But Then I Forgot (I Meant to Remember Reviews)

[ken]

Double check you e-mailed this week's entry to the fightmaster.

Ken

[MintyHandy]

I would like to apologize in advance for my song this week. I cannot say that it did not amuse myself and my wife to no end; however, I promise nothing as to its' ability to amuse you.

On the plus side, it was a good opportunity to play around with Garageband. Oh, and my new guitar arrived, so next week's entry will likely be similarly...um...experimental.

That is all.

[baronvonsmith]

Can't wait to here it, Minty.

Also, I have to share with you that every time I see the name MintyHandy, I want to sing it to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy. I would change the line, "and with the girls be handy" to "and songs by MintyHand-ee." I don't know why.

[shadowdog]

Ok since you started it Baron (I wasn't going to go there, but being an Aussie I have to now)... In Australia there are breath mints called a "Minty", so naturally "Minty Handy" asks the question, "Do you have a "Minty Handy"?"...

Dunno where u got the name (it is coo) but any Aussie will know you

--SD.

[MintyHandy]

It's usually better to remain mysterious -- which is why I seldom do. Basically, I have a dog who is -obsessed- with mint, and every night when I'm done brushing my teeth, no matter how well I wash my hands afterwards, he insists on licking my hand clean of any trace of mint whatsoever. At which point I have to go wash my hands again.

This happened to be going on when wifey and I were discussing band names, and the name came from there. It didn't seem like a good band name, mind you (still doesn't) but it seemed appropriate for the copyrights. Kind of has that "Barking Pumpkin" vibe, to us at least: Minty Handy Music.

Um, that's a really boring story. Pretend it involved some car chases and espionage. Minty espionage.

[Gemini6Ice]

It didn't seem like a good band name, mind you (still doesn't) but it seemed appropriate for the copyrights. Kind of has that "Barking Pumpkin" vibe, to us at least: Minty Handy Music..

Sorry, but I like it. I'd wear your t-shirts, even, so long as they weren't produced by CafePress.

[Gemini6Ice]

And I'm getting antsy.

[Future Boy]

antsy pantsy?

[Gemini6Ice]

antsy pantsy?

Ants to pants someone, yeah.

[Bjam]

Baron Von Smith
That's one long, repetitive intro. You've got a nice voice, it sounds like someone I should know, but I may be imagining that. The doo-doos around 2 minute are a little loud.
B

Hope, Oath, and Suspicion
Another voice I think I recognise. Obviously going crazy this week. It's very... summery. Easy to bop along to. Ooh, and then it changes into something more mellow. Nice but I dunno if I could listen to it for too much time.
B

Tragedy Rekindled
Not my kinda thing, although it's not too bad.
C

Steve Durand
Ooh, it's like a really special 80s kids tv program. The horns are awesome in the really odd way. Ultimately a cheesey but okay song.
B

Sober Irishman
It's not too bad for emo-'rock', but it's not for me. And you're scary as hell when yelling in an angsty fashion.
D

Phunt Your Friends
Strange. I think it's strange in a good way.
C

No Direction
A very cute song.
B

Kamakura
Your voice has got a nice 'torn' quality about it, you actually 'feel' the words. I dunno. It's good. A nice mellow song.
B

IRC All Stars
Yay! I like this song lots.
A+++++

Deshead
Oh, there you go with your pretty guitar and production skills again. Reminds me of Great Big Sea for some reason. Damn you and your good skillz.
B

Downloaded ones:
Deshead, IRCAS, Kamakura, No Direction, BVS.

Dunno who I'll vote for though, there are some good ones this week.

[baronvonsmith]

The songs are up!!! So, here are some reviews. I've been losing my mind waiting this week.

<b>baron von smith -</b> A for effort. B- on delivery. C- on mixing. I'm still trying to get the hang of all of this. vocal mix is a little loud. oh well...check out my smokin' guitars!

<b>deshead -</b>another solid entry. damn, your songs sound good! excellent guitar work. reminds me a little of XTC. love the break at 2:00. nice falsetto! excellent composition. everything is solid. and, oh yeah, i really like it.

<b>Hope, Oath + Suspicion -</b> very nice. i like the sound you guys have here. it's sort of bluesy in a talking heads kind of way. i just had to look up to see if songs had changed at the 1:30 mark, that's a great little change up. i like it. this one's a keeper. good vocal effect at the end.

<b>The IRC All-Stars -</b> wow. i really like this, too! have you guys ever heard the vaselines? it makes me think of that a little bit. love the male and female vocal together. lyrics are delightful. that was great! i'm going to listen to it again before i review the next one. okay, i love it even more now.

<b>Kamakura -</b> this is pretty good. i like the tone of your voice. i wonder what you would sound like without the vocal effects, but they do work for this song. it really fills the space. at times sounds like theres more than just you and a guitar. good song.

