Nur Ein III Round One "Sleepwalking"

[Caravan Ray]

"My son is songwriter-of-the-month at SongFight" bumper sticker...

Can I get one of those....

I'll see if my Mum's got a spare one

[Billy's Little Trip]

"My son is songwriter-of-the-month at SongFight" bumper sticker...

Can I get one of those....

I'll see if my Mum's got a spare one

It would have been so much cooler if you'd have said "me Mum".

[Caravan Ray]

OK - here's how I would rank them:

1. Glenn and Rachel
2. BLT
3. JBB
4. 15-16 Puzzle
5. Ross Durand
6. TWSA
7. Bryan Kandel
8. Paco del Stinko
9. Reist
10. King Arthur
11. Ken
12. Frankie Big Face
13. ADD
14. Starfinger
15. Jim Tyrrell
16. Octothorpe
17. Adam Adamant
18. Sven Mullet
19. SausageBoy
20. Tex Beaumont & the Dirty Hearts
21. Cock
22. MCEricB
23. Lord of Oats

Some early observations:

ADD set a cracking pace from the jump, but Glenn & Rachel came back too hard, too strong in this go around. JBB is starting to look threatening, and FBF is back in the pack a bit, but always a danger as they round the turn and head for home. BLT, Ken and The King are looking very, very solid and will keep everyone here honest, as will Bryan Kandel with good consistency. TWSA, Ross and Paco are doing it comfortably at the moment, but could kick at anytime. Tyrrell stumbled slightly here I feel, but plenty of running left in him. Newcomers to Nur Ein, Starfinger and 15-16 look like they could easily be bolters if they get a good run, and the old warhorse Octothorpe is sure to be there as they get closer to he post. Sven is showing definite class, but not impressing me yet. Look out for the young colt Reist - he seems to be hitting form at the right time, and is a big improver from his last outing. Adam Adamant, Cock, MCEricB, Sausage Boy and Oatsey seem to be struggling at the moment - but in the wash up at the end of he day - Nur Ein is the winner.

[EmbersOfAutumn]

Goodbye Hoblit and Embers of Autumn--we will miss you.

Thank you Frankie.

Sorry guys, I had the song ideas down, but I couldn't get any free time to record it. I've been putting off some... um... more important things lately, i guess you could say...

I'll see you guys back in the cabal of the regular fights in about a month or two.

Good Luck on Nur Ein all.

[glennny]

Very strong fight everyone! As testament to how strong it is I have a very different ranking than Tex. Frankly it’s all so close I can imagine it playing out many different ways.

The WSA- I can’t be objective about my project. This is probably my new favorite WSA track. I’m very pleased with the result, but with competition so high, I have no clue if the judges will feel the same.

So other than our track I rank the rest like this:

1. Ken- Pop brilliance!
2. ADD- production is excellent, song is catchy, vocals are AWESOME!
3. Paco del Stinko- Consistently I find PDS about the most entertaining thing on SF. All the instruments sound great! I always dig your vocals!
4. JBB- Wow! The cello is fantastic! Also one of the best guitar riffs of the fight. Vocals are unparalleled.
5. Sven- I really enjoy this, even though it’s VERY similar to “We’re Waiting for the Flood” by Love and Rockets.
6. Frankie Big Face- This is amazing! Vocals are great! The six minutes are well spent, and I’m intrigued the whole time. (Although that cut at 3:22 is jarring)
7. BLT- Here come old flat top, he come grooving up slowly. You should be at the bottom for this blatant horrible plagiarism, but here I am ranking you 7th. That’s because this rocks, and the other riffs are pretty great!
8. Andrew Reist- I hear more Marillion than Rush musically. Vocals are not as strong as the music. The instrumental breakdown is beautiful! Nice solo! There’s some sloppy rhythm playing in spots, but I understand it was rushed.
9. Adam Adament- Nice little Madness type ditty. I dig.
10. Ross Durand- This song would be a world better with tighter drums, The vocals are superb, the song is good. Crescendo is very well done (despite the drums lagging)
11. Glenn & Rachel- This melody sounded sooo familiar. I was sure it was an ELO song. I went through 5 ELO albums and the song it most reminded me of was “Above the Clouds” on A New World Record. Reminding me of ELO just means they’re brilliant chords and gorgeous melodies.
12. Tex- This is ridiculous, and I love it.
13. Starfinger- Kick Ass vocals! Lost points for the “Na na nas” in my book.
14. Foghorn Leghorn- Nice Gothy groove.
15. BK- Nice mellow song, could use a hookier hook. The organ and the acoustic sound great.
16. King Arthur- Song seems phoned in. I hate the keys, and I don’t like the guitar tone. Always great singing from you. This is OK.
17. Jim Tyrell- Snore. Mercifully short, if you’re going to be so generic in form, at least knock my socks off with a kick ass solo or something.
18. Octothorpe- There’s an alarm clock in this song. Why are trying to make the listener hate you? If the alarm clock wasn’t there this would be much higher. Bass is great!
19. 15-16 Puzzle- Bass and guitar are not tight. Nice singing.
20. Sausage Boy- Mix is a mess. Offensive on many levels.
21. MC Eric B- I don't understand.
22. Lord of Oats- A jam without a song.

