Nur Ein X Round One "The Average Circus"

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ken
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by ken »

I don't want to work. I just want to bang on my can all day.
I don't want to work. I just want to bang on my can all day.
Ken_can.jpg (61.91 KiB) Viewed 3297 times
I used this can to make a "bongo" track.
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by Rabid Garfunkel »

I have achieved mud. Huzzah!
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by RangerDenni »

I accidentally left out the ranch dressing so the bottle got used. :( I emptied it first. There wasn't a lot left. Now we need more.
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by frankie big face »

Okay, so I guess we have to explain ourselves for this one. As I often do, I read the challenge and then later turned it into something else in my head, conveniently leaving out the "as an instrument" part. So when I went to my trash bin, I had a copy of a Rite of Spring horn part I had discarded and decided to use any notes on the first page as the basis of my song. So, thanks and apologies to Stravinsky.

Then, when I realized I needed to make my trash into an instrument (duh!), I pulled out a water bottle and scraped the ribbed side with a Fossil gift card I will probably never ever use. I looped it and now it sounds like a pulsating synth, which is actually pretty cool. It's in the third verse (the one between the choruses) and at the end. But anyway, this is what it sounds like:
Bottle.mp3
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by RangerDenni »

we need more ranch dressing, not more bottle. The bottle in the song is fine and sounds plinky. I'm going to get more ranch now because I need it for dinner--which I realize no one here needed to be told. It's going on a cole slaw type salad. I don't know why I'm still typing.
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by Paco Del Stinko »

Dopey McDopadope still hasn't figured out how to upload photos. Anyway, here is a link to a glorious photo of my paper towel tube kazoo. I thought I was going to use a pepper grinder until the one lone scrap of pepper ground away during practice.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pacodelst ... 278688281/
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by à tous les monsieurs »

And to piggyback off of FBF.

This weekend was our annual yard sale. While going through our garage for items to sell, I found a broken bike pump (the needle broke off and took some plastic with it). Threw it in the trash. Then pulled it out. Challenge met.

Used it in the intro of the B section of the song. While experimenting I created an accidental a three note motive that I found quite amusing. Then I produced a beat box-like groove to accompany my second line New Orleans inspired drum part.

It sounds like this...
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by Billy's Little Trip »

frankie big face wrote:But anyway, this is what it sounds like:
Bottle.mp3
Sounds like you're jerking off a frog. :P
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by frankie big face »

Billy's Little Trip wrote:
frankie big face wrote:But anyway, this is what it sounds like:
Bottle.mp3
Sounds like you're jerking off a frog. :P
You made me a laugh a whole new laugh. It was a like a slow chuckle that erupted into laughter.

The frog did something similar.
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by j$ »

Just to say, if you have chosen a literal interpretation of the title, your lyric will be compared by me (most likely unfavourably) to the finest example of 'the average circus' -
.
That said, if anyone does top DD's verse "The old fortune teller lies dead on the floor / Nobody needs fortunes told anymore / The trainer of insects is crouched on his knees / And frantically looking for runaway fleas' they will gain my undying respect.

j$
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by Manhattan Glutton »

I turned garbage inside the garbage bin into a percussive instrument that influenced the style of my song.

My song is about a small midwestern city named "Circus".
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by RangerDenni »

we didn't even need the ranch for dinner. But I got my song in so Nur Ein! I'm rather fond of it, however it turns out in reviews or rankings. If someone said "show me one of the good songs," I'd probably use this. :)
"Really interesting how the point you’re making slowly emerges like Martin Sheen from the mud in Apocalypse Now..." ~j$
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by Rabid Garfunkel »

I'll explain later. Had to scrap the original song. Found I was using a public domain song in its entirety
and it's entirety beautiful carousel but still. At 2pm today! Having dinner and a drink then final mix-n-ship.

Oh, mylar sheet comb kazoo (which don't work that great).
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by Ross »

Ok, I'm in.

