August Contest: Gossip

[DrApostropheX]

@ DrAx ...... video !!!!!


James

I'm lovin' the freaked-out smileys. I played the video for my kids and they just thought it was hilarious, so obviously I need to work on being more creepy. Thanks for watching

[oddbod]

DrApostrophex - An good production/arrangement with lots of clever touches and the tune is curiously catchy despite the sluggish pace. The interpretation of the theme is arguably liberal but I think you get away with it.

Nystul - For me this conjures up some Agatha Christie murder mystery rather than what you've described (wouldn't it have been easier to say alternative music for Indiana Jones?) The brass sounds pretty awful - I thought VSL sounded better than this. The composition is okay. The arrangement seems perhaps a little lightweight.

jenderton - Although there's some interesting sounds in this, I don't think all the various elements work together in the same piece. The (human beatbox?) sounding snare particularly seems out of place. Uneasy I get, but desolate? - not really, although it doesn't help that I've just been listening to Brian Eno.

xh3rv - a well produced synth instrumental. it's okay, it's got atmosphere and it builds up nicely and works in the context you describe, but somehow it doesn't quite stir the emotions in me.

DH Miltz - The opening strumming promised something but it just goes into a fairly predictable and forgettable one verse song about exactly what I don't know. Apart from the reference in the title and lyric, what's this got to do with a movie? Is this irony of some sort?

[Laguna Rising]

Thanks for all these reviews, Oddbod

Cheers

[Emerald Tablet]

lex strooder-avatar 2nd ending
That gliding sound is simply beautifull. Looking forward to work with you. vox=ace!

nikp2000-august dogs
Love the guitarsound. Quantise it more. it does sound human but perhaps a bit too offbeat in a non deliberate way. Lead is realy clever and the sound used sounds perfect to my ears.

oddbod-thegirlfromcanveyisland
Love everything about your entry which is very filmish indeed. bacardi on the rocks for that lady overthere!!!!

Pheeleep-JamesBondRetroLounge
80s mixout and sounds. Had this tune on my first digital watch.
(as 8 years old boy) lovely sphere.

beanpole Sci Fi
Better than WHO! one of my favs!

DHMiltz MovieTheme
Puts a smile on my face. pretty song.

DrAX Dont Be Afraid
Clever chord progressions. Nice song!

futurebit light of distant star
Battlestar galactica meets pet shop boys. Nice scifi poptune.

Jerru Kill Me Gently
OK - what was used for drums? Stormdrum? AWESOME ... the guitars also ... marvelous tune

keyman sam A Winter Night
Hard not too like this subtle jazztune. teriffic

LagunaRising EscapeTheChaser
Love all these switches. Very nice

mrblitz000 Smoking
Cacephony. was waiting for something to happen

nystul sandstorm
Very Heroic. Lovely

Patrick9 Nephalim
Fantastic odd sphere. Not too fond of the choirsounds used.

rachmiel frunobulax
Cool effects. Also loved the panning in this one.
Was waiting for stuff to happen which did not come.

[Jerru]

Hi Emerald. Thanks for the review. One of my friends kept me on the phone for 20 minutes raving about that drum sound after I sent him the track

Drums Used: EZD Claustrophobic kit for Snare, Cymbals & Hi-Hat - EZD Pop Kit for all fills and Steven Slate EX Chunky Rock Kit - Kick #7 for bass drum only. I also added Nasty LF (Big Butt preset) on the bass drum. There was also a touch of reverb used internally on the Claustrophobic kit. When I mastered the whole track with T-Racks Vintage Compressor 670 (Parallal and Bright & Magic presets) it really brought the drums alive and enhanced the reverb to the WHOA factor

Guitars Used: Gibson Explorer > Line 6 UX2 > Classic Blackmore patch for all main parts. I doubled the initial and recurring lick with Amplitube 2 - Crunch To Lead patch. To smooth out the original high gain sound for the two lead sections for the first half of the song, I used my Squire Telecaster > UX2 > Variax Acoustic patch doubling those lead parts. Finally I used my Squire Strat for the short "whammy" lick near the end.

Hope that wasn't more info than you were looking for, but thanks for asking!

Cheers,
Jerry

P.S - Thank you Oddbod as well for your comments!

[liqih]

oddbod and remco, got still one shot for my entry? <grin>

[Lady J]

hi.

[thomekk]

also some "hey" -
entry finished after a longer time without being here.

