Oak Grove, East Bethel, New Brighton.. (OPIHL Reviews)

[Bolio]

Minneapolis, Coon Rapids & Bloomington.

Now that you know that, what do you do?

[easyice]

Andy Balham: Spend more time on singing, guitar tone, guitar playing, and drums, and you might have something listenable!

Anti-M: Nice, subtle production. That little flying saucer sound is mixed in perfectly. Vocals sound good. I don't know how you could do this song better.

Bjam: Melody is too repetitive. Listening to this song makes me feel like i'm about to get dental work done. You sing on key and shit, but the song fails to excite me.

Clever Intarweb Audios: Drum samples are cool. Guitar samples are lame. I like the vocals a bit, but i wish they got clearer at some point. Song structure doesn't go anywhere. You've lost my attention. Skip.

Deshead: Oh yeah, chorus-y guitar intro. This reminds me of that time I was sad and shit. Nothing reminds me of sadness like chorus. Quiet / Loud dynamics! Production ain't too bad. Song ain't my cup of tea. More like a cup of piss. Or maybe motor oil and piss mixed together.

Flvxxvm Florvm: Oh jesus.

Fourth Doctor: This is what it would sound like if you lobotomized a rapper. Synth work is the only almost redeemable quality.

HANK.: Woah, real drums! I wish all this quality recording gear could be put to use for something inventive and exciting. Back ground vocals are neato.

Hostess Mostess: Are four of these songs the same guy posting under different names?

Katarina Boyer: Somebody's parents somewhere would like this.

Ken's Super Duper Band n' Stuff: Bass tone is awful. I like the guitar work. I wish the vocals existed in the same place that everything else did. They seem to just hover above everything, in their own little world.

Klownhole: HAHAHA. You guys should make a video for this, where the guitarist is playing on a table at a board meeting, and all the executives are covering the ears as their ties get blown around by the sheer force of rock. Seriously.

Luke Henley: Are you Conor Oberst? For some inexplicable reason, this song annoys me less than anything else in this fight. Seriously, this sounds just like bright eyes. probably drives the indie girls crazy. i like it.

Phunt Your Friends: Wow, you must have read a lot of books. Outloud. While a microphone was on.

The Sexy Misogynists: This one's mine. You all hate it.

sonofsupercar: Recording sounds great. Woo rock. Why is everyone talking over all their songs?

Steve Durand: I like how you mess up the two guitar tracks at the same time! It almost sounds like it was done on purpose. I've noticed that a lot of people have a lot better backing vocals than lead. Perhaps you should give up on your chest voice and just sing higher.

Thanalogue: 8 minutes?! I'm only 1 minute in and I'm already bored.

Thornberry: Now that's what i'm talking about. Wah wah piano. Yeah buddy! Hey, where did my wah wah piano go?!? Bring it back, sing-y guy. I don't know who you are or who invited you, but I came to hear wah wah piano, in the right channel. I want my money back.

Those Meddling Kids: The slicing and dicing is very well done. The sounds all work together pretty well. Vocoder sounds good. Singing is good. I think this might be my favorite. Reminds me of Max Tundra.

Transatlantic Fight Club: This is almost good, but the vocals are bad and guitar work is meandering.

My vote: Those Meddling Kids. Shit sounds downright professional.

[Pedantic Jones]

It took easyice 47 minutes to review 75 minutes of music. Alacrity ... Accuracy... What's the difference?

You can all learn a lesson here, people!

[jeff robertson]

It took easyice 47 minutes to review 75 minutes of music. Alacrity ... Accuracy... What's the difference?

You can all learn a lesson here, people!

It only takes one listen to the first 30 seconds or so of a song, to decide if you "dig" it or not. I made mental "rocks", "sucks", and "so beautiful it makes me want to bawl like an infant" lists instantly, but I'm keeping them to myself for now.

[deshead]

Mostess: wow, you write some catchy tunes. This is great!

[Andy Balham]

<snip>

Reviews to come, responses to trollesque behaviour to cease...

[blue]

Look, didn't we have this conversation? If you don't like someone's reviews, STFU about it already, or ask for a more thorough review. Don't get all bitchy because they didn't like your song and can't be arsed to explain in great detail why they didn't like 25 freakin' songs. That's ridiculous.

