'Drops of Jupiter' (a hit by Train) reviews...

[Eric Y.]

wait -- scratch that; reverse it; okay.

[fodroy]

haha. awesome thread title.

[Egg]

tee hee..funny

[Stubby Phillips]

The tension is killing me...

[Stubby Phillips]

wait -- scratch that; reverse it; okay.

I'm not sure, but I have a feeling that if you guys want the songs updated, somebody should either edit the thread title to include the actual name of the fight, or start a new thread.

I PM'd tviyh 3 hours ago. I'm not going to step on his thread, and I'm not going to author a third thread this week.

I'm leaving to go camping in one hour -- hope somebody picks up the ball.

Jeez, do I gotta do everything?

[Niveous]

Reviews to come later when I have more time but a short overview:

Got my vote: Otalgia

They were contenders: Evil E, Pumpkin Buzzard, The BeWells

Decent li'l ditties: Smalltown Mike, Paco Del Stinko, King Arthur

Average: Hostess Mostess, Uncle Tex, Jacob Lynn, Ben Kreiger

Best use of wrestling references: Denyer

I didn't enjoy: Phuntpaper Orchestra, Ratt Poizon

Loathing: Sidewalkers, Electromartyr

[Eric Y.]

dang stubby, relax a minute would ya?
be thankful the thread title contains all the same words as the song title at least. that hasn't always been the case.

[Lunkhead]

ben krieger
nice production. oooh, yummy organ. this is all kinda cheesy though, in a commercial rock sort of way. reminds me of the stones, though, slightly, in a good way. looks like it's going to be concise, which is good. i think if it built up to a big rousing section it would have definitely tipped over into cheese land. as it is, i like it. i wouldn't have panned the lead guitar so hard, but that's just me. also the bass could've been a little punchier sounding, it's a wee bit undefined.

the bewells
the twangy country pickin' guitar seems a little out of place, in this otherwise folky sounding song. wait, it's less folky for a bit there. nice production, too. i would've panned that lead guitar a little more. nice piano. i like the low end of the piano. the lead guitar is pretty tasty most of the time. the vocals may be a tad too loud/up front. maybe back them off a tiny bit and add a tiny bit more reverb? more good chord progressions in this one, like in ben krieger's. overall i like it.

electro martyr
the heavily reverbed vocals sound way out of place over the electronic sounds. the electronic stuff is kinda of cool, but the reverby vocals are sort of crowding them out more than i'd like. also, the vocal style doesn't work so great. maybe a more emotionless, robotic style? i don't know. this is maybe a little too long, too, or it needs one more different section to it to justify this length. what's with all the silence at the end of the track? anyway, i could like this more with a couple minor changes.

evil-e
again, too much reverb on the vocals, compared to everything else. i like that you turn the lead guitar down when the singing comes in. the distortion on the guitar is a little cheap sounding, unfortunately. i like the chorus-y guitar a lot, though. nice song writing. i like this, though maybe it could have had a shorter outro.

hostess mostess
is that 9/8? cool. i like the switch to the stereo guitars. nice vocal arrangements. the bass comes in maybe a little prematurely there, and it's pretty farty sounding. this song could use some stronger bass because there isn't much else going on. i'm not sure i like the bridge. i would have stopped the guitar noises in the left and right, left it more pristine and spacious. good song, though, i like it.

wow, good fight people!! yay!

jacob lynn
the vocals could be a bit tighter together. also it sounds like the loudest track of the song if just ambient noise of you sitting at your computer or something... i like the piano and am wishing it would come in a little higher-fi, ditto the bass. ok, ditto everything, sorry. ooh, cool brushed snare, if that's what i hear in there. sounds like some clipping in the really emo part. i like the song, but the lo-fi is making it hard for me to get into.

king arthur
nice pickin'. is that acoustic direct or mic'd? sounds direct to me, which kinda detracts for me (i guess i'm a production snob or something). vocals sound great, though, i like the reverb. i like this style from you a lot. nice lyrics, too. this is definitely one of my favorite songs of yours. i love how you keep it nice and simple. you should get jb to do a cello track to replace the synth strings, that would be really cool. anyway, good job.

