Nur Ein XIV Round Seven "Survival"

There can be only one.
mo
Mean Street
Posts: 513
Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2004 9:46 pm
Instruments: guitar, bass, synth
Recording Method: Reaper 4eva
Submitting as: duboce triangle, ellipsis, agony sauce, moody vermin, spite, yaks
Pronouns: n/a
Location: hell a
Contact:

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by mo »

Yes, I think it’s a Clapton term:

https://youtu.be/p4vxOoSS5RY

Basically neck pickup or middle position, turn the tone knob almost all the way down. I use the tone caps I do bc then I can turn the tone all the way and not have to struggle to find the sweet spot; the sweet spot is 0.

I have spent way too much of my life figuring out which guitar truisms and mods I think are hype and which are good, and I’m happy to share the results of my wasting a lot of time and money if there’s anything I know that anyone wants to hear hahahaha
owl
Panama
Posts: 974
Joined: Mon May 15, 2017 1:29 pm
Instruments: vox keys uke guitar
Recording Method: REAPER
Submitting as: Vowl Sounds, miscellaneous owl
Pronouns: she/her
Location: Madison, WI
Contact:

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by owl »

mo wrote:
Thu Jun 20, 2019 3:34 pm
I have spent way too much of my life figuring out which guitar truisms and mods I think are hype and which are good, and I’m happy to share the results of my wasting a lot of time and money if there’s anything I know that anyone wants to hear hahahaha
hey mo how do I make my tone sound good?
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: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by Lunkhead »

Sounds like a candidate for a really interesting thread that is not this one. :P
owl
Panama
Posts: 974
Joined: Mon May 15, 2017 1:29 pm
Instruments: vox keys uke guitar
Recording Method: REAPER
Submitting as: Vowl Sounds, miscellaneous owl
Pronouns: she/her
Location: Madison, WI
Contact:

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by owl »

I was joking, but I'm sure a real answer to that exceedingly vague question somewhere else would be interesting :)
mo
Mean Street
Posts: 513
Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2004 9:46 pm
Instruments: guitar, bass, synth
Recording Method: Reaper 4eva
Submitting as: duboce triangle, ellipsis, agony sauce, moody vermin, spite, yaks
Pronouns: n/a
Location: hell a
Contact:

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by mo »

You want to know the honest truth?

Practice.
mo
Mean Street
Posts: 513
Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2004 9:46 pm
Instruments: guitar, bass, synth
Recording Method: Reaper 4eva
Submitting as: duboce triangle, ellipsis, agony sauce, moody vermin, spite, yaks
Pronouns: n/a
Location: hell a
Contact:

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by mo »

Ok now that I got the glib (but true) answer out of the way, what I’ll say is a lot like something JB said in the songwriting feedback thread—you have to know what tone you want. Then you have to know what you have, in terms of tone and what you’re using to make that tone. But most of the time, the instruments and equipment we’re all using these days is good enough to get at least a useable tone.

I will say as a general tip that the thinnest, weakest note on a guitar is usually the 8th fret C on the high E string so if you dial that in to sound good, you’re on the right track.
User avatar
Spintown
Push Comes to Shove
Posts: 399
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 9:27 pm
Submitting as: Spintown & Company
Pronouns: he/him
Contact:

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by Spintown »

Shadows
Everyone who submitted a shadow in this round, and all the others...well done. I’m glad you get that this is supposed to be fun & about creating music first & foremost. I actually don’t like judging & doing reviews, and that’s the only reason I didn’t write them for you….I never committed myself to doing them. But I DO enjoying listening to the songs each round & seeing how you all meet the challenges. Thank you for adding to that joy each round. Also….Max….DAMN. You win this round.

Agony Sauce
This is tough. Cause I was hoping the last round you would drop all the extra challenges. I mean there’s nothing new to add to this round, so I didn’t see the point in doing all the same challenges again. I’m sure because I’ve judged all these rounds I have a different POV than most listeners to this will. For me when you get to the spelling, I’m like yeah, saw that coming...and in this case it again seems out of place to me. I thought the sample fit into your song pretty well. The overall the song is really well done, I just feel like even though this is a NEW song, it feels like I’ve heard it before. It’s cool that both of the final songs were collabs amongst the finalists.