[easyice]

i actually used to post here all the time back in the day. but apparently y'all got a new board, cus my username didn't exist anymore. so i got a new name.

[furrypedro]

. Reminds me of Max Tundra.

My vote: Shit sounds downright professional.

Score one for the kids
Cheers dude, I'm gonna have to d/l me some max tundra!

[Mostess]

It took easyice 47 minutes to review 75 minutes of music. Alacrity ... Accuracy... What's the difference?

You can all learn a lesson here, people!

Thernalogue: 8:48
Phunt Your Friends: 5:04

That's 13:52 right there. There are 4 other entries that top 4:00.

Reviews are reviews. Just read 'em and weep.

[Mostess]

Mostess: wow, you write some catchy tunes. This is great!

A deshead cover of this would sound a lot more like what was in my head.

</hint>

[jeff robertson]

Andy Balham - Guitar sounds like an acoustic plugged into an amp. Am I right? I'd like it better if you just mic'd it. Handclaps or whatever those are during the solo are distracting. Also, would've preferred a keyboard solo. Good song otherwise. Like the lyrics, melody, and even the singing.

Anti M - So beautiful it makes me want to kill myself. What's that german word I'm trying to think of?

Bjam - opening chords remind me of a cross between Seals and Crofts' "Ventura Highway" and Os Mutantes' "Baby" (1970 version). There's one point during each verse where it reminds of "Panacea" by RUSH, not to mentin "Come on People Now Everybody Get Together Try to Love One Another" by whoever that was. When you use a "Major 7" chord, people are gonna think of things like that. Voice sounds good but the lyrics are too down to earth and straightforward for music this aethereal.

Clever Intarweb Audios - I'm not really qualified to review stuff like this.

Deshead - verse is haunting. not quite as haunting as Anti M, but haunting nevertheless. The "loud" chorus rocks, at least, if it doesn't surprise much. The guitar solo is wonderfully tasteful, just a few notes repeated, but they're good ones. If I were your guitarist I'd be tempted to throw in some wankery here, and you've wisely refained.

Flvxxvm Florvm - Yeah, I know I suck.

4th Doctor - again, I don't feel qualified to rate a rap and/or dance song, but I'll just say if your goal was to remind me of Marvin from the original HHGTTG, then you succeeded. I'm new here so maybe that's your gimmick.

Hankperiod - don't need the talk at the beginning; save that for album tracks. Songfight songs need to get to the music quick. Once it kicks in, I dig it. Acoustic guitar, acoustic drums, acoustic piano, and what might even be REAL organ not a synth. The guitar solo is crazy for even tryin. Was the band member who played that solo doing anything before that, or just sitting around itching to bust out at 2:03? Vocal harmonies are the kind I'd sing along with if I could sing.

Hostess Mostess - well written, well played, well sung.. but that air raid siren or whatever that is at 0:40 to 0:45 is so distracting I don't think I can listen to the rest of the song after that.

Katarina Boyer - I wish I could say what this reminds me of. Sounds very "live", like you just sat around in a coffeehouse or something singing this, and someone recorded it on a walkman.

Kens Super ...etc.. - the first four seconds are pure genious. The rest of the song is good, but never quite as good as those first four seconds got me jazzed up for. Like the mix of male and female voices. Quite possibly my favorite lyrics of all the songs this week... but those four teasing seconds!

Klownhole - now that's true metal. posse up.

... too many songs to review now ... more later ..

[Niveous]