mc paul denyer
starts out making me think slim shady or something. dang, some painful rhymes. is every line going to rhyme with train? that's not clever, it's annoying. ah, verse 2 all rhymes with head. great... at least there isn't a verse 3. this could have been alright with some more diversity in the rhymes.

otalgia
this is me doing the music, ken doing the lyrics, and jute gyte doing the vocals. tviyh is honorary bass player, and jolly roger is honorary drummer. i guess hearing it now in the context of the fight i need to remaster it to be louder. doh!anyway, i'm pretty happy with it, excluding maybe the bridge. thanks for the vote niveous!

paco del stinko
nice, more metal. this is a little more theatrical style. the super low voice makes me think of type o negative. i don't have much in the way of constructive criticism, this is pretty solid. i like it.

phuntpaper orchestra
the stereo guitars are not in time with each other sometimes, which is pretty distracting. the pitch of the vocals and trumpet in the intro is a bit off, it seems like. gets better when the drums kick in. sounds like it's clipping in the chorus (is it the panned backup vocals?). singer reminds me of narbotic a bit. whoa, that trumpet is definitely off a couple minutes in. this is alright, but i'm just not getting into it that much. too many strange noisy tracks for me.

pumpkin buzzard
whoa, speaking of noisy. very glitchy. this is the other jute gyte track, i see. i like the electronics stuff. the "smoother" voice isn't working for me. pretty cool song. wow, crazy ending there.

rattpoizon
huh... lots of noises. not super musical. ah ha! more glitchy metal. dang, those vocals sound bizarre. some nice shredding in there. cool whammy bar action. good song.

sidewalkers
ugh.

smalltown mike
i like the intro bass and guitars, but the drum beat there isn't working for me. the organ seems out of place, too. i like the spoken/shouted part, reminds me of suicidal tendencies. the chorus doesn't really change things up enough for me. neither does the part when the guitar gets more distorted. this just sort of goes on without enough changes for me. it's not too long, though, so it's not a big deal.

uncle tex's hair nephew
the chorus part is alright. i'm not into the verse parts, kinda too sparse or something for me. the lyrics are a little weak there, too. i'm more into the latter part of the song when things pick up a little in intensity.

[a bebop a rebop]

Ben Krieger - Definitely pretty. Your voice is really nice and well-recorded. There's a very strong Mountain Goats feel to this, in the instrumentation and re: your voice. I don't really dig "'til we're hit by a train" as the climactic moment in the song, but on the whole the lyrics are really nicely put together. Good song.

BeWells - Love that guitar work, and your voice is really nice. Nice bluesy turn in the chorus and the piano filler bit is really nice. I need to get a serious recording set-up like this, everything is gorgeous (of course, a lot of that is your playing skill). I don't really care for the lyrics except that you have a nice literal-metaphorical play going on here; ie, I'm not quite sure whether he in fact killed himself, and it's a nice confusion. Good song.

Electro Martyr - Turn your mic down and then turn the vocal track up in your recording software. The music is kinda neat but here and there (a lot of places) your voice doesn't sync up with the lyrics. The reverb is pretty overbearing.

Evil-E - I'm glad you kicked it up there, it works. Don't dig the reverb, it just feels wrong, and it sounds like you have a nice voice behind it but it's hard to tell. I can't tell if I like the lyrics because I can't really hear them. The bridge section from before 2:00 is real nice. Good song except for the reverb.

Jacob Lynn - this is me.

King Arthur - The synth-strings bug me, sorry, but not having a violin isn't your fault. The guitar is really nice though. Man, this is really nice, how is it possible that the King Arthur award was named after you? Maybe a touch too much reverb on the vocals. I feel like this is one of those guy and guitar songs that could support itself, without the faux strings in there. The suggestion to re-record that part is a really good one. Good song.

