bush could die tomorrow (i wish i was so sure.. reviews)

[Poor June]

time to let the games begin... best of luck to all of you... and i hope you didn't forget your cups... cause i know people are bringing there A-game and will most likely go below the belt...
stay sharp out there...

[Edge of LA]

Deshead... Have you heard Weezer's El Scorcho (track 7) from their Pinkerton Album? I wasn't sure if this was an "homage" or not.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/clipserve/B000000OVP001007/0/002-3333016-7408812

[tonetripper]

Awesome submissions everybody. Deshead you are the rock buddy. Nice job. Reviews later. Digging listening to the different renditions of the title.

;p

[joshw]

Scoring Key: (Production, Performance, Song)

Boltoph (7, 8, 8)

Most of the mix sounds good except for the drums which have a really strange phasing issue, maybe one of the mics is out of phase? This has a familiar but still fresh sound somehow. The interesting minor shift at the minute mark was cool. I like the freeform flowing of the vocals. Nice chorus harmonies. Neat ending. I wish the production was better on this, the problems make it a little tough to listen to.

Carol Cleveland Sings (7, 8, 9)

*raises lighter* I like what the bass is doing in the chorus. This has a really unsettled quality that works. Love the solo at 1:10. Great stoppy-things at 2:00. This is lovely, nothing to suggest. Possible vote.

Deshead (7, 8, 8)

The production has a sharp and biting quality, the trebles are kinda harsh and there's not much richness in the low end. The verse was pretty good and the chorus is even better. The music is a little bland, but the melodies are excellent. Reminds me of... Weezer? Something about this isn't hitting me as hard as your other stuff - I tend to like either very quirky stuff or very rich stuff. This is kinda quirky and kinda rich, but it doesn't nail either one (like CCS did this week). Still, great song.

Historyman (7, 7, 7)

You're earning your name this week. You managed to rewrite every song from the 70s, right down to the Rhodes instrumentation. It's pretty enough, it's just been done so many times, and it's been done better.

Hostess Mostess (7, 8, 7)

The verse music is catchy, though fairly by-the-book blues funk. The chorus is pretty cool, though. The contrast of the bigness verses the sparse verse is cool. The verse has a really nice melody, and the harmony adds a lot. I wish the chorus had more lyrics, rather than four title reps. Interesting bridge. Awkward transition into the last chorus. The mix needs more bottom and less top brittleness.

Karlsmom

Definitely a unique intro. Oh, it's a 3:44 intro.

Poor June (6, 6, 6)
Your mix sounds a little better than usual. Like Historyman's, I feel like I've heard this a bunch of times before from the 70s and 80s. The lyrics are hard to understand, and the music's not interesting enough to carry it without them.

R. Mosquito (7, 7, 8)

Neat lyrics. The arrangement is cool. Love the synth solo at :35, it fits the mood. The voice is a little too... pushed? And the autotune is really audible, in a bad way. It's grabbing for the wrong notes too often. I could use a little less chorus repetition. Neat song, though.

stubbypfeatdrwater (7, 6, 6)

Some very pitchy vocals, and the instruments have some distracting timing problems. This isn't bad, but it's not grabbing me, especially against this stiff competition.

Tonetripper (7, 7, 6)

Some interesting ear candy, but there's not much of a song under it. The bell at 1:00 gets old really quickly. The section changes are really abrupt.


I need to just write a program to automate this process every week.

while( 1==1 ) {
castVote($carolClevelandSings);
sleep(60*60*24*7);
}

Much better.

[jack]

what? and spare everyone your grades?

[tonetripper]

The bell at 1:00 gets old really quickly.

I'm just curious Josh about this statement. Are you speaking figuratively or of something particular in the tune. The ride? Thanks for reviewing.

;p

[joshw]

The bell at 1:00 gets old really quickly.

I'm just curious Josh about this statement. Are you speaking figuratively or of something particular in the tune. The ride? Thanks for reviewing.

*nod* If memory serves, it was a sample of a ride being hit on the bell.

[tonetripper]

[Mogosagatai]

The KM&tDF song was meant to have vocals, but the combined failures of three separate computers held us at bay.

It's about a guy who goes off to war, and his comrades are all ready to die for their country, but he's not so sure about it because he has left a wife behind. He ends up dying and regretting it.

You can pretty much follow the story by the music, anyway, so who needs those pesky vocals?

[Poor June]

He ends up dying and regretting

i'm sorry that kinda made me snicker a little bit... he died... and then regretted it...

[Mogosagatai]

He ends up dying and regretting

i'm sorry that kinda made me snicker a little bit... he died... and then regretted it...

Well, actually, the last verse was of the guy talking to his wife in a sort of dream as he passed to the afterlife, so he actually <i>did</i> die and then regret it. Does sound a bit odd, though.