It's so tight, it's anybodies fight.
great job everyone!

[Spud]

18. Octothorpe- There’s an alarm clock in this song. Why are trying to make the listener hate you? If the alarm clock wasn’t there this would be much higher. Bass is great!

The alarm clock is critical to the song. It IS the song. We are not afraid to risk having people hate us. In fact, we're used to it. Besides, at this point in the competition, 18th is fine. We will be less strident and more kiss-ass if we make it a few more rounds, no doubt.

[Jefff]

Observations after listening through:

Things I especially liked:
Adam Adamant's song
BLT's opening riff, especially the fuzzy part
Cock's bass+drum texture
Frankie's guitar tone
Frankie's orchestra
G+R - especially the Dri-iiive to work
JBB's descending riff
King Arthur's decrescendo intro
King Arthur's chorus
Paco's song
Ross's guitar tone
Ross's crescendo
Starfinger's groove
Sven's synthpad
Tex's synths
Tex's bongos
WSA's british vocal

Things I especially didn't like:
Frankie's breathing
King Arthur's superdick
Lord of Oats' wailing
The rest of Lord of Oats' song
Jesus God make Lord of Oats' song end
MC Eric B's rap
Sausage Boy's crescendo

I would vote off:
Lord of Oats
MC Eric B
Sausage Boy

[Billy's Little Trip]

BLT - Come together right now!

7. BLT- Here come old flat top

Crap! It does kind of. Certainly not intentional. But I'm happy the other stuff and changes saved it for you two. I was just going for a bluesy funky groove. Thanks for the comments, guys.

[melvin]

BLT - Come together right now!

7. BLT- Here come old flat top

Crap! It does kind of. Certainly not intentional. But I'm happy the other stuff and changes saved it for you two. I was just going for a bluesy funky groove. Thanks for the comments, guys.

Y'all gotta see this!

[Billy's Little Trip]

Ha! That is shweet. I love seeing stuff like that. That kid is really in the groove!

[GlennCase]

BLT - Come together right now!

7. BLT- Here come old flat top

Crap! It does kind of. Certainly not intentional. But I'm happy the other stuff and changes saved it for you two.

Hate to say it, but Rachael started singing "Come Together" when she heard it too. I've been there, though. Justin and I wrote a song called "April Morning, With a Peach" and many have said that the verses sound just like "Comanche" by Cake. The difference is that I was trying to go with a "Cake-like" vibe, but I wasn't trying to out and out steal the melody either.

Overall this was a stellar round of songs from everyone involved.

ROCK!

Glenn Case

[glennny]

I really don't know the depth of what I'm asking, so forgive me, but would it be possible and/or easy enough to get a podcast of this fight?

[frankie big face]

Things I especially liked:
Frankie's guitar tone
Frankie's orchestra

Things I especially didn't like:
Frankie's breathing

Stock guitar patches in Logic Pro (I mean, I played it--it's not a synth patch, but a guitar effects patch or whatever they're called). Orchestra by the Chicago Symphony as mentioned earlier. And the breathing...well, it's not me, if that's what you meant. It's also a stock sound in Logic. I, myself, was split on whether to use it, but I saw it as sort of a waking-up-from-a-nightmare kind of thing and kept it.

