Okay, Round 2 results. I'm sorry this took a week. Your submissions were really great on the whole. Thanks a lot again. Apologies in advance for not proofreading this.
5 Points – sonatafanica – Gregory and the Hawk – Oats We SowI think I’ve heard this song before. The vocal melodies sound really familiar. Anyway, this is a really nice song. Songs like this are like little stocking stuffers to me – short, sweet, and immediately satisfying. The thing I like about folk songs is that they really need to rely on the strength of the pure songwriting since there aren’t many other gimmicks they can rely on. That being said, I really like the instrumentation in this piece. It varies a bit, which helps the song be dynamic – something that a lot of simple songs just aren’t. I want more of this.
4 Points – Kev – Eric Johnson – Manhattan I dunno if it’s the fact that I’ve been listening to a lot of Satriani lately, but this song just makes me feel good. Eric Johnson has always been one of those guys that I’ve meant to check out for years but never got the chance to explore properly. I’ve heard his “hits,” like “Cliffs of Dover” of course, but I never really got to dig any deeper, so I’m glad you sent me this. I’ve listened to this song about five times and I really can’t get over the lead tone Johnson has. I’ve heard it discussed time and time again but it really is amazing… like a knife through butter. It’s just so damn smooth. Of course, none of this would matter if the instrumental wasn’t interesting. Thankfully, it’s tastefully composed and has some really nice stuff going on, even with the show-offey elements.
4 Points – SoundscapeMN – Jellyfish – The King is Half UndressedWhat a fun song. There’s a comment on the YouTube video that says, “This band should have owned the 90s.” I’m not one to make such sweeping judgments after hearing only one song, but damn, this is good. I know this is only supposed to be about the music, but I really liked the whimsical video that accompanied it
You weren’t kidding about the vocal harmonies either. There’s a break about 2:30 into the song in which their voices go into Queen territory without sounding too derivative, and I think they pull it off really well. Can’t get the damn chorus out of my head, either.
3 Points – sneakyblueberry – Brooke Fraser – Crows and LocustsThis chick’s voice is wonderful. I’ve been really into female singers lately, and I can really see myself enjoying Fraser. I like the chorus in this one a lot, but I thought the song could have been a bit shorter overall. I would have loved to put this in the four-point category but I thought the other submissions were just slightly stronger. Like barely. Want more.
3 Points – SDN – Mew – The Zookeeper’s BoyI had high expectations for this song, which I suppose is my own fault. I see you and sonata talk about Mew on the forums, so I figured I’d love ‘em. I actually thought this was a pretty rad song, and I REALLY liked the vocals, but it didn’t grab me like the 5 and four point songs did. Perhaps that’s just a testament to the quality of those rather than that of The Zookeeper’s Boy. In any event, I’ll definitely need to check out more of this band. Album suggestion?
3 Points – Letters – APC – 3 LibrasI enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I don’t know why, but I’ve always been averse to Maynard James Keenan and it’s nice to know that he makes music I can see myself liking
I’m not the biggest fan of his voice, but I think it’s an OK song. It’s kinda neither here nor there for me. I don’t see much in it to keep me coming back for more.
2 Points – Rich – The River Empires – Overture in Thales SummerSo maybe you should’ve sent me a different song from this album
I like what’s going on here a lot, and I feel like I
should enjoy this, but unfortunately, it dragged on too long for me. There just didn’t seem to be enough variation to warrant the length of the track. Alternatively, I listened to “The Harbourland” and I liked that track a lot better, so I guess I’ll just have to listen to this album!
2 Points – Gorille – Unexpect – A Clown’s MindtrapI know Unexpect is your favorite band, and this is your favorite song, so I’ll go easy here. There’s just so much going on in this song, and it seems to change faster than I can appreciate any individual part. It’s like I’m in one of those dark theme park rides on rails and I’m just being jerked around every few seconds! I can see the appeal here, but I really find it hard to make an emotional connection with this and other bands that jump from idea to idea to idea a lot. I did think the violin was cool!
1 Point – Sigz – Gregor Samsa – LesseningI dunno, man. I don’t think post rock is for me. I’ve tried a few EITS records, but those never really grabbed me like I thought they would. I know you speak highly of this band so I was excited to check out the song… Calling someone’s favorite music good for “background listening” is kind of a dick thing to do, but I found it really hard to keep my attention for the near-seven minutes of this piece. I feel like I need to listen to music like this with a different mindset or something, because I kinda just get bored. And I know that’s a totally immature statement
Still willing to give it another chance, but it doesn’t look too good.
Round 3: I really love songs that can do a lot with a little time. Give me something that's three minutes or shorter.
Deadline: midnight, Thursday.
KevShmev - 9
sonatafanica - 8
SDN - 7
SoundscapeMN - 7
ariich - 5
Sigz - 5
letters - 5
sneakyblueberry - 4
Gorille - 3
Topic: antigoon's Song Roulette! Talkin 'bout Arcade Fire (Read 47975 times)
