OK, if spud can admit he's gay......oh, wait, that's not what he meant, huh?
Ok, here are some "reviews." I'm just one judge, but I tried to structure tham as to what worked and did not work for me, incase that comes into play in future rounds. I am already missing being a participant, having fun writing and keep bringing A games
Nur Ein!
AA - What I liked: the song topic, basic delivery style, interesting layers in the backing track
What I didn’t like: vocals a bit too subdued, lyrics not “poetic” enough - sounded kind of like a high school project, some of the sounds a bit too unintegrated into the sound for me
Challenge: worked fine for the style of the song, a bit overemphasized in the production
BSS - What I liked: Chord changes, song structure, nice playing/performance/production
What I didn’t like: didn’t sound very panicky (smoothness contradicts lyrics), a few of the guitar lines and lyrical lines seemed forced or awkward
Challenge: worked in fine, I thought it would relate to the count to ten line, kind of wish it had, or at least been a count from ten
BLT - What I liked: The hook, the rockin’ guitars, the instrumental bridge to the bridge
What I didn’t like: the vocal, guitar interplay in the “Verse”
Challenge: seriously, man you could do better than that
Boop - What I liked: Fun spirit, willingness to go with simple sounds, the celebration
What I didn’t like: the “may name’s....” parts, overly simple song composition, feeling I was listening to a commercial for a video game
Challenge: went fine with the song concept
Chris Cogott - What I liked: tight harmony vocals, ambiguity of lyrics, playing/performance/production, Fi-i-i-i-ive, “You’re still here” overall energy
What I didn’t like: finding out it was a bout a spider in the car (took away from lyrical ambiguity, lyrics less interesting on repeated listens
Challenge : simple count, but well connected to song concept
DJ Ranger Den - What I liked: Risk taking, vocal quality, interesting mix of instrument sounds
What I didn’t like: Lyrics, overly atmosphere-based, I got a little bored
Challenge: seemed slapped in
Emperor Gum - What I liked: Clarinet duo, interesting foreign voice
What I didn’t like: it took WAY to long to get to the song proper, vocal production on sung part
Challenge: I like the way it occurs twice and the sung version is not a straight count
J$ - What I liked: Building uke/vocal arrangement, bagging on the 2012 people
What I didn’t like: seemed a little forced-not like a song that would have been written without the challenge, and what exactly is an “ass hippy”, abrupt ending
Challenge: honestly - I don’t think the recitation of numbers s the same as counting, but I could tell you tried
JE - What I liked: “1, 2, 10” great bit, unfolding lyric - for a while there I thought it was about suicide” nice overall feel and song structure (bridge), V of V
What I didn’t like: the yelling at the end of the choruses, your vocals sound far away
B$D - What I liked: how you unfolded your bomb idea (this was a common theme for this title/challenge combo.
What I didn’t like: If you continue with these whispered vocals you will quickly lose favor with this judge - open your mouth and frickin’ sing, the chorus chord changes are weak and passive
Challenge: I like how you incorporated this into the basic structure of your lyrics, the ending version did not do much for me
Milo - What I liked: The well fleshed out lyrics that create a believable scenario and characters, chorus the supports the title, lead vocal delivery, song structure
What I didn’t like: Static arrangement
Challenge: Well incorporated into the lyrics
MH - What I liked: lyrical concept, vocal delivery
What I didn’t like: stiff instrumentation, wish it had gone farther bringing the lyric concept home - maybe a bridge that ties it together better, I don’t like song self references better, too brief in structure
Challenge: Kind of slapped in, it seemed like.
Naked Philosophy - What I liked: Post Punk sensibilities in musical style, guitar duo solo, song theme
What I didn’t like: too loose, monotonous arrangement
Challenge: ok, but somewhat slapped in
Noah - What I liked: heartfelt theme, simple musical approach to emotional topic
What I didn’t like: inaccurate vocals - pitch wise, quite grim overall, overlong, about the only thing this grim I can sit through is the Lou Reed “Magic and Loss” album
Challenge: why the counting? not sure, but it’s there. I like the “counting on me,” line, though
Rabid: What I like: drums, I think I get what you were going for
What I didn’t like: vocals seem quite week compared to all the strength in this track, I don’t feel like you got what you were going for, develops too slow in some spots
Challenge: interesting how you have it spread out, (too spread out?)
SDP - What I liked: Coming out of the break, some of the sounds, the barking dog
What I didn’t like: didn’t seem to be about anything, a bit long
Challenge :I like the way you did this, making the counting a part of the overall groove, but choosing a complex time signature to do it with
Sid et.al. - What I liked: song theme - universal irrational paranoia, the build up of the groove, reminds me of some other songfighter, but I can’t think who
, three dimensionality of character
What I didn’t like: counting stuff was bit too manic, the spoken word bits, I think the bridge is weak
Challenge: fine
the Real sign: What I liked: RAWK
What I didn’t like: the Chorus, the buried and harsh vocals, spoken word bit
Challenge: weak but there, creative idea
Therman: What I liked: Color changes and interesting harmonic ideas, key/guitar layering, social commentary theme
What I didn’t like: self-consciously cool, chorus lyrics feel labored, some ther lyrics a little clumsy, too
Challenge: fine, but not too incorporated
Wages: - What I liked: Sounds like you mean it, some of the picking bits
What I didn’t like: inaccurate vocals (in Nur Ein, you’ll have get a grip on this if you want to get very far), guitar sound (see note on inaccurate vocals), performed in an idiom it doesn’t sound composed for - if you can only record solo-acoustic, compose with that in mind (I feel I can safely give this advice), sloppy picking for solo-acoustic piece, overly emotive ending vocals
Challenge: worked it in fine
Who fly - What I liked: groove-ey chorus, backing vocal aesthetic, vocal delivery and lyrical cadence
What I didn’t like: too long and a bit un-focussed feeling
Challenge: buried?
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