The Song Fight Bulletin Board

j$ wrote:

furrypedro wrote:I do think it would be super harsh if there was a disqualification because someone could only get one guest, for example. Relying on the goodwill of others to complete Nur Ein does take fate out of our hands somewhat and I resent that slightly.

Pete, that's ridiculous and you know it. It would be completely unfair on those who felt they had to drop out if we now let someone through who failed to meet the challenge but submitted it anyway.

Just to weigh in on this....

I have always found the "guest" challenges difficult - but have always relied on the judges good judgement to assess that the challenge has at least been addressed, even if not in a manner they were anticipating.

I recall 3(?) years ago with "Watertight" when the challenge was "Guest family member". That was a bit of a killer for me at the time. I had only one family member available to me, my daughter who I only saw for one night that week. And she, being 10-years-old naturally did the 10.y.o thing and went "Ick!!! No!!!", when asked to sing, speak, play a shaker. whatever for my recording. I had a nephew 200km away who is a musician - but he had no recording capability - so that was out. So I wrote a song about apes and used ape noises, being part of my greater zoological family. Judges let that one through.

And weirdly enough, years later I released that song as a single "A Family Affair" by Caravan Ray - with the ape noises removed, but the artwork for the single was done by my girlfriend's daughter, a member of my new extended family - so the song is still meeting the challenge!

viewtopic.php?p=203873#p203873

So - the point here being that if it had not been for the "family member" challenge, I never would have written a song about apes - a song that has since become one of my favourites, that I play live regularly and have even released to the outside world as an example of my work.

So, 3 Cheers for Nur Ein and hard challenges!

Caravan Ray wrote:[ {I've} always relied on the judges good judgement to assess that the challenge has at least been addressed, even if not in a manner they were anticipating...

Bingo! We are not the enemy, while completely understandably some might paint us that way -all I think we ask is entertain us! {also, CR, total suck-up]

j$ wrote: {also, CR, total suck-up]

Yep. Suck up and shameless self-promotion, all in the one post.

Get a room, you two!

j$ wrote:
Strangelove - Interesting how you abandon the electronica approach as soon as the challenge gets tough .

Caravan Ray has never appeared in a Nur Ein - so he stepped in to help strangelove out. As usual - it ended up being all about him. Bastard.

Challenge wasn't that hard this time. It said "vocalists", not "singers", which makes the whole thing a lot easier. Terry Crews, Malcolm McDowell, and the ghost of Charlie Chaplin were all delighted to feature on my track. I don't believe they have been in any Ein before.

Reviews!

73 Keep It Beautiful: Amazing riffs, verse and chorus. It all feels very natural and catchy, especially given the 5/4 or w/e. The spoken word bits are very well delivered/acted. The non-rhymes stick out for me. That chorus is legendary.

Balance Lost: A lovely wash of a song, gives me a Peter Bjorn and John vibe. Wonderful guitar solos, and it takes a lot for me to like a guitar solo. I like the verse more than the chorus, which I consider a problem in a pop song.

Berkley Social Scene: Love that guitar tone. Awkward non-rhymes. "Tweet on the hour", haha ugh. The harmonies on the last chorus are sweet and the whole ending is a dream.

Cavedwellers: The verses aren't hooking me but the chorus is great, especially the last one with all the high harmonies. That description of mania is disquietingly real. The ghost-in-the-machine bits sound like the last thing you hear before being killed in a horror movie.

Glenn: This is a blast. Mandolin! Mouthtrumpet! Wacky distorted sounds! I think Nathan's verse is my favourite. A party in a song.

Jerkatorium: "You need a nude erection"... dude, the mondegreen challenge is NEXT week. Jerkatorium once again has my favourite song of the round. I can't gush enough so I won't. Every bit is perfect.

Micah: An endearing shanty, the spoken word bits are great. Some disorienting transitions.

Nick Soma: An electro echoplex, you're friends are more famous than mine. Lot's of catchy bits but no standout hook.

Skub: Big props to my buds Mosis and Cozzybones for the hook and rap feat, respectively. They both came through in a big way. I like how the track falls apart at the end.

strangelove: Love me them tom-y beats. "Just a little bit". This song is a lot of fun, despite the delirious ending.

noma wrote:Challenge wasn't that hard this time. It said "vocalists", not "singers", which makes the whole thing a lot easier. Terry Crews, Malcolm McDowell, and the ghost of Charlie Chaplin were all delighted to feature on my track. I don't believe they have been in any Ein before.

I was thinking of trying to play that card too but then I checked the definition of "vocalist":

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vocalist

singer

DQ-ed!

73 Keep It Beautiful - Very unique take on the title. Nice song - musically, a bit cliche in your catalog (I'm starting to be able to call the minor chord changes, mister). Challenge-wise, I said I didn't want quaint voiceovers, but this tells a good story so... it's a draw.