[Poor June]

He ends up dying and regretting

i'm sorry that kinda made me snicker a little bit... he died... and then regretted it...

Well, actually, the last verse was of the guy talking to his wife in a sort of dream as he passed to the afterlife, so he actually <i>did</i> die and then regret it. Does sound a bit odd, though.

it's cool i get what you talkin' bout... it just made me smile... which never hurts...
if you get a chance to put the vocal tracks on the piece do post... i'm curious to hear what it'd sound like...

[deshead]

Deshead... Have you heard Weezer's El Scorcho (track 7) from their Pinkerton Album? I wasn't sure if this was an "homage" or not.

Heh, I thought the sound effect at the start would remove any doubt.

(FWIW Pinkerton coloured everything I did musically for about a year, back in the day. Thank God I put that behind me. Uh ...)

The production has a sharp and biting quality, the trebles are kinda harsh and there's not much richness in the low end.

Thanks for the review Josh. The scooped low-mids make sense somewhat: I got a new bass, so of course that's all I heard in the mix 'til I EQ'd the life out of it. (The extra HF was just to teach my deceitful ears a lesson.)

[nicegeoff]

Boltoph – Whilst listening to the first half of this song, I was on the border of liking and disliking it. At one moment it seemed to impress me, and at another turn it would embarrass itself. Its fate was sealed at around 0:58 seconds. Sorry.

Deshead – I didn’t realize this was a Weezer coverfight! Oh snap!

Historyman – Aww shit! Is that a real Rhodes? Historyman always knows how to make me wet by throwing in an augmented at the precise moment. I like the effect on the Rhodes towards the end. This is a fantastic song, I only wish your singing was better at times, but that’s no big deal.

Hostess Mostess – What the hell is the deal with this type of guitar playing? It’s hard for me to get past it…But when I am able to do so, there’s not much there…I really enjoy the bridge, though. Especially the background vocals.

Karl’s Mom & The Delicate Flowers – Woah! That first sound sounds a lot like the beginning of the Residents’ “March de la Winni”. This is wonderful. The drums are really great. I like the rolls. I feel like some sort of animated fascists should be marching to this, like little cute fascist garden tools or something.

Poor June – Um….

R. Mosquito – Woah! And the beginning of THIS song sounds exactly like Self’s “9 Lives”….and it leads into another weezer-esque song. This is the good kind, though. I love the synth and guitar parts. This song is so beautiful, it’s a shame your voice is getting in the way. It would be so much more satisfactory if you weren’t singing like a ‘nerd’ or ‘dork’…Maybe that’s just how you sing, I don’t know…try singing less passionately. I like when you go all high, though.

Stubby P featuring Doctor Water – I like the combination of the sickly synths with the bass guitar, but if those synths weren’t there…man, I’d hate that bass part. Hahahah….the guitar is pretty funny, especially when it goes out…it’s cool…This song would be a good soundtrack for the scene in the movie where the guy goes on a binge, and whose vision is blurry and the neon lights are disorienting…that type of thing…

Tonetripper – Woah. Hahahahaha. This song is nuts. The drums are kind of off and that makes me happy. I don’t like your voice, but the way this song is arranged just makes me happy. I love sudden shifts like that, and the “chorus” is just so happy. It’s so ‘feel good’! Well done.

THE BEST:
R. Mosquito, Historyman, Karl & The Delicate Flowers

honorable mention:
Tonetripper

[reve]

Boltoph
I’m not sure what this reminds me of. I think the music is reminding me of the dead milkmen, actually. Well, ‘til it breaks down into rocksville there at ~1min. The vocal intonations are reminiscent of Graceland-era Paul Simon. Spiffy mix up of styles, though it took me a minute to get into it.

Cashmere Cat
I love the throwbackness of this track. It harkens back to an era of grandiose pop. This is an uber-fun track!! My only wish was that was a real accordion. PLease. We could have a bakesale or something to finance it.

Deshead
You know, I went into this week thinking I was gonna have a corner on the weezer-fanboy market. Sigh. Your track is (obviously) very well done, and is wrought with aural interest. (shrug) Hell, I like this track better than 90% of Pinkerton.

Historyman
You know who I’d like to hear do this track? Pavement. I'm not really into it, but I think they'd do your material justice for some reason. I really, really like the track. This track rocks hard without rocking. I mean, your tracks usually rock without rocking, but this really actually sounds as if it’s rocking behind a deceptive mask of mellow rhodes.

H. Mostess
This is like, one of the three tracks in the history of the world where I think hand percussion actually works. And for pulling off such a feat, you deserve a medal.

Karl’s Mom et al.
Funny. I thought about like, whacking a 5 gallon water bottle and piddling around on a fisher price toy piano and sticking weird samples in the background this week. But I’m really glad I didn’t, since you would have kicked my ass. It sounds Freak SHow-era Residents-ishy. (looking at the reviews now, I see I’m not the only one to mention that.)