MC Paul Denyer - I dig your beats man. That wiggly sucker somewhere in the back is really nice. Lyrics = stretched thin, perhaps? But delivery = nice.

Otaglia - Ripping. Jute, your voice is incredible. I'm trying to decipher the madness... is it double-tracked? Anyway I totally dig this. I wasn't even paying attention to the music the first time but it's intensely angular and totally great. Great song.

Phuntpaper Orchestra - The background vocals are really annoying. And so is that trumpet. The song is just too amelodic and random for the most basic 4/4 drumbeat in the world. And then something happens and I like the last minute of the music here. Maybe turn down the vocals next time.

Pumpkin Buzzard - omg peaking. Totally unsettling dudes. I really like the music in the chorus with the flute-y noise and the guitar-y noise. It's somewhere in between aphex idm and death metal. I'm gonna be completely honest, I don't see myself ever listening to this again, just too aggressive for me, but it's really impressive, and I definitely like it in theory, if you have any idea what I mean.

Ratt Poizon - This is nuts. That one snare drum isn't working for me but everything else is great. Unfortunately musically it just doesn't do too much besides be impressive and it gets old eventually.

Smalltown Mike - I think this is the first song of yours that I can really get into. The semi-latin vibe is really nice, I love that groovy rhythm and the guitar shots here and there, and the unsettled straining vocals are great. Really nice song.

Uncle Tex's Hairy Nephew - I like the music and the interwoven vocal bits but the lyrics sound a little... immature. I don't have much else to say about this one other that it never really gets out of the same vein and ends up being a little boring.

Really solid fight, but I gotta vote for Otaglia.

[Caravan Ray]

Uncle Tex's Hairy Nephew the lyrics sound a little... immature. .

My young nephew wrote those lyrics for me, though the immature bits may have been my additions.

(this is our second collaboration - some may recall the song "Food Fight" we did for the Children's Song sidefight a while ago)

Reviews to come soon...

[Reist]

jolly roger is honorary drummer

Hopefully I'll be the actual drummer next time!

[a bebop a rebop]

Heh, that's what I was referring to, CR.

[BenKrieger]

Ben Krieger There's a very strong Mountain Goats feel to this,

I just got into the Mountain Goats a few months ago...can't say they are in influence on my voice yet, but I definitely felt a connection with his writing. I've got about 6 of his CDs so far.

B

[Generic]

Yeah, Mountain Goats are/is amazing.

I'm not in this fight, but the roster made it impossible not to give it a listen. Here, then, are some truncated reviews.

Ben Krieger - Digging the lyrics. I mean, like, a lot. Like, they make up for a lackluster if unoffensive guitar track. Kept it short. That's nice.

Bewells - Nice guitar, though I'm not fond of this style, and the lyrics don't help. Using all three titles in one song? Cute.

Was there a "no drums" challenge this week?

Electro Martyr - I can't detect any structure here at all. The music has no phrase cues, which makes it very difficult to follow the vocals, which are already muddled. I'm hearing some sour harmonies in the chorus, too. Oh, and could you pad it by less than twenty seconds, please? That'd be nice.

Evil-E - Slick production, neat pop sound. I wish that your guitar tone had just a little bit more bite to it. The crash cymbals, when they come in, overpower the vocals, which are otherwise fine. Needs a stronger chorus, but a fine song nonetheless.

Hostess Mostess - Crazy time sig. The singing makes it work. It's quite Peter Gabriel-esque when the guitar drops out and it becomes solo piano. The building harmonies rock, but the transitions need help.

Jacob Lynn - The vocals are panned too hard, and mixed a bit too loud—or should I say that the pretty piano part is mixed too low. The solo in the upper octaves sounds unrehearsed, but who am I to moan about that, when my piano solo in the other fight was completely improvised? I like this song; it might have gotten my vote with better production.

