Nur Ein V Round Three "'97"

[RangerDenni]

Maybe the judges should write their track about the terrifying feeling of being tied up by rabid contestants and beaten by floppy plastic flopping plastic monkeys (or what are we going to call them now???)!

Tryin' to go out with a bang, and not just a hiss
den!

[MintyHandy]

...and beaten by floppy plastic flopping plastic monkeys (or what are we going to call them now???)

We shall call them Kevin, for they are us.

[RangerDenni]

Billy's Little Trip: You're riding your motorcycle really close to the edge of the cliff- but you're not falling off. Sometimes I feel like you're going to and I put my hand over my mouth, but you NEVER do! How are you doing that! It's so weird. I've been becoming a fan since day 1 of you though.

Thanks, Denise.
Well I have been riding motorcycles a long time and I can say I've only gone off a cliff once. The only thing I hurt was my wiener, but they were able to sew it back on. Only issue I have is when the barometric pressure drops, it points to the right.

Consequently, after getting thru side splitting laughter to pg 10- I wanted to be both brazen and pithy and make a fun little rejoinder involving motorcycles, floppiness, monkeys, and weiners, you know.. kinda bring it all around. This just seems a little too much somehow so Im going to do it anyway because Im tacky, and hide it in a disclaimer

[frankie big face]

I think the judges owe the contestants a song. An exhibition track. I mean what a killer band: JB, FBF, Spud, NIv and Ross.

Sure, we can probably have that ready for you in about.....two years.

[Lunkhead]

I think the judges owe the contestants a song. An exhibition track. I mean what a killer band: JB, FBF, Spud, NIv and Ross.

Sure, we can probably have that ready for you in about.....two years.

Is that when the rankings are going to be posted, too? Zing! Sorry, that was too easy to resist.

[frankie big face]

Yeah, that was pretty much implied by my joke.

[Lunkhead]

Ah, oops. I was just thinking about how time consuming a collaboration like that can be. Some of us judges from Nur Ein III actually did collaborate on a song for the "In The Valley" fight but we missed the deadline.

http://www.forkbomb.ca/uploads/judgeblo ... od_itv.mp3

[frankie big face]

Well, it would actually be very time-consuming, but also awesome. I'm just figuring if the mystery slacker judge doesn't have time to listen to 12 songs, he probably doesn't have time to write and record one either! My recording rig is currently not hooked up so I'm kind of out of commission at the moment anyway. Haven't touched a guitar in ages. Summer hopefully...

[frankie big face]

Okay, you've waited long enough. Some reviews. BTW, best round ever. MANY good tracks this week impressing even this harsh critic.

Therman – I know the softies are going to tear up over MintyHandy’s song, but this is the one to really get you balling your eyes out. It’s just beautiful in a completely visceral way. Are your guests Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin? Because this certainly has some of the same qualities of Mellon Collie-period (i.e. '97) Smashing Pumpkins. As much as I like Milo’s song, it’s hard for me not to put this first—I like it that much. And it’s 100% falsetto-free!

Milo Dunderville – At first, I didn’t think I would like this, but it hooked me about 30 seconds in. Good horn lines punctuating a catchy chorus. Decent sax solo. Good mix. Great vocal performance. You’re great, dude! SECOND LISTEN: I love the opening lines. In fact, I love the verse lyrics in general—you know how to tell a story, man. The details are the thing and you pay attention to details. So many singers in this competition don’t work hard enough to fashion their lyrics in a way that they roll off the tongue naturally. You either do work at it or you are tremendously gifted.

Boop Boop – This is a risk. It’s so….annoying. But still very creative. SECOND LISTEN: I listened to this really early on Monday morning and wanted to kill you. Then I listened again Monday night and realized it was brilliant. I’m even forgiving you for ignoring the apostrophe.

Jon Eric – You guys are going to think I have a genre bias against EVERYTHING. I don’t, but I’m not a huge fan of this style of rock and roll. That being said, this is so well-performed and has a catchy hook (“without a name”) that I can’t help but like it a lot. Great guitar solo and what has become commonplace skillful piano playing. SECOND LISTEN: Unfortunately, this song doesn’t have much staying power because it’s, well…about an element. Still love the performance, but…you know, the element thing. Caravan Ray knows what I mean.

Who Fly – I really thought this was heading straight to the bottom of my list when I first listened to it, but then I started really digging it. Like REALLY digging it. Such a great smooth chorus and then the verses are all random syncopation to tell this sad and pathetic story. I really like your voice on this track a lot. Good job.

