You'll get Under Over the reviews

[lalabrookie]

Interesting. It sounded like someone was actually banging on a plastic trash can or something.
quote]

Hahaha...that is great! Maybe I'll try that the next time and see if the trash can sounds like bongos. Or maybe I'll try your recording tips instead - yeah - that sounds like a better plan!

And thanks for the compliments on the vocs/harmonies

[jeff robertson]

Many programs come with a "Stereo Expander" plugin (and if yours doesn't, Jan Krueger wrote one and distributed it for free). Stereo Expanders take a mono source sound and make it sound fuller by widening it into stereo. I use that sometimes, but for guitar, I prefer actually recording the track twice (making sure it's as close to identical as possible), panning one about 75% to the left and the other about 75% to the right.

I've normally heard "Stereo Expander" to refer to plugins that take something that is already stereo (usually the master mix) and make it sound wider.

I know the kind of thing you're talking about, but for the life of me I can't think of the name for it, other than something like "fake stereo".

[Manhattan Glutton]

And then there's always the ol "duplicate track and delay by 10 milliseconds" stereo trick.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Mine were $250.

My only advice then is to take them off your butt and put them on your ears.

See, this is bad advice, as usual.

[JonPorobil]

Many programs come with a "Stereo Expander" plugin (and if yours doesn't, Jan Krueger wrote one and distributed it for free). Stereo Expanders take a mono source sound and make it sound fuller by widening it into stereo. I use that sometimes, but for guitar, I prefer actually recording the track twice (making sure it's as close to identical as possible), panning one about 75% to the left and the other about 75% to the right.

I've normally heard "Stereo Expander" to refer to plugins that take something that is already stereo (usually the master mix) and make it sound wider.

I know the kind of thing you're talking about, but for the life of me I can't think of the name for it, other than something like "fake stereo".

It's possible that we're both right.

Jan's plugin takes a mono input and outputs a wider stereo take, and he called it a "Stereo Expander."

Oh, and lalabrookie, you might find this useful: http://bit.ly/jstereopan

[J3wmangi]

It's not cool to sample the matrix?? OOOHHHHH I get it, that means it's cool right?

[Billy's Little Trip]

BGT, your song only has three chords, you hack.

I just did what you tellded me o do.

Sounds good though. Well, your acoustic kind of messes it up, but eh, good song

When I review my own songs, typically I'm talking to myself. When there's a collaborator involved, I'm still just talking to myself. Chris, you did good work. Made it into the kind of song I wanted it to be. Thank you.

Oh, I know. I was just breakin' your bawllz. But if I don't get around to reviews, my only pet peeves are that I don't care for the slightly panned electric rhythm guitar and the bridge is too busy. And the acoustic guitar should have been dropped completely because the strumming pattern throws off the the groove. Or swap the electric and acoustic, like acoustic in the verses, electric in the chorus. In the bridge especially, the two together are not good. But those are more like personal things. Overall a pretty rockin' song.

[nyjm]

Global observation: a lot of people played it straight and heart-felt this fight. (Myself included). We are one hell of a collection of tortured souls, apparently.

Schlimminy Cricket
+++ backing vox harmonies +++
--- rubber duck synth bass is WAY too hot ---
/// it’s a pretty funny concept, and yet you don’t over do it. nice ///
+++ solo - what IS that? +++
--- some clipping vox towards the end ---

noah mclaughlin
/// free cookie to the first person to correctly identify the song’s subject ///
+++ lyrical idea, if I do say so myself +++
--- that first guitar scrape is so gorram LOUD ---
+++ I learned how to belt at Song Fight! Live +++

Ross Durand
+++ great laid back feel but still intense +++
+++ great melody +++
--- tambourine is too sharp ---
/// the under / over theme is … gah... over used; it’s like you’re going out of your way to find different witty ways to include the idea. ///

J Sheezy
/// genre bias: rap has to be awesome to wow me ///
--- this is not awesome ---
--- boring rhythm with gratuitous cursing and little more than outmoded masculinist chest-beating ---
--- out of time bass that is little more than an 1, 2, 3, 4 pulse ---
--- clipping vox ---

Cannibal Parrot
+++ name +++
+++ bass work +++
--- way too much reverb ---
--- lacks prosody and a solid melody ---
--- singing ---
--- sloppy performance ---

