Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Discuss upcoming, current, and previous song fights.
User avatar
erik
Jump
Posts: 2341
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 11:06 am
Submitting as: 15-16 puzzle
Location: Austin
Contact:

Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by erik »

Sit!
Stay!
Review!
Goooood dog.
User avatar
JonPorobil
Beat It
Posts: 5682
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 11:45 am
Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Harmonica, Mandolin, Accordion, Bass, lots of VSTs
Recording Method: Cubase 10.5
Submitting as: Jon Eric, Jon Porobil, others
Pronouns: He/Him
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Contact:

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by JonPorobil »

Hmm... multi-song voting! I like it.

Will the final vote total reflect the number of "ballot sheets" turned in, as well as the total number of "votes?"
"Warren Zevon would be proud." -Reve Mosquito

Stages, an album of about dealing with loss, anxiety, and grieving a difficult year, now available on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms! https://jonporobil.bandcamp.com/album/stages
User avatar
Spud
Hot for Teacher
Posts: 4770
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:25 am
Instruments: Bass, Keyboards, eHorn
Submitting as: Octothorpe
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by Spud »

No
"I only listen to good music. And Octothorpe." - Marcus Kellis
Song Fight! The Rockening
User avatar
JonPorobil
Beat It
Posts: 5682
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 11:45 am
Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Harmonica, Mandolin, Accordion, Bass, lots of VSTs
Recording Method: Cubase 10.5
Submitting as: Jon Eric, Jon Porobil, others
Pronouns: He/Him
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Contact:

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by JonPorobil »

Oh well.

I'm picking through the songs by people whose names I know, and mostly liking what I hear. Especially Melvin's song.
"Warren Zevon would be proud." -Reve Mosquito

Stages, an album of about dealing with loss, anxiety, and grieving a difficult year, now available on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms! https://jonporobil.bandcamp.com/album/stages
User avatar
Spud
Hot for Teacher
Posts: 4770
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:25 am
Instruments: Bass, Keyboards, eHorn
Submitting as: Octothorpe
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by Spud »

Good to have you back, sir.
"I only listen to good music. And Octothorpe." - Marcus Kellis
Song Fight! The Rockening
User avatar
PiGPEN
Push Comes to Shove
Posts: 282
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 3:31 pm
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by PiGPEN »

omg.... what's songfight! doing? no way! they couldn't possibly be...
Image
User avatar
Ross
Jump
Posts: 2739
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 3:27 pm
Instruments: Guitar, Vox, Bass, Tuned glasses, etc...
Recording Method: Logic on a Macbook.
Submitting as: Ross Durand
Location: Orange CA
Contact:

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by Ross »

Cynthia Size went solo?

That's freaking me out a little...
"I don't like this song, but at least it's good." - veGetar Ianra Ge
http://www.rossdurandmusic.com
User avatar
Lunkhead
You're No Good
Posts: 8104
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 12:14 pm
Instruments: many
Recording Method: cubase/mac/tascam4x4
Submitting as: Berkeley Social Scene, Merisan, Tiny Robots
Pronouns: he/him
Location: Berkeley, CA
Contact:

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

I wonder what's up with Daisy Chain? Is the song "Walking the Border", as it's titled on SongFight!, or "The Ride" as it's titled on her MySpace page?

I like the multiple votes thing, it's a neat idea to try out.
User avatar
Billy's Little Trip
Odie
Posts: 12090
Joined: Mon Nov 13, 2006 2:56 pm
Instruments: Guitar, Bass, Vocals, Drums, Skin Flute
Recording Method: analog to digital via Presonus FireBox, Cubase and a porn machine
Submitting as: Billy's Little Trip, Billy and the Psychotics
Location: Cali fucking ornia

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by Billy's Little Trip »

Oh cool, multiple choice. I didn't understand the questions, so I just went down the list and checked off the answers so I can hurry up an go to recess. :P
beuhiss
A New Player
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Jun 22, 2008 7:55 am
Submitting as: Beuhiss
Pronouns: He/him
Location: Ottawa Canada

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by beuhiss »

My fav was Melvin. Here are my reviews...

Reviews

Weakest Suit: Liked: melodic and structured. Lyrics say something. Sounds good. Disliked: A bit of strained/atonality in the voice, but hey, it's songfight.

