Re: His Last Few Reviews
Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 2:59 pm
AG Beatz - Creative. Interesting to listen to a couple of times, but I wonder about how much I would get out of it in the long term? As far as first time listen interest this is pretty cool. The story is interesting and the beat boxing and bass backing track works. It vaguely reminds me of Soul Coughing's first album; Ruby Vroom.
Anomely... - Cheezy. Terrible production. The singer sounds pretty talented but this song doesn't work for me at all.
Anthony Butterfield - I was initially very put off by the cheezyness of this track (vocals & production.) But it's pretty nicely done. Basically; not at all my style but I think objectively it's pretty good. If I knew for a fact it is tongue in cheek (for example if it were on a Ween album) I may even be able to enjoy it ironically. Irony lives on?
Bad Boys at Bat... - Sounds a bit by the numbers for this style. That said; not bad. Pretty much everything I hear in this style sounds "by the numbers" to me. It's just not my style so it's hard for me to judge. And what does it really mean to give a review of a song the first time you hear it like this?
Berkeley Social Scene - Reminds me of Pavement. The guitar solo is pretty nice.
bgm - Definitely the top song I've heard so far. The production is pretty professional sounding. Everything sounds well played, the vocals are good. Bits of it remind me of Radiohead (particularly the guitar intro) and Folk Implosion (the chorus.)
Billy and the Psychotics - Vocals are a bit too buried - they sound good, just too low in the mix - otherwise the production is pretty great. Guitar and bass playing is excellent. I do think the chorus is a bit weaker than the rest of it; it sort of loses cohesiveness there. The instrumental breakdown is kick ass. Love the bass.
Samuel Shoop - Pretty good. I feel like I should have more to say about it, but I don't know. It's well done... in some ways this is probably the most radio friendly so far.
deetak - Impressive. In contention to be my selection for sure. Not necessarily my style; but so well done that I'm hearing past that prejudice. I think my wife might really like this. The singer has a great voice; kind of a bit too "sexy" for my tastes, but the ladies probably like it. The strings sound pretty great too. Almost have me fooled into think they are real. ... Are they real? If they are samples, what software do you use? Great production. Everything sounds good.
Dejected Motives - I like weird music and I plan on submitting some of my own here in the future. But I'm afraid this one doesn't work for me. Just sounds like a mess to me. Vocals are buried and I can't make out any of the lyrics or any kind of melody ... sometimes less is more.
Ebola-Cide - Not my cup of grapefruit juice.
EggNogAdam - Bit of a mess. Too much going on... too loose.
The Flight and the Grand Design - Poor production which particularly hurts this song as it sounds like its meant to be a big pop number. Kind of reminds me of the band Grandaddy. Vocals are too low in the mix. I almost find myself liking this song in the chorus and I like the instrumental break. If this song were recorded a bit better I think it could be a contender for me.
hillbilly - holy fuzz batman! the panning vocals are a bit strange especially when considering the lo-fi nature of the song. I'm not sure if this is meant to be ironic or if I'm supposed to be hearing this at face (ear?) value.
Hostess Mostess - Reminds me a bit of Paul McCartney circa 1978. I'm a big McCartney fan so I don't mean that as an insult (although if I had said circa 1968 then that would have been meant as much bigger praise...) but you may take it as one, eh? Isn't that strange - the way the world works.
Jeffrey Davis - Many moons ago I used to be you. Is there anything more condescending than someone who says something like that to you? ... I'm not sure ... probably not. But that's the world. Some of us are on one side and some of us on another, and we're probably all full of shit.
Juliet's Happy Dagger - If this had been earlier on the playlist I'd probably have more patience for it. It's not bad, but I don't find it good either. Too much going on. Messy production.
King Arthur - Nice lyric about Nascar ... got my interest. Nice classic rock thing going on here. I like the bass. Almost makes it into contention for me, but doesn't quite get there..
