I don't even KNOW her truck (Tanker Truck Reviews)

[erik]

How's my reviewing? Call 1-800-SNG-FGHT

[Future Boy]

It's Tanker Truck, man, get with the program.

[erik]

It's Tanker Truck, man, get with the program.

Program gotten with.

[jack]

we know how easily people get confused around here.

[Father Bingo]

I'd like to thank erikb for the words to my song. I couldn't have won this without him.

[Geoff WreckdoM]

Now that's MY kind of Truck!
Nice work Fluffy.

[blue]

Dear Father Bingo,

You are everything that is good about music. Keep up the rock.

[AngryKowala]

This title has alot of imagry about Big MAN POWER! My mom drove a truck you sillies!

Cutepies! - The beeps and boops and the oooh and awws are so nice, because it makes me want to drive on the open road! And it sounds like wheels galloping on the highway! LEt's begin!

Fatherbingo - Bass Deep and Subwooferful, makes my heart tremble!
Like a truck passing me! On the Shoulder Illagllaly! I like the eyes being closed lyrics, because alot of times i like to play that game when it is dark on the highway at night! TAKE THE TRUCK ___ ---- +++ down and up!

Marnargulus + - Tanker Truck why you so huge? 18 wheels? oil slicks? Tricks! Brilliant? I think so, and then the quiet reflections. About Miyada! my friend had one it was tiny and red, but she's ok cause she didn't crash it into anything yet. I bet that is like the video game i've played occasionaly. Metaphors America, Big and Powerful, and going to flipp over one day! I think this one is so good!

Rant- Rock Rock ROck and ROLL! TRUCKS GASOLINE! SNARES! TAP TAP! TRUCKERS HAVE FAMIlies at home! ROCK ROCK ROCK AND ROOOOLLL!

Sandcastlesurgery - Tiny Guitar tappings and slidings, I feel so sad about this man because maybe he is getting hurt by a crash a truck crash in the mud and then the speakers go right and left! in the end explosion, and this is like bad opera music.

Smalltownmike - Lucy! Let's meet her, she is about as subtle as a tanker truck! THIS SO IS NOT APPROPIRATE FOR CHILDREN! i am blushing with the metaphors. Hippcups are very sexy! ya dig, SUCH GOOD MUSICAL SONGS!

Wreckdom - BAG pipes and ghosts! Looking good in handmedowns! GAS and more ghosts and your voice is so amazingly weirdo because it is like weeeeeeewooooooo lllaaaaaaloueeeeeeeee. and then the bongos! woomperskompers!

[marnargulus]

Wreckdom - Fat beat, Smooth rhymes. Sort of. The beat is very fat, I don't know if I like the ghost sounds for the chorus. Perhaps he is dead? I don't know. For some reason I can't help but enjoy the high pitched questions. I don't know what it reminds me of but I know I like it.

FatherBingo - Amazing drumming, catchy melody. The vocals are a little lower than I would think for this type of song. I really like the background vocals "ooohs". Seems like a constant bass solo, I would say increase the low end, and drop the mids.

Marnargulus and the Lazers - I don't think we fully got the idea across. The tanker truck is a metaphor for America (america!). My father relentlessly told us that miata's would be destroyed if they hit anything, let alone a tanker truck. The chorus just seemed to fit. The vocals are a little quiet, in fact everything is. I think we should have remixed it with much higher levels. The solo is a little sloppy, but then again I made it in 15 seconds before we finished. The last chorus was completely done on accident, when I refused to stop playing the drum beat while recording. I just noticed that most of our songs start with us coughing. That isn't on purpose.

Sand Castle Surgery - Nothing says, "This is a good song" like a bard coming through the country side. Amazingly funny, good guitar. A very offbeat song, I would have more to say, but I don't think it needs to be changed at all. Beat-box solo... what can I say, this is the most bizarre mix of styles I've heard in a while. On second listen, the solo is half the song. Maybe stick in a new verse? The dragon at the end is a nice touch.

Small Town Mike - Jam band meets Slayer? I've never seen roadkill inside the grill of a truck, but it works for the lyrics. I don't particularly like the style of song, but hey whatever. The chorus is very good, and I can't tell if those are real drums. If they are then you keep the beat very consistent, no mistakes that I can hear. I would speed the song up a little bit maybe. Good song overall.

