April Contest: Gossip

[gag3]

Scoops stinks like butt poop.

I had to laugh when I read this.
So I thought I would write a translation of what this really means

Scoops - Rejuxtaposition - The Pass By
Man, just listened to this. Got so depressed cuz it's so good, that I started to drink heavily.
Did you know that German beers kick ass on American Beers (hic-up ) I wish I could do something like that, but I just farted, and I got a stinky butt. (hic-up ) Connnngraadulations Scoops. Well done (hic-up )

.

I hope this clears things up

-Scps

beer beer beer beer. here, here!

Connnngraadulations Scoops. Well done (hic-up )

ah, wait, i gave up drinking... but Connnngraadulations Scoops. Well done anyhoooo!

[Legion Hush]

I'm pretty sure that Scoops is one of only 5 nicks in this contest that isn't Hush in some way.

....and thank the almighty god for that one.

I'm pretty sure everyone knows that me and Mello are really just another of Hush's pseudonyms.

Correct. Whenever i write shitty throw away songs, i log on as either Mello or Echo. This month, i obviously wrote two very crappy entries.

[mmichalski59]

Correct. Whenever i write shitty throw away songs, i log on as either Mello or Echo. This month, i obviously wrote two very crappy entries.

I guess with Tumblin' Down, that would make three losers, eh?

[Legion Hush]

Correct. Whenever i write shitty throw away songs, i log on as either Mello or Echo. This month, i obviously wrote two very crappy entries.

I guess with Tumblin' Down, that would make three losers, eh?

Now now....only *I* can be the smart ass around here.

[mmichalski59]

Now now....only *I* can be the smart ass around here.

When you leave the door wide open, you just never know what will wander in...

[Legion Hush]

Now now....only *I* can be the smart ass around here.

When you leave the door wide open, you just never know what will wander in...

Or, "If you cook the soul of the egg, you just never know what calculus comet will fly by the cow".

[Echo Voodoo]

Or, "If you cook the soul of the egg, you just never know what calculus comet will fly by the cow".

You sharing a drink with gag3?

[MaliceX]

Time to re-vu da last batch of songins.

slartibartfast - This song goes back to the roots of electronic tonality in music. FM instruments, a catchy beat, and vocoders! Some nice improv there. Nicely done, though I don't think MIDI (bwck then) would've sounded like that.

d'Mast - Oooh, very risky rearrangement, an attempt of getting orchestral ensembles to play a song that is entirely made electronic. Nice sounds, but parts (0:30-0:44) sound a bit too disjointed. (ie: doesn't flow that well) Everything afterwords starts sounding a bit more DnB interestingly enough. I love the sounds, and I can see some difficulty in comprehending the complexity there. (The ending was a nice touch)

Barnadine - This reminds me of two previous entries, the mushroom tree, and one of the other low singing entries. Very creepy, almost like a chant. sound effects add that extra atmosphere, very convincing. Peppermint Glade? More like crimson glaive.

Steve Holt - Reality TV, I can't quite understand the lyrics very clearly, but anyway. A rather 'happy-ish' instrumentation with a bunch of vocals.. You don't wanna see reality tv? The truth is, TV is Reality.
It sounds very drunken to me. I was kinda expecting a bit of screaming vocals. Oh well. Great.

Zombie Queen - Okay, a more sound-effects-oriented piece, with a subtle melodic movement that isn't entirely clear. Dancing animals, this definetly serves as 'avant-garde' in instrumentation. Nice processing and timings, it has the whole 'ragdoll' vibe to it. (ie: Move one thing, the rest moves along slowly.)

1-2 Many - Clown College, an upbeat yet rather creepy sounding dudes come to mind. I was never a fan of clowns. A bit of a mix of simple electronic with a bit of sampling, i love the part at 1:14. Keep those clowns away from me.
Big band electronica.

papatomany - General nuisance.. The piano is like somewhere else, and an introvert vocalist singing (no offence). This sounds like a "singing audition for a C-grade theater play." 1:22, you stole the Hungarian Dance!! Very...strange. hahaha. Just makes me think of Transylvania all over again..

[Max el Belga]

A review :

papatomany - General nuisance : A very original version, nice singing, excellent mastering and an amazing use of space. A(nother) good job !

Maybe if we're very quiet here, Scoops could sleep all week long so that we can skip the voting-torture...

Max... .. .

[slartibartfast]

I promised some reviews, so here is the first batch. These are in the order my file player decided to present them to me.

As usual some very high quality submissions.