Berkeley Social Scene – Great start! This is a range I haven’t heard from Erin in a long time (ever?)—I actually thought it was another artist. When I was younger, 7/8 made me so happy. Nowadays, I can take it or leave it, but you use it effectively—not a distraction, but different enough to add a level of interest that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. Lyrics seem kind of weak on first listen. SIDE NOTE: You know, I seem to remember being criticized heavily by a certain BSS member for my “yacht rock” during the final round of Nur Ein 2. This is so PROG. It wants to be New Pornographers but it’s more like Mike and the Mechanics. You are a black pot, Sam! SECOND LISTEN: Okay, the lyrics have more charm than I originally gave them credit for, but they’re obviously very personal and not easily relatable (for me, anyway). I LOVE the Bjork quote, especially how you retained the melody. That’s really neat and a trick I will steal from you one day. This is a very good song.

Billy’s Little Trip – You deserve a medal for meeting the deadline each week! (j/k!) I really like the interplay between the fake trumpet and guitar solo—nice blend of sounds. I also really like your vocals on this track a lot—they contribute well to the subdued quality of the entire track. I need to check out the lyrics later, but I’m impressed on first listen. The rock guitar solo sounds a little out of place—a little too much rock for this song maybe. SECOND LISTEN: Okay, I read the boards. That is the fakest real trumpet I’ve ever heard! I think that’s sort of a compliment, Steve—you’re good enough to be a sample! BLT, I have to dock you for the lyrics, man. I really really like the song, but you can’t just use the number 97 randomly and expect full credit. I mean, the lyric could have been “I had to cut myself 27 times just to know I bleed” and it would have had the same effect.

Naked Philosophy – If this was sung better (and I’m talking about the phrasing, not the pitch or the passion), I’d like it a little better. I already like it a lot more than I thought I would and it gets better each time. I could have lived without the last verse, actually. This doesn’t need to be a redemption song—it could just be a about bad stuff. Speaking of which, the cello is a mistake. Not a huge mistake (until the end, anyway) but I don’t think the song would suffer without it.

Christopher Colgott – Good performance and a nice idea, but I didn’t care for the song. It kind of reminds me of those goofy songs on Brian Wilson’s “Smile,” so vocally complex with changing meters and keys, etc. but it’s like circus music and I only like that at the circus. And I don’t really like the circus.

DJ Ranger Den – The beginning reminds me of “Send in the Clowns,” which isn’t good or bad—just an observation. I thought on subsequent listens that the dreaminess of the chorus was going to envelop me and make me feel all warm and snug but that didn’t happen. I just started focusing on the way the vocal parts don’t seem to work quite right. I still think you have interesting ideas, but this song didn’t do it for me.

Sid Denison – I like how this starts, despite the Australian sound-bytes, which I don’t care about at all. Then the bass comes in and IT’S SO RIDICULOUSLY LOUD THAT I HAVE TO SHOUT THE REST OF MY REVIEW. I LIKE THE PLANET. I DON’T LIKE GLOBAL WARMING, BUT I DON’T WANT TO HEAR A SONG ABOUT IT. A WISE MAN ONCE SAID “SONGS SHOULD BE ABOUT SEX OR DEATH.” HE WAS RIGHT. AND ALSO, WHY IS THIS CALLED ’97? BECAUSE 97% OF CLIMATOLOGISTS AGREE ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING? THAT’S WEAK, DUDE.

Minty Handy – I am sad. Because you sent this song instead of whatever you were going to send, which probably wouldn’t have been clouded by your sentimentality. It may have even been called ’97 and had something to actually do with this competition. I get that you love your daughter and maybe that trumps everything in your world, but you were a favorite of mine in this competition and now I’m afraid you will be eliminated. But if you’re not, please write a better song next week.

The Real Sign – I read on the boards that this is about the Heaven’s Gate cult, which makes more sense now. I thought it was a video game or something. You are last again this week because you still have the high-pitched out of tune singing. You really need to stop that. Whoever is telling you that sounds good is a liar and will probably borrow your car and return it with an empty tank. There are at least four songs that didn’t even use the title correctly and I still can’t put this song ahead of them because it is rendered unlistenable by those vox. I’m sorry I had to be the one to tell you this.

[wages]

Just saw the results. Man, that one judge really has it in for anything I'm involved with! Sorry CR, but I see ya still made it! Congrats!

