Well I didn't make it to the finals but I had a really great time and am extending that good time by working on a shadow entry for "Blue". Thank you Niveous for putting this together once again. Thank you judges for giving BWatBW a shake at the ol' Nur Ein. And thank you fellow contenders for providing stiff competition while putting more beautiful art and music into the world. Best of luck to Max and Owl! NUR EIN!!!
Re: Nur Ein XVI: Final Round "Blue"
Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2021 9:21 pm
by Niveous
We are at the finals.
Every competitor gets a vote. One vote per group.
Every judge also has a vote.
Send your votes to nurein.sidefight AT gmail.
Votes are due by 1PM Eastern on Wednesday.
Re: Nur Ein XVI: Final Round "Blue"
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2021 4:35 pm
by BoffoYux
Updated Listening Party link - Something borked and the old link is dead.
Hope to see you tonight before 9pm! I'm on vacation but wanted to get the finals out for everyone
Since this round was inspired by the late Mr Lang I will write reviews in a spirit of which I think he would have approved, i.e. nasty, nitpicky and dismissive.
Crown Shy: You're still plugging this c86 indie crap as if it wasn't redundant-on-arrival, although at least even Bobby Gillespie could play the drums in time. You're not Velocity Girl, and where did this style ever get them anyway. At least now we know what girls were thinking about Claudia Schiffer in the 90s while I was thinking about f[...I think that's enough of that - Ed.]
Captain Planet: The environmentalist equivalent of Another Day In Paradise, hitting us over the head with its sanctimonious proselytising. Your strength has always been to place your balls so firmly on the wall as to make them pancakes, and to that end you have acheived your A-game with all the subtlety of a nuclear football-toting, bequiffed former world leader. That's one set of scales firmly rebalanced. Well done!
but seriously...
Crown Shy: The verses in this one really get me. The lead guitar lines are super sweet and I could listen to that for hours. The choruses are...good, but it's just a shade weaker than the lift I was hoping for. Writing a mega hit chorus on demand is tough, but if this had one then it would be a mega hit. I enjoy the whole thing but I'll come back for the verses. The lyrics invoke a familiar sadness when I see someone wishing they were something other than they are. I guess most youths go through something similar but I hope this phenomenon can be erased.
Captain Planet: So it seems Jon and I disagree on your guitar sound. It still sounds to me like old boots being thrown down a carpetted staircase, but I suppose some people like that. I appreciate you've gone for a slightly different, more aggressive vocal delivery than usual. Structurally and arrangement-wise it's all very studied, everything's in its right place and nothing goes on too long, but it rather undoes itself with it's overblown self-importance (much like this review). Send it to OPEC by all means, I'm sure it'll have them weeping with regret.
I couldn't be arsed reviewing the shadows, sorry.
Re: Nur Ein XVI: Final Round "Blue"
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2021 6:53 am
by crumpart
This is not really a review, but in a full circle moment, it appears the lip gloss brand of my youth in Australia, Red Earth, has been acquired by someone in Hong Kong and is now pretty much only sold in Asia and maybe Canada. Both of the finalists songs have now fused in my brain, as the brand (at least in its original incarnation back when I was a youth watching Captain Planet) had a heavy environmentalist bent. They sold this lightly tinted, heavily flavoured raspberry lip balm in glass pots, and also "handmade" type exfoliating soaps with the same raspberry smell. It's 100% the scent of my youth and I would do some stuff for a pot of that lip balm now. I can't even find a picture of it on the internet.
Re: Nur Ein XVI: Final Round "Blue"
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2021 7:13 am
by crumpart
Another 90s flashback inspired by this round.
Seiko's perm.
Of all the things to remember from childhood, I remember a news story about Seiko's perm, and how it schools in Japan had started to ban perms as a direct result of the craze started by this duet with Seiko and Donnie Wahlberg. I have no idea if it's true or not, but it's definitely stuck in my brain forever.
Every competitor gets a vote. One vote per group.
Every judge also has a vote.
Send your votes to nurein.sidefight AT gmail.
Votes are due by 1PM Eastern on Wednesday.
Did an email get sent to all the participants to remind them of that info?
Re: Nur Ein XVI: Final Round "Blue"
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2021 3:09 pm
by Adam!
Well, if I'm gonna review any round this Nur Ein it should probably be this one, eh?