Damn, this is a long fight for me to make my return to reviewing. Oh well. Reminder for those who have never seen my review paragraphs, I write these in wild streams of conscious. So, you never know what will come from these things. First up, Ken. A fortress without solitude is a good lyric. This is a basic Ken song. This is the song that sits in the middle of the set at the local club. This is the moment where you decide if you're gonna keep rocking or go to the bar. I'd keep rocking but I'm straight edge. It's an okay tune but not a keeper. Next, Deshead. Solo Deshead doesn't usual appeal to me. I like Gert stuff but solo Deshead sounds like Josh Woodward Jr. to me. To some that would be great. To me, it's uninteresting. But I must say that the chorus on this song is very strong. The verses fall into uninteresting land. i'M 50-50 on this one. I wanna hear Deshead do some grudge, maybe a Screaming Trees cover. Next, Thanalogue. Is this 8 minutes long??? Okay, I just finished listening to Dean Gray's "american Edit" and that album is brilliant and I barely wanted to sit through the 8 minute track (I'm happy i did). This better be good. I'm happy for some triphop here at Songfight. By four minutes I have already lost interest. This song is in desperate need of variety. Perhaps a big crescendo. Ooh, wait things are changing. Noise stuff, hmmm. Okay, I want you to hunt down the song "Lime 6" by Medicine. The song is 16 minutes long and I can happily listen even with the noise bits because they keep it fresh throughout. This gets way too stagnant. Next, Flvxxvm Florvm. Hmmm, you don't take yourself seriously huh. Well, even comedic musicians take their music serious. This sounds like you slapped it together, amused yourself and sent it in, disregarding the fact that others would listen to this and think Flvxxvm Florvm's music is (insert myraid of negative comments here). This song has little redeeming value. Next up, Hank. I think the vocals need to be more prominent in the mix. I feel like I'm more drawn to the back-up singer. I like the arrangement. It's got this neat mix of Cure and Rolling Stones but I think the guitar solo is out of place. Not a keeper but not horrible. Phunt's up next. I'm all for experimental tracks but the choice of source material is bland. I end up sitting here not giving a damn what's being said. I like that you add your own rebuttal but the mix on that part is so low that it's lost. This just isn't working. Maybe a more striking conversation piece would help. A heated debate might be interesting. Next, 4th Doctor. Last year I did this huge year end countdown and it was fun and a great read full of good anecdotes. I'm looking forward to do that again this year. But I know it's gonna be harder. I feel there have been less entries I like this year. Case in point, the song I just heard. It's like a bad Front 242 throwaway. I think I dislike it because the vocals have no feeling and the song reminds at this steady pace, no highs or lows making it bland. Next, Klownhole. Klownhole's "Polaris" is one of my favorite SF songs of all-time so I'm always happy for another Klownhole tune. But that doesn't mean I'll like it. Good guitar work but this is mediocre. What the hell are you singing- "I've got a bad back and a thorax"? Next, CIWA. I like the fake scratches thrown in but the vocals made me glaze over. Take away the effect on it and make them more pronounced. If you are gonna do a song like this, be a brash MC. Make the audience hang on all words. By using the effects and putting it so low in the mix, it all becomes muddy. Andy Balham is on now. This is very Nick Cave but too bright. Andy has one of those voices. It works it some places and not in others. Here, the song would work with lighter voices. I could hear Loyalty Day covering this and hitting all the marks. Next is Bjam. Wow, that some crisp guitar sounds. A sweet little coffeehouse folk tune that runs too long. You ran out steam early, even with the bigger notes. It got repitious. Next up, Katarina Bower. This year's Freudian Slip. Where did she go? Hey, if you're out there drop me a line. Not bad. Not catchy but not pain inducing. One of the better ones so far. Next up, Those Meddling Kids. Perhaps they should be called Those Ritalin Kids. This song is all over the place. Odd little samples and effects, charming vocals that doesn't always hit the beats and odd layered beats. Head...spinning...must...stop...listening. Oh, who's bringing the rock? Sexy Misogynists, huh? Incubator in your underwear, huh. I don't know if I'm happy that ended after a minute or not. I liked the music, hated the lyrics. Next up, TFC. I didn't musically participate but I did write this one. It's about a place where I used to live and how some mistakes ruined it. Thanks to Andy Balham to coming in and helping out on the track in my stead. I dig this. Usually I don't vote for things I'm a part of but I've really got a hate jones for a lot of this fight. Ah, Sonofsupercar. What with talking through the tune? When y'all did Fro Envy, that worked better. The song had punch. The music is as good as always but it's not a great song. If this were a SOS album, this song would be Side B filler. Next, the brilliant minds of Hostess Mostess. This is good but I feel like there's something missing. But this is head and shoulders over a lot of the other things in this fight. A catchy chorus! What a novel idea. Next, Thornberry. Hearing the piano makes me laugh after seeing pics of him dressed up as the Phantom of the Opera. Have you heard that guy Aqualung. This reminds me of him. I don't listen to him much. I wouldn't listen to this much. I don't hate him. I don't hate this. Aqualung is ok. This song is ok. Steve Durand's on bat. In my eyes, he's the Jimmy Buffett of Songfight. I wanna listen to the song while drinking a Margarita (if i weren't the aforementioned sxe) while on the beach. Nothing to write home about but nothing that makes me wanna kill so that's a good thing. Next up, LUKE! If you don't know, I feel that LUKE's name should always be written in capitals like Japanese pro-wrestlers. This is different. I'm enjoying this experimentation. The rhythm of the lyrics is excellent. This may just get my vote this week. The oooooooo ending is noisome but still it's a fascinating tune. One more to go, Anti-M. I wanna hear this as a live track with the lilting voices beside a guy with a miramba and someone playing a saw with a violin bow. The synthetic versions aren't quite cutting it. Double tracking the vocals are usually a good touch. This is okay, better than most. But there's just something missing. I feel like you want some emotion out of me but you're not hitting the right heart strings. But it's enough for third place. 2nd goes to Hostess Mostess and 1st to LUKE. And I also dig this week's TFC song. Good work J$ and Andy Balham.