Vowl Sounds
Another case were I’m just ready for the gimmick to end. I think this was one of the better songs in this story. You bring it to a close nicely, even if I don’t fully buy the wife would be as forgiving to the girl as you wrote it. She stole her man, and helped cover up her murder so I thought that was a bit of a stretch. That’s also one of the things that’s bothered me throughout this contest. You write a song. I enjoy the story, but then I also create my own story in my head imagining how it would continue. But then the next song comes out & you blow up my little image I had of your song. Lol Not really your fault at all, but people do that with songs all the time. They can mean 1 thing to 1 person, and another to someone else. So you basically don’t allow me create my own version of the story by constantly correcting me each round. ;p I haven’t been listing my rankings in these reviews since Niveous has been doing it when he posts the results, but you do get my vote in this final round. Because like the Agony Sauce song, this was really well done, and sounds great. I think I enjoyed it a tad more because I didn’t feel as if I’d heard it before.
Last edited by Spintown on Sat Jun 22, 2019 1:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Adam!
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1425
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 11:10 am
Instruments: Drum 'n' Bass (but not THAT Drum 'n' Bass)
Recording Method: Reaper + Stock Plugins
Submitting as: Max Bombast
Pronouns: he/him
Location: Victoria, BC, AwesomeLand
Contact:

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by Adam! »

Nur Ein XIV was a blast and this final round was an especially sweet note to end on. Reviews!

Agony Sauce - So glad the double-crossover happened! Love this groove. This song is jam packed with great melodies and hooks, propelled by that awesome bass part. I'll be honest, I was afraid that trying to do all the challenges was going to trainwreck this song but instead everything came together wonderfully into a cohesive, deliberate and confident sound. The layers get a bit dense by the end but if there was any time to do that it's now. I even like the guitar solos, and I never like guitar solos.

Vowel - This is an incredible feat, an epic story-song of Decemberists calibre. Triumphant. Every part of it is great, but the drums are actually perfect, conducting the song and driving its energy. The huge, wide vocal layering during the big moments are ear candy. The sax was a genuine surprise.

Lichen - Meditative groove. Confession: I haven't been following the Ouija-verse OR the Bleak-House-a-verse narratives very closely, but the lyrics really grabbed my attention on this one. This song is chill.

Mandibles - Love the soaring impassioned choruses; it's a great melody delivered well that has been stuck in my head all week. Cool flange-y bass tones. This is exactly the kinda big, in your face songs that I like. Great tune for June, too.

Inflatable Vegetables - This song delights me. It's silly but earnest, and I enjoy how the nightmarish scenario contrasts the idyllic setting. The big bridge is well performed and hilarious and rocks in a Meatloaf-y way.

Max - My "A-Game" is making a bunch of bad songs really quick. R.I.P. Nur Ein's inbox.
  • Survival (Of The Fittest) - Made shortly after getting eliminated and submitted immediately. This mix is whack but the song is sassy. And now, having finished Nur Ein, time to play some video games.
  • Survival (Horror) - Sigh, another "message" song... that message: Don't play Resident Evil after midnight. I like this beat.
  • Survival (Mode) - Another quickie. I think this song is good enough that it deserves a real second verse and maybe some harmonies in the chorus.
  • Survival (Depends On It) - My own June Tune. I really like this one, even if it breaks a few of my rules for Max Bombast songs. It started out unassuming but ended up turning into my thesis statement for the whole album.
  • Survival (-ist Burt Gummer) - Some ideas are so bad that I can't shake them. This song was a release valve for eight weeks of pent-up silliness. I stole the "Stop." bit from Run The Jewels.
With Nur Ein XIV concluded, my only regret is that I didn't rap more.
User avatar
vowlvom
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1091
Joined: Wed May 17, 2017 3:29 am
Instruments: guitar, keys, "other"
Recording Method: PC, reaper, ableton
Submitting as: Vowl Sounds, Vom Vorton
Pronouns: he/him
Contact:

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by vowlvom »