[jast]

Man, that one judge really has it in for anything I'm involved with!

Yep, it's a huge conspiracy.

[wages]

Man, that one judge really has it in for anything I'm involved with!

Yep, it's a huge conspiracy.

lol

[Niveous]

It is official.

Therman wins Round 3 and the final immunity.
Rabid Garfunkel, The Real Sign and Naked Philosophy are eliminated.

53 Therman
50 Berkeley Social Scene
42 Christopher Cogott
37 Jon Eric
36 Boop Boop
32 Sid Denison
31 Minty Handy
30 Billy's Little Trip
26 Who Fly
25 DJ Ranger Den
17 Naked Philosophy
11 The Real Sign

[BenKrieger]

NUR EIN!!!

Alright, now let's take off the gloves and really go nuts!

[signboy]

The Real Sign – I read on the boards that this is about the Heaven’s Gate cult, which makes more sense now. I thought it was a video game or something. You are last again this week because you still have the high-pitched out of tune singing. You really need to stop that. Whoever is telling you that sounds good is a liar and will probably borrow your car and return it with an empty tank. There are at least four songs that didn’t even use the title correctly and I still can’t put this song ahead of them because it is rendered unlistenable by those vox. I’m sorry I had to be the one to tell you this.

This might have gone over better had it been mildly constructive. I understand that people may simply "dislike" something eg: I don't think Billy Corgan should ever have been allowed a mic, but if I ever met him in person, I'd probably try to be a tiny bit tactful about it. I also kinda expected that you might have known the difference, given your profession, between pitch and timbre.
Sorry to Rone your review.

[Niveous]

To begin, I must say that the apostrophe is a sad little punctuation mark because a bunch of the konkurrenz (competitors) disregarded it.

Naked Philosophy- Bringing the rock is a good thing in my book but I'm not connecting to this messy punk garage sound. But then it changes completely with the addition of the cello. I prefer that sound, if the cello sounded good. There are some really off notes being played on that cello. This ended up a mess. It had some potential (I love me some cello rock.) but it just never came together.

Therman- The sound of this is from a bit early in the '90's than '97(except maybe that 2nd Silverchair album, which came out in 1997) but I do enjoy this immensely. I think if I nitpicked each other the components I'd find their flaws like Andrew's vox being a bit muddy in the mix or what I call "D'arcybass" (It's in there somewhere in the mix but I can’t find it under the dual guitars) but as a whole, I really like this. The chorus is very catchy and I love some of the guitar lines. This will get a lot of spins from me in the future.

Who Fly- Bringing in some of his fellow i.p. members isn't the most "interesting" guest choice but having them come in as "Pots & Pans X" was. This is a very interesting musical experiment. The first verse is very well done but the music under the rap just sounds like a mess especially because the rap doesn't rhyme. But then it all starts to make sense again when the rap ends. It's weird. There's a lot going on here and this is definitely a song where you could do with a bit less. I'm 50/50 on this one. Some parts of this experiment hit big and others miss by a mile.

Boop Boop: Boop Boop seemingly lives on Avenue Q. It is what it is, 97 seconds of pure kiddie show craziness and fun. I love the flourish before the last verse. This isn't gonna be a hit single but as someone who watched Wonder Showzen (and once watched in person as Clarence bothered an old man in the park), it makes me happy. Sorry if Boop Boop was looking for a more technical review but it's 97 seconds of sugary goodness...

Jon Eric: I always like appearances by the King, though I must say that he totally took over this song. This felt a lot like Jon guesting on a King song and not the other way around because this is very much his style and he provides the sweet guitar solo that dwarfs its piano accompaniment. The rhythm of this song is killing me because all I can think of is "If My Friends Could See Me Now". It's a very odd choice of song topic but I respect that greatly. I like when songs go in directions that people wouldn't expect. It's a catchy song and good performances all around. This is not bad at all. Not my favorite but it's solid.

The Real Sign: Let's get on our Nike sneakers and go follow a comet. I think I would've preferred a clip of Applewhite speaking (there's probably a few out there on the web) instead of Zaz's appearance. I appreciate the dual vocal approach but there wasn't enough contrast between the two. Signboy really needed to go growling while Realist went pretty for that to work (see: "The Brave/Agony Applause" by Deadlock). Seldom does the contrasting vocal approach work with such similar vocal styles (maybe Haste). But in working with what's hear, perhaps Signboy needed to put some more power into his performance. It almost came off like a parody of bands who have the dirty growling vox. The chorus is catchy (not the catchiest in the competition but it's got something). There's potential here and this is better than the previous two Real Sign entries.

