TAC – 17.0
Dave Bickler – Fear Of The Dark 6 2 1 9
My Solioquy - Fractured 5 2 1 8
So I had to look up Dave Bickler; one of those names that rings a bell, but the dust is too great to actually recall the answer. Love it! Doesn’t hurt that the song is pretty darn good, too. I love the tribal buildup and the payoff at 1:40 was excellent. It’s a little Jeff Scott Soto-ish at that point, but that’s a good thing, since that’s what the vocals on Sons of Apollo SHOULD have been, or would have been if I was king. My Soliloquy was a harder putt; at first I hated the vocals, especially on the verses, but then the overwhelmingly Queensrche-ian vocals of the chorus won me over, and then I started getting an early (circa Sin After Sin) Rob Halford vibe, and that got you some points. Throw in a very Dream Theater-esque passage at the end (around 4:40 or so) and it turned into an enjoyable song.
Thematically, nailed it. Not what I was I was initially going for, but still wildly creative. I was impressed. Not much to say, except this is text book.
FIREWINGS/KATTLEOX – 15.0
Kings Of Leon – Arizona 4.5 1 1 6.5
Glen Campbell – Southern Nights 6.5 1 1 8.5
Uh… I’m not sure who Leon is, or why he deserves multiple kings, but I figure I won’t dwell too much on that. I’ve heard a little of KoL before, and frankly, so sorry, haven’t been impressed. This wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t really good either. In theory, I should love this, but I really don’t. The vocals don’t have the gravity that a lot of the (good) other examples of this kind of music have, and so the score suffers as a result. Now, almost the opposite can be said of Glen Campbell. He was sort of a joke when I was growing up; “Rhinestone Cowboy” was a quasi-novelty song almost, at a time when a lot of popular country was a novelty. It was well-known in Nashville how good a player Glen is/was, but it wasn’t really until his recent “resurgence” (using the Jellyfish guys and Cheap Trick’s producer Julian Raymond) that it became common knowledge. I think I’ve heard this song before, but I never realized it was Glen (and I’m a fan!) so I was really pleasantly surprised. For the record, “Adios” (his last album) is must-listening, and it’s heartbreaking to hear his last SONG (also called “Adios”), sung with the full knowledge that his time was limited and released just weeks before his passing. If that doesn’t move you, you aren’t just rock, you are A rock.
Thematically, not really where I was going. I have to provide some separation between entries, so I’m going to give you a full point creatively, but dock a little for the meeting of the theme. Sorry boss; it’s not so much you, but your competition. Others nailed my intent far better, and the really creative submittals – TAC, Jingle – were pretty strong.
V-CHLORTHO – 14.5
Dear Hunter - Home 6 2 0 8
Dear Hunter – Shake Me (Awake) 4.5 2 0 6.5
I’ve been given Dear Hunter before, and was less than impressed. Way less than impressed. Granted, I think the piece I got was a part of a bigger work and so that’s always a tough proposition, but nonetheless. I like these though, especially the first song. It’s daunting, but this song kind of makes me want to dig in a little more. The “Color Spectrum” idea really sounds intriguing, and this song seems to do it justice. Some of the momentum was lost on the second song; sounded less… introspective or contemplative and more like a theme song to a hit sitcom. I can absolutely picture Courtney Cox and Matthew Perry bopping around to this, or Kevin James and Leah Remini giving those corny knowing smiles to each other as the credits roll…
Thematically, it was accurate, so you got points there, but it didn’t rise to the level of some of the others in terms of creatively going beyond the obvious.
ROMDRUMS – 15.5
Muse – Uprising (Live) 4.5 2 1 7.5
Muse – Stockholm Syndrome (Live) 5 2 1 8
Ah, Muse. If there was a banned list, they wouldn’t be on it, and I can imagine several people going “LOW HANGING FRUIT!” Well-played, complex prog-rock with a severe Queen influence, coupled with the fact that I’ve made no bones about loving Flying Colors (whose first album has about four songs with a very heavy Muse influence) and it should be a no-brainer, right? Except it’s not. I don’t know what it is, to be honest, but it doesn’t click, and “Uprising” is perhaps the best example of that. It’s well-written well-played, and yet… cold and sterile and not in a good way. Stockholm Syndrome is better, and this version in particular is excellent (though I think I had a seizure with the lights!), so it’s not all lost…
Thematically, NAILED it. Exactly what I was looking for. You got full points anyway, but I probably would have thrown in a point otherwise for the (I presume) intended comedy of the cute Latina yelling “The MYOOOOOZE!” at least twice! But this was a perfect submission in terms of the theme.