Finally finishing up my long-gestating reviews because I’m visiting family and they’ve decided they need to watch ‘Love Island’.
​​
​​Inflatable Vegetables - this is charming, funny and I think these are some of your best vocals - I love the layering and there are some great harmonies. It might not stay with me as much as (e.g.) your 'No Memory' but it definitely made me grin. I don’t get the rickroll comments, what am I missing?
​​
​​The Kraken Lives - this is super fun, even though I've never watched baseball in my life and I have no idea what any of it means. I love those quick, clean, shimmering guitar parts and the chunky analog synth bass, and the duet vocals are so much fun - love the way the rhyme passes between the two vocalists!
​​
​​Lichen Throat - definitely some of your best work, your even-deeper-than-usual voice sounds great, instrumentation is moody and very cool, lyrics are intriguing even if I'm looking forward to you writing about something that isn't Bleak House (although I'll be sure to revisit these songs if I ever read / watch it). My only real critique from a production point of view is that there’s a hissy background noise that appears when you’re singing and vanishes when you aren’t, I’ve never noticed it on one of your songs before so not sure what that’s about? But I liked this a lot.
​​
​​Mandibles - excellent lyrics and melodies, and the vocals really soar in places - including the opening line which grabs my attention every time I listen! I struggled with the mix at first because the drums don't really seem to have any punch to them which stops everything else hanging together as well as it should. This feels like an excellent song in need of a bit more polish though, which is definitely not the worst thing to be, and I noticed the issues less as I listened more times. Killer melodies, especially that chorus.
​​
​​Max Bombast:
​​#1 / Survival of the Fittest: I really like that weird keyboard / synth sound that drives this one (or is it just bass, with a weird effect on it?) The clever tempo change to match the lyrics is great. But I kind of hate that line about “taking a baller down” but maybe to be more accurate I don’t understand it and it makes me feel like I’m on the outside looking in.
​​#2 / Survival Horror: genre bias here, I really struggle with vocals that have this level of aggression in them. The angular riffs are cool though, and there’s an excellent dynamic shift when you kick into “dreaming of survival…”.
​​#3 / Survival Mode: this one is SUPER catchy and I woke up with it stuck in my head the other night. If there were some harmonies on the chorus I think it’d be my favourite of your five submissions. I really couldn’t get my head around the “If stress is your BFF” line until I read the lyrics, but that’s all the critique that I have.
​​#4 / Survival Depends On It: this one has a really memorable melody too and some great use of harmonised backing vocals in the chorus. Love the combination of fuzzy bass riffing and acoustic guitar, too. Feels like the most fleshed-out of your five, although I’m not crazy about the “absence of a statement is a statement” bit, the repeats just feel like they kill the momentum a bit. But this is my favourite Max Bombast song named Survival.
​​#5 / Survivalist: I love Tremors, I first saw it when I was 12 (I found my 1994 diary recently and I’d written a whole thing about it!) and revisiting it over the years has only made me love it more, to the point that I regularly wear a Tremors t-shirt. As such I'm pretty into this right up until the end where you say "I don't really like Tremors" and break my worm-lovin' heart. It's good fun though, and that rhythmical shift in the middle is pretty great.
​​
​​---
​​
​​Agony Sauce - there were some rounds where I feel like the cumulative challenges had a negative impact on your songs, but this definitely wasn’t one of them. The vocal sample and chiptune elements especially are super tasty, and I had a moment of joyful clarity when I was struggling with the lyrics but then remembered I needed to read them backwards! Mo’s lead guitar work on this track is absolutely incredible and I love the vocal layers, thank you for asking us to be part of them. Owl’s bonus melody on the chorus is so catchy and this song has been stuck in my head a LOT.
​​
​​Vowl Sounds - I had all my energy back this week, possibly due to a four-day weekend, possibly due to spending two hours in the same room as Werner Herzog, possibly because I got to write my own chord sequence. I absolutely love the way owl finished up the story, and this makes me feel a bit emotional at the end with the list of hopes and dreams accompanied by Nate’s incredible sax and the mass forces of Glenn’s birthday party barbecue. This Nur Ein was even more exhausting than last year but so rewarding and so much fun, even if we hadn’t won I think writing these eight songs would have been one of my proudest achievements, the victory is the icing on the cake.
​​
User avatar
iVeg
Mean Street
Posts: 531
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 10:06 pm
Submitting as: inflatable vegetables

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by iVeg »

I have been like a crack addict, bouncing onto the forum to see if anything new has been posted.

Vom: I was super late on "Survival". I didn't write the lyrics until Saturday, and wasn't able to record vocals until late Monday. I asked Tommy to rickroll the listening party audience, since my shadow wasn't ready. I had fun, and laughed while I was making it, so I'm glad you got a grin from it.