Cutiepies - If I were to guess the type of song this would be based on the band name, then I would get the exact song I heard. Female - Male vocals are amazing. Very dancy, I would put this on in an instant if I was driving around with people. Excelent song, with a great feel to it. This is summer music at its best. I wish it were about 30 seconds longer though.

Rant - Punk rock/Devo. Vocals are kind of monotone. My friends that prefer more classic punk styles loved this song. I can't really say much more about it. It fits the style perfectly. The only thing I don't like about it is that none of the lyrics really stick out. I don't have anything that I remember between each listen. I can't hear the bass very well, I'm not even sure if there is a bass.

Overall, I'd say Cutiepies gets the cut. Honorable mention to Wreckdom for the hillarious rapping, and Sand Castle Surgery for making me want to play some D&D as a bard.

[Egg]

Cutie Pies - I'm probably going to fit this on the next CD I make. It's my kind of fun and goof. I like that somebody made a tanker truck such a strangely happy-go-lucky symbol. A very ironic image that you don't belabor. yay. A friend of mine recently made a print of a factory that made clouds and this reminds me of the simple innocence she assigned to that industrial symbol. Some of the male-female vocals remind me of the diskettes. I think the following about pretty much every happy song I ever hear, but I really like to think of how Tilly and the Wall would play this song.

Father Bingo - What that psychotic koala mentioned. Interestingly poppy vocals for such a deep, bassy rock and somber lyrics. Oh noes, a crash. I suppose it was inevitable.

Marnagulus - hehe, ya, the metaphor is subtle so we might not get it ;D Fun and spunky and the openess about the metaphor toward the end does a great deal to explain the tone of the lyrics. It is a joke, right? Right. Funny.

Grant Slutz - PunkPunkpunkpunkpunkkindofmonotonepunkpunkslutzmaybecomplainingbutimnotreallysurebutyarockpunkfriggintruckskaboom

Sand Castle Surgery - I was satisfied with the somewhat woeful wailing absurd truck driver narratives, and the truck driver character is fun and amazingly weird...like there was some trucker's code that I never knew about. There's a cool vocal shift at 1:00 where your style starts shifting and I like it since the instruments are keeping to their own path and there's still some gelling. When you let loose around 2:00, I smile more than you're supposed to when there's nobody around. Perhaps because I'm evisioning an alternate universe where Sublime is still alive and together and they're playing Ren Fests just to get by or maybe because they realize they like doing it.

Smalltown - hehe, this is a cool use of the title. The organs are delightfully out of place, making this caricature a little creepier than it usually would be.

Wreckdom - VroooooOOoom. Hehehehe. I can count on Wreckdom to put out a good, somewhat funky crazyarse song with something resembling a narrative. This is another song where the truckdriver character is just ridiculous and that makes it funny and cool. There's some bagpipe, bongo and theremin and... overall, it feels pretty goddam good.

[ken]

I finally got my new MOTU 828mk2 working, so I listened to all these songs on my monitors.

The Cutie Pies: Wow, this sounds good on my monitors. I wrote the song and recorded my parts on Friday night before the deadline. Bjam and FutureBoy really did some good work over the weekend. This recording sounds big, open, and clean. I like the oohs on the bridge very much.

Father Bingo: This indie rocks! Lots of really good parts. The vocal is maybe the weakest part, so I wish you had found a way to push them futher in the back of the mix. I can see why Blue likes this one. This song has some really rocking parts. Bonus points for having a car carsh as part of the song. I just think you should've ended the song there. You don't need the extra chorus at the end.

Marnargulus and the Lazers: Wow, too lo-fi for me. This is really quiet and buzzy. Did you record it with one mic live into your computer? It sounds like there are some good tracks in there, so why is it so quiet and muddy? Check out the help and how to thread for some free plug ins. Try out the Kajerhaus limter to raise the final level of your song.

Grant Stutz: Very rocking intro. Kind of montone song though. Great energy. I'd like it if the vocals were louder. There is something flat about this mix in general.