[xh3rv]

oddbod and remco, got still one shot for my entry? <grin>

I had problems listening to your entry - I only got a few seconds of audio, never had that happen before with any mp3. Anyone else?

[D.H. Miltz]

Rifftrax, I get "Oops, looks like we can't find that page..." when I click your link.

No problem here with liqih's entry (though I downloaded rather than streamed, if that makes a difference).

Thanks for the reviews, oddbod and Emerald Tablet.

[xh3rv]

Some 'reviews', or at least some random firings of neurons ...

1-2-Many: I was a little afraid from your description, but this actually is pretty solid. Some really cool sounds - I like the ambient bits in the intro and the stabby chords at the end especially.
The protagonist in this film is: An animatronic Harrison Ford. It turns out Decker is human though.

Beanpole: Very nice progression, great sounds! This has a really hip, indie or punk-ish undercurrent that I can definitely see going with some movies.
The protagonist of the film: Simon Pegg

D.H. Miltz: If I actually heard it in a movie, I might be inclined to think a director was reaching way too far, but it's a very pretty track.
The protagonist of the film is: Roger Ebert walking out on it.

Daniel Pompougnac: Everything here works and is great. Amazing stuff.
The protagonist of the film is: Daniel Day-Lewis.

Dr. AX: Equal parts goofy and disturbing. I think I was a little confused that musically it didn't seem to match the era of "Don't Be Afraid"
The protagonist of the film: John Wayne as John Wayne Gacy

EchoVoodoo: Good chip-hop track, I'm impressed that it's also a bit sophisticated. The movie this went with might be weirdly great, subversive
The protagonists of the film are: The Beastie Boys

Emerald Tablet: There was something fresh about the tone of this track, I think it needs a few more ideas, but what's there achieves a distinctive character.
The protagonist of the film is: J. Lo (actually, just kidding, that's a cruel thing to say .... stumped on this one)

Future-bit: I can definitely hear the 80s in here … without visuals I think the track could be a little cheesier to make it's point, but if it were with the right visuals it would be spot on.
The protagonist of the film is: Dolph Lundgren. Wait, you said it's a female lead? Dolph Lundgren in drag.

Interferon: Ominous, a lot of character. I suspect this would work very well in a movie; it's in the background, doesn't demand attention, but has a lot of atmosphere. Volume was a bit low.
The protagonist of the film is: not a sissy.

jenderton: A bit too experimental for me, something like this can be pretty hit or miss.
The protagonist of the film: Val Kilmer?

Jerru: Really heavy sound, I like it. I don't know if it's a 'James Bond' type of cool, but it would fit with something a little grittier.
The protagonist of the film is: Clive Owen

Keyman Sam: Pretty authentic sound, very convincing musically. This actually would be super-entertaining if everyone dies 5 seconds before the credits roll.
The protagonist of the film is: Steve Buscemi

Lady J: Really excellent metal. The track could be done in a little different way to be a bit more cinematic … I think I might like this mix better in a movie anyway though, maybe with some explosions, car crashes, fish slaps or whatever.
The protagonist of the film is: Angelina Jolie. Ya, she's still got it.

Laguna Rising: Interesting track, and well done. I'm not sure it would be perfect for just any car chase, but it might work for something a bit comical ... maybe a go-kart chase.
The protagonist of the film is: Jack Black, opposite the villainous John Hodgeman

lex_strooder: This was beautiful. Nothing else to say!
The protagonist of the film is: Guerilla Rebel Forces Smurf

Liqih: Some really great synth sounds in here. Sort of a strange mash-up, but I like it. The Ghostbusters theme is awesome for karaoke, if anyone ends up trapped in that sort of situation.
The protagonist of the film is: Slimer. The movie is a Tim Burton remake of Easy Rider.

Me109: The lyrics are really important to this track, it's good they come off as honest and heartfelt. Thanks for that. I might've liked some elaborate production quality with this, only because I think there's something genuine captured here.
The protagonists of the film are: Me and Halle Berry *schwing*

Mike777: Pleasantly subtle, and the sound is convincing. Only thing missing is Morgan Freeman's voice-over.
The protagonist in this film is: Lindsay Lohan. She was so sweet in The Parent Trap and Freaky Friday and Mean Girls, but I haven't heard about her doing anything recently. What has she been up to the last few years?