King Ginger - I got no patience for this. Reminds me of my reaction to Jeffrey Davis. It's so easy for us to share our BS ... so the internet is full of it. I get it. Hell I plan on sharing my BS here too. Look out!
MC Who Izzy - This is terrible. If your music is based on the lyrics/vocals it's a good idea to make sure people can actually hear them.
Mind Map That - Cute. Sounds like children's music. Don't get me wrong; it's good children's music. Maybe that's what you're going for? I hope so... Because I don't mean it as a negative thing. In fact, this may be the most successful track I've heard today if that's the intention. I can imagine this on a TV (maybe even as theme song if cut down) or movie soundtrack. In fact I'm going to place this in my "to be considered" list... (you'll see it here at the bottom, just you wait.)
The NATIONAL FRONTBUTTON - Vocals are too low in the mix. The backing vocals are kind of cool. Kind of tries my patience a bit. Maybe if I was drunk as hell and the production was better I'd dig it.
The Notorious FAP - Nope.
Odoriferous Valley - I mean this as constructive criticism because the track is otherwise pretty good: Get vocal lessons. Your voice has a decent quality to it, but you need to work on singing in key. You're probably aware of this... but if not, work on your ear training too!
Paco del Stinko - This would probably be pretty cool as a performance... as a recording I'm not really into it. Everythings well done, but this sort of thing just isn't for me. That said; I think there's an audience for it and I don't hear anything wrong with it really... just not for me.
Planets - The production is pretty damn cool. The vocals have some pitchy issues... but I think with some work they could be a good fit for this kind of style. I really like the sound of it though... has a sort of retro future thing going on that works. Despite the vocal pitchyness I'm going to put this in my list of contenders.
Sep - No. I get it. I get the desire to record stuff just to annoy people (I've done quite a bit of it and when my mood changes I may do some more) ... and maybe there are some people who aren't as jaded as me who actually get something out of it. But there's really just too much shit on the internet to do this to people. I mean... I've already listened to like 20 songs and then I listen to this song that seems intentionally bad? It's just not even funny man, you are ruining my damn life. No that's bullshit. That's my fault. Here I am, spending my time doing this instead of doing something constructive. I'm an asshole! The self hate is strong with this one.
styop quoons - Has bits of it that remind me of '80s/'90s Pink Floyd and of Spiritualized's stuff (have you heard Spiritualized? I'm huge fan and that's meant as a big compliment.) If the singing were a bit better this would be a contender for me. I mean that as constructive criticism. Work on your vocals as much as you do the rest of your music and you might really have something here.
SYNFONYC - I find this obnoxious... if you're going to do the lyrically based thing, you have to have your vocals higher in the mix. The melody is just terrible. Painful to listen to. I couldn't make it all the way through.
Torrentz - I guess this is kind of good in some way... but to me it just sounds kind of ridiculous. Couldn't make it through this one either. I'm losing patience. Maybe if I had heard this one earlier it wouldn't have annoyed me so much.
The Yyarrell Brothers Band - Why is it so damn loud? Sounds like blues rock by the numbers. Not bad, but not great. The over-compression if punishing. That main riff is too obvious to be so loud in the mix. As a bass line it's fine, but it's not the kind of thing you should push up so high...
THE CONTENDERS
bgm - On my second listen the intro sounds even better than it did the first time. Reminds me a *lot* of the band Grandaddy on this listen. Have you heard their album Sumday? this song would fit on it pretty well. Also reminds me of the new Band of Horses album.
deetak - Probably the most commercially viable song. I can definitely imagine it on a movie soundtrack. Everything about this song is done well. I'm very impressed by the vocals, guitar playing, the strings (I want to know more about the strings...), and the production.
Mind Map That - Actually, this may be even more commercially viable than deetak's contribution. And it's educational!
Planets - I really love the sound of this track. The use of static on the intro is fantastic. The bass is cool. If the vocals were better this would probably be my top pick.