Sandcastle Surgery: Interesting sounds. Nice guitar playing. Sometimes your vocals start to sound like Adam Sandler when you go for the high notes, you might try a more conservative range. I like the vocal scratching noises. Pretty fun, but what I would really like is for the guitar part to change at some point. Is this just a loop? Wow, this song should've ended at 3 minutes.

Smalltown Mike: Sounds good. Reminds me of King Arthur. I'd like it if you double tracked the guitar, panned left and right and put the off-beat organ in the middle instead. I think it would make your song sound bigger.

WreckdoM: Did you get prayformojo to collab with you this week? He could cover this track like no other. This may be my favorite WreckdoM track yet, which might make it the only WreckdoM track I like. Good job.

[nyjm]

the cutie pies
- sounds like the theme song for a claymation kids' show
- solid production; well-executed
- ... just doesn't grab me; doesn't take any chances

father bingo
- yum: bass thrum
- ... but then the rhythm goes all funky; but in the end, it's pretty good
- the smooth vocals are a mismatch to the gritty music; i want to hear some growling
- nice bridge

marnargulus and the lazers
- whoa; way quiet; live recording? other than the quiet factor, sounds pretty good
- good dynamics
- ooh, but that guitar solo is weak; you can do better than that
- just... ends

rant
- rock!
- everything but the drums is buried by the rhythm guitar: bring up the vox, the lead guitar and the bass
- could use a bass-break

sand castle surgery
- great name
- interesting intro
- at first painful vox, boring lyrics; but, when you start pushing your voice it gets much more interesting
- ... but the vocal "solo" is lame; and what is godzilla doing at the end of the song?

smalltown mike
- good beat; i really like the rhythm of the lyrics
- love the metaphor! haha!
- the section right before the last verse should rock out more to make the song more dynamic

wreckdom
- as usual, love the lyrics
- but the musical composition leaves something to be desired, especially the chorus; the all-vocal thing is just grating

[Father Bingo]

Dear Blue,

I make the rock music especially for you.

[j$]

I have a headache so apologies in advance for any grumpiness ....

The Cutie Pies - Well, you don't have that much to say, now do you? Cute. 1.58 seemed very long to me. Not bad though. Just don't really see the point.

Father Bingo - great bass tone. Are you singing with marbles in your mouth? Slurry vocs are not so appealing - I like the backing vocals though. Can't really make out the words.

Marnargulus - Do you think this is loud enough?? A great tune, and a great voice, but do I really want to be squinting aurally just to appreciate it?? Doesn't even need mastering (by the sound of it) just maximizing. Hang on, I'll show you what I mean ... also should fade out from 1.51 rather than the ta-dum drum roll imo

Grant Stultz - That's pretty great. Could do with a bit of mastering.

Sand Castle Surgery - have a wank before recording, not while. Seriously, any random 30 seconds of this would have made the point. It's not bad it's just too indulgent for my tastes.

Smalltown Mike - That's a great tune. The lyric is a bit extended metaphor extended past the rubber band breaking point.

Wreckdom - I knew what this would sound like before I clicked play. You didn't surprise me. Isn't your year up by now?

I would vote for my mastered version of Marg (:) ) but instead I'll go for Gtant Stultz. EDIT: No, post-headache, i decided not to let production values sway my judgement. I voted for Marg, with Grant a tight second.

[Jim of Seattle]

Favorites in blue

The Cutie Pies
Fine & dandy. This is enjoyable, though it lacks much specialness. That little instrumental break around 1:30 is a nice break. I would use more of that to spice things up a bit. It was fun enough that I'd use it more than once.

Grant Stutz
Fine. You manage to avoid most of the pitfalls that plague this kind of song. It's listenable and fun and mixed very nicely. Again, lacks a specialness, but no complaints.

<font color=blue>Smalltown Mike
The lyrics are clever and funny, and the song doesn't sound like the kind of song that would have funny lyrics. The repeated guitar riff is very 70's-power pop. My favorite so far. It's a good example of a kind of song I usually don't get into. At about 2:00 I'm real tired of that chord. Needs some changes.</font>

Father Bingo
The thin lead vocal needs more presence to compete with all the activity in the instrumental parts. Right now it sounds like it's getting smothered by the band, and the background vocals also suffer from that problem. Decent enough composition, so this is a good song that needs some better production. The break at 2:00 is wonderful. Probably because the weak vocals are gone. Suddenly it sounds like a much better song, then the vocals come back and I think "oh yeah, it's this song again"

Marnargulus And the Lazers
Is this mono? The thin production is your biggest nemesis here. I appreciate the Devo-y style you're going for in the vocal, but it's recorded so dry that it sort of sits there naked, and the second vocal part doesn't help much. I like the Miata line.