MrBlitz000: Really nailed the vibe you intended to get, and not uninteresting on it's own either … liked this one quite a bit.
The protagonist of the film is: Tommy Chong. Also, it's a documentary.

mvrasseli: I thought this was a pretty decent entry … hmm, how do I say this - it's a bit 'straight to DVD' to me, which means it's pretty on target, although maybe not so Hollywood, as you mentioned.
The protagonist of the film is: A talking animal.

NikP2000: This works pretty well for me, it sounds like the details are done right, nothing sticks out sorely.
The protagonist of the film is: Matthew McConaughey in Western attire, going to free the leading lady and more importantly his surf board.

Nystul: A lot of elements I'd want in a certain type of cinematic score. It's underproduced in a way, but that could work in the right circumstances.
The protagonist of the film is: Cary Elwes' mustache from The Princess Bride.

oddbod: Very good track. Classy, in good ways. Very familiar sound.
The protagonist of the film is: Audrey Hepburn

OffTheWall: If you would've said it's a movie where Mel Gibson singlehandedly destroys an army with a potato-pult, I'd be all over this, but that's because I have questionable taste. Nice track!
The protagonists of the film are: Chris Elliot and Kate Winslet (that's what it looks like from the picture anyway!)

Patrick 9: I really like the distinctive guitar tone, and the composition evolves in an interesting way. It sounds a little under-developed, but I bet it could really turn into something with a few touches.
The protagonist of the film is: Doesn't matter, people mostly remember the plot twist revealed at the end: it's all only a figment of M. Night Shamylan's imagination!

Pheeleep: The sounds took the theme in yet another direction, which is an achievement ... I'm not sure it's a big or decadent enough sound as presented, though.
The protagonist of the film is: (nevermind, talking about the best James Bond protagonist is like religion, politics, Mac vs. PC ... a total minefield )

Psy-T: The musical lines in here are pretty nice. I think it might be the sounds used, but I wasn't really drawn into this until the noisy stuff at the end.
The protagonist of the film is: Haley Joel Osment

Rachmiel: It feels like the sounds match the kind of movie you mention. If Frunobulax X ever drops by for a social vist, I'll know what to play.
The protagonist of the film: Scarlett Johansson. Frunobulax X played by Beavis.

Rifftrax: I'm a sucker for the occasional J-pop track, I'm getting that vibe all over this track. What synth(s) used on this? It's a really sweet filtered sound.
The protagonist of the film is: animated with really huge eyes.

Sepheritoh I like the chord progressions. I think some more variation on the arrangement could create a more evolving track, I have a few other nits with it, but this was a decent entry.
The protagonist of the film is: Elmer Fudd coping with love and loss in the big city.

Shrikant: I love the instrumentation but I'm not really convinced by the track, sorry
The protagonist in this film is: David Carradine, he should be available, last I heard he was just hanging around.

Sleek Month: Very fun track. I'd watch it. I'm really liking everything on your website!
The protagonist in this film is: Sean Connery.

T-Riddy: There's something that sounds alive about this track, I actually think it might work really well for a slow, expository sequence (like: the master thief describing how to break into a vault)
The protagonist of the film is: Lucy Liu as a thief / ninja / librarian

Thomekk: Love the casual groove. Very clean production, not complicated and not boring.
The protagonist of the film is: Tina Fey, overdubbed in French and subtitled in Portuguese.

[rifftrax]

Rifftrax, I get "Oops, looks like we can't find that page..." when I click your link.

No problem here with liqih's entry (though I downloaded rather than streamed, if that makes a difference).

Thanks for the reviews, oddbod and Emerald Tablet.

lnik should be fixed now, something weird was going on with the first upload

[DrApostropheX]

Thanks for the reviews, guys! Reading those today is the best birthday present I could ask for I haven't had a chance to listen to the entries yet (was busy all weekend ) but hopefully I'll have some time to do that today and tomorrow... from the reviews above, it sounds like the entries this month were all really solid and that voting will be really hard!

[Sepheritoh]

Sepheritoh I like the chord progressions. I think some more variation on the arrangement could create a more evolving track,

Thank you!

I have a few other nits with it,

No you don't

but this was a decent entry.

Only decent? You know mean "most marvelous" but were not sure if I would take offence. Don't worry. I can take it.



Thank you for the review

[Lady J]

xh3rv,

Thanks for the review. That was totally the vibe I was going for! I thought rather than put explosions, car crashes, etc in the song itself I'd make music that would allow one to imagine what the movie might be like.

To all the reviewers this month, and in general: Thanks for the time and effort you put into your detailed reviews they're very much appreciated and KvR would not be the same without you or them.