[Ross]

If I were a judge!!

Here's how I would rank them - with a few brief comments. BTW I would not cut me, and I would give me immunity (you paying attention judges?)


1. PDS My pick for #1 this week, hands down
2. BLT – kick ass song – we gotta collab some time
3. KA – of all the King Arthurs in the world, you’re the King Arthuriest – harmonies on the last chorus would be great
4. KEN – I’m not your stepping stone
5. G&R very nice changes/tune – might be a smidge long ,but lovely – grew on me
6. FrankieBigFace - interesting concept – I’ve had something similar in mind this is inpring me to complete
7. JBB - glad the nur ein flushed you out.
8. WSA - all the guitar stuff just sounds great – the varying voices help a song like this succeed.
9. Reist I like some of the ideas a lot, but they don’t quite come off. Very enjoyable, though. I wish I could drum like you.
10. BK - I think harmonies would have really pushed up the second half of your song. I enjoyed the earnestness of it.
11. ADD
12. Starfinger
13. SVEN
14. JT
15. AdamAadamant
16. TB
17. 15-16 puzzle ( I was never any good at those)
18. # - I get it, we’re supposed to be as irritated as your protagonist – it worked.
19. MCEB – you have to start using more chord changes!!!!

I would cut

21. Cock
22. SausageBoi
23. Calm down oats - terrible – it’s clear you’re just giving up here

[Billy's Little Trip]

No ranking, just comments. This is the best block of music I think I've ever heard here on the SF. Everyone should be proud.

15-16 Puzzle - No drums, yet rocks. Love the chord changes. Guitar and vocals sounds great.

Adam Adamant - Nice and bouncy. The bridge went on a bit, but it's enjoyable.

ADD - Great song. So many instruments/sounds brought together wonderfully. Cool delivery.

Andrew Reist - I'm so happy to see how far you've come. I liked your round zero and I like this one too. I think you've found your sound and you're bringing it! Nice work Andrew.

Bryan Kandel - Nice classic sound. Good song. Well played.

Cock - Good poundy beat. I like it.

Frankie Big Face - Awesome arrangement. I love when the beat stops and the background music lightly continues. Powerful song.

Glenn & Rachael - Nice. Rachael has such a sweet voice. I like the hard panning. Wonderfully eerie.

Jim Tyrrell - This is fun. This is a song that people would dance to. Cool.

John Benjamin Band - This is really good. I've always wanted to incorporate a cello in my music, and you did it perfectly. Sounds so good with the guitar. I love songs with a movin' rhythm and half time on the vocal delivery and/or other instruments.

Ken Mahru - I love a strong beat. Then the chorus flows out smoothly. Has a memorable catchyness. Cool tune.

King Arthur - Interesting intro. Great little ditty. Sounds like a good country pop song. Nicely done.

Lord of Oats - The thing I like about this, is that I like hearing stuff off the hip. There have been many a song in my day that started just like this that evolved into pretty cool songs.

MC Eric B - This is a nice song. The vocal harmony sounds like a harmonizer type effect. It sounds good.

Octothorpe - Cool. Always so creative. I like that you set the time to the alarm clock.

Paco del Stinko - I like this. The music fits the image this song creates, so perfectly.

Ross Durand - I like this song. The melody draws me in. I love the guitars. The crescendo was great. Vocal delivery is great.

Sausage Boy - The sounds you came up with are cool. The end scream is creepy cool.

Starfinger - This song grooves. Kind of has a David Byrne style to it. Cool song.

Sven Mullet - Cool, I like this. The panned intro grabbed my interest right away. The heavy guitar sounds great. This song rocks!

Tex Beaumont and the Dirty Hearts - This song is awesome. It's so entertaining listening to this while reading the band name. It has all of the classic Caravan Ray signature back up vocals with a Euro disco groove. The band is just fantastic, that is really what I expect. Oh by the way, which one's Tex?

The Worldly Self Assurance - You guys consistently put out great music. It's hard enough to get a song completed in a week, but this has so many wonderful elements between the harmonies and instruments. Nice work and a great song.