<font color=blue>Sandcastle Surgery
This song cracks me up. A lot of lol'ing. This one deserves to win because it's the only one with a sense of life to it. The only reason I'm letting the repetitive nature of it slip is because the vocals are so wonderful. You're really enjoying this, and your fun is infectious. The crap at the end is completely unnecessary and should go.</font>

WreckdoM
"How does it feel to be an American man?/It feels like I've just been fucked". That line sounds like a classic. This is one of the good WreckdoM songs, but I'm afraid you've been out-Wreckdommed by Sandcastle Surgery this week.

[Smalltown Mike]

The Cutie Pies

For some reason I didn’t like hearing the words “tanker truck” so early in the song. You fooled me, though—I thought there was an acoustic ditty coming. I like the laid-back groove, and they go really well with the laid-back vox. Good guy-girl combo. (That sounds dirty but it’s not.) The “ooohs” work well at 1:15. This is really growing on me buy the end.

Wreckdom

I wasn’t sold until the “How does it feel to be an American man” part; that made me laugh out loud. I love those ghost noises. The outro could actually be longer; it gets funnier as it goes on and on, but the sample at the end wrecked the ending for me.

Marnargulus and the Lazers

I keep thinking I’m hearing this song played live in a living room at a house party, which would be really fun.I like this a lot.The line “Everybody knows you carry much more/ just like America!!” is ridiculous and great. I love the ending. Everybody at the house party knows this one, and they’re drunkenly singing the miata line with you. It wasn’t until the ending that I figured out the miata line; I don’t know if other listeners had that problem. I really really really dislike that drum hit ending, though; it’s too sudden.

Sand Castle Surgery

I find the enunciation in the vocals very forced until 1:15, then they’re more relaxed and I can enjoy it more. I don’t know what you’re doing at 1:58 with your vox, but the song needs more of it. It shows you’re having fun; it could even work as a chorus, of sorts. Definitely cut the song before everything after 3:05, though.

Grant Stutz

I love the riff. The vocals are really hard to hear, though. Love the stuff starting at 1:48, but I wanted to hear you yell again. The yell sort of sounded a bit held back, though, like someone’s in the other room watching TV and you can’t really let loose. This is quite good.

Father Bingo

Great bass sound. I like some of the sounds kicking around, but I find there’s too much going on sometimes. I like the break at 2:16, but I think it would have worked with just the truck horn, and not the screeching breaks.

Smalltown Mike

This is me.

[Dan-O from Five-O]

I’m going for the Tri-fecta on reviews this week, which doesn’t happen much for me. I haven’t been a real solid member of the community this week though, so here’s my last act of contrition before I go to mass tomorrow and try and regain some of my soul. That doesn’t mean I’m going to be nice to all of you, but I will try my best to offer some constructive reviews. If you want to debate my singular commentary, feel free, but I will not respond here. If you want clarification or debate, please feel free to PM me.

Father Bingo: Are those real drums? They almost sound like it but the fills are so precise I get the feeling they’re fake with other live instruments played around them. They don’t sound bad it’s just that they are so precise and exact that the fakeness kind of overwhelms what would be a pretty good song. The lyrics and the vocals could use some help, the story not that compelling and the vocalist not really selling it for me. Not bad vocals, but definitely not great either. This isn’t a half bad entry, but that means it isn’t half good as well. It’s half and half, and should have ended at the car wreck sound for me.

Marnargulus and the Lazers: The mix should be louder, but don’t ask me how to do that because I suffer from the same symptom. I’m not really sure louder would actually equate to being better in any case anyway. This isn’t a really bad entry, it has real drums, guitars that sound like they were played through amps even if they don’t have the best tone around, and decent vocals. The more I listen to this, the more I like it. You folks just moved to the pole position of the tanker truck race. Figure out how to raise the levels on everything and (after you find out, let me know the secret) and I think you might have a winner on your hands. Nice work.