Nils_B - mixdown
Great lyrics which fit beautifully with the tone and sentiment of the original midi file. Your voice is great, and the vocal harmony section is especially sweet on the ears. My only minor improvement suggestion would be to lose the percussion, which is a little jarring - even though it is well back in the mix.

Napalm Bob - Decisive Heartache
This is certainly a major mashup of File 2. The phat bass sounds great, and the "popcorn" synth/tuned percussion starts out great, but becomes rather repetitive after a while. A well-constructed track, I could imagine this track going down well in the clubs.

mmichalski59 - They Fly To Heaven
A sweet and somewhat faithful rendition of the original. The piccolo is smooth and evocative, and the acoustic guitar gives your version of this track a lovely natural feel.

Mellotronaut - Why Rosamunde Died
A very original ever-so slightly Bjork-ish track. The quirky vocal lines sit excellently against the unusual rhythms of the backing tracks - which are of a very high quality. The piano chords at the end are an excellent touch, although they are slightly out-of-keeping with the feel of the rest of the track.

me109 - Rhapsody in Beer
A gorgeously original take on the originally submitted track. Love the quirky opening, the changes in tempo, the fantastic piano arpeggios, and the choice of orchestral instruments. Your track is far more interesting than the (rather mundane) original. As others have noted, the trumpet needs a bit of "tweaking", but this is a very minor criticism given the extremely high quality of the playing and the arrangement.

More to follow soon....

[slartibartfast]

Next 5...

Max el Belga & Alan MadMidi - Mad Midi
This sounds absolutely gorgeous - the drums and percussion, particularly. The tempo changes work really well. Production-wise, this track cannot be faulted. However, at an emotional level, I can't quite connect with this, for some reason. I think this is a track for the brain, rather than the heart.

MaliceX - Ambiguous Decision to Kill ~weird shortmix~
As your title suggests, this is a rather threatening piece, with a brooding undercurrent of violence. The distorted percussion adds to this, but is perhaps a little overdone. Some interesting change-ups throughout this track. Nevertheless, it is a challenging listen.

Laguna Rising - Wanton Exaggeration
Third track in a row based on File 2 - what is my file player trying to do to me? Nevertheless, it is interesting to compare and contrast the approaches people have taken with this track. This one has almost a jazz feel to it. Some of the snare work appears rather random at times, particularly towards the end. Sounds rather like a group of mad jazzmen at an improv session.

Kundara- DrumNJazz
Make that four in a row, based on File 2. After a rather cheesy start, this track gets into the swing beautifully. The later part of the track, where some of the complexity is stripped out works best. Overall, this is a rather more minimalist (only in relative terms) arrangement than some of the others, and I think the original benefits from your treatment of it. Some very interesting sounds. Good work.

Johnny Quest - midifour
This sounds rather as though it needs to be taken a little more uptempo. An interesting and eclectic mix of instrumentation - I particularly like the motif that repeats on a couple of occasions through the track (for example between 0:22 and 0:39) - cool guitar and vocal(?) sample work really well together.

[slartibartfast]

5 more...

Ixox - A celle qui est trop gaie
A wonderful treatment of this track. Great choice of poem to put against this evocative soundtrack. The instrumentation works very well, and the vocals are wonderfully done. Simply lovely.

ianweb123 - MikeLeftField
Another fairly faithful translation of the original track. Some very interesting sounds - particularly the string-y sounds. The lead sound, once it kicks in, is a little plain and thin, however. This track takes a while to get going, which is a pity, as you it is just getting to the mroe interesting parts, when the 2 mins is up. To be honest, I would have cut the first 0:54, and started the track at that point.

Echo Voodoo - A Polka List Now
I think you should have named this the Spongebob polka - the sounds sound very Spongebob-ish, and the vocals sound as though they were recorded underwater. And we all know how much money the creators of Spongebob are making. Quite a curiosity. Could you have got that bass any squelchier? I enjoyed this track a lot.

d'Mast - Midiocore
Although MaliceX didn't seem to think much of it, I thought the strings worked really well in your arrangement - as did the timpani. The slight delay you applied sits beautifully in the mix, and I love the sound of that double bass at around 0:44. The section that follows immediately after that is great also. Once again, stripping the complexity out of File 2 seems to result in something that is a lot more listenable.

core - off the road
For the second month in a row, some delectable, luscious sounds from you. Unfortunately, this sounds rather like a backing track without a vocal/lead - and it really needs one or other of these to take this track to a higher level.

[slartibartfast]

And another 5...

