Nur Ein IX Round Five "Fast Lane Junkies"

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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by glennny »

For me it's a lust for glory.
Actually, it's fun! Making music is fun, challenges are fun, and bantering about music is fun.
Perhaps the disappointing thing this year was I got along with and was friendly with both MG and Jon Eric.
I liked everything about the new schedule except what it did to the reviews, myself included.
This was the nicest Nur Ein ever. There was no real conflict at all.
The challenges were good. Jon and Carlo provided feedback, but I don't understand why the other judges preferred not to write reviews.
There's been excellent music throughout, I'm still a gigantic Nur Ein fan!
I really enjoyed the listening parties too, which was a nice chat with MG , Ben, Tom and myself, and DJ early on.
There are no more challenges.

Although for round 7, I suggest the finalists bring definite article game, rather than indefinite article game.

NUR EIN!!!!!!
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by carlo bruno jr »

Manhattan Glutton wrote:It appears that this is where the different motivations for participating are becoming increasingly obvious.

It seems a good chunk of people participate because wacky song competition fun, and then others participate because it's a good opportunity/motivation to make music.
I think the two visions can exist in the same person. That could be me, and it strikes me that Ween, for example, are a prototypical case of uniting passion and need to make (good) music with a great sense of humor and infinite irony.

That said, as a future competitor (I hope), I think like Paco, about the beginning of weekly title and challenge. My reasons are similar to his. In my case I feature two days of mandatory mental break. In European time, on Sunday night I go to bed after uploading my song and I wake up on Monday with the title and the challenge screaming from the screen. For me Nur Ein is a way to explore my limits. The pressure of time constraints and the constraints imposed sometimes by the challenges seem very important to the essence of the competition. Under this view, I see with good eyes an eventual return to the previous format, to have those two days of mental freedom (that's just my opinion, the format will not be stopping me compete in Nur Ein X).
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by Ross »

If it was up for a vote on how things go next year, I would agree with Paco - wait 48 hours from due date to next challenge. This gives us all a chance to focus on the songs that have just been submitted rather than moving on to discussion of the next challenge, but DO post the new challenge at the scheduled time even if judges are late.

I like the five days, I agree with Paco in terms of its effect on intensity, adrenaline, etc, and what sets Ein! apart.

Nur Ein!!!!!! (can't believe I am still in this thing - holy crap).
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by furrypedro »

glennny wrote:This was the nicest Nur Ein ever.
Was?! We may be out but it's only just hotting up for those beyatches still in the fold.

Personally, the 2 extra days didn't make much difference to me. Monday is by far my busiest day and I tend to be incredibly lazy until the deadline is looming over me. Those who like the mental break can always make a choice to not think about the round for 2 days couldn't they?

Those other judges (apart from Jon and a little bit Carlo) are clearly arseholes for a) not reviewing, and b) knocking Paco, Nick and myself out this round when we clearly had the best songs. Nah, I'm just razzin' ya, but seriously, what the fuck? Only kidding, only kidding (sort of (sort of sort of not not)). TOTALLY kidding.
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by carlo bruno jr »

Go with the review

Balance Lost: The starting point is fantastic. I like the atmosphere of synthesizers. When the voices come the problems start for me and the song makes me a little flat, somewhat repetitive. The structure looks good, but the whole song suffers from undynamic except the time of Doubled-time.

Ken Marhu: The keyboard line at chorus reminds me of German pop-rock moments of the eighties (99 red balloons). The bridge in Gm I really liked. These are perhaps the most remarkable parts of a song that meets the challenge but that seems to have been composed specifically to fulfill it.

Kraut Kitten: SPANDEX!! The song is a joke, it seems obvious, but solved playing very effectively with irrefutable topics of genre. The voice line is stellar, especially those final phrase in high notes. Although there are failures of execution and the overall sound is loose, the song makes me smile, and I like that.

Merisan: The usual, but this time I have problems with the sound chosen for the kick: sounds a bit like a sheet of paper left between the drum hub and the skin, I have not heard their low frequencies.
Anyway, superb workmanship, great sound. The exact arrangements provided. I particularly liked the chorus at the end of verse. But so perfectly .... I do mine the C-Ray's words about your entry. And why not say that I envy the hands of this guitarist.