WreckdoM: Liked: Poetic structure is good.
Disliked: I'm not much on chatty intros, chatty lyrics. Diction is a bit like a high-school teacher being zany

SomeGuyCalledNoel: Liked: For a sparse voice and guitar arrangement, it has a good guitar/voice blend. A Kimya Dawson feel in it's raw simplicity. Disliked: Vocalization was a bit yodelly at the start.

RoneRiverdale: Liked: Atonal, non-melodic, cacophonous. Disliked: Atonal, non-melodic, cacophonous. :)

Prose AIC industries: Liked: interesting soundscape, didn''t go on for ever. Disliked: Made my speakers feel busted

Ovidious: Liked: lyrical rhythm, syllabic structure. Disliked: not much connection to the theme.

Octothorpe: Liked: B52's like structure was fun. Vocal like 'Oscar the grouch." Great fun to picture the furry vocalist singing from a garbage can. Disliked: Guitar is a bit muddy. Lyrical timing is a bit out of sync with music's.

DaisyChain: Liked: Wow, sounds great - go Janice. Disliked: Ummm, is this related to the 'walking the border' theme in anyway? Must have missed it if it was in there somewhere. Too much reverb on the harp.

Melvin: Liked: Strong musical structure with a bit of a Joe Jackson vibe or even a 'Kinks' ("come dancing") feel. Good connection to the SF theme.
Disliked: can't complain.

JonEric: Liked: Melodic structure. Lyrics go somewhere. A bit of organ back there is fun. The echoey background vocals. Disliked: A tad too much vocal reverb for my taste. Some tempo skip issues around e.g.@2:04, 2:24

MC Eric B: Liked: Hilarious geeks-on-broadway feel. Disliked: Could mix it up a bit. Maybe a tap section in the middle, or some scat would have been great.

Flvxxum Florvm: Liked: Decent musical progression. Lyrics are structured. Disliked: Vocals are a bit strained and off tempo, but no biggy.

IP: Liked: Love the trumpet,some sparseness, and the move Disliked: The background 'walking the border' section was a bit cacophonous, (but leads in nicely to the finish.)

Cynthia Size: Liked: neat synthy vocal effect, very neatly blended with music. Enjoyed the percussion that peeks in occasionally (bongo?)- could use a bit more of that.
Disliked: ?

Da Monk: Liked: Some of the guitar embellishments sounded okay. Disliked: atonal vocals, grunge got a tired and abrasive and didn't go anywhere.

Easy Collision: Liked: some vinyl sounding static around 2:35
Disliked: Thin musically, not much enthusiasm in vocals.

Enter it In the Art Show: Liked: marching lyrics were funny.
Disliked: lack of musical content

Chatterandom Abyss: Liked: Good balance in that the music was as hard to listen to as the vocals. :)
Disliked: whew.
Last edited by beuhiss on Sun Jun 22, 2008 9:52 am, edited 2 times in total.
saunter
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
Posts: 90
Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2007 9:50 am
Pronouns: *

Post by saunter »

__________
Last edited by saunter on Tue Nov 21, 2023 9:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
rone rivendale
Odie
Posts: 1755
Joined: Sun Oct 02, 2005 9:51 pm
Instruments: Electronica, nothing real
Recording Method: Fruity Loops, Goldwave
Submitting as: Rone Rivendale
Pronouns: he/him
Location: Kansas, USA
Contact:

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by rone rivendale »

Beuhiss, what the hell is 'cacophonous'? lol

Anyway, I couldn't help but notice that you reviewed Melvin twice and you gave 2 completely different reviews. Check to make sure you didn't give his name to someone else's review.

And if you think THIS song doesn't have melody and is atonal you most likely have never heard my other stuff. This song is a rainbow of melody and emotion compared to what I usually do. :D
From spoken word to actual singing, I can screw up any style with style. :D
saunter
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
Posts: 90
Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2007 9:50 am
Pronouns: *

Post by saunter »

__________
Last edited by saunter on Tue Nov 21, 2023 9:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
beuhiss
A New Player
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Jun 22, 2008 7:55 am
Submitting as: Beuhiss
Pronouns: He/him
Location: Ottawa Canada

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by beuhiss »

Enter It In The Art Show wrote:
beuhiss wrote: Enter it In the Art Show: Liked: marching lyrics were funny.
Disliked: lack of musical content
Are you saying drums and cymbals aren't musical instruments?
Good point - meant to say melodic, rather than musical. Thanks for the pointer
beuhiss
A New Player
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Jun 22, 2008 7:55 am
Submitting as: Beuhiss
Pronouns: He/him
Location: Ottawa Canada

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by beuhiss »

Rone Rivendale wrote:Beuhiss, what the hell is 'cacophonous'? lol

Anyway, I couldn't help but notice that you reviewed Melvin twice and you gave 2 completely different reviews. Check to make sure you didn't give his name to someone else's review.