My “Tambourine” is a broken beer bottle in a capri sun cardboard box
My “Washboard”/“Shaker” is an empty Lay’s chips bag I rustled between my hands like starting a fire
My “Go-Go bells” are tuned beer bottles (Guinness Blonde ale)

Nur Ein!
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by BoffoYux »

For our garbage parts, Al tapped a root beer bottle with a spoon, used a crushed plastic cup, rustled a bag of stale popcorn and ripped some junk mail in half.

The sound bites are from the hilarious Patton Oswalt comedy cd 'Finest Hour' on his circus skit.
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by JonPorobil »

Oh no! I only see 22 songs uploaded to the Songlander site!

Did Orange Lazarus miss the deadline, or am I just checking too soon?
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by Niveous »

Generic wrote:Oh no! I only see 22 songs uploaded to the Songlander site!

Did Orange Lazarus miss the deadline, or am I just checking too soon?

Missed the deadline.
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NUR EIN!
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by glennny »

Cavedwellers garbage tracks:

Bass- Rubber band across trader joes chilli relleno box
Snare- ripping paper
Ride- piece of broken plastic coat hanger hitting aluminum coke can
Kick- mic in the recycle bin, while pounding the outside of the bin
Clanks- rusty wrenches thrown together
Ambient crush- crushing a bag of aluminum cans
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by josh »

Only did a light listening so far. My musical favorite for now is the french named one. You guys got a big advantage having so much musicianship on hand. But my overall favorite is "Touch by... blah blah". Cause it's hilarious. Nothing stood out as a clear winner though. I didn't do so hot last round and my submission this week isn't as good... but hopefully Orange Lazuras dropping will help get me through!
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by RangerDenni »

*My Garbage*
Buttermilk Ranch/Soysauce bottles & medium triangle beater for plinky glass bits
Pizza box cardboard güiro
tiny La Croix Lime Fizzy Water aluminum crumple thumpy "drum"
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by glennny »

Adam Adamant-I like production a lot. The song is a little too "Stand by Me" for my comfort. Such is the problem with simple patterns, there's a lot of them. It's an enjoyable listen.

Balance Lost- Wow! Mind blown. In my world this is hands down the clear winner. The production so weird and beautiful. This is the kind of song that I hear, then I have a Hell bent obsession with owning. I'd run to the store and buy it as soon as it opens. The bass line is so groovy! I don't know how you make all the sounds and rhythms you do, it's fascinating! It sounds fantastic too! The beat is excellent! Your vocals sound great too! Bravo!!

Boffo Yux Dudes- Come and see the show! This seems like an obvious nod to the ELP classic. This is light hearted and fun. I think the joke works, maybe it's too long? I wish the chorus music varied more from the verses.

Carlo Bruno Jr- Freaking awesome! I think it starts stronger than it ends. There's some sour vocal scooping that's a little rough to my ears. I love the drums and tuba? The lyrics are insane. However I think I'm going to start using the phrase "as gray as much we can". Also I think of Alpha to Omega as a timeline, I don't think I've ever heard it used as a quality metric. None the less, that's a great line! This should do really well.

DJ Ranger Den- wonderful vocals! Title feels a bit shoehorned in. It's very pretty! I dig it.

DuToVa- not a bad little rocker. The production is really rough. There's many wizards among us. It's really rough to hear the vocals at the beginning of the song, the can flick sounds great though.

Frank- I love that you dare to be weird and inventive. I Like this, but I don't love it. This reminds me of the deeper cuts on Outside (David Bowie). I think the metal refrain should be louder. Your soft parts are crisp and in my ear, where as the chorus sounds heavy and far away. Maybe that was the intent? Interesting listen.

iVeg- Super circus! Is all the music trash stuff? So cool! That bass or tuba can't be trash. Sorry, you probably posted somewhere what everything is. Very cool song!

Ken- I wish the vocals had a little more brightness, but other than that, the mix is immaculate! Best sounding drums of the fight! This a cool song, it keeps it cool. I think you have my favorite lyrics also. I wish it was a little more dynamic, it stays very mellow. I want to hear Martin belt out a bridge or something. Tight! Very cool parts, The rhythm guitar and drum interplay is what I'm usually aiming for when we work together. Good stuff!