<b>no direction -</b> oh, here's minty handy! i was disappointed when i didn't see your name. (and i meant to remember that you're "no direction" now. GUFFAW!) another ukelele tune. wait, maybe not, i didn't see THAT coming! This is great. It's really funny. he he..."writ this one out" the ending is beautiful, man.

<b>Phunt Your Friends -</b> interesting beginning. i like the, well, i don't know what to call it...percussion? wow. this is like sesame street on qualuudes. i like the french. i like the organ (or whatever the keyboard is). this would make a great middle track on an album, between two songs to break the flow.

<b>The Sober Irishman -</b> has anyone told you for being the sober irishman, you sound a little drunk? i like the song a lot. i'd like a little less reverb on the vocals, because your voice could carry the song without them. except the echo at the end of a line, keep that. but what do i know, listen to my crap. i want to see this live at every pub when i go for beers.

<b>Steve Durand -</b> ooh, the intro is lovely. ooh, so is the verse. nice horns, man. i tell you what, if it wasn't for the horns, i probably wouldn't like this as much as i do. i like the little breakdown at 1:34. nice ambience. and then more trumpet! good-time quirky fun.

<b>Tragedy Rekindled -</b> hey, bro, it's metal. i think. i don't know what to say about this stuff. the guitar work is pretty good. it seems like there should be some percussion. but if it's just you and your guitar, i know how hard it can be to get percussion. and bass. not bad.

[baronvonsmith]

Sorry, forgot to include this. IRC All-Stars get my vote this week. are you saying "suzie's eat the rats" ? who cares? i love it!

[j$]

So breaking a personal rule and reviewing all the fights this week. Dunno why. Overall impression of 3 fights is there is too much very good, well-produced gentle mid-paced alt rock going on, but that's no bad thing in itself, just over three fights, it gets a bit samey.

Anyway - some reviews of another mainly good fight

Baron Von Smith - Songfight is a chilled out place musically this week. is the sun shining over there or something? It's miserable over here. Anyhoo, this is nice. The vcoal gets noticeably better as the song progresses. I love the poppy bouncy melody in the chorus, but maybe another instrument (I hear a clarinet following the melody down) would fill it out more? I am not fond of the lyrical thread - it's mawkish and not convincing - but I hate nostalgia with a passion (apart from when i don't) so I don't think you could write a song on that subject and get me to like it. So, good

Deshead - Matthew Sweet! I like it, a good swing and the heavy drums take any 'too nice' accusations into the parking lot and smacks them about. It's weirdly like 60s pop played by 70s melodic new wave band. So, yes, Matthew Sweet. Also good.

H, O & S - Nice bass. and the mix on the bluesy guitar is just right. Slightly overstuffed in the bass-end? (Well just above the bass end, don't what to call it.) Basically, like Deshead this is a 60s song played by a 70s band. the nasty edges give it more character than the Ray Charles song it might have turned out to be otherwise. Great unexpected change at 01.38 but it should fade out there I think ... or in. I mean I love that section but it makes no sense structurally.

IRC All-Stars - the inner-joke echilon? I'm just bitter because I wasn't asked to be involved That chorus is great but it sounds familiar familiar familiar. Remarkably good-sounding for a multi-level collaboration. I find myself waiting at 01:34 for Marcus' guitar solo ... or did I miss it already?

Kamakura - Oh, this is 'I know where Syd Barrett Lives' by the Television Personalities. Only sung better. I love that song. Anyway, this is cool. I like Kam b'n'g as witnessed at SF:UK. 'Coach potato you've become' sounds much better than it reads. But the verses they is TVP (only sung better)

No Direction - Too self-referential / metamusik (now there's a great name for a band) for my tastes. It is has also been done by Tenacious D. Cute though

Phunt Your Friends - it's all very well complaining that not all your songs are sound collage but they are. Well-produced, for sure, but they are merely a collage of sounds moved into suitable places in a sequencer (or equivalent) - no bad thing in itself, mind.

TSI - takes time out from pimping himself and bigging up his mystery girlfriend on the boards to grace us with his music? Maybe we'll get some reviews too? This sounds (musically) like The Darkness doing a James Bond theme tune. The vocal is a bit wavery at times. I mean, it's good and all, but it's all a bit empassioned without me really feeling it.

Steve Durand - now I like the opening to this a lot. i also like the 80s funk electro, like Kid Creolo & the MIDInuts. Trumpet (?) is cute and crackly. The bass veers terrifingly close to slap-bass territory at times. the mix is a bit off - the vocals should be down in the groove more, and the bass should be collosal. I like the tune though.