Steven Durand
--- singing: you consistently miss that sustained note in the melody ---
+++ chorus instrumentation: LOVE the organ +++
/// i want some slap-key guitar work on this to complete the Hawaiian vibe ///

PiGPEN
--- pedobear would be proud ---
--- I’m sorry, you must be looking for /e/ ---

Larry
+++ guitar tone +++
/// piano doodling ///
--- guit + piano ---
/// over all this just has some mixing issues; those set aside, there’s a neat song here with an interesting melody ///

Hey It’s Romer
/// genre bias: this seems reasonably well produced (despite a few clips) and performed (despite a few rhythmic flubs; I have nothing constructive to add, sorry ///
--- please edit your ID3 tags for those of us who use the playlist ---
/// J Sheezy, take notes ///
+++ vocal layers (though it can border on too much) +++

Paco del Stinko - vote
+++ bass groove +++
+++ change up with chorus +++
+++ solid rocking tune +++

Tindersoot - vote
+++ variety of instrumentation +++
+++ vox harmonies +++
+++ using the phrase “Bolshevik tactics” +++
/// please post the lyrics ///

Flvxxvm Florvum
/// i’ve been to a biker bar where this would go over FANTASTICALLY ///
+++ dual vox tone +++
+++ RAWK in the chorus +++
+++ i like the sloppiness of this +++
--- but NOT that high-pitched feedback noise before the last solo ---

EggNogAdam
+++ vox in the far background +++
/// minimalism … never really pays off. I keep waiting for this to bust out into a full-on rocker. It never does ///

BLT / DJ Ranger Den / Paco - vote! and more vote!
+++ oh... my... god... I have to curl up into a little ball now and die of ecstasy +++
+++ RAWK! +++
+++ perfect blend of snarl and vulnerability +++
/// please make more of this ///

lalabrookie
--- transitions often have uncertain timing ---
+++ vox harmonies +++
+++ percussion adds depth +++
/// talking ///

Crank Radio
+++ groove +++
--- split vox ---
--- highs in the track are way too hot: that damned high hat and parts of the vox ---

Billy’s Generic Trip - vote
+++ great blend of two artists’ sensibilities : BLT’s overdriven guitars and Jon Eric’s vocal harmonies +++
+++ rapid “Over / Under” in the bridge +++
+++ metaphor +++

[JonPorobil]

Steven Durand

/// i want some slap-key guitar work on this to complete the Hawaiian vibe ///

The term you're looking for is "slack-key guitar," and I agree wholeheartedly.

[lalabrookie]

Seems like a lot of these songs are about manipulative, game-playing, greedy women? Apparently I am not the only one who wrote a slightly bitter about something that costs too much! Some really good songs this time.

BGT: This is so fun. Absolutely love the whole thing. Was the acoustic rhythym off a little here and there or was that just me? Otherwise, fun…lyrics were great, especially the reference to blue balls.

BLT w/DENNI/PACO: Denni, I really like the way you use your voice here. Lyrics are also great in this song. Like the reference to the “church of my heart”. Also found the 1-2-3 type beat to be really engaging. Guitars were great. Good job.

CANNIBAL PARROT: Good production – instrumentals were very nice. Melody is good but I feel like you’re not using your voice to its full potential. Don’t be self-conscious about singing your heart out and being serious about it. This is obviously a deep song in some aspects, so sing it like you mean it! Really like the synth and sax at the end but I think it all went on just a bit too long.

CRANK RADIO: Too much distortion on guitar, maybe? This song didn’t do much for me…sorry. I listened a few times, but nothing grabbed me. Way too mellow with nothing to back it up. Lyrics seem like maybe they’re good but I couldn’t understand some of them…can you post them in the archive?

EGGNOG: Good job on the understated guitar and the echoes. They went well together and set the mood. I liked the line, “over myself and underwhelmed”.

FLXXVM: I like the energy in this song. Thought you were having tempo issues but the speedup at the end was intentional, right? I think that maybe could have been more obvious…maybe a pause, a few slow beats getting faster and then into the transition, getting faster steadily every four measures? Just a suggestion so it doesn’t sound like timing issues. Otherwise, not a bad song.

LARRY HAKALA: I really love piano and I really love grungy guitar, but I’m not sure that I like them in the same setting (at least not in this case). Maybe if the piano was little more distorted? Or maybe if it was a guitar doing the piano part? The melody worked, just not the piano (imho). What was the clicky thing in there? Almost too much reverb. Lyrics have potential but need some work.