Max: I hate Meatloaf, but I see the comparison. I'm glad you got delight. I need to learn your A-Game. Will check out your bandcamp after I post this. It's surprising how dangerous "Paradise" can be. Especially when you're doing stupid things. When I was doing parkour I had a GIF of a jumping body with red marks everywhere I had injured myself, and numbers on each dot, showing how many times for each location.

I'm eagerly waiting for the podcasts. My think is that it's a Fibonacci sequence - next year there will be 5 Nur Ein podcasts. In 2021, there will be 8. In 2024 there will be more podcasts about Nur Ein than competitors. [34]. At that point I will get super-meta and start judging the podcasts, using a 3 hour video podcast, with hand puppets playing the parts of the various podcasters. Maybe I should do that THIS year? After the final podcasts come out? The idea excites me, but seems too time intensive.

Maybe I'll draw a comic summary of that video podcast! Time to practice drawing Muppets. While I listen to "Max Bombast Saves America"
facebook.com/ivegband
owl
Panama
Posts: 974
Joined: Mon May 15, 2017 1:29 pm
Instruments: vox keys uke guitar
Recording Method: REAPER
Submitting as: Vowl Sounds, miscellaneous owl
Pronouns: she/her
Location: Madison, WI
Contact:

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by owl »

iVeg wrote:
Sat Jun 22, 2019 3:46 pm
Maybe I should do that THIS year? After the final podcasts come out? The idea excites me, but seems too time intensive.
DO IT
Time is an illusion!
mo
Mean Street
Posts: 513
Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2004 9:46 pm
Instruments: guitar, bass, synth
Recording Method: Reaper 4eva
Submitting as: duboce triangle, ellipsis, agony sauce, moody vermin, spite, yaks
Pronouns: n/a
Location: hell a
Contact:

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by mo »

Lunchtime doubly so
User avatar
vowlvom
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1091
Joined: Wed May 17, 2017 3:29 am
Instruments: guitar, keys, "other"
Recording Method: PC, reaper, ableton
Submitting as: Vowl Sounds, Vom Vorton
Pronouns: he/him
Contact:

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by vowlvom »

iVeg wrote:
Sat Jun 22, 2019 3:46 pm
I'm eagerly waiting for the podcasts.
Has anyone heard from any of the podcasters recently? Everything has gone strangely quiet.
User avatar
grumpymike
Push Comes to Shove
Posts: 418
Joined: Sun Apr 17, 2016 3:12 pm
Instruments: Rage and curmudgeonry
Recording Method: Zero-turn lawnmower
Submitting as: Grumpy Mike

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by grumpymike »

I've had a terrible sinus infection, so I've been holding off until that blows over. I apologize for the delay.
Cybronica
Push Comes to Shove
Posts: 314
Joined: Mon May 14, 2018 2:38 pm
Instruments: Vocals, Bass
Recording Method: sm7b, Scarlett 8i6, Logic Pro
Submitting as: Mandibles, Cybronica
Pronouns: she/they

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by Cybronica »

grumpymike wrote:
Tue Jun 25, 2019 8:25 am
I've had a terrible sinus infection, so I've been holding off until that blows over. I apologize for the delay.
Oh no! I hope you feel better soon!
“It's like opera for toddlers or something.” -furrypedro
User avatar
vowlvom
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1091
Joined: Wed May 17, 2017 3:29 am
Instruments: guitar, keys, "other"
Recording Method: PC, reaper, ableton
Submitting as: Vowl Sounds, Vom Vorton
Pronouns: he/him
Contact:

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by vowlvom »

Get well soon, Grumpy Mike!
User avatar
Chumpy
Twilight Sparkle
Posts: 691
Joined: Sat Apr 18, 2015 2:06 pm
Instruments: Vocals, guitar, bass
Recording Method: Logic
Submitting as: Jerkatorium, Chumpy
Pronouns: he/him
Location: Seattle, WA
Contact:

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by Chumpy »

Better late than never!

Let's get on with it: Jam your guitar into the amp and: feedback@twojerksonevote.com.

