these reviews are 'not exactly normal'

Mogosagatai · Post by **Mogosagatai** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 5:47 pm

Seeing as how the "top vote" award isn't all that important to a lot of people anyway, we sort of have awards like that already, in the form of reviews/feedback.

Clats · Post by **Clats** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 5:52 pm

In the grand scheme of things, voting plays a minor role...for me anyway.
We create a song, we listen to other creations, we offer opinions and suggest ideas of improvement. A song fight vote is like kissing a whore goodnight.

erik · Post by **erik** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 6:01 pm

I really don't want to know about anything else other what the current scheme already tells me: how many people thought my song was better than all the other songs in the fight? I don't care about how many people thought it was "above average" or "good". I'd rather know that 6 people think I'm the best than know that 37 people think that I'm good. I don't want to win any "Miss Congeniality" awards either. Most improved? Most unique? Those are insults where I come from.*

*Songfightistan.

jim fallope · Post by **jim fallope** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 6:10 pm

Don't try and suggest some sort of unifying method of reviewing. Some people value a bad song with a funny line over a boring song by people who can record well.

i wasn't suggesting that everyone adopt a method. i just noticed in the 'i like to pretend' board there was a big discussion over production quality vs. song quality and i thought people might find it helpful to suggest a way to balance various considerations. i appreciate what you're saying, that there is some 'x factor' involved when deciding whether or not we like a song. i suppose it has something to do with where we are in our lives at that moment. 15 years ago i was loving the doors and steely dan, and now i can't stand them. likewise, 15 years ago i couldn't stand bowie and now i can't get enough of him. who the hell knows why?

sorry if i've ruffled some feathers, though. instead of laying out a possible method of review (which, i must admit, i've never used, just suggested) i should have asked what people consider when revieweing.

the cat poster vs. van gogh print anecdote is pretty interesting. i wonder whether it has something to do with an intellectual lethargy. why spend the time to actually consider why i like the van gogh print when i could give some simple answer and take the kitten poster. it may also reveal a certain ignorance of art itself. i might take the van gogh print because i think that i'm supposed to like it, but really don't know why. i take it because that's what an intelligent person is expected to do. i might keep the print for two months not because of a genuine appreciation but because i assume it denotes a certain level of sophistication. however, if forced to explain myself (and thereby reveal my ignorance), i'm likely to take the easy way out and go for the feline.

(p.s. i'm one of those guys who prefers a bad song with a funny line to a boring song by people who record well). 8)

HeuristicsInc · Post by **HeuristicsInc** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 11:26 pm

jim fallope wrote:who the hell knows why?

because you're insane.
no, just kidding.
i also prefer bowie.
but seriously, folks, from somebody who's been hanging out here for a while, don't bother suggesting voting changes because the fightmasters like it this way

-bill

jim fallope · Post by **jim fallope** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 11:02 am

but seriously, folks, from somebody who's been hanging out here for a while, don't bother suggesting voting changes because the fightmasters like it this way

point well taken. i'll keep my trap shut

thegreathal · Post by **thegreathal** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 2:12 pm

here's a question for everyone. how much do you allow humor to influence your vote? a poorly executed song with a funny lyric may garner more votes than a well executed bore. perhaps it would be instructive to review songs like figure skating (or at least by the old figure skating scoring guidelines). 10 points for lyric, 10 points for technique/production, 10 points for song structure, and then average the three scores. this would allow a person who slips and falls on his ass in regards to production to make up points in the other two categories. it would also prevent an otherwise shitty song with a funny lyric from getting more than its due from laugh factor alone. just a suggestion. i'd like the hear what everyone has to say. there was quite a debate about all this in the 'i like to pretend' fight.

I think a point of the reviewing is that it's sort of amorphorous and undefined. Personally, I try to consider it although a psuedo-system/guide like that could be a good, of course optional, idea. Weighted votes would probably mess everything up.[/quote]

furrypedro · Post by **furrypedro** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 9:55 am

some thoughts

eddielance: that sound at the beginning sounds exactly like the intro to Digital Love by Daft Punk before the rest of the song comes in, it's uncanny. interesting

Des: Quality stuff. possible vote

4th Grade Gladiators: one of my faves by you so far. I like the flow and stuff and the way that the melody and instruments are complimented rather than drowned out by the fuzziness. I like the momentum the song has, MBV go punk!

Hoosenbergler: Is that German for Presse Pantalon? this is bloody irritating

Wages: sounds relatively nicely recorded, the song wasn't bad but will require me to listen harder to "get" it.