King Arthur - Ooh, a sixteen-minute long guy-and-guitar-and-synth ballad? Golly, do I love VBR. Art, your lyrics are consistently some of the best in Songfight. It sounds—and I mean in a good way—as though very little has changed in my absence. I think you're picking up a bit too much bass hum from your guitar; it's most distracting around 1:30. And come on, how many folk songs get to use the word "Jurisdiction?" Kudos, hombre.

MC Paul Denyer - Train, pain, insane? These rhymes are brilliant! But I lie.

Otalgia - You can't spell nostalgia without otalgia... unless you spell nostalgia correctly. Is Jute Gyte involved here? I guess when you scream loud enough, you sound like just about anyone. I like the riffage, but it would be nice to have some semblance of anunciation.

Paco Del Stinko - You sell this genre fairly convincingly, but I think there's something in these lyrics that I'm just not getting. You have an amazing vocal range.

Phuntpaper Orchestra - I was three seconds away from skipping this when I heard Dan's voice. The lyrics are alright, but the drum is too loud, the guitar is too soft, the trombone/trumpet/whatever that is is out of tune, and the backing vocals sound like zombies. The guitar that comes in for the last two minutes is also out of tune. I like the clapping, but it sounds like it's been subjected to some overzealous noise reduction.

Pumpkin Buzzard - That intro is painful. The rest of it is just plain confusing. Made it to 2:30 before skipping ahead.

Ratt Poizon - Okay, so here we have some noise... And a small explosion. Two. Three. Four. Still waiting for a song. I'm going to post a picture of what your EQ looks like in my Winamp window; you might find it interesting:
Note the missing frequencies.

The Sidewalkers - Go to hell.

Smalltown Mike - Nice! I love the rock vibe with the reggae undertones. The lyrics are rather sappy, and then creepy, but the mood here gets me wiggling in my chair. Would be a vote if you didn't get all creepy emogoth on me.

Uncle Tex's Hairy Nephew - Nifty guitar and drums, but the vocals are mixed way way too low.

I'm voting Arthur. Krieger and Mostess tie for second, and Smalltown Mike gets fourth.

Dishonorable mention to Otalgia, Pumpkin Buzzard, and The Sidewalkers.

[beatlebrent]

Ben Krieger – I’m a super huge fan of Lisa Loeb… if you were a hot sexy woman with keen glasses, I’d like you just as much. But I’m guessing by the timbre of your voice, you’re not. The background is great. The song is great. Written well, lyrics are good, the chords are good, the mix is clear. My only dislike is it’s too short.

The Bewells – I like the song. The fast guitar has a sloppy quick feel to it. Man, you put up a good fight. I like the incorporation of the title into the song. It’s not forced at all. I like the different instruments used… good balance.

Electro Martyr –I don’t mean to be negative or anything, but you’ve got some grand competition in this fight, and that pushed you immediately down in the fight. Still, not my fav song. I mean, obviously you’re Electronic… the name says it. But just doesn’t reach out to those who may not be electronic or trance fans. Too abrasive in the mix.

Evil E – There’s this dude named Stiv Bators who’ve I’ve always thought to be a great power-pop writer. You remind me of his early stuff and I really like it even just for that. It’s a good song. I mean, we could go on and on about mastering, mixing, EQ, effects and all the fun stuff that helps with professional delivery… which could certainly help the final mix down of the song…. But really, you wrote a good song and mixed it really well, and played it really well. I’m under the impression that everything I’m hearing is real… so if it isn’t… you fooled me. Good job.

Hostess Mostess – Great little jazz chord conglomeration. The timing threw me off at first though… cuz I had to count out “is it 5/4… or 4 ½ “ or is it just sloppy? There’s a line from on old Peter Paul and Mary song where they say “They’ve got a good thing goin’ when the words don’t get in the way, yeahâ€

[jute gyte]

If anyone would like to see what Pumpkin Buzzard's "Hit by a Train" looks like, here it is: http://www.jeshimoth.com/hitbyatrain.JPG

[BenKrieger]

I’m a super huge fan of Lisa Loeb… if you were a hot sexy woman with keen glasses, I’d like you just as much.

