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Post by Rob W on Sept 11, 2016 12:56:53 GMT
Here is the area to comment and vote.
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Karl
Junior Member
Posts: 72 
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Post by Karl on Sept 17, 2016 9:22:28 GMT
"It's nice to be first to comment for once - no risk of repeating others or subconsciously being influenced.
I find it interesting that most songs here have contrasted spoken verses with a sung choruses, thereby accentuating the hooks and/or more catchy melodies saved for the choruses.
There is a clear winner for me - enough to make me consider only using one vote! But I relented and stuck to the three allowed!"
Stephen Clarke - Everybody's Doing What They Can
"And again we have a really nice foot-tapper of a song from Stephen.
The delivery of the spoken verses sometimes feels a bit laboured, but that helps to make the chorus even more catchy. Good "do do do..." hook too!"
Tim & Julie Warner - 4 Ages Of Conversation
"I've become one of Tim and Julie's biggest fans over the last 2 years or so of the SWC, their left-field ideas always surprising, funny and well delivered.
For me, this one isn't up there with their best, but it does fit in with the quirky philosophy. Good drum programming and I like the Peter Gunn bass line."
Christian Duffin - On The Ning Nang Nong
"Nick's voice sounds good, and even though he sometimes struggled to keep in time, the contrast between the spoken and sung parts is strong here.
The instrumentation is well played, and the inclusion of sound effects well judged.
Good length too. I'm sure Spike would have approved!"
Phil Sanderson - Chapter XIII
"Phil's whispered vocal delivery could probably count, at times, as being spoken, but the sampled vocals certainly tick that box. Good use of vocal treatment later too.
No obvious chorus on this song and it has a structure and rhythm similar to some Faithless tracks - check out To All New Arrivals."
Mike Gosling - An Unmade Road
"Great low-fi intro and drum part which reminds me of Eels and works well as a backing to the spoken verses with Mike's voice sounding surprisingly good.
The verse / chorus contrast is very strong here and is my highlight of the song, along with the intriguing storyline and crunchy rhythm guitar that comes in part way through the verses. I like it."
Tim & Glyn - Why Do You Call Me?
"The spoken element of this easy-on-the-ear song has been left solely to a few samples dropped in here and there.
It's enough in this context, but it feels like they were added to a completed song rather than being an integral part of it.
Nice though."
Colin Steward - The Keyboard Player's Lament
"This is, for me, the best use of spoken word here - funny, self-mocking, clever, appropriate and set against a great backing.
The break at 2:01 is inspired and your playing is marvellous.
Mr Steward - it has been too long! Very well done indeed!"
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Post by Colin Steward on Sept 17, 2016 11:34:10 GMT
My thoughts on the spoken word challenge:
Stephen - Everybody's Doing What They can
Stephen's signature chugging along always pleasing to hear. Sometimes I wonder what is the point of spoken elements but here it does make the chorus lift. I felt that speaking to the rhythm of what the melody would be is difficult to listen to rather than the natural flow of the spoken word. Nice last verse with both spoken and sung is a good idea.
Time and Julie - 4 Ages of Conversation
Odd start but I like it - that bass line is great! The whole idea makes the spoken element valid. It's not T&J's best work this time but I like the fact that the spoken word has a point.
Christian - On the Ning Nang Nong
Usual very nice chords and melody. How on earth did you get Alan Rickman to supply the vocal?! I like the sung and spoken parts together - especially keeping the spoken element to the fore. I did feel that such a quirky poem required equally quirky music and whilst I get the various sound effects, I didn't feel that were particularly necessary had the music itself had it's own unique quirks.
Phil - Chapter XIII
Interesting and moody. Good sound. Wasn't sure if you were taking the subject seriously or not because it sounds so serious. There's a lot going on and I'm reminded of Paul Hardcastle's '19'. Generally I like the sound of this very much. I agree with Karl that it resembles Faithless - mostly ignored by me but got into in recent years.
Mike - An Unmade Road
Like how this starts. Spoken element sonds very good. It's all so well put together and I like that the spoken parts are natural and not forced to fit a melody rhythm.
Tim & Glynn - Why Do You Call Me
This was interesting having played along with a few scammers just for laughs. Nice idea and again this has a point of why the spoken word is there although the spoken parts are not essential to the song.
