. The other synth that comes in also at :59 helps a lot because that dissonance helps makes that sonority more complex and varying your rhythm (quickening the melody up) ties the bow up for you. I like it. You're cool.

R. Mosquito
Oh my. That was the most annoying sound... It sounds like a video game from hell. The voice effects are not much better. I was thinking that if it didn't stop I was going to put an icepick through my skull. I am not being very friendly. So then I thought ... oo ... cool. video games! and turned it down, started it over and did some jumping jacks while I listened again. It didn't help me pay ANY attention to the lyrics ... but some things are good for one thing and some for others. It was very energetic and thumpy and sprightly and all that. So, part of me feels that if I DON'T love this, that I'm going to fail some test of being rad that they have in some Synthesizer Secret Society that I wasn't invited to. We can't have that. It was challenging. I do not know if I passed.

Ross Durand
Your guitar makes me happy and there isn't anyone in the universe who knows how to pause .... like you. Why do you write a perfect song every time!?

Shelby Garrett
This is nice. You have one of those maple syrup sophisticated smoothy voices that is feminine and grown up and you make it sound easy. It's actually not easy for everyone. I'm not normally a shaky egg devotee; but it would have done well for this tune I think, or any slow buildup of percussive texture, to give variety. This song lulled me into "cute-party-dress" feelings (this is not a bad thing for me, even though saying this sounds cheesy and perhaps, patronizing) - but it did make me give the lyrics a bit of a skip and just sway back & forth goofily smiling. That doesn't sound very nice, but you do you have a lush and inviting vocal - and either the song was good enough to showcase the vocal or the vocal is so good it lifts up the song so you have a nice track on your hands either way

Snoop Sloop Troop
You have begun with my favorite types of synth sounds ever in all of time. Your lyrics are asinine and ridiculous but not in a bad way, quite. It's like you don't care about songwriting, which is against everything I believe. I'll be singing this all evening. Meanie. I'll most likely vote if I can in time.

Troy Jones
I am not sure who you are so I am not sure what to say. Your mic is too high and you have a nice voice. your guitar playing is strong and rich and it's a nice melody. Far hookier than anything I can manage to write week after week after week, so good-o there. I'm pretty sure that you could think of some things to say for some of your lines that have not been said before because some of these things are said in love songs all the time. Sometimes that's a good thing. Sometimes it's not. Only you can make that decision; we all decide when to use a device and when it's okay for old love to grow cold. Look at REO Speedwagon. I'm not going to stand up and give them the finger. Actually, I totally would. Because they were wrong. So it's not like you are in bad company here. Anyway, I suggest next time you go off the beaten path a bit more. But what do I know?

Tuners Union
This song is different and weird and really interesting. It's ALMOST a bit too clever for its own good, with the banjo riding high and the constant playing of tonality in the cadences and the combinations of "Ay" rhyme lots in the beginning. My brain doesn't know which bright shiny device to grab onto and it's almost like many songs all strung together. To be quite honest, I want to do a song like this because it is ridiculously creative and doesn't seem to be a slave to anything but its own uniqueness, and I wonder if I could get away with it. There's really just no way to tell because except for a few minor things, this is hitting all the right production checklist spots. So it's hard to find anything to hone in on to showcase. This kind of washed over me. It did sound like you weren't just showing up to do a session, so I don't really have a lot of complaints.

[Ross]

Trying to be a good citizen, but spread thin and trying to multitask.

here I am trying to limit my review to 5 words

bgm - production sells this, good song

foobar - too wordy, chorus tune plods

odilon green - boring tune, irritating aesthetic

lookouts - wish i could sing like this

dj den - nice mix of structure and wander

chips - best of yours so far

tuners - groove is song. In mono!

glennny - tight stuff, want more glue

shelby g - some subtle, not my thing

THN - not my thing, good shit

gregg b - in it’s pocket, rhyming dictionaries rule

dani house - no projection: song or recording

BSS - reminiscent of Jonathon seagal

joann - makes no sense without Golem

mantz - weird mix - parts work

snoop - are you barnes and barnes?

troy - listen to peter case? wander-ey

Kasper - grow up in the eighties?

