OMGWTF! (Exclamation Point reviews)

[Bjam]

Seriously!

[Gemini6Ice]

Seriously!

Shouldn't it be ZOMGWTFBBQ!

[Cärpetbürn]

Abominominous brings the rock. the rhythm guitar is chuggariffic, the lead is searing but it sounds more like Pavement covering AC/DC than AC/DC itself which is always gonna be the way with home recordings but this sounds good anyway. I do like the way this is sung and helped along by a good sounding set of lyrics.

Carpetburn bring the math, and do it rather well.

Mostess revel in their eighties-ness. that line would've sounded more flowing if you said exclamation mark instead of point I think. This is a pretty good song, it holds the attention despite taking what feels like quite a long time to kick in. About 2 thirds in it seems to lose faith in the song and/or run out of ideas and just try to fill in time before ending which is a real shame. Strong start though.

King Art: The rhythms remind me of Cat Stevens, lyrics and tune remind me of Al Stewart which lends an overall pretty accomplished feel to this. It'll probably take a while to sink in before I can really get my teeth into it.

Paco brings the funk and then turns into Dogs Die In Hot Cars!? These random changes are great, they're a slap round the face for when the attention begins to fade, although I do think the signs of having written 11 songs in a week are showing slightly, less than amazing riffs and sections may have been repeated a bit too much for my liking.

Platkenybjam: You should have called yourselves something random like 'Daddy or Chips' so we could have played guess-the-band-member. This is great. I think you will win. I hate you. That is a damn strange intro, the verse has balls AND a hook and the chorus is one of those soaring ones REM used to be able to write. The middle bit with Bjam and the vocoder going all airy is wonderful too. the wibbly synths are the perfect foil for the crunchy guitars; this is perfectly formed and did I say I hate you? Vote

Starfinger is a lyrical king. "was it moronic to make you bionic?" haha, cool beat and I love those rhythmic synths but I'm not sure if the spacey track and jokey lyrics gel that well for me which is a bummer cos on their own all the elements are great. I few more listens for this one.

UDAHL: I'm digging the lo-fi punk action, I was kind of glad this stayed short but only cos I'm getting tired reviewing and to be fair the way this song changes it up does a really good job of holding attention and keeping the flow.

Wreckdom: I'm assuming this is the End Music for your 11 songs. maybe I shouldn't have listened to this first. fun way to end the fight, but otherwise a bit irritating and I know I'm not gonna get in to it by listening more.

[Paco Del Stinko]

Good fight!

Abominominous - Excellent. Rocking all around, good bass line and slide work. Might take a gasp in the middle, but good ending. This would be good live.

Carpetburn - Nice n' tight. Good changes, both guitars. I like the bass line. Good voice. Percolates well at times. Good one.

Hostess Mostess - I like the MOOGy sound. But what a great build - it expands so nicely and doesn't crowd. Great singing, melody - not over-done. Neil Diamond change! Yeah! I love the path that this takes. One of the best.

King Arthur - The bass is classic and the changes good. Great singing and energy, this one is top tier. Nice point for number 11.

Paco - Out of my league again. This is the one I finished after the deadline. Silly tough talk from a creampuff.

Platkenybjam - Whip-crack cool. Shiny and soaring, great chorus. Rocking changes and everything seperated so perfectly. Cool bridge - one of the best songs of all the fights. Great arrangement.

Starfinger - I loved 6 Million Dollar Man! This is excellent and one of my favorites from all of the fights also. Excellent instrumentation, singing, lyrics, production. Good feel on the singing. The bionic spring is one of my favorite sounds of all time, so that is a huge treat! Super!

UDAHL - I like this one, maybe best, of your entries. Good changes and electro-vibe.

WreckdoM - Sums it all up somehow. Thank you. Nice and rubbery.

This fight was indeed a good one, as might be well, at least hoped! Thanks for all the songs, I'll vote for not me prior to the deadline!

[glennny]

I'm not in this fight, however there are some really great gems in this fight that really peeked my attention.

Abominominous- I've been really digging every track in every fight, more rockin goodness!

Carpetburn- Vocals are great, but a bit loud in the mix. The Minus the Bear guitar is AWESOME FANTASTIC EXCELLENT!! You brought the math and hit the sweet spot of genre for my tastes. I love the dynamics, the rhythms, and the melodies. Great playing and writing! Recording could be better, but that guitar is too cool not to win over my vote. Get's the vote.

Hostess Mostess- Nie pop tune the keys make me think Supertramp. Good melodies nice song, wish it kicked in with drums and rocked more.

King Arthur- OK so this is quality rock, but good! I dig this track groovy.