I can be your Lisa Loeb. I can be anyone you want me to be.

[BenKrieger]

Here are some, more later (of course, that's what I said last time)

BeWells - I'm a huge fan of anyone who can finger pick like that...this is very 70s folk. Real traditional. I love it. Is that a real piano. I've been using the NI Akoustic Piano and it has been giving me problems. I like the mix on this one...you put me to shame. Great lyrics. Kris Kristopherson?

Paco - Oooooo, I LOVE this. That solo at the end is great fun! Very J Mascis. This is a hilarious followup to the BeWells. You make me smile, that's a plus. Nice Sabbath licks. I guess technically it's not as crafty as someof the others, but with lines like "sweating whore sin the basement" who needs genius? I debate whether I like vocal lines that follow the guitar lines exactly. I guess I love it when Ian Anderson does it and hate it when Thurston Moore does it. You are taking more of a TUll route here.

Otalgia, I heart you soooo much! I want to laugh so hard but I'll wake the girl.

Phuntpaper Orchestra - Pavement on helium and downers, man. "Dream of sinking teeth into you" is a nice line. Nice take on the title line, as well. Gloriously lo-fi.

Pumpkin Buzzard - DUDE! Have you ever played Star COntrol 2? The music reminds me EXACTLY of that game. If you havem't, let me kow, I'll tel you where you can get it.

Jacob Lynn - I'm jealous of anyone with a piano. It sounds like it was done with one mike, which is a cool way to do it. Some digital pops...but I have you beat on the digital pop front.

King Arthur - This is lovely. Don't like the strings...it's the only think that takes this recording out of vintage 70s and puts it in homerecording MIDIville. Maybe a b3 instead?

Ratt Poizon - Well...I did chuckle...

Fions and Figers - Silly duck, are you high?

[jute gyte]

Pumpkin Buzzard - DUDE! Have you ever played Star COntrol 2? The music reminds me EXACTLY of that game. If you havem't, let me kow, I'll tel you where you can get it.

We haven't played it but we'd love to hear it.

[beatlebrent]

BenKrieger,

After checking out your site... and listening to every song... I bet you COULD be freakin' anyone anbody wanted. Cuz you jumped around with influences from all my favorite bands while staying very true to a style that's all yours. I'm sad you're an east coast kid... not that the east coast is bad or anything, it's just I moved to the west coast years back and won't get to see you live anytime soon. Bummer deal. Super talent though. I usually walk away disapointed after checking out a fellow song fighter's website... but was very impressed. You rock. Well.... you folk... but that phrase doesn't sound as cool. So, you rock.

[martyr]

Ben Krieger Country-ish folk sensibility with an indie rock touch. The production puts the levels high without distorting, but they almost seem too rich. Perhaps the bass is just booming too loudly on the low parts; perhaps I should mellow out my subwoofer. I like that this song just comes in, does it's business, then fades on a reflective note. The lyrics are really good in this!

Bewells Vocal mix is good -- well above the music. This reminds me of bands you listen to in Santa Cruz. The intro is a bit like Cat Stevens, then it gets more bluesy and big production with the piano and distorted steel guitar over the chorus. This is very well put together musically.

Electro Martyr This was my first experiment with 100% digital synth recording. I definitely think songs without any guitar are dangerous. The vocals clearly needed more work -- both in execution and timing... I was having trouble bouncing tracks from midi to audio tools. Sorry to present such an unfinished bit. Premature entry!

Evil-E This is good from the start. I like the composition and lead in to the chorus crux. The lead lick is cool, but the arpagiatted rhythm guitar is very cool, and a bit buried.

Hostess Mostess This bluesy number is among my favorite this fight. I think it is quite well done. I'm impressed you made a strange signature of 9/8 sound so natural!

Jacob Lynn The piano intro is quite pleasant. The lyrical sarcasm and vox style works over this. It reminds me of a reflective outro to one of those classic indie films when all the great characters you grew to love over the past hour all die and now you need to leave the theater.