B&P - the id of songfight - bass

reve - counterpoint 101, words incomprehensible

[Billy's Little Trip]

snoop - are you barnes and barnes?

What are people that grew up listening to Dr Demento every Sunday night on KMET, Alex?

[sleepysilverdoor]

Barnes and Barnes is a group I have never listened to, but may end up influencing the next SST song a wee bit.

[Ross]

snoop - are you barnes and barnes?

What are people that grew up listening to Dr Demento every Sunday night on KMET, Alex?

Little bit a heaven, ninety-four point seven
KMET - tweedle dee!

[Billy's Little Trip]

snoop - are you barnes and barnes?

What are people that grew up listening to Dr Demento every Sunday night on KMET, Alex?

Little bit a heaven, ninety-four point seven
KMET - tweedle dee!

The mighty MET, Whoo-ya!

[tonetripper]

Tuners Union - Neat how the drum part sounds like it was recorded from a box through an amp. This is an excellent take on the title, although the barbershop harmonies got a little over-bearing. I would of paired that down, in my opinion it sounds like a little too much of a good thing. By the end though it works with the weird kazoo part. Contender

Dani House - The melancholic moodiness of this is a nice way to give me ambition for the title. However it's a bit poorly executed - pitchiness is cooled used wisely, imho. Is that a dulcimer? Cuz that is cool to hear that scraping at my soul the way it does. It puts my feelings of execution aside. Where's the hook?

Shelby Garrett - I love your vocals. Guitar playing could use some work. Did you record this live? All the parts of a well written, albeit, a little predictable. It works just the production is a little weak. Still a decent song, but it could have been a different title and I would have thought the same thing.

Kasper - It's like listening to a bastardized version of 867-5309 and any number of Cars tunes. The chorus is kind of weak as is the lyrical intent.

R. Mosquito - Exactly what I would expect from R. Mosquito. Makes me think of some mosquito hovering around wondering when it should take the plunge and just go ahead with it anyway. The anticipation really works. Fucking mosquitoes.

Billy and the Psychotics - God this reminds me of something I've heard before. It has something to do with the falling melody. Pretty punk in essence. I love that verse chord change. A real good hook. The middle change is worth it, especially with the quick sand reference. Well done on that. I dig this take on the title.

Ross Durand - If just hit that first 'Baby' better I might have dug this. Saying that, the chorus is quintessential country, if it had some pedal steel it would have really been cool. Maybe some Hammond. A drum part. Shit now I'm starting to produce it. That's the lack,for me, is the production. Song's not bad. Works for the title. Maybe a too easy a translation on the title.

FooBar - Well........ uhhhhh ....... ya........sure
Odilon Green - "Hey where did we go?"..... and then

Troy Jones - Wow is this reminiscent of Tom Petty. Eerily close to a song that's written. The pre-chorus is the best part of this song (Kick me in the balls...). If you never put the title in the chorus lyric it would have sold it for me. That's the problem with SF sometimes as people think the title has to be in the song somewhere. This is one of those times when the power of the take on the title would have benefited from not being so literal.

Gregg Boethin - Another country type of translation. Not a good one. Music's ok.

Berkely Social Scene - Sounds like the music was written before the melody and lyrics were. Saying that, it's not such a good thing. Nice playing. Music doesn't suit the title or possibly it's in its execution.

DJ Ranger Den - The acoustic is recorded nicely. 'Plans are on hold' kind of loses me and loses itself as well. Not sure of it's intention but, imo, it just sounds like a bad change with a bad harmony. The tinkering single note piano sound is my favourite part of this song. Production would have helped make the song better. Nice ideas.

glenny - Kind of like Vetiver but not as good. The music sounds great but the vocal really lacks in presence. A little EQ would have helped in that department. The harmonica with the electric sounds just pasted in. Not much thought. The YES type of change is the best part of the song. Meh.

