September Contest: Gossip

[AlienXXX]

The final block of reviews...
In order of appearence:

22
spirulence
Toy xylophone - sampled

My review
This is a very nice piece with a character of its own and some killer bass.
Plenty of good points to this track, shame it is so short (58s!!).

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23
Milkshakeii
The spinning of the Earth
Child's instrument: the ubiquitous wind-up clicky toy


My review
What can I say...?
I have been accused of being minimalist... but I think this piece takes minimalist to new levels. Ends abruptly.
Too abstract for me, I am afraid.

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24
shrikant
"Prison Diary"

Toy Piano

My Review
I don't think all the sounds in this piece blend well together. Although at some points it almost seems to be going in the right direction but then it just goes odd again. I feel the toy piano is miles out of place here...

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25
Patrick9
Toy Boy

comb and clingfilm kazoo and also a music box synth sample is used.

My Review
I don't particularly like the distortion used on the vocal. Although the resulting composition is interesting. Also, a wide selection of toy instruments was used.
Overal I think the piece is very agressive, there is quite a lot happening in the low frequencies: machine-gun basddrums and low-freq sweeps.
Also, very loud. Seems to have been compressed past distortion.

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26
Chuck E. Jesus
Rock Paper Scissors

toy güiro, toy piano, crappy keyboard "ping", generic Mr. Microphone, some clapper dealies, Multivox Rhythm Ace,
Eurorack bass, harmonica...featuring the world debut of my back up singers "His Little Demons" (as in "Chuck E. Jesus and..." )

My review
Opens with some 'classic' drum machine sounds.
I like the vocal theme and the kids voices.
A good take on the toy instrument requirement.
Nice. Slightly shortened, this could be the opening tune for a kids tv program.

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That is it! All the reviews done!
I will now chew through my notes to come up with my top ten list.

[Scoops]

I think I'm gonna have to Re-boot everybody for not reading the rules!

12 - Tell Scoops that he deserves a vaction, and someone like Psy-t, or Max will sub for him a couple of months

Yeah, that's been there since day 1 of this contest!

Consider yourself Booted!

Well wait.

True, at the beginning of this month I was feelin run down and out of ideas. Probably even a little despondent because I can't come up with a good theme. Sometimes I take the low attendance personally. (unfounded, I know)And external time commitments don't afford me the luxury of making music.

So I posted that last month truly looking again for some time off.

Well. I take that back! I just realized that inadvertently, I reached the goal that I wanted to with this group.

Take a look! We got great Tunes, Great reviews, Great dissertation, People are growing in their music, voting isn't as biased, and it's not a hostile environment.

So beg for mercy cuz I still have a few tricks up my sleeve

[Echo Voodoo]

So beg for mercy cuz I still have a few tricks up my sleeve

Mercy!

But just so it's said (again): it's a tough job, and you've done it well. Thank you for your time and effort.

[offthewall]

But just so it's said (again): it's a tough job, and you've done it well. Thank you for your time and effort.

+1


James

[farlukar]

as per demand:
“Have mercy on your poor denizens, dear lord Scoops…”

low attendance [ ... ] Great reviews

The first time I reviewed the lot, there were 80 entries. It was also the last time I reviewed the lot

[Scoops]

This is the obligatory 24 hour notice
This is the obligatory 24 hour notice

I will be closing the voting thread when I get out of bed tomorrow morning

This is the obligatory 24 hour notice
This is the obligatory 24 hour notice

[knockman]

Here are my final 'reviews'. Apologies for any nonsensical whimsy:

Jerru: Bad Cat Boogie - tipsy whiskered funster sounds. cavorting and carousing. it's a circuitous route to the bar with a Jack Sparrow swagger.

thomekk: Through the scrub - I imagine a creche for insect larvae. the grubs are being roused from sleep with rhythm and rhyme, songs that may one day help them evade the "spiny monsters"

spirulence: Playtime Over - music to accompany a syndicated extreme sports/web-building TV show for spiders.

milkshakeiii: The Spinning of the Earth - lovely wobble.i can feel the spinning through the inertia - the parts of me closer to the earth sligthly forward, my upper half dragging behind. the vacuum above sucking, my mind floating away. might explain why, despite hair loss, i never find them on the ground, they must be floating somewhere in space!

shrikant: Prison Diary - Janet works at City Hall. Desk work. There are days when things just lull, when time passes without measure and space swallows up all sound - the continual clatter, rustle, chatter and whir all slide into hum as she drifts away. Other days the drunk will lurch in sometime mid-afternoon. No discernable purpose, never speaking, he comes in just the same. He'll get perhaps half way to chairs laid out for those awaiting civil service before security ejects him. A brief commotion. Janet recalls that she knew him briefly, many years ago. A sort of friend of a friend you might say.

Patrick9: Toy Boy - a mesmerising glisten of sound sketched in digital charcoal.

Chuck E. Jesus: Rock Paper Scissors - the B-52s meets the Residents!

AlienXXX: Not Kids Play - Having accepted the booking over the phone, a troupe of ceremonial ping-pongers are now assessing the venue. It's a regular-sized church hall - there's space but how best to utilize it? Their performance entails feats of flash pin-pongery interspersed with a variety of tableaux and comedy skit. Should the table be set across the stage or positioned lengthwise down the centre of the hall? They can't quite decide.

Have to try voting next. Bugger!

[Laguna Rising]

So beg for mercy cuz I still have a few tricks up my sleeve

Cool...


Thanks everyone for the useful reviews and for the excellent music, probably the best month this year (imo).

Cheers

[folderol]

Last one.

AlienXXX Not Kids Play (version7)
Very ominous start. Sounds like them kids 'play' for keeps I was hoping for more development but it didn't really happen.

P.S.
Looks like we've lost Spirulence again

[Patrick9]

Some more quick impressions. Sorry if I missed anyone - I got confused.

Oddbod - Great song and production though the toy instruments were so integrated as to be invisible.

Max el Belga - very enjoyable track - I would love to sit in on a session to learn how you put these compositions together. Same observation as Oddbod's though with the child instruments.

LagunaRising - Good atmospheric track and use of instruments.

Emerald Tablet - Can I have a Remco Toy please.

Knockman - Another great song, expertly performed and produced.

Jerru - Nice guitar and cool toy sounds - boogie on dude!

Thomekk - very haunting and atmospheric.

Milkshakeiii - nice idea but it doesn't quite work for me.

[Patrick9]

Sorry Peoples - I was just about to enter my votes and found I'd missed it.

Here they are anyway , for what it's worth.

1: Beanpole
2: offthewall
3: Barnadine
4: oddbod
5: knockman
6: Thomekk
7: Max el Belga
8: triddy
9: shrikant
10: Liqih

11: Jerru