King Author The acoustic sounds has a much better sonic quality than the keyboard synth strings during the intro. Why a '97 Nissan? The guitar picking is good, and the vocals are fine; the keys are distracting. This song is a bit to oratory tradition for me -- I feel like I'm being lectured by a bard soliciting my front door.

MC Paul Denyer I like the Sadamm rhyme, but this drum circle rap is a bit too repetitive. Woah! Keyboard chorus surprise. I like the peanut butter spread line, but the melody here is just way too hypnotic nursery rhyme for me. Perhaps just stray a bit from monotonic vocals? If that isn't your intended style, then bad advise on my part.

Otalgia Serious metal! This was to be expected in this fight. Damn, this has full on double bass and double vocal screams. This is well done metal. Yeah, if you put your metal hat on, this hits the spot. The bridge is a nice relief too. Harmonized slow down and tapping madness. My only suggestions would be slight EQ adjustments. A touch of edge off the highs and bit more boom in the guitar bass. Overall solid.

Paco Del Stinko Nice atmospheric entry into the song. Paco entries always seem to be journeys. This one is no different. The whispery mini verse leads into a deep reminder voice and then heavy licking. No real chorus yet, back into the intro. Lips of a worm? This is heavy stuff. I like the rhythmic change the second time through. Hmm it's over, but I never really noticed a distinctive chorus or train hit. I felt I was following the story, but missed the crux.

Phunt Paper Orchestra Lo-fi -- sebadoh freed weed allusion, then, not into it.. Trumpet over out of time snare. Phunt's always doing whack artsy stuff. The leadvocal is a touch loud for me. I actually hear potential in the chorus behind the deliberately anti-establishment mix, production, and instrumentation. More melody in the verse would help captivate. I think I understand what you're going for.

Pumpkin Buzzard Is this what electronic folks call hardcore? I like the idea of using a drum machine and synth to generate speed metal. I also like the async verse stops. Pluctum, clanks, screams of angst. This works. Not my style, but the stops and slow downs and song design and different sonic sections show real intention by the artist.

Ratt Poizon When in doubt just start with static that morphs into rain that morphs into industrial factory sounds that morphs into an explosion that morphs into into... Metal nail machine doing double rivets with a light mix of power chords. Then scream uninteligably over it. This starts to kick musically afterwards.

The Sidewalkers Joke track -- stone out, turn on the mic, and record a dorm room improv masterpiece, dude.

Smalltown Mike I don't know how to describe this. Perhaps Tool meets Rage Against the Machine at one of their early shows at some event center before they had tons of big time signed band experience. There is something missing in this comparison however, can't quite nail what the backbeat verse or vocal style reminds me off. I like that this is actually a crafted song. I heard the slit wrists, but I missed the train part.

Uncle Tex's Hairy Nephew Weird rodeo wake up at the ranch and do a techno indian campfire dance. Landed on a lady and got kicked in the balls? Oh, I get it, hit by a train. I like the train sample and the stobed delayed drum machine. Abrupt ending!

Wow, so many entries. I like Hostess the mostest I think. This one is really a bunch of mini genre fights -- the metal heads have a few to choose from, the country lovers a few more, the folksy crew, ... Are any of these a serious indie rock or post-punk entry? I guess Evil-E would best fit that category with their nice indie pop number. Ben Krieger wins the lyrics fight hands down.

[Smalltown Mike]

Ben Krieger
Great sound, nice production. Your vocals sound just slightly hesitant in some spots, like you’re holding back slightly. This sounds great and is clever, but I really wish it went somewhere and had a chorus. But nice work.

Bewells
Nice chorus, but sounds like you’e holding back just slightly. Man, I say that a lot. Great sounds in this, nice production and solo.

Electro Martyr
That is a ton of reverb. It also sounds like you’re really close to the mic, maybe back up a bit.

Hostess Mostess
I love this verse riff and your vocals. Fantastic. Haunting. The delivery of the “hit by a trainâ€