[blue]

come on Niv, you know all of our songs are side-B filler.

[Thornberry]

Thornberry. Hearing the piano makes me laugh after seeing pics of him dressed up as the Phantom of the Opera. Have you heard that guy Aqualung. This reminds me of him.

Haha, Well I personally thought I made a damn fine Phantom

Also, I really can't stand aqualung. I know that is probably kinda weird cause my stuff is a bit similiar to him, and we all know i LOVE my stuff,but i dunno, just cant stand him.


Thanks for the review!

[HANK.]

Steevo - Your lo-quality recording bugs me... BIG TIME. Sounds like puff the magic dragon or some shit. You'd be better off GnG with no drum machine. And you have some bigtime digi distortion. You're WAY off @ 1:04.

NEXT

Tranny Fight Club - This was nice until 0:34. Then it was annoying. More puff the magic dragon.

NEXT

Thanalogue - This is chill. I'd like to hear a sick drummer who knows his chit vary your loop. Vox could be brighter, harmonies would be cool. But I can't believe I need to listen to EIGHT MINUTES OF THIS SHIT. FF to end, see if it goes anywhere. ABSOLUTELY NOT. Do another line of K dude.

NEXT

SOSC - This is cool, too bright. Too freekin phasey. I don't really wanna listen to your lyrics, though I'd like to. The brightness of the phasey shit is directly competing with the telephone vocal like. Whoa - only musicians would appreciate that odd break at 1:40. Not groovable at all. Overall - I like the riffyness of this. Lissened all the way through.

Thornberry - Charlie Brown!!! I can't wait until it comes on this holiday season, see if it makes sense to me this year. Your harmonies are really quite amazing. I'd like to hear a more masculine voice singing this. I can't listen to more of this, and I don't care what you're singing about.

NEXT

Those Meddling Kids - HO CHIT that's a sweet inro. This is pretty sweet. Voice irritates me slightly. I can't groove to this. Nice work., but this would be something I lissen to once, think it's very cool, and hit FF when it loops around again. No hook. Lissened all the way through.

CWS - I'm at a club. And I'm not having a good time.

NEXT

4DOC - YAY!!! YOU FOUND SYNTHESIS!!! Let's use it in E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. I'm in a 1984 B-Movie club, and you're on stage with tall hair.

NEXT

Katarina - You need to bring down the vocals, and hint at a hook a bit before the actual hook hits. Step away from the mic, and, I know it's a good thing to do when you're singing, but have it come a bit less from your diaphragm, more from the throat. Sounds like a transsexual whispering in my ear. Lissened all the way through.

Luke Henley - I like this so fucking much. My gad dude - I like this alot, and wanna hear it with a band and you singin. Dude. Lissened all the way through.

Deshead - You have a very strong voice, sometimes (like the beginning of this song) it's sounds a bit strong to me. My opinion is that I think very precise voices are good, but your baseline should be much lower. Let it drop to a human level here and there. But damn dude... That's a great song. Listened all the way through.

Hostess Mostess - I heard a pitch corrected note at 0:18 that made me think of any of those sensitive verse / power chorus bands. I like the stereo imaging of this. Not hooky enough for me, though really well written.