PACO: The conversation with yourself was very funny. I just pictured the little angel on your shoulder and you reaching back and flicking it away. Cute song, as usual!

ROSS DURAND: The guitar and also the falsetto you throw in here and there…oh, so very nice. Also like the build with the shaker and then the tambourine. And then the harmonica…yum…you get an A on this one. The only think I would like to hear is a little more softness/dynamics in your singing. Otherwise, I really like this one.

SCHLIMMINY: Please tell me this song is about toilet paper? Please please? Because that would be amazing. I like the creepy music and the bass(-ish?) thing that made me tap my foot the whole time (almost against my will). I could picture Gomez and Morticia fox trotting -or something- to this. Great job!

STEVE DURAND: Bass line was all kinds of fun. Lyrics are too cute. Very Jimmy Buffet. I like it.

TINDERSOOT: Nice production – really liked the acoustic in here, and the harmonies are nice. I little too elevator-music for my taste, but a solid song.

PIGPEN: I really liked this song for about 19 seconds. You have a nice voice. I can see why you’re called pigpen. Why don’t you use your voice for good instead of whatever else the hell this song is? I’m no prude but seriously? Way too much detail. If I want porn, I’ll go looking for porn. Against my better judgment, I actually did listen to this whole song and despite the extremely raunchy lyrics I really like the singing part and the production wasn’t bad. And I may have to go take a cold shower now. Or if I was JB, apparently I would just go find a dolphin.

NOAH MCLAUGHLIN: You have a nice voice. I feel like it’s off key in certain places, but maybe that’s just me. The tapping was a good idea but too loud and therefore distracting – I think it should have been quieter and with the other percussion. Liked the guitar slides. Was going to try to guess what this is about but can’t understand some of the words – post in archive?

ROMER: Your sounds at the beginning were funny and I liked how they began to blend together and gain depth. I’m not a big fan of this sort of music but this seems like a solid song. Good build at the end. But then abrupt ending?

J SHEESY: Sorry, this just makes me roll my eyes. Do you think you’re a gangsta? A studly one? You’re a 15 year old white boy, right? Correct me if I’m wrong. Backing synth is really repetitive and annoying. I only listened about halfway through and gave up, and that is very unusual for me. I even listened to the porn song the whole way through (because I felt that at least has some redeeming artistic value). Geez. This “song” is an example of the crappy influence of today’s “music” industry and all of the problems that lie therein. Thank god for the internet. And if you really feel that you have some talent in there somewhere (and I’m not discounting that – maybe you do but I couldn’t tell from this production), why don’t you go for something unique rather than doing what everyone else is doing? This truly is meant to be constructive. Think about it.

LALABROOKIE: I liked this song quite a bit. Production is even sketchier than usual because I’m playing around with Audacity, but I think the song itself has merit. I like the chorus and it’s a good summary of my life. Thank god it’s free to sit in my backyard and drink beer (well, close to free!)

Votes go to BGT, BLT w/Denni and Paco, Ross Durand, Steve Durand and Schlimminy.

[hillbilly]

Pig-long time no see you pervert. got my vote.
Lababrookie- nice tits
egg- know you had a buzz, you were out of tune
Sheezy- dont think i have heard anything like that before

rest to come, ride is here,new music bar here in Morganton, it rocks
Hillbilly out

[nyjm]

Steven Durand

/// i want some slap-key guitar work on this to complete the Hawaiian vibe ///

The term you're looking for is "slack-key guitar," and I agree wholeheartedly.

Ah, yes. I always make that slip of the tongue because I think of the way it's strummed, which always seems more like slapping. But that's just my weird filter on reality.

NOAH MCLAUGHLIN: [...] can’t understand some of the words – post in archive?

Done & done.

That "tapping" (I think) is probably the cowbell. It's a product of 1) I like cowbell too much and 2) only mixing with my bass-rich headphones. On regular computer speakers and probably most other headphones it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Thanks for the kind review, though!

[roymond]

J SHEESY: Sorry, this just makes me roll my eyes. Do you think you’re a gangsta? A studly one? You’re a 15 year old white boy, right? Correct me if I’m wrong. Backing synth is really repetitive and annoying. I only listened about halfway through and gave up, and that is very unusual for me. I even listened to the porn song the whole way through (because I felt that at least has some redeeming artistic value). Geez. This “song” is an example of the crappy influence of today’s “music” industry and all of the problems that lie therein. Thank god for the internet. And if you really feel that you have some talent in there somewhere (and I’m not discounting that – maybe you do but I couldn’t tell from this production), why don’t you go for something unique rather than doing what everyone else is doing? This truly is meant to be constructive. Think about it.