Paco Del Stinko- On my 1st listen I thought Carpetburn was going to be the clear winner, then I heard this tune and the Platkenybjam track and had to really listen and consider a lot. Anyway, the zany PDS that goes all over the place is my favorite. Great riffs! Have you ever heard Eskimo? Check out Der Shrimpken if not.

Platkenybjam-What a great track! Another project Ken was working on the night before they were all due, and I stopped by for the Semolina Pilchards session. The chorus is among the best I've heard. Riff is cool. Probably the best recording, but I still have to go with Carpetburn on this fight.

Starfinger- This is a funny song! I like this a lot. Good stuff!

UDAHL- Another cool rocker from these guys. Pretty white Stripesy with poor production quality but nice playing!

Wreckdom- reminds me of the sillier Zappa noise-scapes circa Make a Jazz Noise Here.

[Cärpetbürn]

guitar is too cool

Aaaaayyyy

we are finger sluts

but in retrospect, I don't think this song is the sum of it's parts. It's good, and fun to play but not incendiary. Maybe next week...

[UDAHL]

Platkenybjam - sponge bob square band
King Arthur - man that swings
WreckdoM - d.e.a. surveillance recording from Caesars vomitorium
Starfinger - new gospel without all the Christy bits
Hostess Mostess - billy joel visits abby road
Abominominous - hey, aren't you Lloyd Harris' kid ?
Paco del Stinko - a penguin in bondage
UDAHL - i think double bass would work better
Carpetburn - like wearing doc martins to a phish concert

[furrypedro]

more reviews!

Platkenybjam - my
King Arthur - friend
WreckdoM - Ronald
Starfinger - likes
Hostess Mostess - cheese
Abominominous - on
Paco del Stinko - crackers
UDAHL - with
Carpetburn - jam

aren't you all really enlightened now? and you can tell I actually listened to the songs too

[Paco Del Stinko]

Paco del Stinko - crackers

I am probably crackers, but my songs might fit better next to cheese, thank you.

[starfinger]

Starfinger - likes

he likes me! he really likes me!

and you're right, Wreckdom's song is 100% Ronald.

-criag

[Mostess]

(...) and you can tell I actually listened to the songs too

You pegged ours!

[starfinger]

abominominous: i like your voice on this a lot.. by the way, i'm
really impressed by all the various vocal approaches you used throughout
these 11 fights. anyway, i love all the bloopy sounds in this too.
'tis a groovy stomper.

carpetburn: nice guitars! this is a cool song, but it sounds a
little thin. the vocals are jumping out of the rest of the music,
and there is not much of a lowend. mix aside, it's really cool. it
reminds me of neds' atomic dustbin, or something.

hostess mostess: man, i love that melody. the pulsing pianothing is
an instant mood setter. i also love the way the instruments trickle
in. great!

king arthur: i like this a lot too. catchy and very pro sounding.
great playing, good singing. awesome.

paco del stinko: love that opening riff. awesome noodling. very
zappa. ohhh yeah. this is seriously cool. this is the only one of
the fight (other than my own) that I spontaneously tried singing
along with. those "exclamation points" at the end somehow sound
like brass instruments.

platkenybjam: i love the vocals and synths(all the music really).
ultracatchy uberpop. kudos!

udahl: definitely competent. the phone recording makes it a bit
hard to appreciate, but if you could pull off a fuller sound, I
think it could be great.

wreckdom: i like the circusiness of it, but this is probably one of
your weakest entries this week. you guys have some great moments,
but this song doesn't really have any of them. it sounds cool
though.

[frankie big face]

There are a lot of songs this week and I can’t possible listen to them all, so I thought I’d start with the fight I came closest to entering. (the chorus is done, I swear!)

UDAHL – mix doesn’t help the song very much. Drums are ridiculously loud compared to the vox and other instruments. Oh, this is just a song snippet, really. You should have finished it, I think.

Carpetburn – Interesting arrangement. I like the sound palette, but the bass especially. I find the vocals to be too loud. I like the overall busyness of the track. Good use of dissonance and angularness throughout. I wasn’t focused on the lyrics too much, I’m afraid, so I’ll try again. (second listen) Lyrics are vague enough, but not completely without merit—they evoke some good images/feelings. Great energy and good job.

Platkenybjam – This song has as much energy as the previous track, a good amount of dissonance (intended or otherwise) and a little bit of that angular quality. Also a better mix. But there’s not much charm. The lyrics are kind of lame, imo. It doesn’t seem to be about…anything—just words strung together to make simple rhymes.

