The Song Fight Bulletin Board

noma wrote:I'm in. My song is in a regular tempo of about 132 BPM in the verses and double time in the choruses, as well as half time (or so I guess) during the post-chorus/bridge thing.

Oh snap, that's my song too.

I din't change bpm at all. But I am pretty sure I have done double time.

My song is essentially a sequel to "Waiting for my Man" by the Velvet Underground - though the action has been transplanted from NYC to Fortitude Valley Brisbane, and the protagonists have made their purchase and are driving home to Toowoomba along the Warrego Hwy (via Gatton) - predominantly in the right, overtaking lane.

True - since roadworks are still continuing on the Warrego since the 2011 floods, there are still many areas where the traffic is funnelled into one lane and there is a speed limit of 60km/h - let's pretend for the purpose of accuracy that the events are taking place prior to January 2011. Or perhaps post-2018, when the second Toowoomba Range Crossing is expected to be in operation.

I'm in. There are several tempo and feel changes in my song - one of them I am certain is double time, compared to the one before it.

Now I am going to a football game - arena football - to watch my team get spanked.

Nur Ein!!!!!

Ross wrote: Now I am going to a football game - arena football - to watch my team get spanked.

Whatever floats your boat. Do you ever go to watch them play football?

In. Good luck y''all.

We're in now.

I'm in.

Finally got my rock on. Hope the judges like it.

ken wrote:Finally go my rock on. Hope the judges like it.

Oh snap, that's my song too.

Final score - my team, 25. Their team, 70.

Hopefully this round of Nur Ein! Goes better for me.

We were having Internet issues when I tred to submit our song, but I did get a response from Niveous by PM a while ago that he'd gotten our song. I don't see it in the list though...?

It's in the stream! I just heard it.

Sorry about the error. Fixed.

Crazy solid Round 5 - just to recap and edited for round five
______________________________
In order of Round zero Ranking

Krautkitten - Former Champion
The current pseudonym of Ben Krieger, infamous for his “Cable Beach” song fight entry. He won his first Nur Ein! in 2010, beating Berkeley Social Scence (Ken, Glenny, and Sam, among others) in the final. As is the Tradition with Nur Ein Champions, he served as a judge for Nur Ein vii

Merisan -
One of the classic Ein Contenders, Sam and Erin, also veterans of the Berkeley Social Scene and Tiny Robots, are some of the perennial favorites of the Nur Ein! In 2007 they placed third. In 2008, they served as judges. In 2009, Tiny robots placed third again. In 2010, Berkeley Social Scene lost in the finals to Boop Boop (fellow round 5 competitor Ben Krieger.) In 2011, Merisan proper competed again, making it to the semis, but placing 4th overall behind fellow round 5 competitors Paco and Worldly Self Assurance (Furry Pedro), and edging out current round five competitor Ross Durand. Nur Ein! VII resulted in Merisan’s earliest elimination, in round 4, but this was due to defualt. In Nur Ein VIII, Merisan again rose to the top of the pack, winning round five and coming in fourth behind current judge Carlo Bruno, and current round five competitor Paco.

Paco Del Stinko - Former Champion, three-time finalist
Paco joined us in the second Ein!, getting eliminated in Round 4. In the third Ein!, Paco was part of the Epic four-way final along with Ken Mahru, Ross Durand, and the members of the Worldly Self Assurance (including Pete), where he placed third. The fourth Ein saw Paco meet his demise in the fourth round. Life happened in 2010 and Paco missed Nur EIn! 5, but he came back with a vengeance to win the 6th Ein, beating out Pete, who were part of WSA, and leaving Merisan, and Ross Durand in the dust of round 6. He judged in 2012, of course. After writing a de facto theme song, Paco came back to the finals in Nur EIn VIII but lost a battle to new comer Carlo Bruno Jr.

Tydon Docks - participated in all nine Eins!
Arguably one of the most interesting and divisive characters in the Ein!, Caravan Ray has been in since the beginning, placing 10th in the first Ein as [artist name redacted].
Tex got all the way to Round 5 of the second Ein!, but had a poorer showing in 2008, dropping by default in the third round. As Sid Dennison, he moved back to round four in the fifth Ein!, but chose to serve as judge in 2011. As Genevieve Jones and the Chiefs, he saw his best result, making it all the way to round five, as he also did in The Eighth Ein! as Tydon Docks.

Nick Soma
Who is nick Soma? this is his first Ein. He is just Nick Soma, the uncontested winner of round four.

Ross Durand - participated in all nine Eins! Two-time finalist
Ross is another member since the first Ein, and like Caravan Ray has participated in every Ein, including one stint as a judge. In Ein one he was eliminated in round four, as he was in the second Ein! In 2008 he was part of the epic four act final mentioned above (see “Paco”). Nur Ein! 5 saw Ross make round five again before serving as a judge the following year. He made it all the way to round six in 2011, but trailed Paco, WSA, and Merisan (3 of the other current eight). Nur EIn! VII, saw Ross make the finals a second time, losing to Frankie Big Face. Last year he made it to round five again, but still trailed Paco and Merisan.

Balance Lost - Former Champion (group member), two-time finalist
Long time songfighter Furry Pedro joined the Second Nur Ein! as Balance Lost Balance Regained, but was eliminated in round three. In 2008 he became part of the champion team WSA which led to judging in 2009. He skipped the fifth Ein to return as part of WSA in 2011, where they made Finals again. In 2012, they made the semis. Last year, Balance Lost narrowly missed round five, being edged out by Tydon Docks.