Milo Dunderville: Milo gets a huge amount of respect for doing a song about 1897. Interesting story choice as well and doing it from the point of view of Erasmus Shue. Very nice. And despite such a very heavy topic, Milo got the horn playing going and created a great groove. I like the bassline leading the listener through the song and the well placed drum fills. If he didn't have immunity, this song would definitely have been a contender for the best in the round.

Chris Cogott: It's goofy. The rhythm of this is killing me. It has that same style as "Happy Happy Joy Joy" except it goes for 3 minutes. I like that Cogott told a story and kept on track with it. Much better than last week's. I like the twist ending, though the "why oh why" part was the most over the top cheesy part of the song. All in all, it's an okay song. I'm not in love with it but I didn't wanna rip off my ears listening to its tale. I think this is my middle ground for this round.

BSS: Musically, this song is so solid. There are just layers and layers of things happening here. BSS also knows how to make a working chorus. My big problem with the song is that it's so focused on the chorus that the story goes so fast. It's two verses and the chorus. The first verse is the story in 1997 and the next verse is the present and the past section happens so fast you don't get the nostalgia. It's slices of the life but not the story of it. I compare it to looking at someone's photo album alone. You can get a bit from the pictures but you get when you are going through it with them and they can fill you in. Musically, this is phenomenal, well polished (BSS brand high quality) and the vocals are very good. I just have trouble keeping up with the story of the song because I feel like it's in bits and pieces.

Sid Denison: I have to say that despite his early elimination, we have some great performances from Wages. I think he's well on his way to finding a sound that works for him. I like the "children" line. I kinda wish the song was more than drum and bass. There needs to something to contrast. Perhaps a little guitar or some thing. Throw some high notes in the mix. The samples were used nicely. Good work.

BLT: Durand's Little Trip returns to Nur Ein. If I'm not mistaken, this collaboration happened once before in Nur Ein II during "No One Else". There's a lot of fun things happening on the music side of this. Steve's horns mixed with Chris' guitars make for some good stuff and Chris punches the song up with a guitar solo. The thing that kills me about this song is the lyrics. "The way you LOL", really? Alien/Vegetarian? And I don't get the chorus at all. This is a lyrical mess. But you do get the award for song my gf liked best this round.

Minty Handy: Cute intro. Not much of a guest appearance. It's a sweet little song. Well played and there's a very nice tone to the vocals. With everything so bare, the story of the song stands out. It took me a second to realize why she had to go at the end of the song. I feel like this is too short for me to really get into, especially with there being no chorus but I can't help but like the performance.

DJ Ranger Den: Musically, this reminds me of Tori Amos' "Ribbons Undone". The layered dual vocals make quite the soundscape. It's very ethereal and quite the risk Den took in the competition by going with something so very experimental. There's a hiss in there somewhere in the mix that takes away from it all a little. There's nothing that hooks me but I don't think that it's supposed to. It's atmosphere and even though there's lyrics, everything is so wrapped up in the heavy layered vocals and hiss. This is the toughest song for me to rate. In the end, I think like the ideas more than the execution.

[Lunkhead]

frankie, I think my criticism was that I didn't think yacht rock was your "A game" to me personally, since I personally most enjoy your guy and guitar songs. EDIT 2: OK, think I've figured out my confusion, was mixing up Nur Ein's II and IV. Not sure where I got the "whole tone scale" bit, though I think those are briefly in that final Nur Ein II song, but whatever.

Anyway, glennny wrote the music for the BSS song this week, and he loves prog, odd time signatures, mode changes, etc.

more edits, etc.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Billy’s Little Trip – You deserve a medal for meeting the deadline each week! (j/k!) I really like the interplay between the fake trumpet and guitar solo—nice blend of sounds. I also really like your vocals on this track a lot—they contribute well to the subdued quality of the entire track. I need to check out the lyrics later, but I’m impressed on first listen. The rock guitar solo sounds a little out of place—a little too much rock for this song maybe. SECOND LISTEN: Okay, I read the boards. That is the fakest real trumpet I’ve ever heard! I think that’s sort of a compliment, Steve—you’re good enough to be a sample! BLT, I have to dock you for the lyrics, man. I really really like the song, but you can’t just use the number 97 randomly and expect full credit. I mean, the lyric could have been “I had to cut myself 27 times just to know I bleed” and it would have had the same effect.

