The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Caravan Ray wrote:

BenKrieger wrote: It is the combination of art and the masculine form

So it's like glam metal! But subtle. Nice.

Caravan Ray wrote: It is the combination of art and the masculine form that is a little bit too subtle for Americans to fully understand

Like your avatar photo?

Ross wrote:

Caravan Ray wrote: It is the combination of art and the masculine form that is a little bit too subtle for Americans to fully understand

Like your avatar photo?

Yes. Exactly.

I guess we can be taking it as a good sign that the judges have not asked us to clarify our use of the challenge?

My 1 pence.

Ken: Suitably punk/fuzz rockish for my tastes. I like the dark middle breakdown. Vocals are pretty smooth, almost too much for the double-time sections. No challenge worries here.

KrautKätzchen: This is all round pretty good fun. Mix seems a bit muddy, and the ride in the middle bit is proper sketchy. Interesting choice of vocal style.

Merisan: Not got much to say about this. It all sounds well done and the mix is nice and clear.

Packet of Stink: That is a pretty awesome bassline. I like all the guitars here from the crunchy riffage of the chorus to those haunted squeals (which remind me of RATM's Settle For Nothing). Doing double time in the bridge was a smart move, it's cool when it breaks down into that heavy stomp in the chorus. Good song you douche.

Richard Nick Soma: I would have preferred this with some fuzz bass at the beginning. Still, you are annoyingly better than me at some crucial things, such as singing, writing songs and production. Catchy, dynamic and interesting use of a clavinet.

Ross Durand: I pretty well like this. I was a bit concerned on first listen that you'd botched the challenge but that turned out to be unfounded. The band sounds great and I like the vocals to begin with, in fact I like them at the end as well, but it sounds like the music is running away from you a little bit. It goes from serious to fun and I think that's cool.

Tydon Docks: The extended guitar-squealing outro is good. I had to go and listen to Sister Ray halfway through this, and then Sweet Jane. I can't hear the challenge being done here.

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Inflatable Vegetables: I would eliminate this. Rhyming "take our time" with "points on your li-cense" was the cherry on the arsecake for me. It's mainly a taste thing, whiteboy reggae with playschool melodies ain't my thing. Could I be any meaner? I probably should keep my thoughts to myself but I didn't want you to feel left out.

Cavedwellers: This is really good. Sounds like you responded to being knocked out by producing your catchiest effort yet. I think the guitar solo doesn't sit in the mix properly, maybe needs to be turned down a bit. Vocals sound really good, I was surprised by those vocal acrobatics around the 4 minute mark but it works (are they vocoded/autotuned at all?). Thank darwin you're not in the round.

Formidable opposition indeed. I hope you all get knocked out and I win.

Funny Payload wrote:Good song you douche.

I will proudly wear this bag of honor. Badge! I mean badge!

Generic wrote:the wrong round's reviews

D'oh!

But hey, since this post appears to be stuck here...
Ken Mahru, please post your lyrics!

A history lesson about the 8 remaining artists and their songs for Round 5 of the current Nur Ein. Only 2 weeks till we crown a champ!
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/48070496

too tired to work on anything of my own at the moment so I'm going to share my impression of this week's entries --- overall I was really impressed by how you guys tackled this challenge. if I were a judge I'd rank them like this ...

1. Merisan - Great singing, musicianship, production, mix ... Even though I don't listen to a lot of music in this kind of style (although I do occasionally), this still stands out to me. I love the double time outro - I think it adds a lot of energy to the track (and out of the context of this contest I think would be a really cool surprise to the listener.)

2. Nick Soma - Cool vocal --- the vocals sound good - performance & mix/production wise .. and they have personality to them. & catchy tune. some of the lyrics reached out and grabbed my interest too (starting with "my neighbor sucks ..." ) which is quite unusual for me when listening to a song just a couple of times.