Mine
I said one of my reasons for having not submitted anything for a while was lack of immagination but as soon as I saw what this was I instantly thought 'Jazz Beat Poem' - who wouldn't?! Hate my voice and would have attempted another go had I had the time - maybe lose the accent. Words came very quickly (lunch hour at work), bass part was next and most of the piano is improvised.
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Post by timwarner on Sept 18, 2016 18:24:37 GMT
I’m not really a fan of talking in songs (not that you’d know if from listening to my normal ‘vocalisation’ technique). I guess Telly Sevallas has quite a bit to answer for, and yet, 'Woodman, spare that tree' was my favourite of my parents' records when I was very young.
Stephen Clarke - Everybody’s doing what they can
I admire the apparent ease with which you come up with an easy, melodic and catchy tune. This is true of the doo-doo bit at the start and the chorus. The talking bit, stripped of melody, doesn’t really work for me. I guess we can sing stuff that, if spoken, doesn’t sound quite as credible. The lyrics would be really good if it was all put to a melody which would rather defeat this month’s requirements.
Me & Julie - 4 ages of conversation
It was going to be ‘5 ages’ but, Kate heard it and said ‘if you were to put that on an album, it would be about track 8.’ ’Nuff said.
Christian Duffin - On The Ning Nang Nong
I like the treatment you’ve given this vaguely familiar poem. Because it’s in (spoken) song form it’s strangely ‘normalised’ the nonsense poem (I bit like McCarther Park which was written to be as stupid as possible but was a hit song).
Phil Sanderson - Chapter XIII
Having seen ‘the men who stare at goats’ I shouldn’t be surprised that the USFD has a chapter about alien invasion, but I am. This is a dance/trance like track. Are you a secret ‘clubber?’ I could really imagine it going down well in a club with a massive long version.
Mike Gosling - An unmade road
This sounds very confessional. As with many of your songs this seems to have a sound that would suit a road road trip across America. This initially sounds like that but ends up like you’re divulging a dark secret. I’m quite unsettled but it.
The sounds are well chosen and I like the faux low-fi sound with the crackles at the beginning and end.
Tim and Glyn - Why do you call me
Great idea to use some of those answerphone messages. The second verse works really well with the interspersed messages.
Colin Steward - Keyboard Player’s Lament
Lovely jazzy feel to this. Having played in a band with you for some time now, I know this is exactly how you feel. Horribly offended as I am (being a player of a ‘stone age axe') at least I’m not as dismissed as ‘even the drummer.’ There is much detail here to admire but, what’s front and centre works so well it’s a real effort to try and listen to any of it.
This is really smart stuff and, for me, stands head and shoulders above all the other offerings this month.
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Post by eddiecustard on Sept 18, 2016 23:32:44 GMT
Stephen Clarke - Everybody’s Doing What They Can
A breezy, melodic journey is always likely in Stephen’s work and this is no exception. He’s found a way to make verses consistently intriguing and choruses stand out. Here he’s railing against the obsessional sharing of information through various social media and the internet, and the ineffectiveness of round-the-clock journalism. A good line is: ‘Some of us can’t help revealing every single thing we’re feeling,’ I like the sections where the voice follows the melody of the lead guitar. Nice work.
Tim and Julie Warner - Ages of Conversation
Like the spiky guitar sound here and its link work with the rumbling bass, and Tim and Julie maintain the interest by keeping us guessing about what the four pertinent conversation are going to be. Sex, food, gardening and health? That sounds about right. My grandma used to deviate though; spending most of her time talking about the price of food or the weather. I like the deep voices on the chorus, and the brutalism/minimalism displayed throughout.
Phil Sanderson - Chapter X111
Phil’s weaved another tale from the twilight zone, enlisting a band of aliens from Fornax to play a musical accompaniment to the chapter of a fire code telling us about good practice in the event of an alien invasion. (I think). I like the urgency on display and the mimicry of the lead alien, who has reproduced Phil’s trandemark whispery vocal so skilfully I can barely see the join. The hook with the section: ‘….innocence takes a fall’ is my favourite bit, which takes a while to emerge, but is repeated a couple of times afterwards to good effect. I’m envious that Phil reaches out and experiments with lots of different sounds; there’s no lazy strumming here. He reinvents himself every few weeks and he’s taken another step forwards with this show of industrial light and magic. Good stuff.
Mine: I think Colin is right; the music is a little to straightforward and should have been quirkier to reflect the daftness of the lyric.