Starfinger – I don’t have much interest in this type of song. I liked the line “let me buy you a mealâ€

[HeuristicsInc]

quickie
favorites: starfinger, platkenbjam, abomb, king arthur
-bill

[Nigel (spOOn) Clements]

Hostess Mostess: Oh this is so Billy Joel, fabulous steady bass beat intro, beautiful vocals (as always), beautiful lyrics and terrific backing track, I love the way the guitar briefly steps in front of the vocals, then drops back behind, an extremely simple track yet so together.
NINE POINTS

Abominominous: Flippin' 'eck, this is totally spot on, I love songs that drop the 'Moustache' line and this trips my rock switch, the lead and rhythm guitars compliment each other so well, maybe (and this is just personal preference) I'd like to hear the Bass take over for a couple of bars, great track.
EIGHT AND A HALF POINTS

King Arthur: Bloody hell, this is shaping up to be one great fight!, 'Watch the submarines play' oh joy that is such a cool line, as always your voice makes a good song, great, I also like the slight latin feel to this, genius!
NINE POINTS

UDAHL: Best I've heard from your weekly album so far, this has a really good feel to it, and the drumming on this track is contained (like a caged animal) plus the way the guitar weaves around it rather than through it, great work!
EIGHT POINTS

Platkenybjam: 'Shock Horror' SongFight! supergroup make song that is almost too good it becomes boring!!!.... wait for it! there is absolutely nothing wrong with this that is tends to wash over me until that vocal breakdown, oh super solid goodness, that's just heavenly that bit there, (you know which bit!), the whole thing ties right in after that, maybe a tiny touch of that during the intro would have made this perfect, but hey second time round this is joy to listen to.
NINE POINTS

Carpetburn: Yet more joy, all my C86 heroes have jumped into my head and are having a party to the carpetburn driven sound of everything that was pure indie pop cool.
I'm off work for two weeks as of now, so get some gigs arranged and I'll come and see you guys (heck I'll even buy a t-shirt, providing you bring the squeaky puppets)....
NINE POINTS

Paco del Stinko: Ooh! nice 70's cop show intro you funky dudes! couple that with a nice/dirty wah wah, maybe slightly less effective than others from you this week (but you set your standards very high), but then that Aquabats-esque breakdown and alls well in the world again!
EIGHT AND A HALF POINTS

WreckdoM: super cool Jenna Jameson work here guys, as always irreverent nonsense that makes me smile... too short, cuts off too sudden!
SEVEN AND A HALF POINTS

Starfinger: ...and just when it couldn't get better, a song about Lee Majors, total 70's TV hero heaven, I won't go on too much but...THIS IS SIMPLY BRILLIANT!!! I could have used this in my failed comic book heroes fight thing that didn't get off the ground (I'm sure there was a six million dollar man strip in TV-21 back in the 70's).
NINE POINTS

Now this is a real problem, one vote, nine excellent songs, total genius all round.

[king_arthur]

Abominominous:

Keeper. Good lyric, and re: the comment I made a couple fights
ago about a longer guitar riff, yeah, one like this.

Carpetburn:

Keeper. Like the intro, the way the guitar tones work together.
Vocal tone isn't my fave thing, but it does bring the lyrics out
nicely.

Hostess Mostess:

Keeper. As on one of your other ones, guitars don't quite sound
in tune, probably bothers me more than it bothers many people...
yeah, the sound around 2:20, if the intro had sounded like that I
might've passed on the whole song...

me:

I'd been reading a book about art and commerce, the compromises
artists have to make to make money, and that topic found its
way into the lyric. I think this was the very last one I recorded,
so the instrumentation is relatively simple...

Paco del Stinko:

Keeper, fun in a Zappa way.

Plat, Ken, y Bjam:

Keeper. A little "musically messy" on the first bit, but I like
the changeup about :49 in, and I assume it's what you wanted it
to be. And I like the bridge thing around 2:22, the voices playing
off each other are nice.

Starfinger:

Keeper. I think the pitchiness works here, the song has a sarcastic
sense to it. "Say it with enthusiasm!"

UDAHL:

Keeper... I'll probably re-eq it monstrously for my archives, but
it's nice to be able to understand the words...

WreckdoM:

Keeper. You captured the feel of the exclamation point, didn't
need words to make me smile. Maybe fade things out at the end?


Wow, I guess everything in this fight turned out to be a keeper!
Whoda thunk?

[john82]

Hostess Mostess: Oh this is so Billy Joel, fabulous steady bass beat intro, beautiful vocals (as always), beautiful lyrics and terrific backing track, I love the way the guitar briefly steps in front of the vocals, then drops back behind, an extremely simple track yet so together.
NINE POINTS

i also thought this sounded like billy joel. funny...
even though some people might think that sounding like billy joel is lame, i think it's a great compliment!

Johnny from guitars101