Sandcastle Surgery: The flangy thing at the beginning is completely unnecessary and doesn’t fit the song in the least. When you start to hit your higher notes, I can notice how bad you're out of your range. Your voice sounds limited in that area, don’t be afraid to let yourself stay in your comfort zone. I think the story is full of a lot of stereotypes, intentionally or not it’s not working for me. The weird, sputtering gibberish at about 2:00 suggests to me you ran out ideas for the lyrics, and nothing more. If you were going for something artsy, you missed your mark horribly. At that juncture, I treated this song like an unwelcome phone call, and I hung up. Which is good, because I can’t imagine what that unpleasant sound at the end I heard as I was walking away would have sounded like up close.

Smalltown Mike: More good sounding drums surrounded by average accompaniment. Decent vocals and guitars, but just not great sounding. The keyboards sound a little out of place, but not upsetting, just odd given the balance of the rest of the instrumentation. You know what though, I miss them when they aren’t there so keep them coming, they’re adding some balance, and the tone is very good. It’s almost like a leslie sound, but not quite. Man if it was a real leslie, can you imagine how full this might sound. I can. This is a very well recorded and mixed song, this might be my favorite of the fight so far. The lyrics may be the weakest link in this chain, and heck they aren’t half bad. Nice work.

The Cutie Pies: The voices are pleasant, I’m not real fond of the “Popcorn” sounding synth in the back, but I see how it fits the style. The lyrics are fairly adequate, not annoying and not really stirring either though. The name of the band kind of says it all for me. This is a cute song, it’s kind of like pie which most people enjoy, but technically speaking, there’s nothing really memorable going on. It’s fluffy, it’s cutesy, it’s short, and it sounds like someone could do it by holding down 2 fingers on a keyboard like that guy from “Flock of Seagulls”. Or maybe just by using the “Autochord” feature on their beginner keyboard.

The Rant: Nice drum work, pretty good guitars, the vocals and lyrics need some help, or maybe just more experience. They aren’t bad by any stretch, just lacking a little bit. This has got pretty good production, maybe a little effect heavy, but not way over the top. Overall, this is another solid entry. I’m not in love with it, but I definitely think it has a ton of potential. Your drummer Rocks, which reminds me of something Buddy Rich once said and applies to you folks. He said something like if you take a good band and give them an average drummer, they will sound average. But if you give an average band a good drummer, they will sound good. I think you folks sound good.

Wreckdom: Well this is full of the stereotypes about Truckers I thought this fight might be full of, only you guys were the only ones to take it to the extreme I expected. I don’t know what else to say but this is what I expect to hear when I see Wreckdom involved in the fight. It kind of makes me laugh, not because the lyrics are funny, but it just kind of makes me want to laugh. This isn’t the best or the worst of Wreckdom, it’s just more of it.

This was a better fight than I thought it might be. I’ll listen some more and vote at the last minute. Good luck to all of you, and be safe out there on the road. That's it for me this week. Next week I'll try to behave a lot better and focus more on reviews instead of the other opinions I've expressed that piss some people off just as much.

[HeuristicsInc]

cutie - vox aren't totally flawless, but this is cute.

marnan - i'm not entralled at how this is working... it's not holding my attention. sounds rushed.

sand - accent sounds fakey... high vocals are not too good. at 2:00 i'm pretty bored. sounds like you were too. uh, tone down that vocal explosion.

father bingo - this one is the most enjoyable song so far. good propulsion, good vocals, interesting stuffs.

smalltown - the clipped-off organ sound is great. i think the vocals should vary more from section to section... it's a little samey. good groove, though.

grant - this is cool. enjoyable, sounds fit well together.

wreckdom - squirrely thermins are cool. the voices are sometimes annoying but also somehow compelling, and i wouldn't change it. cool although not completely my thing. ending goes about 5 secs too long.

1: cutie, bingo, smalltown, grant
2: marnan, wreckdom

Your hasty vote for Father Bingo has been recorded. mighta voted for smalltown tho.
-bill

[Leaf]

not much time to review, or even fight this week, but I have been listening.

My fav's in this tie Pies, father Bingo, Smalltown Mike, Wrekdom.


Good tunes.