3. Ken Mahru - Great guitars. I like the super cool laid back vibe which is pulled off well even when the tempo is very fast. The half speed bit is a pretty great contrast with the rest of it, and I'm definitely digging the synth solo.

4. The Tydon Docks - Lots of catchy vocal parts in this one which makes up for the repetitious music ... I really like how the song fades into a bit of madness there. No points off for a minute of silence at the end as I'm assuming that was a rendering error (haven't read through to see if that's already been brought up)

5. Paco - The slow part I was really digging but it kind of lost me when it got fast. I do really like the atmospherics during the verses. I like the guitar solo quite a bit too; good stuff.

6. Ross Durand - Really cool guitars all around on this one. Nice mix getting all of those parts to sound clean together. The song, unfortunately, reminds me a little bit of Bon Jovi in places ... can't place my finger on it but the problem is Bon Jovi is probably my least favorite band ever. Or up there anyway. The double time thing also seems a bit tacked on here.

7. Balance Lost - I like the synths and guitars but the vocals could be stronger and the lyrics don't draw me in. I find the double time bit to be a bit awkward. My favorite part is the quiet bit around 1:20. Nice mix of stuff going on there.

8. Krautkitten - I don't really get it - seems sloppy to me, if I were a judge I'd probably try harder to be objective but I'm just giving first impressions ... the sound seems a bit harsh in a lo-fi sort of way which doesn't really seem to fit the genre. I've really liked most of your tracks during this competition but this one didn't work for me.

chocolatechips wrote:The double time thing also seems a bit tacked on here.

Thanks for the review. Sorry you feel that way. I thought it worked nicely as an overall build from the slow beginning to the ending, which I think, including double time, actually goes all the way to four times - the idea was a continuuous build up of speed to a dangerous ending.....

chocolatechips wrote:No points off for a minute of silence at the end as I'm assuming that was a rendering error

Ooops - sorry. Yeah. Forgot about that.

Discovered that after I mailed song. But at midnight on Sunday night (my time) - it was to late to fix

Caravan Ray wrote:

chocolatechips wrote:No points off for a minute of silence at the end as I'm assuming that was a rendering error

Ooops - sorry. Yeah. Forgot about that.

Discovered that after I mailed song. But at midnight on Sunday night (my time) - it was to late to fix

Not sure about the other judges, but rest assured that I didn't penalize you for this. I did notice it, and was planning on asking after the results were announced, assuming it hadn't been brought up yet.

Fast Lane Junkie

These are 8 great songs guys!
My top 4 are tough to rank. I can’t decide which I like best they’ve all been my favorite. They have different strengths.

The Tops: Balance Lost, Ken, Merisan, Paco (all tied for 1st)

Balance Lost- Beautiful song! I dig the lyrics! Probably my favorite set of lyrics. I always yearn for more low end in your mixes. That said the instrumentation and synth sounds and guitar sounds is just wonderful. This song has the most magic for me of all the songs. I think the ending is kind of weak, compared to the awesomeness of the song. I listen to your music all the time. I was hoping for a Joey’s All Bitched Up kind of ending. Your dynamics are unparalleled. The little nylon guitar against the synth pad is gorgeous. The double time is masterful. Good job!

Ken Mahru- Rawk! You should have the best tackle of the challenge. And you do! I could have done without the synth on this track. It sounds good, but I wish it was Steppenwolf Hammond, or just guitar. Vocals are totally solid. Drums are outstanding! I cringe at the “pedal to the metal” cliché, but it was a common violation in this fight. The harmonies are really nice. I hope there’s occasion to play this live, and I’m in your band. Excellent job! I like the bridge a lot, especially the 2 vocals there, they sound great! Killer!

Merisan- Oh how sweet this is! How wonderful it is to hear some vibrato on Erin’s vocals! Best vocal performance! Sam’s backing vocals are stellar too! “….they should” that vibrato is soooo awesome! The first solo is excellent and tasty Sam! The mix is excellent! Good job drumming too! That’s you right Sam? Catchy song really well done!