INDEX: Woot!
"I don't recommend ending on a bad joke." --ken
User avatar
glennny
Jump
Posts: 2196
Joined: Sat Mar 04, 2006 2:39 am
Instruments: Guitar, Bass, Mandolin, Dobro, Banjo, E-Bow, Glock
Recording Method: Garageband
Submitting as: Berkeley Social Scene
Location: Castro Valley, California

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by glennny »

Chumpy and Ryan,

Thanks for the review! Love the podcast! (I need to finish listening). Concerning the Kraken Lives, the last line of the Chorus has a key change, I bet that Ryan doesn't like that key change. Kudos to Chumpy for mostly getting the lyrics! I'm not sure whether you guys picked up on the fact that of our 3 home teams (we live 10 minutes from Oracle Arena and Oakland Coliseum), only the A's are staying (surviving if you will). The Raiders are moving to Las Vegas , and the Warriors (the Dubs) are moving to San Francisco (Frisco).

cheers!
Phillipso, Older Brothers, Semolina Pilchards, Zipline , Thank Glennny for the Frisbee, The Odoriferous Valley, The Worldly Self Assurance, Berkeley Social Scene, Very Gentle Knives, Daddy Bop Swing Set, GUNS, The Kraken Lives, Cavedwellers
User avatar
vowlvom
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1091
Joined: Wed May 17, 2017 3:29 am
Instruments: guitar, keys, "other"
Recording Method: PC, reaper, ableton
Submitting as: Vowl Sounds, Vom Vorton
Pronouns: he/him
Contact:

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by vowlvom »

Excellent final podcast, thanks Jerks! Sorry to hear it's been an exhausting experience but it really did help motivate me to work harder and turn out better songs, so thank you for that.
User avatar
iVeg
Mean Street
Posts: 531
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 10:06 pm
Submitting as: inflatable vegetables

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by iVeg »

"It's been a fun Nur Ein and we're never ever going to do this again." [Ryan] :(

Thanks Ryan and Chumpy for your reviews and the time you've put into the podcast.
Also, thanks to Travis for the cameo appearance and your insights.

When my song came on, I was appalled. I apologize to everyone who had to suffer listening to it.

I will spare everybody my whole jokey "The Veggie Roll" Muppet inspired podcast video review comic thing. Here's the Cliff Notes Version:

Show intro: Niveous tells where to skip for each segment. Statler and Waldorf say "Skip the whole thing!" Iveg says Aloha, welcome.

Jerks in Space (Needle): Ryan and Chumpy try to explain their bucket system. They also shoot transparency cannons at everything.

Veterinarian Hospital: Dr Ben is operating on Dr Mike. With a chainsaw. He pulls out Owl, who gives a commercial for SongFight Live.

Backstage: Tommy is sad about the end of the Nur Ein Listening Parties. Niv cheers him up by having a ballroom flooded with ice cubes. Vom Vorton and Tommy sing BYD "Message Received". Niv rides around on a floor polisher. The Cases' amazingly photogenic dogs ice skate.

Finale: Niv finally gets back to the honeymoon suite with the bucket of ice. Brookes says, "Don't worry about the podcast. We're newlyweds on vacation. They’ll understand if we're a few months late." Niv takes out his guitar. Brookes takes out her Omnichord OM-27. They begin to sing "Rainbow Connection". As we zoom out from their suite, we see all the other Nur Ein competitors and judges on adjacent lanai balconies, They join in.
facebook.com/ivegband
User avatar
vowlvom
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1091
Joined: Wed May 17, 2017 3:29 am
Instruments: guitar, keys, "other"
Recording Method: PC, reaper, ableton
Submitting as: Vowl Sounds, Vom Vorton
Pronouns: he/him
Contact:

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by vowlvom »

I love it! I've always wanted to be a Muppet, and sing the best two songs of all time (Rainbow Connection and Message Received by Boffo Yux Dudes ;) )

And I also liked your last song, even if nobody else - including you - did! And I'm a Champ so it counts double.
User avatar
iVeg
Mean Street
Posts: 531
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 10:06 pm
Submitting as: inflatable vegetables

Re: Nur Ein XIV, Final Round: Survival

Post by iVeg »

Thanks, Vom. Thanks for coming through for the Zamboni sequence, even if it was 3 am in England, and you were in your pajamas.

I loved my last song while I was singing it. My headphone mix sounds different than 2 Jerks 1 Vote podcast version. This has happened before, but last time, theirs sounded great and mine was meh. This time, mine was meh, and theirs was terrible.

I imagine the finale sounding something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0Hd3uWKFKY
facebook.com/ivegband
Post Reply