Poor June
June, I swear to god you must have killed everyone in Current 93 and Death in June and stole their souls. Your music is crushingly depressing. I hope you don’t find that offensive, since I think that’s at least in part what you’re going for. It’s a lot more depressing now that we can hear you more clearly.

R. Mosquito
Yeah, I’m singing high this week since I know how much y’all love it.

Stubby P et al.
Wait... wait... let me get my funky pants on. Okay!! I’m ready. This has more than a tickle-bit of late 80’s to it. What with the funk, the synths and the guitar solo to it.

Tonetripper
I’m going to disagree with Josh here. I don’t think the changes are too abrupt. I think they’re abrupt, yeah, but it works for me. It works very well for me, actually. I love the crazzzzzietyme.

CC vs deshead for the win.

[nicegeoff]

Cashmere Cat
I love the throwbackness of this track. It harkens back to an era of grandiose pop. This is an uber-fun track!! My only wish was that was a real accordion. PLease. We could have a bakesale or something to finance it.

The instrument in the introduction and the solo is a real air organ. Thanks for the comments.

[Poor June]

Poor June
June, I swear to god you must have killed everyone in Current 93 and Death in June and stole their souls. Your music is crushingly depressing. I hope you don’t find that offensive, since I think that’s at least in part what you’re going for. It’s a lot more depressing now that we can hear you more clearly.

no worries i take very little to heart.. the

Um (review bothered me more..)... i'd rather the admittance of dislike over the disrespect of not even sayin' more then Um...

anyways i've got that out of the way... actually it wasn't really meant to be horribly depressing... still may sound vocally that way... cause i can't stand uppidy vocals for the most part i guess i still semi-dwell in the angst years... but i like the sound better... i can't do upbeat stuff... just not really in me... but the chorus is meant to be sort of like saying... even though you may be lonely... or somethings may not be alright... the sun is goin' shine... and all is well, sun of course a metaphore... which has been represented way too much in my writing lately...

[reve]

... i'd rather the admittance of dislike over the disrespect of not even sayin' more then Um...

But June, I don't dislike it -- I think it's good. I mean shoot, at least your music makes people feel something. Even if -- as in my case -- I find it depressing. I mean shoot, I could say the exact same thing about the original Bella Lugosi's Dead 12".... And God knows how many hours I spent enough listening to that.

Sorry I had your music's motives pegged wrong there -- I certainly meant no offense.

[the Jazz]

KWIK REVUE (tm) - Because I Felt Like It!
CCS: Hot damn, this is a really good track. Not just your usual good song - better than usual! I might just have to vote for you. Even though I try to avoid voting too much for people who are consistently awesome.
June: I like the backing piano track but wish it was a little less percussive. I like the combination of the vocal tracks a lot, too. This is a very good song.
TT: I like the guitar part that comes in but I wish the bass were clearer and/or cleaner underneath it. In the verse, I mean. This gets pretty damn funky, but with a vaguely house undertone (it's the 1-2-3-4 kick drum) that kind of turns me off. There are the makings of a great song here but in my opinion it could use a little more work.
Hostess: At first I'm just like, okay, not really my thing. Then the chorus is this really heavy-handed I-vi-ii-V (okay, ii-V-I-vi, same thing) and I find myself making the sign of the cross with my fingers to ward off evil. Despite being Jewish. The magen david is just too hard to make with your fingers... anyway. Nothing personal.
Stubby P: Timing needs work. Too repetitive without enough variation or new material. The guitar solo is pretty good though. Saving grace!
Karl's Mom: First I thought I wouldn't like this, but I was wrong. I like this. Slap on the wrist for having absolutely nothing to do with the title. But it's cool. The synth chorus is a weak point, in my opinion. Second half of song >>> First half of song.
historyman: Hey, you guys rock! There are a few places where I wonder if a different chords would work better but it's not a big enough deal for me to press the matter. And you know it doesn't take much with me. Every one of your songs is better than the last. Are you still in town, Noah? I have some free time (finally), we should totally hang out if you haven't gone back to school yet.
R: I don't listen to much Weezer but I can hear it in the chorus. The verse, however, screams TMBG to me. Either way it's very cool, and I like lyrics about robots shooting lazers from their eyes. "Taste my plagues, you heathens?" Genius!
botolph: Yet ANOTHER good song. I am on good song OVERLOAD. It is what is causing this INTERMITTENT capslock. Or is it INTERMITTANT? Seriously though, too much good music already listened to this fight to fully appreciate this. Sorry! But it's a good thing! Much preferable to the opposite.
deshead: As I said, I don't know much Weezer, but I'm hearing more, like... Smash Mouth. Or something. Is it humanly possible to have such good pitch on a #9 chord ("this week")? I think not. Cheater.