[Ross]

This is the best block of music I think I've ever heard here on the SF.

Ps - I agree - hard to say if it is THE best, but the Ein sure does seem to create very strong blocks of music.

[erik]

Nur Ein!

[Niveous]

The judging is over in the Sleepwalking fight.

The John Benjamin Band takes top honors and earns Stage 2 immunity.

Hoblit, Embers of Autumn, MC Eric B, Lord of Oats and Sausage Boy are eliminated.

Total Score:
JBB 113
GnR 103
Ken 95
Sven 87
King 86
ADD 76
WSA 73
PDS 71
15-16 71
FBF 69
Reist 68
BK 65
Starf 65
BLT 60
Ross 54
# 53
JimT 42
Cock 32
Tex 30
AA 23
SB 19
MC 18
LoO 7

Judge 1
23. King Arthur
22. Ken Mahru
21. JBB
20. Octothorpe
19. Glenn and Rachael
18. 15-16 puzzle
17. The Worldly Self-Assurance
16. Add
15. Sven
14. Bryan Kandel
13. Andrew Reist
12. Billy's Little Trip
11. Paco del Stinko
10. Starfinger
9. Adam Adamant
8. FBF
7. Ross Durand
6. Sausage Boy
5. Cock
4. Tex
3. Jim Tyrrell
2. MC Eric B
1. Lord of Oats

Judge 2
23 John Benjamin Band
22 Billy's Little Trip
21 Frankie Big Face
20 Glenn & Rachael
19 Paco del Stinko
18 Sven Mullet
17 King Arthur
16 Ken Mahru
15 Starfinger
14 Jim Tyrrell
13 15-16 Puzzle
12 ADD
11 Octothorpe
10 Ross Durand
09 Tex Beaumont and the Dirty Hearts
08 Andrew Reist
07 Bryan Kandel
06 MC Eric B
05 Sausage Boy
04 The Worldly Self Assurance
03 Cock
02 Adam Adamant
01 Lord of Oats

Judge 3
23 JBB
22 G & R
21 ADD
20 Sven Mullet
19 Andrew Reist
18 Paco del Stinko
17 King Arthur
16 Ken Mahru
15 The WSA
14 Bryan Kandel
13 FBF
12 15-16 Puzzle
11 Cock
10 Octothorpe
9 Ross Durand
8 Starfinger
7 Billy's Little Trip
6 MC Eric B
5 Jim Tyrrell
4 Sausage Boy
3 Tex Beaumont
2 Adam Adamant
1 Lord of Oats

Judge 4
23 The JBB
22 ADD
21 Ken
20 GnR
19 15-16 Puzzle
18 TWSA
17 Ross
16 Sven
15 FBF
14 BK
13 Reist
12 King Arthur
11 Starfinger
10 Jim Tyrrell
9 Paco
8 Octothorpe
7 Tex
6 BLT
5 cock
4 Adam Adamant
3 MC Eric B
2 Lord of Oats
1 Sausage Boy

Judge 5
23 John Benjamin Band
22 Glen and Rachael
21 Starfinger
20 Ken Mahru
19 WSA
18 Sven
17 King Arthur
16 Bryan Kandel
15 Andrew Reist
14 Paco del Stinko
13 Billy's Little Trip
12 Frankie Big Face
11 Ross Durand
10 Jim Tyrrell
9 15 - 16 Puzzle
8 Cock
7 Tex Beaumont and the Dirty Hearts
6 Adam Adamant
5 Add
4 Octothorpe
3 Sausage Boy
2 Lord of Oats
1 MC Eric B

[adamadamant]

Skin. Teeth. Phew!

[jimtyrrell]

Hey judges: thanks. I don't want to make excuses about my last song, and if I'd been eliminated, I would have had to agree that my song fell short of the mark. But I will say that I'm in much better position to take on the Nur Ein this week. I live on, and I plan to make the most of it. Nur Ein!

[jb]

My goodness! I am so pleased at the generous response to this song amongst a very well-crafted field.

Thanks everybody.

JB

[ujnhunter]

good thing i only packed half my bags... i'll try to appeal to a more pop taste next time... (not sure i can tho...)