Manhattan Glutton- I dig the trash beat a lot. I don't like spelling as lyrics, I don't have a good reason for that, just another peeve I suppose. It's clearly not about lyrics. It does rock! The bass tone is awesome! Vocals sound great too.

MJS- I think someone needs to point you to the lyric thread. I like the reverb, I don't like the echo on the vocals. I assume the percussion is a trash bin. I really don't like the tone of an acoustic/ electric guitar using the built in pick up. I think a mike always sounds better. This is pretty, the sparse instrumentation works. Great singing.

Mr Meow- You are such a pussy.

Nick Soma- I almost love this song. The "meh meh" chorus, though pretty funny, doesn't work for me on repeated listens. Solid songwriting otherwise! All the instruments sound pretty good. The trash is pretty subtle, tasteful. Nice work!

Paco del Stinko- this is lovely! This is my 2nd favorite. I just love the guitar riffs and the little slide touches. The fretless bass is such a smart choice and so well played. Great singing! I feel like this is nearly same challenge as Whale and Kids and Let Me In. Same alternate instrument school of NE challenges. You challenge take is good, and it sounds great.

Rabid Garfunkel- the raw energy is great. Something in the percussion is super distorted. I like the guitar tone. I assume the trash is in the percussion. It's cool, but it's very samey throughout. I think a good hook in the chorus and another riff could elevate this a lot. Gotta love the dirty vibe of it.

Ross- Another well crafted song. You seem in the dead center of your comfort zone here. Everything sounds great. Unfortunate title, because this sounds like an average Ross song. I do love hearing the full band treatment! The tag line " ...whoopie" is good.

The Chocolate Chips- weird hard panning wah wah guitar vs quiet synth. Your vocals are shaky in spots. I thought the not/autotune would take care of that? The drums and bass sound fantastic. Very cool song, though I think it needs another vocal take and maybe so e tweaks to the mix.

Toby Roktot- I dig the lyrics. I think drums and bass would help this a lot. The timing fluctuations are a little annoying. Some cool riffs in there, not a bad melody.

TBTBAA- Funny! I don't believe this was your plan all along. This screams of a plan B to me. Maybe I'm wrong. Mix is awesome! Delivery and flow is well done! File this along with Paco's New Ugly in the diss the competition file. You know the competition votes for you in the finals right? Will you be embracing the novelty song this whole competition? Good stuff!

Zack Facco- I like this a lot. The lazy guitar and slight vocal drawl really works well! I love the bass and organ? I wish the bass was a little louder in the mix. Nice time keeping despite no drums. This is very pleasant. Is there trash in this song at all? I missed the challenge if it was there. That's a bummer, that song was super ripe to have an empty milk jug, or some pencils tapping.

A tout les monsiers- Hey we had Ralph Salmins play on our Stop You're Killing Me! We also had Martin Shaw on that same track. Nice to hear them playing with you and Frank! I love the guitars! Franks vocals here are out shining his FBF entry. Super cool song!

Cavedwellers- Lee came up with the verse and pre-chorus music. I came up with the chorus bridge and solo sections. We collaborated on the lyrics. I had the music done since Thursday, I've been loving it all week. Lee was on vacation, and I didn't get the vocals until a couple hours before the deadline. My Mac is acting super slow these days. I was fearful we wouldn't make the deadline. I burned the salmon on the grill, I set the alarm, I had headphones on, I dint hear it, the mix got submitted, and I think my family forgave me for ruining dinner.

NUR EIN!

Rankings?
I don't know yet, other than Pete #1
Last edited by glennny on Mon Apr 27, 2015 8:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Nur Ein X - Round One

Post by josh »

@glenny: I think I agree about the bass. I have trouble figuring out how much bass is right. Seems bass often gets put low in mixes, so I generally go for that, but sometimes it gets lost... the "organ" is a sample of a jam jar with some water in it played using Renoise. I put an LFO driven filter on it, which is why it sounds like that. Got a feeling I'm gonna get docked for it not sounding enough like the source. In hindsight, a trash percussion section would have been a better route. I had a lot of trouble getting something going on this one and skimped on production.
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