So wow it's like every single song here is a good song, except maybe Stubby P, which has a good guitar solo, so I can't call it really not-good either. That's a first in my SF experience. Good on ya! As the only one who really went above and beyond this week (to my ears), CCS gets the vote, with R and Historyman tied for runners up.

[Poor June]

... i'd rather the admittance of dislike over the disrespect of not even sayin' more then Um...

But June, I don't dislike it -- I think it's good. I mean shoot, at least your music makes people feel something. Even if -- as in my case -- I find it depressing. I mean shoot, I could say the exact same thing about the original Bella Lugosi's Dead 12".... And God knows how many hours I spent enough listening to that.

Sorry I had your music's motives pegged wrong there -- I certainly meant no offense.

oh no worries at all... i was a lil' peeved about nicegeoff's review...

i didn't take offense from you... i was just lettin' ya know the motives of the song... (sorry if my words seemed a lil' hardened... i was still kinda peeved at the previous none review)...
i do appreciate the honesty and the full review...

[EightLeggedOedipus]

Boltoph
+++ Wow this is cool. Stops and starts, with sweet melodies in the meat of it. Live drums +++
/// The chorus, this time, now sounds a little like a Hootie song, but it's totally in a good way?? ///
The main guitar just needs a little more presence ---

Carol Cleveland Sings (in a Cashmere Cat suit)
+++ Always making me randy with euphonic tickling +++
/// Not your best vocal delivery ///

Deshead
+++ Jawbox covering Weezer! +++
/// I was not the first nor the last to say Weezer ///
--- Reminds me of how Weezer still seems to have slipped a little bit with the last two records. Not a lot, mind you. But just enough to make me apprehensive about instantly buying the next one on its release day. Not your fault, Deshead, at all ---

Historyman
+++ Great opportunity to take a piss or introduce myself to Deshead, CCS and Boltoph who are smoking cigarettes outside the coffee shop +++
/// Because it's a decent song ///
--- But not enough to hold my interest. Where'd your faltering falsetto go? ---

Hostess Mostess
+++ The Hostess pastry company should totally make a cupcake called Hostess Mostess. +++
/// I think it would have a core of soft rock, like this song ///
--- Soft rock just doesn't excite my tastebuds, and isn't good for the enamel on my teeth ---

Karl's Mom
+++ I hear a lot of Kaada and a little Steroidus Maximus +++
/// But I'm hearing it a discount fantasy roleplay MIDI soundtrack ///
--- And no singing which might have made this cohesive. Instead of that whistle ---

Poor June
+++ This is a very well writen song, especially the little bit before you come back to the verse (that lone ascending scale before you jump back to the chords)+++
--- June, if your intonation slowly gets better and I slowly start relaxing my sensitivity, I still don't think we'll meet in the middle anytime this century. ---

R. Mosquito
--- Dude, your entry last week was way better. Your singing this week sounds so squelched and nasal. ---
+++ I still like the power-chord-ala-Pixies-and-anyone-who-copied-them style +++

Stubby P
+++ This could be kick-ass funk. Nice bass line. +++
/// Roddy Bottom's equipment was stolen at the last gig, so he had to borrow your cousin's Casio with the weird flange you can't turn off ///
--- And somebody thinks they missed their cue, so now the drummer's looking at the bassist confused through the whole song ---

Tonetripper
+++ Oh, we're grooving. +++
--- Is that an encoding error? ---
/// No, it's an experimental method of tempo change ///
+++ But somehow the sudden switch back to the verse is fluid +++
/// OK, I kinda dig that the second time around ///
--- Then again it's like that Maroon Five song except there were some mouse slips in the drum programming. Something's out of place. ---

All in all this was definitely the better fight this week. I think I'll go with Boltoph, even though there were alot of contenders including my new favorite artist Carol Cleveland Sings and Deshead

[nicegeoff]

oh no worries at all... i was a lil' peeved about nicegeoff's review...

i didn't take offense from you... i was just lettin' ya know the motives of the song... (sorry if my words seemed a lil' hardened... i was still kinda peeved at the previous none review)...
i do appreciate the honesty and the full review...

Sorry, Poor June. I wasn't trying to be disrespectful or anything. It was just that whenever I listened to your song, I couldn't think of anything to say...I really wasn't thinking about it, I guess. Here's something more substantial:

I really do not like this style of singing (the "I'm a bad boy, but I'm taking a break on the Family Values tour to sing a serious, quiet song...oh, fred durst, do you want to duet? type) though I appreciate the use of the falsetto-octave vocals. I really hate whenever I hear that line, "maybe one was the lonliest number, but sometimes two and be the lonliest, too"...just because it's a nilsson reference that lacks insight and grace. I really like those first two low notes (in the beginning and repeated after the chorus), but the third doesn't do anything for me.