NEXT

Ken's Superduper - Less gain on the vocals. Thought I'd never type that. Awesome song. I like your stuff - hits that yo la tengo nerve for me. But less vocs... the music rox so much. DUDE - please more of the band - you're all SO talented, I want to hear you all!!! Lissened all the way through.

Klownhole - I'd like more meat in the mix, guitars especially. I generally love this shit once through. Definitely more meat in the mix, a more natural voice (only cuz it'd help me hear what you're saying).

NEXT

Phunt - Dude this shit always strikes me as so well done, but no hook. I'd lissen once, have it on me as I'm going over a bridge on a misty 50 degree morning, and see fog floating over the water, enjoy it again then, and that's it. This is in the backpack for that reason. Had to go after 2:30...

NEXT

Flux'em - dude. i hate this. seriously. everything about it.

NEXT

HANK. - I have too many bass frequencies in my voice. Other than that, this song kicks ass. My uncle was a recording enthusiast, and he passed on about a year ago and left me all this equipment and instruments. Got really wrecked with boltoph a few months back and played drums for the 5th time rockkin brand new car for posi traction. Been a little psyched since then, learning how to play all this stuff. Gonna get more drunk and sing it again. Lissened all the way through.

Sexy Miss - I hate it.

Anti - I like the space... This is pretty... Your singer has a pretty voice and no rhythm.

NEXT

Andee B - Puff the magic. That was a good stretch of music without it. Other feces I have had. I almost feel bad FF'ing b/c I know how hard you worked on it.


NEXT

Bjam - Compress your voice less. Gimme a hook a bit earlier, and voice down a bit, less in your face I guess.

DONE.

HO SIT - I think I got through it all. Suck it.

[mc3p0]

Fourth Doctor: This is what it would sound like if you lobotomized a rapper. Synth work is the only almost redeemable quality.

Ouch, I'm totally grooving on this. "a beatsmith with a blade like a neolith" analog double-entendre cleverness rocks. I wish I had went with my first impulse and entered this fight, it's awesome. Bloody sincere "love" song challenge..

[blue]

Great Fight! If I didn't review your song it's not because it sucked, it's because there are a billion and I don't have the patience to tell you something I've told you a hundred times before again.

[edit] There certainly are some songs that did not get reviewed because they sucked. Hopefully Jack will point out which was which in his followup installment.

[edit 2] I am listening on really shitty headphones today, so there's no telling wtf your song actually sounds like.

Antim: NAUGHTY LACK OF ID3 TAG ALERT. The wooden xylophone sound is really nice. Singing saw sets it over the top. Excellent pacing and mood. Good song. My only complaint is that it is very static - you can listen to the first repeat and pretty much get the whole idea. There's no little hidden hook or catharsis moment anywhere.

Bjiam: Your guitar is very pasty sounding. Try moving the mic to get a little more pick noise in there, to differentiate the chords. Did you play the bass bits? Nice song, good vocal melodies for sure.

CIA: NAUGHTY LACK OF ID3 TAG ALERT. The only reason I like this song is because of its similarity to "Warlock" era Skinny Puppy and David Baerwald's second album. Very 90's-progressive vibe to the sound. Props for the turntable action. I think this vocal style does work for you, but you could def. work to clean things up in the mix. Get ye to the compressor!

Des: Man this is so radio it pains me. The chorus is great in a Rick Springfield kinda way. The lyrics are just abominable. You may well be the rock-song Jim of Seattle from Canada.

FLVXXM: This is hilarious in the "what would the clash have sounded like if they were awful electronic musicians" kinda way. Everyone should own a John Spencer album, but no one probably listens to it more than once. I guess it's admirable that you refused to include any kind of changes into the progression, other than starting the whole loop over. Sort of.

4th Dr: NAUGHTY LACK OF ID3 TAG ALERT. The vocal delivery makes this unlistenable, but that is a good synth riff.

HANK.: NAUGHTY LACK OF ID3 TAG ALERT. I love me some HANK. Great vocal delivery, taking an otherwise worn-thin musical progression right into Wilco land. The broken backing vox really make this. Wish I was there and drunk too.

