september theme ... GOSSIP

[You™]

The musicianship is excellent, nice drums, keys and horn - especially that horn (a muted trumpet or coronet?) - that whole middle section is top notch.

Thanks. Muted cornet. Actually used a plastic measuring cup like a plunger mute, opening and closing it for that "wah" sound. (The ORIGINAL filter! )

mmm huh huh... I said "coronet." Hey, "extra value is what you get when you buy Coronet!"


@ Glooper: I know the sample: Duh, it's DJ Shadow of course! The other voice is hard to make out with just three versions of one word. I suspected it was Amerikanski, but I just wanted to recirculate that picture of Remco...

@ Wopelka: I get the respirator reference. I like his stuff too. We had a bit of a collab going on this summer that we never finished. It's about time to wrap that up, eh Thomas?

[respirator]

@ Wopelka: I get the respirator reference. I like his stuff too.

Thanx!

We had a bit of a collab going on this summer that we never finished. It's about time to wrap that up, eh Thomas?

My bad. I think I owe you some samples, right?

[You™]

...I think I owe you some samples, right?

Sure. Email 30 seconds worth of stuff and I'll cut down that 7-minute monstrosity I brewed in the summertime.

[mystahr]

and step on it

[Glooper]

Actually it looks like I named the track wrong...
it should be Hope is the thing with Feathers...

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.


Ben

[Beardedone]

Beardedone - Mood for Bob Moog
You have certainly created an excellent moody piece indeed. This track cries out to be listened to and absorbed in detail. The production and mix is excellent. Lovely.

Thanks for this! Thou great planet architect!

Best,
Gordon

[You™]

...Everyone who spoke out against covers should be making note of this. See, covers are rough. If everyone knows the original, they either hate it 'cause you took too many liberties with precious material, or hate it 'cause you did an accurate version and didn't put enough of yourself in it. AND if they don't know the original, they criticize you for things like the song's arrangement...

I agree in principle. Covering a song is not necessarily easier than composing something new. For a lot of people - including me - it's actually harder. But passing the responsibility for a song's appeal back to the original writer/performer out of deference to their arrangement or a perceived requirement for accurate reproduction sells the craft of interpretation short. I think the reason so many covers are rather inert is because they try to be too faithful to the original (The Ceasars doing BÖC) or they follow some kind of obvious translation formula (No Doubt doing Talk Talk). I really appreciate the cover that so deviates from expectation that you really have to analyze it on it's own terms (ie: Residents Third Reich and Roll).

Personally, I don't cover my favorite songs. It would only amplify how inadequate a musician I am. Plus it would require me to practice and that gets in the way of my aesthetic.

PS: I didn't mean people who have ADHD are philistines. I meant that in general, we complacent middle-class, technologically dependent humanoids, reared on homogenized pop-culture and processed food stuff have become willfully ignorant of civility, good taste or anything outside our limited frame of reference. Furthermore, we manage little time or inclination to cultivate an appreciation or at least respect for such things. Our ignorance, abetted by lifestyle and habituation becomes a recursive, impatient desire for the lowest common denominator and hastens the polarization of our society. No offense to anyone besides me who feels they might fit this description.

@ Glooper, thanks for posting the lyric. It's perfect.

[Beardedone]

Doing a cover is definitely harder but I found can be very rewarding. I like the fact that by doing so I am forced to work on my muscianship. I tend to be lazy you kmow.

So what's the verdict?

[emdot_ambient]

I agree in principle. Covering a song is not necessarily easier than composing something new. For a lot of people - including me - it's actually harder. But passing the responsibility for a song's appeal back to the original writer/performer out of deference to their arrangement or a perceived requirement for accurate reproduction sells the craft of interpretation short.

Agreed. My real points were A) doing covers is harder than it sounds, and B) it's more dangerous to do a cover in a competition than it is to do an original song because people have preconceived judgements of the original song--good or bad--which can bite you back.

In general I prefer covers to be re-interpretations rather than staying true to the original . . . but this song's one I've wanted to do accurately for a long time because I love it so much, and also as a training tool. I like the idea of doing accurate covers just to get an idea of how the originals were done. For example, this song taught me how much I suck at writing harmonies. Also the melodies are not ones that are easy for me to play, so I end up not writing things like that and it's ofte instructive to try to duplicate in order to see and know different approaches to the instrument at hand.

Residents Third Reich and Roll.

Yummy!

PS: I didn't mean people who have ADHD are philistines.

Absolutely understand. You™ duh man!

[nuisance sonore]

--

[nuisance sonore]

--

[Markleford]

How do you review a cover?

That's a tough one! Or maybe it's just deceptively difficult and actually very easy...

I typically rate a cover better if it's *different* from the original. Creative arrangements are tops in my book.

Otherwise, just review it like any other song: how much do you like it? Is the mix good? Does the performance move or inspire you? Some people vote just on that, and then maybe a few words on how it compares to the original (if they even know it).

Nobody is going to check your figures: you can review and vote on the number of letters in the title if you'd like!

- m

[nikp2000]

what a great bunch o' tunes this month.
congrats to everyone and a big thanks
to the reviewers

nick

[knockman]

reviewing a cover's tough indeed.

what i do is write near indecipherable nonsense regardless of whether it's a cover or not, that way you've got all your bases covered.

but on a serious note, i think it's possible to detach yourself from the music's 'baggage', not just its origin, but equally its perceived genre, instrumentation, production, structure and so on, and allow it to affect you in a more emotional, intuitive way. the associations and images that suggest themselves are perfectly valid in terms of criticism, but equally tough to capture in words. furthermore it levels the playingfield between creator and recipient and establishes a context in which there is a great sense of worth apparent in what we are exposed to, regardless of whether we feel we 'like it'.

i honestly like just about everything presented in these contests, my appreciation is of course centrered around the context of what it's function is (whatever that might be!), and the spontaneous evolution of exchanges, positvity and community that it inspires; for me that's music being used for a fundemental purpose, like a folk ritual, and its existence outside these boards is 'by the by'.

i guess wht i'm saying is, to review a cover, anything goes.

regards

[You™]

So has September officially passed? Is this the end? Now on to Rocktoberfest?