And if you think THIS song doesn't have melody and is atonal you most likely have never heard my other stuff. This song is a rainbow of melody and emotion compared to what I usually do. :D
Thanks for the note - the habit of the song-list reorganizing itself had me confused for a moment (what else is new!). I checked again to find out what I meant by the first erroneous Melvin... and that should have been WreckdoM not Melvin... Sorry folks!

Hey - cool, the forum lets you edit posts - so I fixed it....
User avatar
Nigel (spOOn) Clements
Mean Street
Posts: 520
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2006 6:17 am
Instruments: None... But I use Reason 3.0, an iAxe 624 and an old beaten up acoustic, and sometimes I hit things.
Recording Method: Reason 3.0, Magix Audio Studio 11 Deluxe, Samson C01U USB Studio Condenser Microphone.
Submitting as: Nigel Clements, Accessory Twelve, @eclectic spOOns, Cynthia Size
Location: Spectrum HQ, Cloudbase.
Contact:

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by Nigel (spOOn) Clements »

Ross wrote:Cynthia Size went solo?

That's freaking me out a little...
Yeah I reckon she's getting fed up with me trying to sing and is now branching out on her own, good luck to her that's what I say, I'm not bitter...!
User avatar
JonPorobil
Beat It
Posts: 5682
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 11:45 am
Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Harmonica, Mandolin, Accordion, Bass, lots of VSTs
Recording Method: Cubase 10.5
Submitting as: Jon Eric, Jon Porobil, others
Pronouns: He/Him
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Contact:

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by JonPorobil »

Beuhiss – I didn't catch the pun in your name until I was telling my friend about this song. Nice. The recording is clean, with interesting rhythmic stuff going on. I'm not too keen on the lyrics, nor their muddy delivery, but you kept it short. Cool stuff. I'm sort of on the fence about whether to check you or not. We'll see how the rest of the fight goes.

The Chadderandom Abyss – Do people really like listening to off-key wailing over random plunking on bass and guitar, or do you just think they do? Oh, look, there's a harmonica, too. I just hit the two-minute mark, saw that I was only a third of the way through, and skipped to the next song. Seriously, can anyone actually make it through six-fifteen of this stuff?

Cynthia Size – I'm really not fond of the robot voice stuff. I love this melody, but I can't get past the artificiality of it. In fact, the whole song sounds really good, except for a couple of passages where the guitar takes the forefront of the mix, and it becomes really evident that it's computerized.

Daisy Chain – Ooh, nice guitars, but you lose major points for the vocals. It sounds a lot better when the chorus starts with all those harmonies. The verse vocals just sound... I don't know, too thin for the mix, but you're really straining to belt them out. I'm not great with vocals myself, so I don't really know what's wrong with them, but they don't seem to fit in with the mix. Oh, yeah, and this doesn't really have anything to do with “Walking the Border,” does it? Hmm.

Da Monk of Medmonk – Can't knock the 12-bar blues. And bad singing has always gone hand-in-hand with the blues, hasn't it? Awful lyrics, though? That's pretty hard to justify. The fact of the matter is, you're singing a little too low for your own register, and it's making the whole mix sound muddier than it really is. You're also losing enunciation on a lot of words just because you're trying so hard to stay in the low register. If I were you, I'd think about trying another melody over this same song.

Easy Collision – Your voice isn't strong enough to carry the first thirty seconds of this song without any other melodic instrumentation. “I wanna be John Mayer, 'Cause then I'd be a player?” “I hate being a seashell, 'cause I can't drink Propel.” These lyrics are just plain idiotic. I'm sorry, by the way, but I can't hear any connection to the title, either. Not really liking this.

Enter it in the Art Show – I like this a lot better than your entry last week. In fact, I like this a lot. The slam-poetry-meets-marching-cadence works really well, and the lyrics are well-delivered. The song ends before it can wear down its welcome. I'll probably be checking this one on my ballot. My only criticism would be that the actual marching cadence at the end (“I don't know but I am told...”) is out of beat with the tattoo. Why?