Crown Shy: The bird sounds teleport me back to Round 1. The cloudy dream pop verses are very hypnotizing... I want a little more movement in the verse melody, although that would detract from the hypnotic effect. The big fuzzy guitars are a welcome surprise and really build up the energy of the chorus. The layered, overlapping harmonies in the later choruses add to the mesmerizing sound. This song made me realize that "calling parents by their first names" is a thing (I certainly did this when I was young, and I fit the profile, so it checks out).
Brown Word and the Big Whine: Gorgeous and appropriately understated. The line "words come now but thin and cheap, something to fill the emptiness" hits really hard: when it comes to summing up an entire life words fall far short.
Hot Pink Halo: Love the beat, that synth bass grooves. Can't say I've heard the word "Phthalocyanine" in a song before... or anywhere for that matter. This chorus is really great.
The Lowest Bitter: Awesome sounds. The arrangement and busy snare pattern remind me of my favorite Miike Snow songs, and the chill vocals fit perfectly. This is my favorite melody of the fight. These lyrics evoke a pang of nostalgia for something long forgotten. I especially like the line "I kept putting it off until it was too late", that one hurts.
Pig Farmer Jr: A well performed standard. The mandolin is a great touch. I can't say I've heard an epitaph from the perspective of an acquaintance, or friend-of-a-friend, before. It speaks to the Blue's legacy and the wide ranging effect he's had here. Very tasteful.
bah!!! Well, I wish you luck in your search. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.
Re: Nur Ein XVI: Final Round "Blue"
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2021 6:50 pm
by Pigfarmer Jr
Congratz, Crown Shy.
Re: Nur Ein XVI: Final Round "Blue"
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2021 7:10 pm
by Adam!
Congrats to Crown Shy on a great run and a well-deserved win. You are crown shy no longer.
Re: Nur Ein XVI: Final Round "Blue"
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2021 8:08 pm
by owl
Wooo! Thank you! Well fought, Max Bombast, I was very nervous anout how this would go after hearing your song. But I’m honored to join the ranks of multi-year Nur Ein winners along with you (though maybe it doesn’t quite count since last time was with Vom!? But 1.5 time winner ain’t bad, I’ll take it.)
Also pleased to be as far as I know the first solo woman to win this thing in the history of the contest. And to be at a 100% win ratio for Nur Eins nbd It’s been stressful. But fun!
Huge thanks to Niv for running this thing, the judges for the hard and thankless work of judging, the reviewers who took the time to write up reviews, and especially thanks to everyone who competed for sharing your music with us <3
Re: Nur Ein XVI: Final Round "Blue"
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2021 11:11 pm
by crumpart
Congrats Max Bombast on making it to the finals, everyone else for entering/judging/listening, and especially to Crown Shy for the win!
Re: Nur Ein XVI: Final Round "Blue"
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2021 5:41 am
by JonPorobil
I already said this in the Discord, but I'll say it with more words here.
Major congrats to Owl/Crown Shy for a well-deserved win after a run of songs that was fantastic from start to finish. Looking back over rounds 0 through 6, I rarely had you any lower than third place. In an endurance competition like this, that level of consistency is amazing and impressive!
I do hope you take the time to revisit some of these songs and polish the mixes a little more. If you release these as an album like Message Received, I'll happily buy a copy.
Congrats to everyone else, too! It was amazing seeing newcomers like Heid, returning old-timers like Evermind (with Ken), and watching veteran 'fighters really come into their own creatively through these trials by fire like The Lowest Bitter and Brown Word.
It's been an exciting competition as always, and I look forward to next year!
NUR EIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Re: Nur Ein XVI: Final Round "Blue"
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2021 7:41 am
by Lucky Spoon
Congrats, Owl! You put a lot of heart into your final song. Thank you for sharing your story.
Shout out to the fun challenges this year. I loved the twist of forcing people to tie their songs together. Keeps everyone on their toes.
I also liked how the judges lengthened everyone's leash on the challenges and interpretations. It was nice to not see the song name plastered all over everyone's lyrics to avoid that criticism
Favorite overall songs (caveat: I didn't listen very much)
Max - Semiprecious (I have listened to this song many many times)
Mike - Pleasant Row (My complaints are now all in a whiny tone w/ a german accent followed by "NEIN, WE ROW".... my wife loves it)
It’s been stressful. But fun!