I guess I should have given votes to all 4 of these but I screwed up. I thought I could only pick one to vote for and I chose...
MY TOP PICK = MIND MAP THAT.
Anomely... - Cheezy. Terrible production. The singer sounds pretty talented but this song doesn't work for me at all.
Anthony Butterfield - I was initially very put off by the cheezyness of this track (vocals & production.) But it's pretty nicely done. Basically; not at all my style but I think objectively it's pretty good. If I knew for a fact it is tongue in cheek (for example if it were on a Ween album) I may even be able to enjoy it ironically. Irony lives on?
Bad Boys at Bat... - Sounds a bit by the numbers for this style. That said; not bad. Pretty much everything I hear in this style sounds "by the numbers" to me. It's just not my style so it's hard for me to judge. And what does it really mean to give a review of a song the first time you hear it like this?
Berkeley Social Scene - Reminds me of Pavement. The guitar solo is pretty nice.
bgm - Definitely the top song I've heard so far. The production is pretty professional sounding. Everything sounds well played, the vocals are good. Bits of it remind me of Radiohead (particularly the guitar intro) and Folk Implosion (the chorus.)
Billy and the Psychotics - Vocals are a bit too buried - they sound good, just too low in the mix - otherwise the production is pretty great. Guitar and bass playing is excellent. I do think the chorus is a bit weaker than the rest of it; it sort of loses cohesiveness there. The instrumental breakdown is kick ass. Love the bass.
Samuel Shoop - Pretty good. I feel like I should have more to say about it, but I don't know. It's well done... in some ways this is probably the most radio friendly so far.
deetak - Impressive. In contention to be my selection for sure. Not necessarily my style; but so well done that I'm hearing past that prejudice. I think my wife might really like this. The singer has a great voice; kind of a bit too "sexy" for my tastes, but the ladies probably like it. The strings sound pretty great too. Almost have me fooled into think they are real. ... Are they real? If they are samples, what software do you use? Great production. Everything sounds good.
Dejected Motives - I like weird music and I plan on submitting some of my own here in the future. But I'm afraid this one doesn't work for me. Just sounds like a mess to me. Vocals are buried and I can't make out any of the lyrics or any kind of melody ... sometimes less is more.
Ebola-Cide - Not my cup of grapefruit juice.
EggNogAdam - Bit of a mess. Too much going on... too loose.
The Flight and the Grand Design - Poor production which particularly hurts this song as it sounds like its meant to be a big pop number. Kind of reminds me of the band Grandaddy. Vocals are too low in the mix. I almost find myself liking this song in the chorus and I like the instrumental break. If this song were recorded a bit better I think it could be a contender for me.
hillbilly - holy fuzz batman! the panning vocals are a bit strange especially when considering the lo-fi nature of the song. I'm not sure if this is meant to be ironic or if I'm supposed to be hearing this at face (ear?) value.
Hostess Mostess - Reminds me a bit of Paul McCartney circa 1978. I'm a big McCartney fan so I don't mean that as an insult (although if I had said circa 1968 then that would have been meant as much bigger praise...) but you may take it as one, eh? Isn't that strange - the way the world works.
Jeffrey Davis - Many moons ago I used to be you. Is there anything more condescending than someone who says something like that to you? ... I'm not sure ... probably not. But that's the world. Some of us are on one side and some of us on another, and we're probably all full of shit.
Juliet's Happy Dagger - If this had been earlier on the playlist I'd probably have more patience for it. It's not bad, but I don't find it good either. Too much going on. Messy production.
King Arthur - Nice lyric about Nascar ... got my interest. Nice classic rock thing going on here. I like the bass. Almost makes it into contention for me, but doesn't quite get there..
King Ginger - I got no patience for this. Reminds me of my reaction to Jeffrey Davis. It's so easy for us to share our BS ... so the internet is full of it. I get it. Hell I plan on sharing my BS here too. Look out!