Tragedy Rekindled - you either are Poor June or you sound a fuck of a lot like him. This is far too goth for my tastes. Also lacks drums. And bass. It is a full song arrangement for b'n'e'g? I won't say any more as I tend to get into thread-fights with goths.

Hmmmmm, I dunno. EDIT: I voted for Deshead, but it could have been any of them, pretty much. Kamakura & Baron Von Smith were my second and third choices, respectively ...

[nyjm]

baron von smith
- really like the chorus; the vocal melody is just fabulous
- but, the backing vocals on the second chorus are unneccessary; they just clutter the pretty melody

deshead
- this is great music to drive to: a good beat and an enthusiastic vocal delivery
- the arrangement is great
- harmonica! nice touch

hos
- i really just thought these were throw-away lyrics when i first did them. i didn't even write them down. but, 8LO liked 'em, and in the end i think they really work
- i think it's the vocal harmonies, but this really reminds me of some kind of 60's pop/rock
- and huge props to 8LO for fixing my over-loaded bridge

the irc all-stars
- circle of life! haha! these are great lyrics
- great vox and an awesome ending!

kamakura
- sounds very pink-floyd-y; this is a good thing
- slightly odd lyrics; on one hand romantic, on the other hand banal

no direction
- minty?
- i love it! the lost song-fight song! good fun

phunt; your friends
- mwahaha! laughing at the phunt-man!
- hahaha! only linguists and french teachers are going to think this is funny, but this is hilarious...
- much more direction than your previous efforts, and this piece is much improved for it

the sober irishman
- that is some great f***ing screaming
- just the right guitar textures to match the vox

steve durand
- good arrangement
- but, it's the kind of music that's hard to take too seriously; this seems like it's from an some off-broadway musical comedy; if that's what you're aiming for, good work
- the trumpet is great stuff

tragedy rekindled
- look, everyone, a creed demo...
- drums, what happened to the drums...
- and a bass guitar... we're missing one of those, too

[mkilly]

My guitar solo is around :42 (hey, 42) after the first chorus finishes.

[j$]

Yeah, I guessed as much. I was being cheeky. Not very successfully, clearly

[EightLeggedOedipus]

Baron Von Smith
+++ A sweet song. More mature than your other stuff I think. +++
--- A little sappy. Slow ---

Deshead
--- Wow, I haven't heard you go so far into pop rock in a while. This could be like Adult top 20. Not out there ---
+++ As always, a solid, well-written, well-performed, well-produced enjoyable track. +++

Hope, Oath, and Suspicion
+++ Fun groove +++
--- Oh that singing is terrible! The whole way through ---

The IRC All-Stars
+++ "Rats eat the plums and Suzie's eat the rats" +++
--- This is also such SOFT pop. I guess it's the title. ---

Kamakura
--- Not my bag. ---
+++ Reminds me of the forgettable Pink Floyd tracks. +++

No Direction
/// Funny, I guess, in a tame-MIDI-Tenacious-D way ///

Phunt Your Friends
+++ Fucking awesome!!! +++
--- But part B with the french (?) is boring and unnecessary. ---

The Sober Irishman
+++ Your scream... +++
--- ...outshines your singing ---
/// I don't think I really "get" this song. That could mean repeat listens ///

Steve Durand
+++ The song is actually pretty cool ina spy-jazz way +++
--- You still need a condenser mic. And what's that bass flourish at 0:26 ? ---
/// Second chorus is a way better delivery ///
--- I usually dislike inverted emphasis like "psycholoGEE" ---

Tragedy Rekindled
--- I doubt I will ever thear the remaining 2 minutes of this song. I am quite convinced my life is better this way. ---

[deshead]

IRC All Stars
Yay! I like this song lots.

I do too .. But at the risk of sounding like a Title Cop (I'm not): can someone explain the connection to the title? Even with blue's background info, I feel like I'm missing something. I don't want to be missing something.

[Gemini6Ice]

IRC All Stars
Yay! I like this song lots.

I do too .. But at the risk of sounding like a Title Cop (I'm not): can someone explain the connection to the title? Even with blue's background info, I feel like I'm missing something. I don't want to be missing something.

I think "Title Cop" would make a nice title.

[Spud]

From my recollection*, it's kind of one of those "had to be there" things. When the titles came out, I was in the IRC room, and posted some pictures of the octo barn being torn down. Comments of "I remember that barn" turned to jokes on one of the new title - "I meant to remember that barn", mixed with various jokes about how the suzies had stayed there and feasted on rats. Blue asked if we had taken down the plum trees, etc. Somehow, a bunch of this got turned into song lyrics.

* which is hazy but only partially manufactured

[erik]

I Meant to Remember (the Connection to the Title)

[jack]

the octobarn got torn down?

i am so sad. what a great place it was.