Yeah, the use of the title was weak. But I was trying something. You ever see a song that's title is some part of the song that's so insignificant that it makes you scratch your head? Well, being that we write to a title, I had to do it backwards, add something very insignificant in the song to reflect the title. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

And I'm kicking myself for not having Steve take the main bridge solo. My lead solo wasn't suppose to be there. I whipped that wankery out and a scratch vocal melody to give Steve something to work off of. Then when my lead guitarist couldn't make it because of tech issues, I had to put something in that spot.
Yeah, I know, all the explaining in the world doesn't change anything, lol.
Thanks, Frank.

[frankie big face]

The Real Sign – I read on the boards that this is about the Heaven’s Gate cult, which makes more sense now. I thought it was a video game or something. You are last again this week because you still have the high-pitched out of tune singing. You really need to stop that. Whoever is telling you that sounds good is a liar and will probably borrow your car and return it with an empty tank. There are at least four songs that didn’t even use the title correctly and I still can’t put this song ahead of them because it is rendered unlistenable by those vox. I’m sorry I had to be the one to tell you this.

This might have gone over better had it been mildly constructive. I understand that people may simply "dislike" something eg: I don't think Billy Corgan should ever have been allowed a mic, but if I ever met him in person, I'd probably try to be a tiny bit tactful about it. I also kinda expected that you might have known the difference, given your profession, between pitch and timbre.
Sorry to Rone your review.

Sorry I hurt your feelings. I do know the difference between pitch and timbre and I stand by my review. Those vox are more in tune than last week but still out of tune enough to be grating. I didn't mention the timbre of the vocal which I also find distasteful, but timbre is a matter of taste so I don't get too hung up on it. Axl Rose is my Billy Corgin, fwiw.

You entered a competition where your songs are going to be judged and reviewed by a panel of nobodies. Despite my profession, I'm not obligated to give you advice or anything else that could be construed as "constructive." It's just my opinion. You chose to meet that opinion with an insult to my professional integrity and I understand that instinct because I do work with middle school children after all.

[MintyHandy]

I am sad. Because you sent this song instead of whatever you were going to send, which probably wouldn’t have been clouded by your sentimentality.

So true, so true -- but if you heard what I'd submitted the day before, after throwing my hands in the air and giving up (I'll send it to ya if you enjoy cringing), you'd understand why I'm happy even if I come in dead last this round. My sentimentality was half about my daughter, and half about "oh, hey, I can still write a halfway-decent song, thank god!"

Having said that, I don't disagree with anything you've said.

EDIT: I'm still in this. Apparently at least one of the judges has daughters (I'm looking at you, Ross.) \o/ whooooo

[signboy]

ok, fair enough. I offer a public apology for the personal hack at your professional integrity. It WAS uncalled for. It just confuses me that we are last again this week because we "still have the high pitched, out of tune singing." Out of tune, yes. I'll agree with that. high pitched? I just can't see how a range of pitch could be bad. Maybe the timbre IN that range. Anyway, I don't want to carry on about it, as the point of this post was to apologize for the last post.

[Billy's Little Trip]

BLT: Durand's Little Trip returns to Nur Ein. If I'm not mistaken, this collaboration happened once before in Nur Ein II during "No One Else". There's a lot of fun things happening on the music side of this. Steve's horns mixed with Chris' guitars make for some good stuff and Chris punches the song up with a guitar solo. The thing that kills me about this song is the lyrics. "The way you LOL", really? Alien/Vegetarian? And I don't get the chorus at all. This is a lyrical mess. But you do get the award for song my gf liked best this round.

Those lyrics are deep, yo! Nude pics of gf.

The LOL line was a clue of this relationship. Notice it changes to laugh out loud on the last verse. The chorus and bridge are the conclusion to this undying fantasy love between two people that have never even had physical contact. Their fantasy is slowly consuming them to the point that they don't know what's real anymore and his pinching himself has gone to cutting himself because he doesn't know if he's real anymore or just her fantasy. She believes the fantasy so much that she's pulling a virgin Marry because she wants so badly to give him a child.

....but if I have to explain it, I failed.....again.
I should just go back to singing about sex and BBQ. It requires less 'splainin'.

edit: and no, I'm not having an e-sekzooale interwebz relationship with anyone......that I know of. But it is how I feel about those that do.