Nick Soma: I really like the first few seconds of the song and the role of keyboards throughout the song, although the chorus would have given them greater prominence. To make a great song can be a problem, because you have created very high expectations and this song is a true decline in quality compared to last week. Anyway, and as a summary of all your tour of this Nur Ein IX, I want to highlight your instinct to round songs, your good ideas and tell you that you have not left a second of bad music here. Also, I did not expect you were eliminated with this song, but you can stop Nur Ein IX quiet with gorgeous song you did for the last week. I hope to compete against you next year.

Paco del Stinko: I join the chorus of those who sing the bass line. I liked the song also because the text exudes something angry. I liked the way the chorus erupts, destroying harmony. Place the double-time just before the chorus has performed very well. The bridge also like me. I liked everything....mmm almost: usually in your songs I miss a little more accuracy in the drums, because it makes the whole lose some forcefulness. I saw you in good shape and did not expect you to leave.

Ross Durand: Good song. In your case I do not apply the words of C-Ray, but he is right to highlight your good hands. By now I'm getting used to the way you sing and start to come into your world. Keep giving me little surprises, please.

The Tydon Docks: This time you nailed it. You have brought the simplest but most powerful song. Very well resolved. It's the kind of song I like to dance like a calf, when everyone is my friend, at the end of my nights partying. That moment of silence .... well you could have put more of those Shootin 'up, I would have done equally happy.

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Last edited by carlo bruno jr on Wed May 28, 2014 2:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by glennny »

hey Carlo, Jon Eric, paco, anybody really (except Pete)

What did you think of the Cavedwellers exhibition track for Fast Lane Junkies? iVeg has a track too for Fast Lane Junkies!
I understand if you don't want to listen, I couldn't even get my BSS brothers Ken and Sam to listen to my exhibition track :(

I'm excited for the next round!

https://soundcloud.com/glenartrock/cave ... xhibition1
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

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glennny wrote:hey Carlo, Jon Eric, paco, anybody really (except Pete)

What did you think of the Cavedwellers exhibition track for Fast Lane Junkies? iVeg has a track too for Fast Lane Junkies!
I understand if you don't want to listen, I couldn't even get my BSS brothers Ken and Sam to listen to my exhibition track :(

I'm excited for the next round!

https://soundcloud.com/glenartrock/cave ... xhibition1
I wrote reviews for both exhibition tracks. They're on my Evernote account, which I have trouble accessing from the office, so you can look forward to seeing my opinions in a few hours. Short version: I liked it.
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by noma »

glennny wrote:hey Carlo, Jon Eric, paco, anybody really (except Pete)

What did you think of the Cavedwellers exhibition track for Fast Lane Junkies? iVeg has a track too for Fast Lane Junkies!
I understand if you don't want to listen, I couldn't even get my BSS brothers Ken and Sam to listen to my exhibition track :(

I'm excited for the next round!

https://soundcloud.com/glenartrock/cave ... xhibition1
I feel with you here. Now that I'm out of the Nur Ein, I probably won't get that many reviews for my Videoland Nein entry, which makes me kinda sad...
Anyway, as for your exhibition track, I find it beautiful musically, which is not an adjective I'd use to describe most Song Fight stuff, so you got something special here, I guess. I also like your lyrics. They feel less shallow than some of the other contestants' (especially my own :D)
As for the double time challenge, I can hear it's there, but it doesn't feel much different from the rest of the song. That's the only negative thing I can say about your song. It's not much of an issue with me though.

iVeg, your song was great! Perhaps your best entry in this Nur Ein. I really LOVE your vocals in the double time part and I'd even go as far as to call it the best double time part, vocal wise, of all songs in this round, even though it's a bit sloppy. However, your cheap production often makes your songs sound inferior and distracts from the good songwriting. Your music could really benefit from better production! May I ask you what microphone and audio interface you use?
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by Caravan Ray »

Ross wrote:wait 48 hours from due date to next challenge. This gives us all a chance to focus on the songs that have just been submitted rather than moving on to discussion of the next challenge, but DO post the new challenge at the scheduled time even if judges are late.
Yes. This.