Barnadine - Peppermint Glade
The sweet sounds of this track are somewhat at odds with the rather threatening and gruesome lyrics. Perhaps a few more minor or complex chords thrown in? I am not quite sure whether the banjo was the most appropriate choice of instrument, either. The usually excellent vocal performance, however.

Legion Hush/New Easy - Tumblin Down
Simply gorgeous vocals and harmonies in this one. The guitar fits right into the mix well also. The opening is a little cheesy, but after that, this is simply a great, well performed, and well-produced track.

Patrick9 - Barrelhouse
Great crunchy bass and percussion in this track. And some other wonderful squelchy sounds in there also. Perhaps the lead would have benefitted from a similarly weird and squelchy/crunchy, slightly atonal sound also. That would have set this track off perfectly.....

Markleford - Surprise! More Math-Jazz!
Good lord. I am not normally a great fan of jazz, but this is superb. I love the choice of chord intervals, as well as the tempo changes. Some of the brass sounds are not quite genuine - but they are near enough not to matter. Sounds perfectly like this is being performed in the intimacy of a jazz club . Great!

stressed - on the road
It sounds as though you may be a bit sensitive about your vocal qualities - otherwise why would you bury your vocal behind all those effects. It sounds as though you have nothing to be sensitive about, however. I would love to hear this with a more conventionally treated vocal. The guitar solo is wonderfully evocative, but perhaps a little far back in the mix. Luscious strings top this track off nicely.

[slartibartfast]

Yet another 5....

gag3 - 9-11RollOutTheBarrell
What a curious juxtaposition of music and spoken samples. I am not quite sure what the music has to do with the awfulness of that day. Musically, the theme is treated somewhat simply - but this track left me slightly confused, and not sure what feeling it was intended to generate.

Emerald Tablet - Story
What a wonderful vocal performance of some great lyrics, with an emotively arranged backing. One minor suggestion would have been to drop out the repeated high-pitched note part way through - it does become rather wearing after a while. And a more definitive ending would have been ideal - but this is just me being nit-picking on what is a great track.

papatomany - general nuisance's last stand
This starts out really well, but seems to lose its way a little. The opening is great, and in the first 1:05 your music and lyrics generate a wonderful wistful and slightly fusty atmosphere. If that feeling had been built on and carried into the remainder of the track, this track would more than likely have been in my top 10.

Farlukar - Remote Commander
That bass sound is to die for. I like the way you have offset one of the original midi tracks by a couple of beats. This track has nice, weird sci-fi feel to it, and the relatively "dry" drums offset the heavy delay/reverb on the other sounds well. Not too sure about the DnB type drums that kick in about half way through - but that is probably more a personal taste thing.

streifentier - the giant mushroom tree
After the intro, I thought we were in for a much more psychadelic track. This reminds me rather a lot of Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds. Similar sounds and feel. Those strings are gorgeous, and the repeated guitar motif works very well throughout. Excellent work.

[slartibartfast]

Is nobody else contributing to this thread?

Another 5...

lubi - in the chambers at night
Cock a doodle doo! I had a few difficulties fully hearing all of the spoken lyrics - but I did check that my seatbelt was fastened, and my tray table in the upright position. A fairly simple arrangement of the original theme, musically. But a truly weird selection of samples alongside it. Thanks - I think?

hellbilly - polyanna
Welcome to the contest. Good sound selections in this track, and a nicely bouncy tune. The changeup where the filter gradually opens from about 1:04 to 1:20 is cool, smooth and great. Perhaps a little more variety in the remainder of the track would have added that little something extra to this. But this is a very enjoyable listen.

Beardedone - File 1 On The Road
Love this treatment of file 1. The ride cymbal wasn't quite "right", but that is the only minor criticism. I loved your choice of lead sounds - particularly the one that comes in at around 0:34. Often with instrumentals it is a challenge to find a lead sound that provides adequate emotion for a ballad-y type of track such as this, but you have mastered this challenge well. Well worth repeated listening.

1-2-Many - Clown College
Great lyrics, excellently performed. The "circus" interlude at around 1:10 is a highlight. I can recognise many different elements of File 4 in this, but the track is still a cohesive and well-constructed whole. Great work.

advaya - Get off the Road (apr 07 compo)
Cool lead on the first and final thirds of this track. And the choir pad in the final third is awesome and awe-inspiring. The acoustic guitar sits beautifully in the mix in the first third. If there is a weakness in this track it is in the centre section, which doesn't have the same emotional content as the other parts. And squeezing three very different interpretations into a mere two minutes gives this track, as a whole, a slightly schizophrenic feel.