Battle of the Bands VI

[rekrap]

4 - Spectrum of the Sky - Break of Reality
4 - Lost In Time - Whitley

2 - I'm Starting Today - Clay Cook
2 - Furr - Blitzen Trapper

1 - I'm A Lady - Santogold
1 - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites - Skrillex
1 - Standing in the Shadow - Adrian Belew

[OddSox]

Originally Posted by Werewolf

Not too thrilled with the songs this week. I think I'll have to grade on a curve.

For players of Guess Werewolf's Song: Get your picks in! And for those who already guessed, is that your final answer?

Yaz. gotta go with the obvious this time.

[rekrap]

Originally Posted by Gentle Giant

Werewolf. Duh.

Originally Posted by OddSox

Yaz. gotta go with the obvious this time.

[lipman]

Good round for me, but of course I like the technos!

Evol Intent - Middle of the Night - 4 points - Kept growing on me, listen after listen
Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites - 4 points - Heard it on that "adventure camera" or whatever commercial this morning and got real happy. Could do without the "Oh My God" sound clip that I can't quite place (I have heard it before though, somebody on Youtube over-reacting to something).
Blitzen Trapper - Furr - 3 points - I really like this song, but I knew it coming into the contest, so it gets a point deduction
Break of Reality - Spectrum of the Sky - 2 points - Is Digweed in this contest? Because this sounds right up his alley!
Santogold - I'm a Lady - 1 points - Vocals remind me a lot of Tegan and Sara, which is alright in my book! Wish it was a little more up tempo. (and wish I had an extra point to give it, but I ran out )
Andrew W.K. - I get wet - 1 point


Honorable mentions
O-Shen and Nouvelle

Dishonorable mentions
Not only have I already heard Yaz and Local H, but I hated both of those songs coming into this thing.

On a side note, I would really like to hear what GG thinks is good D&B

[rekrap]

Originally Posted by lipman

Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites - 4 points - Heard it on that "adventure camera" or whatever commercial this morning and got real happy. Could do without the "Oh My God" sound clip that I can't quite place (I have heard it before though, somebody on Youtube over-reacting to something).

According to wiki:

A sound clip of Rachael Nedrow's aka speedstackinggirl exclamations

Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j54yGxuk0yo

[Gentle Giant]

Originally Posted by lipman

On a side note, I would really like to hear what GG thinks is good D&B

The man behind Señor Coconut has some pretty good glitchy D&B. I'm having trouble finding some of his harder stuff, but here is an example of a more mellow D&B piece.

Goldie is, of course, an obvious example. Mostly well-engineered/mastered, with a smooth arrangement. Not all in yer face with "let's see how ugly we can make this sound" like in this round.

Brick wall limiting, as I've mentioned repeatedly, is an absolute no-no.

[OddSox]

I actually struggled to come up with 15 for this round. Hadn't heard any of the songs before despite knowing quite a few names.

1. Adrian Belew - Standing in the Shadow: Would have liked to hear something else from this guy, the track in question did nothing for me.

2. Andrew W.K. - I Get Wet: Approximately 115 'I Get Wet's if you count the ones at the beginning of longer sentences as well as the backup singer's contribution in the last couple choruses. I like the combination of happy instrumental and aggressive vocals. Haven't heard the song before. 1 point

3. Break of Reality - Spectrum of the Sky: Great piece. 4 points

4. Blitzen Trapper - Furr: The classic tale of a werewolf's first experiences in the wild, meeting a girl, and being reacclimatized into society.

Seriously though, great song that's right in my wheelhouse. 4 points

5. Clay Cook - I'm Starting Today: As I said, straight country is not my thing.

6. Evol Intent - Middle of the Night: No thanks.

7. Local H - Bound For the Floor: Sounds like a Green Day B-side. Did nothing for me.

8. Hum - Aphids: Also did nothing for me.

9. Kamelot - When The Lights Go Down: Solid if over-the-top metal song. It's a weak round, so: 2 points

10. Nouvelle Vague ft. Julie Delpy - Lalala: For some reason I hated the vocalist. Her spoken words irritate me and she seems to just slide up and down to every single note in the chorus. Wasn't terribly catchy either.

11. O-Shen - Siasi: This is really straightforward and there's not much to it, but I like the genre and the harmonies. 1 point

12. Santogold - I'm A Lady: I like some of her other stuff I've heard better. It's OK, though. 1 point

13. Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites: I actually love the main theme. However, the overcompressed WUB WUB WUBBBBBB WUB annoying sample WUB WUB WUBBBBBB WUB the autotuned WUBWUBWUB with WUBWUBWUB dislike it overall. 0 WUBWUB

14. Whitley - Lost In Time: Like the strings, the rest of it not so much.

15. Yazoo - Situation [Single Remix]: That synth hook is catchy as hell. Gets 2 points all on its own.

[punmanbowler]

I forgot to mention my thoughts on Yazoo. It's really unfortunate that these guys had to rip off such a great and talented artist like Heidi Montag, whose 'Body Language' was much better and much catchier.

Seriously though, it's a little sad that all Situation did for me was miss Body Language and make me want to here it more.

[Triweasel]

1. Adrian Belew - Standing in the Shadow: 1 point Catchy riff, overall the song is kinda boring though. One of my favorite guitarists, but his solo work is just so-so imo. Gains a point for the part at the end that sounds just like Big Country. That was awesome.

2. Andrew W.K. - I Get Wet: 1 point Fun song, like the backup singing and the relentless vocals.

3. Break of Reality - Spectrum of the Sky: 2 points This one grew on me after several listens. I like the way the strings build up.

4. Blitzen Trapper - Furr: I like the folk style and it's well-done, but it loses points for too much religiosity. Just not my thing.

5. Clay Cook - I'm Starting Today: Just can't feel any empathy for this guy. Get off the couch and do something with your life. Whining to a neglected god is a step backward imo.

6. Evol Intent - Middle of the Night: Not bad, but needs something else, like another line of vocals. Or a change in the music at some point. To me it's like 1/5 of a song.

7. Local H - Bound For the Floor: This song is on the radio so much I was shocked that it was eligible for the contest. Pretty good song, but I've already heard it too much and it was already starting to get annoying before this contest even happened.

8. Hum - Aphids: 3 points Love this style. Reminds me of early Silkworm. Squarely in my wheelhouse.

9. Kamelot - When The Lights Go Down: Like the energy in the rhythm guitar but it's just too generic when the chorus comes in. Nothing here that makes me want to listen to it again.

10. Nouvelle Vague ft. Julie Delpy - Lalala: 4 points This song is just fantastic. Love the surfy guitar, laid-back vocals and the lyrics were oblique enough to hold my interest. Wouldn't change a thing.

11. O-Shen - Siasi: 1 point A happy song that put a smile on my face. Nothing memorable, but pleasant enough for a point.

12. Santogold - I'm A Lady: I do like parts of this song, but not enough to give it a point.

13. Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites: This one got slightly less annoying after repeated listens, but it still makes me want to stab myself in the ears so no points.

14. Whitley - Lost In Time: 2 points Pretty good, reminds me of Built to Spill.

15. Yazoo - Situation [Single Remix]: 1 point One of the catchiest club songs ever, and brings back fond memories. Still think it's too well-known for this contest, but it's so awesome it needs a point.

[Super Silver Haze]

When Triweasel doesn't give my song a point, that's when I know I'm in trouble.