Hostess: NAU.. eh. id3 tags, yo. Great lyrics in places, but striking me as a little recycled in others. Are you doing a theme songfight album? Lyrically, this would fit right in with your pirate tune. Where are my damn handclaps. "Keeping an ear to the loud machine" should be the title of sos' next album. Can we steal it? Interesting that you want Des to cover this, as I hear your approach to hookiness as coming from different universes. The break at the end of the song devolves 37% too far into gospel land - it wanted the rock. Do you listen to Mike Doughty? Think about how one of your songs might sound with this super thick guitar sound and no backing vocals: http://www.mikedoughty.com/music/mp3/Mi ... _Train.mp3

Katarina "I Can't Be Arsed To Tag My MP3s" Boyer: Everything I said on Bjam's song, except you didn't play a cool bassline.

Ken "Kitten Killer" Marhocker: That bass sounds great, screw whoever said it didn't. Possibly my new favorite Ken song. Needs about 30 more guitar overdubs! METALLICA 4 EVAR.

Klownhizzle: Isn't ebonics magic? You could be a house, or a hole. NAR BRAGGLE THBT TBHTB THBTBT!!! I sing along with song a lot. WE GOT A BAD BACK FROM PULLIN ON BULL RACKS. WE GOT SO MUCH LOVE TO GIVE. MUMBLE BLARGHLE OTHER PLACES / BEERS!

Luke Henley: Because, see, if everyone properly tagged their songs, it'd be easier to programatically sort the archive. Wouldn't that be sweet? Really, your ineptitude is holding songfight back. Also, Isaac Brock called, he wants his song back. No, really, this is a great Mouse ripoff, especially the "going from wake to wake" line, and really has more in common with The Eyesores and other such klezmer/throwback bands than mouse. Could it have used more takes? Less takes? Could you have.. I dunno, written and arranged a song? Probably. It's hard to keep the charm tho, aint it.

Sexogynists: BIRTHING HIPS. Nothing saves you from failing to provide an id3 tag by which I could index this fine song. Well, possibly not so fine. I see you're pulling lines from Gert's lyric fakebook.

SOS: We, no, I, forgot to do an id3 tag. Ironic. Also, we talked ourselves into thinking this was a lot better than it is. I like the spoken vox, altho the lyrics don't work so great in that context. They were working even less great sung, and so. We'll do better next time.

THANALOGUE MINUS ID3: boop dee dee boop dee boop boop dee.. If I weren't a sucker for the Wurlie this would not have made the review list. You could have opened the song without the drums and had a really compelling song. As it is.. I'm pretty much just reviewing it to yell at you about the missing id3.

MEDDLARS: Someone meddled with your id3 tag! Also, everything could use a little rounding off in the treble area. This song is very, you know, "harsh" sounding. Other than that.. I dunno.. the drums are making it hard to concentrate on anything - they are both overbearing and just DONE, you know? I have heard them plenty of times. It's ok to chill out a little. The vocal delivery and lyrics keep me coming back. Great little pastiche of a story there. I hate to say it, but I'd love to hear this without all the bullshit Soul Coughing veneer. You're not Doug Cheatwood, and what has all that crap ever gotten him anyways?

TAFC: This is pretty cool in the Midnight Oil way, but again with the drum overprogramming. Pay some attention to building a sound with the bass and guitars.

[deshead]

... in a Rick Springfield kinda way.

Jessie's Girl Rick Springfield? Or that sell-out "crawl-back-to-General-Hospital-with-my-tail-between-my-legs" Rick Springfield?

I hope you didn't mean the latter, 'cause that'd be an insult.

[jack]

..........Hopefully Jack will point out which was which in his followup installment.

not likely.

"you know i wish that i was des's girl......."
sorry, couldn't resist.

[blue]

... in a Rick Springfield kinda way.

Jessie's Girl Rick Springfield? Or that sell-out "crawl-back-to-General-Hospital-with-my-tail-between-my-legs" Rick Springfield?

I hope you didn't mean the latter, 'cause that'd be an insult.

see, what we love about you is that it's the former but you're not insulted.

[Mostess]

Can we steal it?

Yes.

Thanks for the Doughty link. Never heard him before. He's got a lot of spirit.

And thanks for the thoughtful review.