Andrew Reist: ooh dark, made me think of "Stonehenge" by the Tap. I like the stopping startiness but the whole doom-rock angle isn't my thing really. atmospheric though.

Thanks for the Frisbee: I really like this although it is pure Oasis (not even that, more Northern Uproar) but it takes me back and it's got a nice tune. That, and you get a bit over-enthusiastic at the end which I always think is cool. no good song is ever worth staying calm for.

Dust pipe: this is really interesting in a cool way. I like the lo-fi indie action, and the overall sound is a bit unique. It does sound like a developed jam but its good, I could imagine Suicide Squeeze or someone putting this out.

Middlemarch: The kind of thing where if I'd heard it at the right time I could've really dug it, but right now, I appreciate the song but no vote. well done though

ill cricket crew: This sounds well executed despite the cheesey sounds. Keeps me interested when I think about skipping, and the drums are good. pretty good

Chocolate flavoured penguins: I was kinda looking forward to hearing this, hoping it would be pretty much like asperse but more teched out. maybe even sound a bit like cLouddead (wishful thinking). I can hear a bit of structure and the sounds are just short of being really annoying (is that a delayed violin?) but you have to admit this is just fucking about isn't it? if you captured some of these techniques in a song with a beat and some cool dual vocals then you'll have a track on your hands that could cause some damage. but until then this track will undoubtedly be filed alongside other timewasters, which may be a shame but you're the latest in a fairly long line of SF noisemongers (so I've been told) and this isn't nearly as good or imaginative as Phunt Your Friends. (so much for short reviews, i just care too much

)

Jim's Fallopian Dudes: I like you guys, you make fun stuff pretty well. I wouldn't vote for this but it makes me smile and you pull it off with a good degree of style.

KMS: It's easy to be put off by the morbid slowness of this song, but the vocals are good enough to hook me in to the mood. very Low. yeah, immediately I thought I was gonna be bored by this but it's actually really good. very well done

how are Wreckdom gonna freak me out this time? yaaaay, I'm soooo exciiiiiitteed. I like the twinkly bits, the vox make me think of Flaming Lips, and the ghost noises are cool. I'm enjoying this more than anything I think I've heard by you before. It's the kind of thing where the downright weird bits make me appreciate the nice sounding parts more, they add the edge which is essential. cool

Kweep: Songfight referencing is odd cos people who understand it don't like it and everyone else probably doesn't notice so it doesn't matter. This is pretty good though; it's really not my kind of rock but it's solid and your vocals fit well.

did I miss anyone?

Faves: 4th grade gladiators, Thanks for the Frisbee, Kill Me Sarah and Des. Jim fallope and Dustpipe were good too
but who to vote for??......

melvin · Post by **melvin** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 12:58 pm

Kweep - Your song rocks ass. Love the drums/vox/guitar.

halen99 · Post by **halen99** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 1:21 pm

Furrypedro wrote:some thoughts

eddielance: that sound at the beginning sounds exactly like the intro to Digital Love by Daft Punk before the rest of the song comes in, it's uncanny. interesting

Hi. I used a yamaha dx-100 for the wind sound and a casio SK-1 freshly circuit bent for the other strange sounds. Never heard of Digital Love but I will try to look that up!

I'll comment on some peoples reviews. First off I write instrumentals and decided when I came to this site that I'd need to use vocals to make the song title connection. I've never attempted to "sing" before and I know I'm not good. Hey I'll take all the Lou Reed references as a compliment. I don't know much about him but I will be checking him out.

Eddie

Kill Me Sarah · Post by **Kill Me Sarah** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 2:37 pm

halen99 wrote: Hey I'll take all the Lou Reed references as a compliment. I don't know much about him but I will be checking him out.

He's the guy who wrote "Take A Walk On The Wild Side" - so in my book, even if I'm not a huge Lou Reed fan in general, that's a pretty good compliment

Kweep · Post by **Kweep** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 2:44 pm

melvin wrote:Kweep - Your song rocks ass. Love the drums/vox/guitar.

Sweet! Thanks, boss. I'm lookin' forward to sluggin' it out in this weeks fight.

Kweep: Songfight referencing is odd cos people who understand it don't like it and everyone else probably doesn't notice so it doesn't matter.

Yeah, total noob mistake. Won't happen again...