Mantzfield - Sing like you mean it! It sounds like you don't which makes the whole thing seem weak and weird.

bgm - Awesome Banjo tone. Reminds me of Sufjan Stevens big time. The vocals have the right kind of airiness to match the acoustic space of the music. Well done on that front. This is the best take on the title. I listened to the whole song - twice. Vote.

JoAnn Abott - Therapist?!!! Hahahaha...... interesting artistic idea on the title. It kind of makes me feel a little uncomfortable.

Snoop Sloop Troop - Hahahahahaha!!! This one made me giggle like stoned 17 year old. Hahahahaha!!!

The Chocolate Chips - Whoa go easy on the compression. Brick wall anyone? The synth part really bothers me. Would have been better without. Sometimes less is more. You needed to really trip this song out at the end and it would have been way way way better. Distort, phase delay. Fuck it right up. It would have sold the title.

The HATE Noise - I love the getting high reference to the title. This one kind of came in second for me cuz it was kind of a funny take on the title. Better production would have really helped in realizing the idea. Almost like it needs to be mastered.

tt

[irwin]

Kasper - grow up in the eighties?

Yes.

[glennny]

Wow! Thanks everyone! I thought BGM had this one. His entry was my favorite and I thought the clear winner. I was hoping for a good showing. This is unexpected and nice. Thanks!

[tonetripper]

bgm DID deserve to win this fight!

[sleepysilverdoor]

5 votes! 5 whole votes for the stupidest song I've ever written! Wow!

(congrats glenny!)

[Billy's Little Trip]

Wow! Thanks everyone! I thought BGM had this one. His entry was my favorite and I thought the clear winner. I was hoping for a good showing. This is unexpected and nice. Thanks!

Honestly, I'm pretty surprised you won. You got my vote, but I thought it was going too be complicated musically for most, which generally happens with rock fusion. But kudos! I hope to here more like it.

[Lunkhead]

glennny, you know you're my homey, but personally I think bgm should've won. That banjo, those richly layered harmony vocals, the lyrics, the vibe, the instrumentation, the arrangement, etc. Wow. bgm I hope you continue to submit, I really enjoy your songs.

[chocolatechips]

I find the whole voting thing quite strange ... some weeks it's obvious to me that the votes were gamed (like when The Wankers ran away with it the time before) but this time... I don't know? I thought BGM and Tuner's Union were a step above but the votes didn't really turn out like that. Who is it that is voting? Are there really a lot of non-participants that listen and vote? If so that's pretty neat and the popular vote is interesting indeed (and I feel pretty happy with getting 19 votes in such a scenario!)

[Ross]

Congrats, Glennny!

[glennny]

I'm scratching my head at this one. I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I thought BGM was a cut above everyone else. I also thought Tuner's Union was fantastic! No hurt feelings if anyone feels BGM was robbed, I agree. I'm sure in a single vote system the results would have been drastically different. I have to think I racked up a lot of "there's problems, but enough likable bits for a vote" kind of votes.

I should thank Ken for his composition and mixing advice, it was a wild mess before I got feedback from Ken.

[kaz]

glennny, chips, thanks for the words. But bgm, yes... this one was clearly yours.

[jb]

NOT including Glennny there were 5 entries that got more votes than BGM. If you think that entry deserved to win, did you vote for it? (Not saying you didn't, but if you didn't then you know who you are.)

Some people vote for their favorites, but many people vote for their friends, and nearly everyone votes for themselves. If you just blow everybody away one week, then you know you wrote a standout song. Otherwise, it's usually too close to call and whoever gets those last couple votes from whatever direction is the one that will take it.

If you want to win, either write something that cannot be denied is the best song that week, or bring your fans. What's that? You have no fans? Well then, welcome to Song Fight!

JB