... Done.
Before sharp objects begin to fly, I beg you to consider the following:
. I am wrong about your songs, for better of worse. There is no absolute judgement here, only my taste – or lack of – speaking.
. I may comment on Song A in happy enthusiastic terms, on Song B in harsh disappointing ones, and rate them roughly the same. There is a reason. Song A made the best of its premises, Song B wasted large potential for greatness. It's the only way I know to balance judgement among genres, styles and eras.
. I have loved listening to your submissions. If the writeups read too negative, it's only because I find it more interesting to elaborate on what a tune lacked in order to be a 10, rather than stating the obvious positive traits.
. I'm costive with marks. Maybe letting these songs grow with (and on) me for a long time will help their causes, but I'm trying to keep excitement for new stuff and actual appreciation safely separated.
Round One Results, 1 of 4:
Puppies_On_Acid - West Coast Lost MarblesOceansize – 9/11 Commemorative T-Shirt:Bus Impression: One song made me shake my head. Go all the way, goddammit.Timestamp Snippett: 3:30 - 4:36: An egregious case of wrong placement, weakening the plan.Emotional mood pieces are tricky buggers. They're like impressionist pictures: not possessing a clear definite image to focus on, they rely on the aggregate effect of tones and shapes. When they succeed, they're deeper than any linear storytelling, while on the other hand they only need a single wrong brush stroke to lose power. In this song's case, the sung part brings all the tapestry down and – keeping up with the picture analogy – forces the eye of the beholder to abruptly change focus the very moment it's finally gaining access beneath the surface.
The intricate (but immediate) sound layers were working wonders. I could picture the impact of devastation, as well as the even heavier impact of collective conscience rationalisation. Inserting human voice in that unspeakable mood (majestically conveyed by the music) took me out, changed a living memory into a t-shirt. Plus, it compromised the beautiful crescendo, which could have been almost unbearable in its efficacy.
Vote: 6.2 – A potential soul hitting 8 until the vocal part, then it couldn't recover momentum and pass the ok alternative rock mood piece treshold.
Aefenwelg - The Uhhhh.. WildcatsCoheed and Cambria – The Willing Well II: From Fear through the Eyes of Madness:Bus Impression: One song made me shake my fist. Work this more, goddammit.Timestamp Snippett: 2:20 - 2:30: Pink Floyd called: they want their One of These Days back.This is actually two distinct songs joined by ten seconds borrowed from Pink Floyd. The first one has a nice jumpy punk-pop vibe, the second one goes on riding on some robust – albeit interrupted now and then - early Maidens patented 12/8 charge. Both feature nice catchy ideas and these guys do have a knack for the hooky melodies. All the ingredients seem to be there, then why isn't this rated higher, you may ask with eyes like knives? Execution,man. Execution.
Despite some really great drumwork building phrasing opportuinities every two seconds, the guitars are from devastatingly pedestrian when on rythm duty to disruptingly chaotic when feeling like providing bells and whistles. I don't know this band, hence it may very well be a stylistic choice rather than lack of competence. Should that be the case, my rating would go even lower. There were a lot of interesting ideas and brilliant songwriting developments here, the majority wasted neglecting the orchestration. Oh, I haven't mentioned the vocals yet. Good, I just did.
Vote: 6.4 – Successful songwriting not nourished as it deserves.
Stadler - The Hartford WalersCheap Trick: The Summer Looks Good on You:Bus Impression: One song made me elbow-pose by the car window in youthful amusement.Timestamp Snippett: 2:22 - 2:52: Phil Spector barged in guns ablazing and made sure I won't forget this tune.If you set your goal to “just a fun nice groovy rock tune”, chances are you totally succeed and bring to the table a couple of surprises to boot. Meat and potatoes rock pace (vibes of Mr Big's Alive and Kicking, a kickass car staple) embellished with vocal harmonies from the Merseyside vault. At first listen it's just a radio friendly efficient song, but with a little attention you find out the friendly simplicity is made of wise layering and fifty years spent drinking at the secret fountain of pop.
Then there's the breakdown section. You'd expect some bluesy Harley driving licking, and you would be wrong. The Spirit of Spector breaks the doors down, bringing on the table a devilish cadence and some unexpected bass soloing. Yet again, the layers make the difference in this section, filling the apparently unoffensive tune with a core of danger (a perfect match to the vocals' Lennonesque phrasing) and making it memorable.
Vote: 6.6 – Craft and brilliance made it condiserably more than an ok song.
Kattelox - The Rainbow WarriorsLuca Turilli's Rhapsody – Tormento e Passione:Bus Impression: One song made me self-conscious of where I'm fromTimestamp Snippett: 1:05 - 1:18: Once you've decided to go "that" way, then a simplistic Aces High modulation driven section seems quite out of place.Rarely a title was more appropriate. The passion for Baroque phrasing's apollinean beauty and Romantic heroic melody's dictature is undeniable and sincere. It's expressive urgency rather than expressive choice, and that's the mark of a true musician. Alas, sometimes urgency leads to exageration, overloading the means forgetting the ends, and passion's flip side turns up as torment. That's Italian sense of melody in a nutshell: unparalled beauty (and sometimes this tune is astoundingly beautiful) and emotional bombast often going too far.
There's a pretty standard power metal progression showing up the magic trick by contrast, casting light on the form as surrogate for substance. Without that, I'm pretty sure the song would have “fooled” the part of cultural DNA I share with the author. The vocalists are very talented and gifted with recognisable timbres (a rare feat at high ranges), and I actually liked them more in their natural voice rather than in the (semi)operatic pose.
Vote: 6.8 – A really nice song, I just can't find it as sublime as it's representing itself.
Topic: Indiscipline's Roulette v. The Dirty Aftermath (Read 125509 times)