Geoff WreckdoM · Post by **Geoff WreckdoM** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 8:00 pm

Well I'm blocked up, I've sat down and listened to these songs a few times now and can't seem to come up with any better responses other than "I like or dislike this" So sorry about not reviewing this time folks, and many thanks to all who did.

halen99 · Post by **halen99** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 8:08 am

For anyone interested I re-did the vocals on Not Exactly Normal. Completely different feel, please check out if you want and let me know if you love it or hate it.

http://www.myspace.com/eddielance

Eddie

Kill Me Sarah · Post by **Kill Me Sarah** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 8:20 am

halen99 wrote:For anyone interested I re-did the vocals on Not Exactly Normal. Completely different feel, please check out if you want and let me know if you love it or hate it.

http://www.myspace.com/eddielance

Eddie

I have to say I liked the original better. The new ones gave it this scary vibe that doesn't seem to reflect the actual lyrics.

halen99 · Post by **halen99** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 8:26 am

kill_me_sarah wrote:
halen99 wrote:For anyone interested I re-did the vocals on Not Exactly Normal. Completely different feel, please check out if you want and let me know if you love it or hate it.

http://www.myspace.com/eddielance

Eddie
I have to say I liked the original better. The new ones gave it this scary vibe that doesn't seem to reflect the actual lyrics.

Thanks for taking a listen. I was just playing around. Like I said I've only done vocals a couple times now so I'm trying to find my place.

Kill Me Sarah · Post by **Kill Me Sarah** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 8:35 am

halen99 wrote:
kill_me_sarah wrote:
halen99 wrote:For anyone interested I re-did the vocals on Not Exactly Normal. Completely different feel, please check out if you want and let me know if you love it or hate it.

http://www.myspace.com/eddielance

Eddie
I have to say I liked the original better. The new ones gave it this scary vibe that doesn't seem to reflect the actual lyrics.
Thanks for taking a listen. I was just playing around. Like I said I've only done vocals a couple times now so I'm trying to find my place.

Vocals are always tricky, but experimenting is a great way to "find your voice" as it were. When I posted my first song here someone said something like "obviously you can sing" and then they went on to make some critique of my song, and my jaw dropped. I never thought I'd get to the point where someone may compliment my voice over other parts of my song. That's not to toot my own horn, cuz I still don't think of myself as a great singer in the least, but it at least shows dramatic improvement over where I was years ago. So experiment away. If I catch a post by you I'll be sure to give it a listen and give you my un-professional feedback.

wages · Post by **wages** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 8:39 am

kill_me_sarah wrote:Vocals are always tricky, but experimenting is a great way to "find your voice" as it were. When I posted my first song here someone said something like "obviously you can sing" and then they went on to make some critique of my song, and my jaw dropped. I never thought I'd get to the point where someone may compliment my voice over other parts of my song. That's not to toot my own horn, cuz I still don't think of myself as a great singer in the least, but it at least shows dramatic improvement over where I was years ago. So experiment away. If I catch a post by you I'll be sure to give it a listen and give you my un-professional feedback.

Did you read my mind? I feel the same way. I always thought the guitar was the stronger point (and perhaps the lyrics), but as I've learned through songfight, my voice is the strongest part of my music. I've been looking to start a band with some friends and, in light of my recently discovering my voice (!), I suggested I just be the "lead singer who occassionally plays rhythm guitar". We'll see what happens. Hopefully we can get the band started then some of my entries here will be more than GnG. Peace

Kill Me Sarah · Post by **Kill Me Sarah** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:01 am

Wages wrote: I've been looking to start a band with some friends and, in light of my recently discovering my voice (!), I suggested I just be the "lead singer who occassionally plays rhythm guitar". We'll see what happens. Hopefully we can get the band started then some of my entries here will be more than GnG. Peace

That would be fun. I have a feeling I might be one of those people that would have a falling out due to "artistic differences" though

As much as I'd love to front a band, I think I'd be more comfortable as the Jonny Greenwood on the side.

My wife and I started writing a song together last night for the first time and she's already calling me a slave-driver.

Kweep · Post by **Kweep** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 1:17 pm

'grats Deshead and thanks everybody for makin' my first fight such a fun and informative experience!

Kill Me Sarah · Post by **Kill Me Sarah** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 1:35 pm

I don't know where my one vote came from, but thanks to whoever!

Congrats deshead, and also Frisbee and Kweep for so much good response on your first posts.

Middlemarch · Post by **Middlemarch** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 4:15 pm

Congratulations, deshead. Great song and great production.