MC Who Izzy - This is terrible. If your music is based on the lyrics/vocals it's a good idea to make sure people can actually hear them.
Mind Map That - Cute. Sounds like children's music. Don't get me wrong; it's good children's music. Maybe that's what you're going for? I hope so... Because I don't mean it as a negative thing. In fact, this may be the most successful track I've heard today if that's the intention. I can imagine this on a TV (maybe even as theme song if cut down) or movie soundtrack. In fact I'm going to place this in my "to be considered" list... (you'll see it here at the bottom, just you wait.)
The NATIONAL FRONTBUTTON - Vocals are too low in the mix. The backing vocals are kind of cool. Kind of tries my patience a bit. Maybe if I was drunk as hell and the production was better I'd dig it.
The Notorious FAP - Nope.
Odoriferous Valley - I mean this as constructive criticism because the track is otherwise pretty good: Get vocal lessons. Your voice has a decent quality to it, but you need to work on singing in key. You're probably aware of this... but if not, work on your ear training too!
Paco del Stinko - This would probably be pretty cool as a performance... as a recording I'm not really into it. Everythings well done, but this sort of thing just isn't for me. That said; I think there's an audience for it and I don't hear anything wrong with it really... just not for me.
Planets - The production is pretty damn cool. The vocals have some pitchy issues... but I think with some work they could be a good fit for this kind of style. I really like the sound of it though... has a sort of retro future thing going on that works. Despite the vocal pitchyness I'm going to put this in my list of contenders.
Sep - No. I get it. I get the desire to record stuff just to annoy people (I've done quite a bit of it and when my mood changes I may do some more) ... and maybe there are some people who aren't as jaded as me who actually get something out of it. But there's really just too much shit on the internet to do this to people. I mean... I've already listened to like 20 songs and then I listen to this song that seems intentionally bad? It's just not even funny man, you are ruining my damn life. No that's bullshit. That's my fault. Here I am, spending my time doing this instead of doing something constructive. I'm an asshole! The self hate is strong with this one.
styop quoons - Has bits of it that remind me of '80s/'90s Pink Floyd and of Spiritualized's stuff (have you heard Spiritualized? I'm huge fan and that's meant as a big compliment.) If the singing were a bit better this would be a contender for me. I mean that as constructive criticism. Work on your vocals as much as you do the rest of your music and you might really have something here.
SYNFONYC - I find this obnoxious... if you're going to do the lyrically based thing, you have to have your vocals higher in the mix. The melody is just terrible. Painful to listen to. I couldn't make it all the way through.
Torrentz - I guess this is kind of good in some way... but to me it just sounds kind of ridiculous. Couldn't make it through this one either. I'm losing patience. Maybe if I had heard this one earlier it wouldn't have annoyed me so much.
The Yyarrell Brothers Band - Why is it so damn loud? Sounds like blues rock by the numbers. Not bad, but not great. The over-compression if punishing. That main riff is too obvious to be so loud in the mix. As a bass line it's fine, but it's not the kind of thing you should push up so high...
THE CONTENDERS
bgm - On my second listen the intro sounds even better than it did the first time. Reminds me a *lot* of the band Grandaddy on this listen. Have you heard their album Sumday? this song would fit on it pretty well. Also reminds me of the new Band of Horses album.
deetak - Probably the most commercially viable song. I can definitely imagine it on a movie soundtrack. Everything about this song is done well. I'm very impressed by the vocals, guitar playing, the strings (I want to know more about the strings...), and the production.
Mind Map That - Actually, this may be even more commercially viable than deetak's contribution. And it's educational!
Planets - I really love the sound of this track. The use of static on the intro is fantastic. The bass is cool. If the vocals were better this would probably be my top pick.
I guess I should have given votes to all 4 of these but I screwed up. I thought I could only pick one to vote for and I chose...
MY TOP PICK = MIND MAP THAT.