Mike Gosling - An Unmade Road
Feelings are laid bare on this rocky road, featuring an unplanned pregnancy and plenty of soul searching. As in previous months, Mike has shown his talent for conjuring up regret and the ghosts of the past. A simple but effective chorus is complemented by the strong spoken word verses. The guitar sounds punchy and powerful. Another good one in Mike’s strong run.
Tim and Glynn - Why Do You Call Me?
Really enjoyed this one. Has the echo/reverb been removed from Glynn’s voice? If so, it was a good move, because the vocal sounds much clearer here than in some of your other songs, where I’ve sometimes found it difficult to make out the lyrics. Everything is crystal clear here. This is a simple pop song with a neat chorus, and there’s humour, good use of external non-musical sounds, and a lilt that elevates into the top bracket this month. As in others of your songs, the keyboard is used well to beef things up slightly but it is placed exactly right in the mix. The instrumental break on 2.55 is really effective through the use of only three or four notes. I know what you mean about the irritation caused by people who don’t leave messages. You’ve produced another good song.
Colin Steward - The Keyboard Player’s Lament
Well done, Colin - a standout mix of walking bass, lovely improvised jazz piano and some funny sentiments. I really started feeling for you for a while, although I kept yelling at the computer that the solution is to tell women that you are the piano player. Forget the ‘k’ word. It’s got to be worth a try.
I welcomed the brief return of Valentine’s Moon, which I still whistle regularly in the bath. You reinvented it slightly to make it jazzier – you can do whatever you like to that one, it’ll still be a masterpiece. As others have said, it’s hard seeing The Keyboard Player’s Lament ending up too far from winner’s enclosure. Fine work.
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Post by stephen on Sept 22, 2016 14:08:13 GMT
Tim & Julie W Ages of Conversation
Excellent bass riff, and some very tasty guitar fills. I like the way you've mixed different levels of spoken-ness, and the way spoken and sung words interweave, and how snippets of conversation pop up and disappear again, an idea you've taken even further by fading in and out to begin and end the song. Great hook line too, in that deep voice. I don't agree with you - I think this is an excellent album track.
Christian D - Ning Nang Nong
I am a Spike fan except when he showed his age and went all racist, and his nonsense poems are pure wordplay that goes excellently with music. Reciting this in that serious tone makes the track sound very 70s prog - I'm surprised Genesis or Floyd didn't think of doing it. You could have tried to do "wacky" music, but I like the way you've simply produced a listenable, really melodic tune, with your usual chord changes that make me think "where did that come from"? You also have mixed speaking with singing, and the harmonies are perfectly mixed in. Short and sweet.
Phil S - Chapter XIII
You've definitely got an electro album brewing. Great use of that "threat to this planet" line and those ultra serious American voices. If you hadn't explained it in your sleeve notes, this would be just a paranoia-inducing dance track about any threat your brain cares to conjure up, especially when the guitar kicks in and takes it to a new level. As it fades out, I can imagine a field full of drugged ravers going literally mental.
Mike G - Unmade Road
Soaring, melancholic rock hook over that dancy beat, a very Radiohead combination (in the best sense). Great story, film script-like, wistful in a way that matches the hook really well. Doing the spoken voice over a rhythm rather than chords really concentrates the listener on the story. Apologies to Karl but for me the drum track works perfectly. I'd like to hear this as a song with verses, but that's my problem - as it is, it's great.
Tim & Glyn - Why Do You Call Me...
I love that chorus - "why do you call me when I'm not home" is a classic pop line - and you've written a real, complete song, with spoken elements inserted as a sort of fill. Very tasty vocals, and great use of multi-tracking at various levels. The sudden keyboard eruption comes as a surprise, and you might have got the "Procul Harum" button stuck, but it is a great way of giving the song a final lift. Nice one.
Colin - Lament
Really excellent text that conjures up different visual scenes. Very clever, the way you've almost disguised the fact that it rhymes with your natural delivery. The piano accompaniment punctuates everything really thoughtfully - I especially liked the trill at "wiggly" and the sudden mood change when you enter the bar, but those are just two examples. I can see the video, black and white, smoke-filled, with the keyboard player ranting as everyone around him ogles the guitarist and the vocalist during a break from playing. As a pub band bass player, though, I don't sympathize. Keyboard players always want to play bass lines, and think they're superior. In fact, this confirms all my prejudices - keyboard players whinge behind everyone's back, and play jazz when no one else is listening. Bastards.