Balance Lost - This is not the anime theme song I wanted. That said, it's pretty good given your restrictions. The beginning vocals and harmonies are very nice. Things get a bit lost after (you lost your balance? haaaaa). I don't know what the words mean, but they aren't annoying and are nestled in a pretty song, so, nice work.

Berkeley Social Scene - Really like the music direction. Kind of weak take on the title with weak lyrics, I think, if I understand correctly. Jessie has a pretty voice but she doesn't sound interested in rioting - she must not be from Berkeley?

Cavedwellers - I think I maybe understand what these lyrics are doing but I'm still confused. Some gauche rhymes, and random sentences. I'm sure it all makes sense to you. The music is OK but it's not so much my cup of tea.

Glenn Case - The performance and audio are perfect. The lyrics - a bit on the nose, but I'll allow it. Might be the best o' the pack!

Jerkatorium - Nice take on the title. I like it all - good tones and instrumentation, harmonies, etc. Are you alternating writing songs with an angry muppet?

Micah Sommersmith - You had me at "key change" - nice. I like this style a lot more than the spastic-feeling accordion of your previous entry(s). Your sprechansang is unique and not cringey and you should maybe do that more. The chorus could be worked on a little bit.

Nick Soma - The lack of musical changes kind of leave me lost in a sad sonic soundscape for too long. The talking clips are effective but maybe moreso in a different song. Vocals don't give me the impression I should worry about what they are saying.

Skub - The intro immediately has me. Awesome singing - your first verse is probably some of the best singing I've heard in a while. Awesome rapping, too. A bit of a bland take on the title, but the performance makes up for it.

strangelove - Nice! Good take on the title - cute lyrics, cute challenge fulfillment. It's a fun song. Wanted it to burst into the Lion King at the beginning.

Lunkhead wrote:Get a room, you two!

We did. Yours. Sorry about the mess. It has a half-life but you should be fine.

Lunkhead wrote:https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vocalist

An interesting point. My interpretation of a 'vocalist' was one who 'vocalises' - so http://www.dictionary.com/browse/vocal but it turns out once again, that I'm nowhere near as smart as the interwebz. Since the challenge was (in its first iteration) my crappy suggestion, I'm willing to let the truth slide. It seems only fitting for 2017

Skub - Wow, that rocked. Only entry this round that I found myself bobbin' my head to. The mood of the lyrics, music & performance all fit perfectly. Cleverly written, all parties involved meshed together perfectly. You win.

73 Keep It Beautiful - The kids nailed their lines, well done. The idea is really funny, and the lyrics did a good job of telling the story. Can’t find anything to complain about...which is good for you.

Glenn Case - You went above & beyond for this challenge. 4 guest vocalist, and the combination of them all sounded great. The song itself was a lot of fun, something that is catchy & easy to sing. Without getting too political going the direction of Trump was a natural & obvious choice. Since this is the first song I’ve listened to, I’m hoping not EVERYONE did that though. This just set the bar insanely high for everyone else this round.

Berkeley Social Scene - All your vocalist did a fine job, I was very impressed. I think it was a great idea to have 1 vocalist play Trump with the others being the voice of (some of) the people. The lyrics flowed well, and I only have 1 minor complaint for the entire song…stop beating around the bush & end the song when it needs ended. Excellent in every other way though.

Micah Sommersmith - This sounds like a mixture of Brian Gray & Inverse T. Clown (both SpinTuners). That’s not really a bad thing either. Smart lyrics, accordion, and a little humor. The guest vocalist did pretty well. The section Sally sang sounded great, but it was an odd transition. Her part didn’t even sound like it should be in the same song.

Jerkatorium - Without getting into details of who you’re writing about you widened your audience which is good & bad. As long as this is meant to be a light-hearted fun song, it’s great. If it’s meant to be a real protest song you fail there. Overall I really liked it though. I’m usually less into the heavy stuff & like the fun shit. When you opened with Jeff singing I was worried for the next guest vocalist. Especially when I saw that they both carried large portions of the song. Jeff was good, but it set the bar really high so I worried the 2nd half would suck in comparison. Fortunately I was wrong cause Chumpy was up to the task. Sheri on the other hand...sounded like a robot. Not sure if you wanted that or if you just had to cover up some really terrible raw vocal tracks. Either way it couldn’t have sounded worse without those effects. At least I hope not. Redo the bridge, but other than that...well done.

Cavedwellers - Rachel’s guest vocals were pleasant, but Michael’s were a little though to listen to. I was happy you picked a different direction than Trump. Not that I’m for or against that topic, but nobody wants to listen to 10 songs all saying the same thing. Lyrically I liked what you did with the verses & the chorus, but the bridges didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the song. Solid work, but could be better.

Balance Lost - Nice work with the vocalist. Musically it was interesting & well done. Lyrically I’m just thinking we have different tastes. I like telling clear stories, and you seem to be more about feeling & presenting a general picture. It sucks ranking you lower for something that’s not bad at all, but not something I personally enjoy. Dems the breaks I guess.