Paco del Stinko- You’re a player. It is so nice to hear your mastery of the guitar and bass. I love your vocal stylings. The interplay of the bass lines and guitar and zany vocals is just genius! There’s some killer rock power in this track too! You are the tops for originality! Great stuff ! Challenge was nailed like a pro. Good job!

The 2nd Tier (tied for 5th)

Kraut Kitten- What this lacks in production, it makes up for in hilarity. Vocals are impressive. I don’t think the Steve Harris tone was the right bass tone for this. This is clearly more of a Rudy Sarzo type of song. I think your solo could have been a lot better too. I think a little more of a pop hook and a better mix this would have been tops. Still very cool song! I really enjoyed this!

Nick Soma- There’s some really brilliant stuff in here! I really like the quirky verse at regular time. It’s odd but the double time doesn’t work for me. It technically works, but it’s boring compared to the rest of the song. Although that cool chord change that comes after the double time chorus is my favorite part. Nice vocals! The bridge is really nice, that double time bit just sounds like a box checked, filler faux rock. Overall , I like the song. Good stuff!

The 3rd Tier (tied for 7th)

Ross- My big problem with this song is it really feels short. This should be a 4-minute song, yet it’s 2 minutes. Your vocals are great! The challenge is well met. The blue grass double time was brilliant! I feel like it should go back to half time, then regular time, have a nice solo, finish off with a double chorus in double time. This feels very proof of concept bare bones.

C-Ray- This is a cool song. Seems like a step backwards in production for you. I LOVE Sister Ray! “pedal to metal” cliché violation! The lyrics are fine, they are not as clever as most of your previous entries. (tough to follow New Ugly, those were excellent!). I think you pass on the challenge, but you didn’t nail it the way most everyone else did.


Thanks Pete for listening to the Cavedwellers exhibition track! I lobbied for the new schedule. Overall I liked it! The worst happened to us. We were mostly done with our song when we found out we were eliminated. It was fun to finish it off. I’d love to hear what you all think of it. I’m happy to have another song in the repertoire.

Anyway, good luck all! GOOD JOB!
Cheers!

glennny wrote: I think a little more of a pop hook and a better mix this would have been tops.

Yeah, basically. It was not a "honey, I need another pass at this silly metal song" kinda week.

If people are doing a NEIN! let me know and I'll include them in the Listening Party. I missed there were shadow songs until this morning.

Sorry, iVeg and Cavedwellers

Doh! With Memorial Day. I forgot about the listening party.

Ross wrote:Last year, Balance Lost narrowly missed round five, being edged out by Tydon Docks.

This rewriting of history is very generous towards me. As far as I remember it my piece of shit song fucking bombed.


Also, can we make Glennny a judge please. I think I'm gonna need it
Hold it together, Pete. You're not out yet

furrypedro wrote:

Ross wrote: Hold it together, Pete. You're not out yet

i feel you man, I am also not feeling very confident. All we can do is wait and see what the judges say...

Three out of five judges have posted their rankings so far and I still have no idea whether either of you is safe. It's that kind of round, apparently.

Ross wrote:

furrypedro wrote:

Ross wrote: Hold it together, Pete. You're not out yet

i feel you man, I am also not feeling very confident. All we can do is wait and see what the judges say...

I'll make you a deal. If I get through and you don't I'll let you write my Videoland. How's that sound?

I'm not sure whether we'll do another exhibition song, but I asked Lee if he were to sample one piece of classical music for a song, what part of what piece would it be. He replied with the exact moment of the exact piece from the same composer I was thinking of. It's a string quartet. It's 20th century. You'll hear it in Bay/LA bar talk.

glennny wrote:I'm not sure whether we'll do another exhibition song, but I asked Lee if he were to sample one piece of classical music for a song, what part of what piece would it be. He replied with the exact moment of the exact piece from the same composer I was thinking of. It's a string quartet. It's 20th century. You'll hear it in Bay/LA bar talk.

Well, now you have to.