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Post by mikegosling on Sept 25, 2016 18:17:32 GMT
Where has September gone?!
Votes cast and I'll try to add some comments later.
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Post by timwarner on Sept 26, 2016 7:59:01 GMT
Congratulations Colin. A thoroughly deceiving winner.
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Post by eddiecustard on Sept 26, 2016 8:52:19 GMT
Well done, Colin.
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Post by mikegosling on Sept 26, 2016 9:19:28 GMT
Congratulations Colin - a very witty lyric and some great playing.
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Karl
Junior Member
Posts: 72
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Post by Karl on Sept 26, 2016 11:12:07 GMT
Well done Colin - a deserving winner!
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Post by timwarner on Sept 26, 2016 11:51:15 GMT
'Deceiving' I meant 'deserving!' Damn you, auto correct software (coupled with my spelling that makes it difficult to guess the word a actually wanted)!
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Post by Colin Steward on Sept 26, 2016 12:11:00 GMT
Thanks all, bit chuffed! Maybe, Tim could write a song, type out the lyrics blindfolded and then sing whatever autocorrect comes up with.
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tandg
Junior Member
Posts: 67
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Post by tandg on Sept 26, 2016 17:11:29 GMT
Oh dear! Having failed to complete comments last month we had almost finished and realised last night that it was the last Sunday but the results were already published (at 11.30pm). Last month we never got the chance to congratulate Rob on one his best songs so far (albeit very dark). We also particularly enjoyed Stephen’s twist at the end and Phil’s dark Scandinavian odyssey. This month, Colin would have won by an even greater margin…
Everybody’s Doing What They Can – Stephen Clarke
This is really interesting because the lyrics are often the key to Stephen’s songs and the production and arrangements are geared to make sure that the voice is up front and every word is audible. The spoken parts here are almost too clearly enunciated perhaps from habit of trying to make the lyrics clear. I thought maybe you were almost frustrated by not being able to sing the part. Meanwhile, there’s a great little song going on and the spoken and sung final part is particularly good; the doo de doohs also stand out.
4 Ages of Conversation – Tim and Julie
This is a interesting, engaging and whimsical look at ageing – your spoken voice sounds fine to me and the bass and guitar riffs come together really well. It got lodged somewhere and a few days after first listening, I could still hear the line ‘four ages of conversation’ and the riff but wasn’t quite sure where from (which is probably the 5th age of conversation, where you talk entirely in terms of having seen thingamebob and whatchamacallit). I particularly liked the voices singing about the conversation – the ‘garden’ bit is especially good. Really absorbing – there’s a lot to take in considering the relative simplicity of the song.
On the Ning Nang Nong – Christian Duffin
There’s definitely something of Alan Rickman in your friend’s voice and it works in beautifully with the sound effects, the great key changes and shifts and really lovely backing vocals. This is short and sweet and it’s a pity the poem wasn’t longer – it would have been good to hear how it could have been developed further but I thought you caught the mood really well and this is such an unexpected pleasure.
Chapter XIII – Phil Sanderson
I think Phil has really excelled himself here. I do think a dance/rave style actually suits Phil’s style of singing and playing. The sounds that come and go in the background are fascinating, I like the vocoder vocals that work so well with the subject matter and listened again and again to this to hear how the music, instrumentation, rhythm and atmosphere develop throughout the song. Wonderful and would have had one of our votes.
An Unmade Road – Mike Gosling
I found this the most difficult song to review. The spoken part is wonderful – it’s like a confession or a private conversation. The rhythm and flow of the words is wonderfully managed – this sounds informal and real. I wasn’t quite so taken with the chorus – the spoken part was so good, it was a difficult act to follow and I’m not sure the feel of the guitar-driven chorus really gelled with the quality of the rest - I would have liked the chorus to have a more ambient feel. Nonetheless, this would have had one of our votes on the quality of the verses alone.
The Keyboard Player’s Lament – Colin Steward
What can I say that hasn’t already been said by the others? This is so right – the music, the words, the concept and the execution is simply brilliant. Are you sure you haven’t been working on this since February? This is definitely a stand-out track in the SWC and one I’ll be sharing it with other people. The mix is great, the change of atmosphere to the meeting in the bar is perfect and above all, the writing is sublime – the wording is really clever. Funny, engaging and the voice is great!
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