Especially in the early rounds - I found myself starting my new song, and never getting around to listening to the competition - which removes a bit of the competitiveness.
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

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I personally like having the title early, tho I ultimately still finished exactly same as last year. #14
Compromise would be post the new title Monday night. That way we've got a day to listen, review, bitch and moan. Like this week I'm FINALLY listening to other entries RIGHT NOW. I've got partial lyrics for a Nein, and the regular SongFight! No sampler, no looper, so getting classical sample working right will be pure joy.
Or if you HAVE to have the pressure: round 0 posted Sunday, rounds 1 and 2 post Monday, 3 and 4 Tuesday, 5 and 6 Wednesday and for round 7... something exotic and cruel.

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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by Manhattan Glutton »

Another compromise would be to post the title immediately and the challenge on Wednesday.

Or, we could figure out a different way to instill enthusiasm. I really enjoyed the results this year and the better quality of songs. If we're all making crappy songs, what's the point of a song writing contest?
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by iVeg »

Or post # of syllables in title and challenge immediately, and give the actual title Tues or Weds. Can't speak for anybody else, but I'm a LOT happier with my early round songs this year. Judges struggling because quality is good - that's a GOOD thing.
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by ken »

Isn't Nur Ein X supposed to be a tournament of champions? ALL THE EINS BATTLE TO THE DEATH!!!
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by glennny »

I was a fan of Nur EIn 3. We had longer time for songs and there was a couple days off in between, but this was at the expense of a clean one week schedule. The schedule that year was wacky, but other than that, had the best of both worlds. High quality songs that year too!
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by BenKrieger »

Another compromise would be for the challenge, but not the title, to be given 7 days in advance. Two days knowing what the next challenge is before being given the title. This lets people talk about the challenge for two days, and think about what they need to do to get ready for it, and then on Tuesday Night they get the title for the challenge...I'd like that. We'd get all the clarification out of the way, but we can't really start writing.
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by Caravan Ray »

BenKrieger wrote:Another compromise would be for the challenge, but not the title, to be given 7 days in advance. Two days knowing what the next challenge is before being given the title. This lets people talk about the challenge for two days, and think about what they need to do to get ready for it, and then on Tuesday Night they get the title for the challenge...I'd like that. We'd get all the clarification out of the way, but we can't really start writing.
That's not a bad idea
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

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depends on how you write. Most glennny solo tracks have the lyrics written after they are recorded. I spend all week on the music , and then I improvise lyrics until I like them. Then write them down for public scrutiny.
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by Ross »

I would not like the title and challenge being given separately. I feel like this thing is at it's best when the challenge and song are integrated.
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by BenKrieger »

Or a performer can opt in for an early-bird option: if your schedule for a particular week (or in general) requires that you record early in the week, then when you submit entry for the current week, you can also request the alternate option. Niveous replies with "all systems go," but also gives you the next title and challenge early. You must submit by Friday at midnight or be disqualified. You also can't talk about the challenge or title at all until it''s posted for everyone, or mention that you requested it early, otherwise, you're out.

Or, just do it like last year. I was fine with that. Personally, I like it when *everyone* is in the same boat. And if someone has a week where they can't pull it off, dems the breaks.
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

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BenKrieger wrote:Or a performer can opt in for an early-bird option: if your schedule for a particular week (or in general) requires that you record early in the week, then when you submit entry for the current week, you can also request the alternate option. Niveous replies with "all systems go," but also gives you the next title and challenge early. You must submit by Friday at midnight or be disqualified. You also can't talk about the challenge or title at all until it''s posted for everyone, or mention that you requested it early, otherwise, you're out.
That's not a good idea
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by BenKrieger »

Caravan Ray wrote:That's not a good idea
I'm saving my good ideas for the ring, buddy.
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Re: Nur Ein! IX Round 5

Post by JonPorobil »

Generic wrote:
I wrote reviews for both exhibition tracks. They're on my Evernote account, which I have trouble accessing from the office, so you can look forward to seeing my opinions in a few hours. Short version: I liked it.
Okay, I lied a bit. When I got home, there was a shiny package with a brand-new Rode condenser microphone waiting for me, so I had to play with the new toy. I'm done for now, so stand by...
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