It's really great that you were born with your talent fully realized, and that your "unique" music just flows from your pores unhindered. Sadly, some organisms have to mutate a while to develop their talent, doing first what comes naturally by what might seem familiar, even naive methods. Then, after millennia, if the species isn't wiped off the charts prematurely by over zealous reviewers, their unique voice may yet emerge. Or not. But hey, surely this open competition isn't a place that shoots people's knees for sport. Is it?

[JonPorobil]

J SHEESY: Sorry, this just makes me roll my eyes. Do you think you’re a gangsta? A studly one? You’re a 15 year old white boy, right? Correct me if I’m wrong. Backing synth is really repetitive and annoying. I only listened about halfway through and gave up, and that is very unusual for me. I even listened to the porn song the whole way through (because I felt that at least has some redeeming artistic value). Geez. This “song” is an example of the crappy influence of today’s “music” industry and all of the problems that lie therein. Thank god for the internet. And if you really feel that you have some talent in there somewhere (and I’m not discounting that – maybe you do but I couldn’t tell from this production), why don’t you go for something unique rather than doing what everyone else is doing? This truly is meant to be constructive. Think about it.

It's really great that you were born with your talent fully realized, and that your "unique" music just flows from your pores unhindered. Sadly, some organisms have to mutate a while to develop their talent, doing first what comes naturally by what might seem familiar, even naive methods. Then, after millennia, if the species isn't wiped off the charts prematurely by over zealous reviewers, their unique voice may yet emerge. Or not. But hey, surely this open competition isn't a place that shoots people's knees for sport. Is it?

Roymond, why are you singling out this one review of this one song? This is not the harshest nor the unfairest review on Songfight recently. In fact, it's not even the harshest nor unfairest in this fight. In fact, it's not even the harshest nor unfairest review of this song in this fight. Plus, if you listen to the song or read the other reviewers, you'll see that lalabrookie's opinion isn't really off the reservation on this one - she even took the time to point out specific things about the song that rubbed her the wrong way. What more do you want in a review?

[JonPorobil]

Ross, pick me up, man. The cadence of that opening riff is very familiar.

Figured it out! That opening chord progression is almost identical to the chord progression in the chorus of "My City of Ruins" by Sprintsteen. Good thing that riff only appears once in the song.

[PiGPEN]

--- pedobear would be proud ---

FYI, it's a teenage love (slick rick style).

[JonPorobil]

Yeah, how come no one gets that? Pigpen, yours was my favorite song this week.

[Billy's Little Trip]

What more do you want in a review?

I want people to love me for who I AM.........for what's inside! Is that so wrong!? *runs out of the room crying*

[Ross]

Ross, pick me up, man. The cadence of that opening riff is very familiar.

Figured it out! That opening chord progression is almost identical to the chord progression in the chorus of "My City of Ruins" by Sprintsteen. Good thing that riff only appears once in the song.

I didn't realize you could copyright I - vi - iv - I. ( and just now i notice it's a palindrome)

I better stay clear of V and ii, too.

Btw - never heard that song.

Thanks for the review.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Ross, pick me up, man. The cadence of that opening riff is very familiar.

Figured it out! That opening chord progression is almost identical to the chord progression in the chorus of "My City of Ruins" by Sprintsteen. Good thing that riff only appears once in the song.

I didn't realize you could copyright I - vi - iv - I. ( and just now i notice it's a palindrome)

I better stay clear of V and ii, too.

Btw - never heard that song.

Thanks for the review.

I wonder who Bruce "stole" it from?

[lalabrookie]

Pig-long time no see you pervert. got my vote.
Lababrookie- nice tits

'

Thanks. I hear that from all the boys I hear yours are acually bigger than mine, though.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Pig-long time no see you pervert. got my vote.
Lababrookie- nice tits

'

Thanks. I hear that from all the boys I hear yours are acually bigger than mine, though.

I think both of you should PM me your nudes and I'll judge this important matter. Yeah I know, what can I say, I'm a humanitarian.

SONG FIGHT!