Strangelove - I’m not sure how vital your guests were to any 1 part of the song, so in that regard I’m not as impressed as I was with some others. I liked that your story was unique in this group. Didn’t really think I’d be getting a song about a guy fresh off a break-up getting back into the dating scene, but it was very enjoyable. Probably knock you down a bit in my rankings due to how you used the guest vocalist though.

Nick Soma - Now I know it didn’t say the guest vocalist could be audio clips from other media, so I guess I can let that slide. That’s straddlin’ the fence in terms of meeting the challenge though. What bothers me most is that this song screams out for multiple vocalist & you don’t have them. You wrote 3 characters into your song, and most people don’t have the range to play 3 different people. I’ll assume you don’t since you didn’t try, and sang exactly the same throughout. It’s a bit of a pet peeve I guess. I want a different voice for each character when I can, and with THIS challenge even more so. Recently in SpinTunes the same thing happened with a vocalist who did very well (Ryan Brewer). Despite his great vocals the song felt shorted by not having a different person for each role.
https://spintown.bandcamp.com/track/sec ... rcel-bound

Spintown wrote:Nick Soma - Now I know it didn’t say the guest vocalist could be audio clips from other media, so I guess I can let that slide. That’s straddlin’ the fence in terms of meeting the challenge though. What bothers me most is that this song screams out for multiple vocalist & you don’t have them. You wrote 3 characters into your song, and most people don’t have the range to play 3 different people. I’ll assume you don’t since you didn’t try, and sang exactly the same throughout. It’s a bit of a pet peeve I guess. I want a different voice for each character when I can, and with THIS challenge even more so. Recently in SpinTunes the same thing happened with a vocalist who did very well (Ryan Brewer). Despite his great vocals the song felt shorted by not having a different person for each role.

Yeah, I agree. That was bad time management on my part, especially when it came to recording the vocals. [shamelessselfpromotion] If you're interested in some of my multiple character songs where I did try check out my entry for "Oh My Soul" and the song tetralogy I did for, I think, "Suitcase", "The Lurker", "L'Occitane", and "Take It Back". [/shamelessselfpromotion]

noma wrote:

Spintown wrote:Nick Soma - Now I know it didn’t say the guest vocalist could be audio clips from other media, so I guess I can let that slide. That’s straddlin’ the fence in terms of meeting the challenge though. What bothers me most is that this song screams out for multiple vocalist & you don’t have them. You wrote 3 characters into your song, and most people don’t have the range to play 3 different people. I’ll assume you don’t since you didn’t try, and sang exactly the same throughout. It’s a bit of a pet peeve I guess. I want a different voice for each character when I can, and with THIS challenge even more so. Recently in SpinTunes the same thing happened with a vocalist who did very well (Ryan Brewer). Despite his great vocals the song felt shorted by not having a different person for each role.

Yeah, I agree. That was bad time management on my part, especially when it came to recording the vocals. [shamelessselfpromotion] If you're interested in some of my multiple character songs where I did try check out my entry for "Oh My Soul" and the song tetralogy I did for, I think, "Suitcase", "The Lurker", "L'Occitane", and "Take It Back". [/shamelessselfpromotion]

I just listened to the first one (thanks for posting lyrics for it btw). The singing was much better in "Oh My Soul", but could still benefit from having multiple vocalist. Was a pretty epic creation though still. It's not easy to hold someone's attention for 10+ minutes, but you did. The last Song Fight song I remember that long (that didn't start boring me) was Ben Krieger's Cable Beach entry. I know getting guest vocalist is a challenge at times, but if you're going to write something that good...I hope you eventually take that extra step.

Spintown wrote:As long as this is meant to be a light-hearted fun song, it’s great.

It was only ever supposed to be a cheesy love song that used political terms for its general lyrical framework, with no wry side commentary on current events intended. We wanted to avoid writing a political song because we're not very good at those, so we tried to just make it about a suitor trying to talk Sheri into leaving her beau (and Sheri refusing). I guess we didn't move far enough in that direction, but I don't know how much further we could have gone without ignoring the title.

Spintown wrote:Sheri on the other hand...sounded like a robot. Not sure if you wanted that or if you just had to cover up some really terrible raw vocal tracks. Either way it couldn’t have sounded worse without those effects.

Yeah, Sheri's vocal track was literally, actually phoned in. Everything we did to it was done in an effort to de-emphasize its speakerphone tone. Maybe I should have left the artificial harmonies off it, but it didn't seem like there were any good options. If we ever get around to remixing/remastering, we will definitely visit Sheri and bring some equipment along for a better take.

noma wrote:check out my entry for "Oh My Soul"

Spintown wrote:The singing was much better in "Oh My Soul", but could still benefit from having multiple vocalist. Was a pretty epic creation though still.

Hmm, where have I heard this suggestion before?

Oh yes!

MicahSommer wrote:Again, great song and I'm glad you were able to complete it and submit it. You should try to do a version with different singers as each character. I would definitely lend my voice.

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN, MR. SOMA. REMAKE "OH MY SOUL" WITH FULL CAST NOW!