Flvxxvn Florvm – Kind of Beck-ish. Sounds really muddy at points, but mostly good. I like the fuzzy guitar solo. I spend most of the song waiting for the background syncopated guitar to do something different, just to shake things up. It never happens, but then again, the song is pretty short. I might check this one when I vote, not sure yet.

i.p. - Nice trumpet. Gives the song kind of a noir feel. When the 6 / 8 cymbal comes in for the first chorus, the whole song just clicks. Really great stuff; I'm not sure I've ever heard anything else like this on Songfight. Excellent switch to the minor for the coda. Really, really great stuff. Definitely going to check this one. No criticisms; I wouldn't change anything.

Jon Eric – Weird; this sounded louder when I was testing it on my hard drive. I like how the drums came out on this one, and I'm pretty proud of my organ solo. Any and all timing issues are the fault of this crap. Anyone know any good tricks for making the vocal blend better with the mix?

MC Eric B – Maybe I should just stop listening to your songs. This is probably the best thing I've heard from you, but I still can't make it past 1:00. Your synths are usually too dark for me, and it's usually not merited. The singing is so far off from what else is going on in the mix that it sounds off-key, even if it's not. It's hard to tell, but I think you might be intentionally picking notes that don't harmonize with the music.

Melvin – Awesome. I love the verse cadence. Doesn't everyone love a good song about bipolar disorder? Has the added benefit of rhyming with “border,” too. How did it happen that no one else thought of that rhyme? I mean, wow. I love the harmonies in this song, as well as the tempo changes. All handled like a pro. If this were a traditional one-vote-per-customer week, I'd have a really hard time choosing between this and i.p. I even like the “na na na na”s at the end. I normally hate “na na na na”s. No criticisms; don't change a thing.

Octothorpe – A little grittier than you've been for quite some time, eh? There came a point, and I think it was while I was still active in my initial Songfight run while I was in high school, when you guys started sounding a LOT tighter in terms of performance and production. There might be a little too much reverb on Mad Dog's vocal this time around, and he's mixed a little too low, so I can't make out all the lyrics, but the guitars and the overall mix are really good. One thing I have to remark, though... There's this instrumental break around 2:45, and it culminates around 3:20 with that bowed string, and because it plays four descending notes, something in the arrangement of it, coming at the end of the long instrumental break, seems to signal the end of the song. Four descending fiddle notes like that, it just screams out (to me, at least) “CODA! CODA! The song is ending now!” And then the song doesn't end. And I found that disconcerting. It made everything after the instrumental break sound extraneous.

Ovidious – Hey, the flow doesn't suck. Nor does the beatboxing, in the grand scheme of things. What really needs work is the droning soft-synth beat. It sounds like every other amateur rapper who's ever come through here, riding on MC Frontalot's coattails. It gets a LOT better after that breakdown, when you add the more dynamic synths and the organ in the upper register. I think I'd like this song a lot better if it didn't have that lame first verse, and if it had a fairly strong hook.

Prose/AIC Industries – Oof, this hurts my ears. How come everyone always goes for the dark, droney synths? They sound amateurish, and they're unpleasant to listen to.

Rone Rivendale – Funny how the first few lines of the song predict what I'm thinking to myself when the singing starts... har har har. “Shoelaces” and “Serious” don't rhyme. The singing is too loud for the mic – I can hear you clipping pretty much throughout. At 1:45, I gave up. This is another one of those songs that just plain hurts to listen to.

someguycallednoel – I never really soured on the guy-and-guitar thing the way a lot of Songfighters have, just because even though there's a lot of people who do it badly, there's always an entry every few weeks that justifies the “genre.” This song is simple, sad, and very pretty. I love the major-to-minor drop at the end of the bridge. It's an old trick, but it still works, doesn't it? I'll defeinitely check this when I vote. Are you new, or just someone submitting under a new name? If you're new, stick around, and keep it up.

The Weakest Suit – I like how, in the first ten seconds, the guitar plays a lick, and without even listening ahead, you know that the words “Walking the Border” can and will fit the melody. It's pretty catchy. Doesn't grab me how some of your other songs do, but this is a nice little indie song nonetheless. I appreciate that you kept it pretty short, after last week's song. I'll probably check you when I vote.