Ken Mahru - participated in all nine Eins! - two-time finalist
The Third of the Original Einer’s (with C Ray and Ross), he placed fourth on the very first outing. He served as judge for the second Ein!, and was part of the four-way final in Nur Ein! three (this final included four of the current 8 competitors). As part of Tiny Robots, along with the members of Merisan, he placed 3rd in 2009, then came back to the final again in 2010 as part of BSS, where they were topped by Ben Kreiger. As part of WSA in 2011 and 12 he again made the finals and semi finals, respectively. 2013 saw his earliest elimination in the second round.

Finally, the numbers are low enough for me to muster up some

ON SECOND PASS REVIEWS:

Balance Lost - I like the feel that the synth brings to the song. There are some real tender moments in the arrangements. The double-time is technically there, but I don't feel swept away by it.

Ken Mahru - Rock guitar! I like the harmonies. Nice use of double and halftime. Nice synth. The song seems a little incomplete.

Merisan - Well executed song. The challenge tacked on the end seemed a little limp on first pass, but I'm on my second pass and it's growing on me.

Nick Soma - This is easily the most catchy song from an opponent that I've heard in this round. I always berate Jeff Mangum for being over-emotive, but now that I'm faced with a They Might Be Mangum I'd like to hear you let it rip a little bit more.

Paco Del Stinko - I love the bum-ba-dee-dum-dum lumbering bass on this! This alone is worth the price of admission.

Ross Durand - You have a distinct sound, and I'm always curious how you'll approach a change and sound like "Ross Durand." The double-time on here is hilarious.

The Tydon Docks - The sound on this song is pretty cool. Charmingly lo-fi. The melody is simple. As in Ramones simple. So: good!

Me - My landlady didn't leave for church this morning. Her church Sundays are usually when I save metal vocal recording. I compensated by covering myself with a large quilt, draping it in front of me over the monitor so I was in a tent. I have no idea if this worked, but it made me feel safe. I wish I'd had time to mix more, compress less, and make a few more attempts at some of the vocals. Also, I simply cannot pull off actual metal guitar flourishes and solos. Tapping and Van Halenism are all I can do.

https://soundcloud.com/glenartrock/cave ... xhibition1

This is the Glen vocals version. It will be updated with Lee vocals soon

I listened to everyone's songs. I thought some people accomplished the challenge better than others. In general, I was looking for a section that is twice whatever the main section was, so if your melody is mostly quarter notes, I was looking for a section where the melody is eighth notes. If you used quarter and eighths, then you should also have section that is eighths and sixteens.

Here is my highly simplified interpretation of double time:

Regular time = 1 2 3 4

Half time = 1 2 3 4

Double time = 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &

If I was a judge - this is how I would rank then

1. Paco del Stinko - awesome bass, and all the other stuff too

2. Ken - your song sounds a bit like my song was supposed to sound like. You got the mood better than I did.

3. Nick - You are the big discovery of Nur Ein IX. I love your work Nick - and I don't mean that in a creepy old man sort of way - even though I am a creepy old man. This is my least favourite song of yours - but it is still pretty good.

4. KrautKiten - This sounds a bit like a parody that I don't really get. Technically great - thematically obscure.

5. Ross - Dunno about this. It sounds great, but I get the feeling i have heard it before. Like Merisan - you suffer (in my ears) by sounding so good that I think I have heard the song before. This is probably totally unfair on my part - but that is what I hear. With say - Paco or Pedro - they always sound unique - but this has some hint of "genericness". I don't want you to to change - you do sound great - this is just my feeble reason for ranking you lower than you probably deserve.

6. Merisan - (See Ross' review above for more insight) This sounds like something. The "eyes on the road/hands on the wheel" bit jumps out at me (and I am not thinking of "Roadhouse Blues"). Don't know what it is - and I am definitely not make accusations - but something here just sounds "well worn". Mind you - my own song is a blatant genre copy of Velvets/Jesus Mary Chain type stuff - including blatant lyric rip-offs - so I am in no position to judge - but this just sounds somehow too familiar to me.

7. Balance Lost - You know I am your biggest fan. But I don't like motor racing, I didn't get into this much, and I am not sure you hit the challenge in a way that I could recognise.


and ME:

My song didn't come out quite the way I wanted it to. I wanted to sound like the Velvet Underground - I sound nothing like the Velvet Underground. I know nothing about junkies, except what I have learnt from Velvet Underground songs - and I really don't feel comfortable about writing "druggie" songs. But - I think it has it's charms - I will leave it in the hands of the judges.

As my rankings reflect - I expect Paco and Ken to get through easily. Nick and KrautKitten should be safe. And I will hang out for a spot above the rest. Hope so - it is a great title/challenge for next week.

Caravan Ray wrote:4. KrautKiten - This sounds a bit like a parody that I don't really get. Technically great - thematically obscure.

My favorite glam metal band, who were a bit tongue-in-cheek as well, so more of an homage. Note the video with singer Steve Whiteman's hair blowing in tempo!

Sorry, wrong link. Here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iSqQOgpI9Qs

BenKrieger wrote:

Caravan Ray wrote:4. KrautKiten - This sounds a bit like a parody that I don't really get. Technically great - thematically obscure.

My favorite glam metal band, who were a bit tongue-in-cheek as well, so more of an homage. Note the video with singer Steve Whiteman's hair blowing in tempo!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuM7pFUsZck

Yeah - fair enough.

But not my thing.

Just as I would not expect you to like any of the marvellous songs that I have written about South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby league team of the early 1970s.

What's a rugby?

BenKrieger wrote:What's a rugby?

It is the combination of art and the masculine form that is a little bit too subtle for Americans to fully understand.

Sorry.