WreckdoM – Floating down a river of fudge to a valley of ice cream...? God you guys are weird. This isn't as cacophonous as most of your songs, but it's still pretty rough to listen to. The ballad cadence to the lyrics comes off as very disconcerting, in a good way, I think. I really wanted to hear a little bit more variation in the music, though. A bridge, you know? I might vote for this, but I'm really not sure.


Well, when it was good it was very good, and when it was bad it was awful. Some real goodies here, but definitely more than a couple I'll never be listening to again. So it goes.
Nice job, everyone!
"Warren Zevon would be proud." -Reve Mosquito

Stages, an album of about dealing with loss, anxiety, and grieving a difficult year, now available on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms! https://jonporobil.bandcamp.com/album/stages
User avatar
Spud
Hot for Teacher
Posts: 4770
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:25 am
Instruments: Bass, Keyboards, eHorn
Submitting as: Octothorpe
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by Spud »

Generic wrote:One thing I have to remark, though... There's this instrumental break around 2:45, and it culminates around 3:20 with that bowed string, and because it plays four descending notes, something in the arrangement of it, coming at the end of the long instrumental break, seems to signal the end of the song. Four descending fiddle notes like that, it just screams out (to me, at least) “CODA! CODA! The song is ending now!” And then the song doesn't end. And I found that disconcerting. It made everything after the instrumental break sound extraneous.
Interesting. I hear ya, Jon. Unfortunately, it only signals the end of the instrumental break, and then we dive back in for more!

I gotta say it was a blast trying to learn to play the guitar for this tune. I emptied my recycle bin yesterday and there were 147 discarded guitar tracks in there. I am having a hard time typing this due to blisters on my fingers.

I am afraid that after playing guitar on my fourth song, I am going to change my official guitar playing status, which was previously "I don't play guitar", to "I play guitar badly".
"I only listen to good music. And Octothorpe." - Marcus Kellis
Song Fight! The Rockening
User avatar
JonPorobil
Beat It
Posts: 5682
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 11:45 am
Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Harmonica, Mandolin, Accordion, Bass, lots of VSTs
Recording Method: Cubase 10.5
Submitting as: Jon Eric, Jon Porobil, others
Pronouns: He/Him
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Contact:

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by JonPorobil »

That was pretty much how I felt after my first few Songfight songs. And, to a lesser extent, my song this week, since I'm really out of practice. But, since the song came to me almost all at once and early on in the fight cycle, I had the benefit of a few days' worth of practice before I even plugged the microphone in. When in the week did you guys actually start recording?
"Warren Zevon would be proud." -Reve Mosquito

Stages, an album of about dealing with loss, anxiety, and grieving a difficult year, now available on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms! https://jonporobil.bandcamp.com/album/stages
User avatar
Spud
Hot for Teacher
Posts: 4770
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:25 am
Instruments: Bass, Keyboards, eHorn
Submitting as: Octothorpe
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by Spud »

Thursday night. All night. The 147* tracks were consecutively recorded, with no breaks.

*plus the two that were actually used
"I only listen to good music. And Octothorpe." - Marcus Kellis
Song Fight! The Rockening
User avatar
Nigel (spOOn) Clements
Mean Street
Posts: 520
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2006 6:17 am
Instruments: None... But I use Reason 3.0, an iAxe 624 and an old beaten up acoustic, and sometimes I hit things.
Recording Method: Reason 3.0, Magix Audio Studio 11 Deluxe, Samson C01U USB Studio Condenser Microphone.
Submitting as: Nigel Clements, Accessory Twelve, @eclectic spOOns, Cynthia Size
Location: Spectrum HQ, Cloudbase.
Contact:

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by Nigel (spOOn) Clements »

Spud wrote:Thursday night. All night. The 147 tracks were consecutively recorded, with no breaks.
Now that's an inspirational comment!
MC Minimum
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
Posts: 35
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2006 12:00 am
Submitting as: Pudding Delicious

Re: Awwww, Rover's got his leash (Walking the Border Reviews)

Post by MC Minimum »

beuhiss wrote:
Ovidious: Liked: lyrical rhythm, syllabic structure. Disliked: not much connection to the theme.
It's connected in like three different ways.
1) Walking the Border between present/future
2) Walking the Border between fame and obscurity
3) I said like three. Give me a break.
Post Reply