Song Fight Review: Favourite Lego Bricks (Look At The Beach)

The last challenge over at Song Fight was titled "Boron Rod", and my favorite song was from Lonbobby. He finished 3rd in the voting, and the only other person I voted for took 1st (bgm). A new batch of songs can be found over at Song Fight, so I suggest you go pick your favorite songs for the current round. My picks are listed below:

Voted For:
(Right Click "Save As" on the artist's name for a MP3 of their entry.)

Hunky + Signboy - I honestly didn't expect anything this good in this fight. You built an ass of LEGO, and kicked it into thousands of little bits. Clever & fun lyrics, liked the performance, and the music was...good. Nothing bad to say, thanks for entering a great track.

Ross Durand - Cute. Song truely is inspired by the title, even if part of the actual title is only said once at the start & end of the song. Honestly, with such a stupid title...that's probably a good choice.

Others:
(Head over to Song Fight to listen to these songs.)

Lonbobby - Relaxing music, and I like the effects you use on your voice. I liked how you used the first part of this stupid title, but didn't catch anything referencing the second part. I would have voted for it had you used it, but it's still a solid entry.

Frankensong #1 Final Thoughts

I don't want to bother explaining this project again, just know it's a collaborative team project by musicians who can only communicate virtually. (DETAILS) When teams were announced I went ahead & tried to predict who would win (or who would enter my favorite song). After the listening party I really had know clue as to who was my favorite. But Charlie got the songs up on BandCamp shortly after the party, and I listened to everything again multiple times, and it turns out my prediction was right.

Evie by Atomic Werewolf Space Patrol
I don't think they had a team name at the time, but I remember picking this team to win. I figured going into this the songs might have poor transitions & seem...messy. I didn't think this because of the people involved, but because it's just a strange way to have to write & record a song. I think this song sounded & felt like the parts all fit...more so than the others. Having it be about robot sex, well that didn't hurt things. I had this song pretty much even with the following team, but this team made a video... #BonusPoints (More info about this song.)


Bride Of Frankensong by The Fuzzy Pink Bunny Slippers Of Doom And Despair
I thought the idea was cool, and it sounded very dark & the sound effects were great. The first minute just set a really dark scene & Gweebol sounded menacing. I think what knocked this down a peg was when it went to the perspective of the newly created bride. Gweebol was so menacing that I believed she was a mad scientist, but I didn't believe JoAnn was a monster. That feedback sucks I know...I'm basically saying be a better monster, but I can't say how.

Sleep by Donutworthy
Not the type of lyrics I normally dig, but I did find them poetic & enjoyable. This song dropped because there were a couple parts that felt messy? That's probably not the right word, but as I know next to nothing about music it's all I got. An example of what I mean is from 1:11-1:34 in the song. That change of pace just distracted me right out of the song. I get back into it, but it happens once more before the song ends. Honestly had it not been for that one thing, this song could have been my favorite.

Strange Things by Mighty Marfan's Power Rangers
Didn't like how things just seemed to stop & go. For instance at the 1:01 mark it stops, then it felt like a new song was starting. I know there were drums in that transition, but I'm saying what it felt like to me. I can't point to anything that sounded bad in this (I really liked the vocals), but overall I didn't felt like all the parts came together.

Final Words:
This was a fun project to follow, and I look forward to the next one. Charlie did a good job of organizing everything, and now that those first time U-Stream bugs are done it should be easy sailing for #2. (Please don‘t make it during Spin Tunes #3 though. :p)

The Real Story About Keenan Cahill

He's not my favorite lip syncer, but I'm happy for his YouTube success. Inspiring story...

Mother Wore Tights (1947)

"Mother Wore Tights" stars Dan Daily & Betty Grable as a couple who meets on vaudeville. The movie is about them falling in love, marrying, and then about them raising 2 young girls while maintaining their careers. The song & dance numbers (even if they weren't jaw dropping) were all fun, and it might be my favorite Betty Gable movie I've seen thus far. (although that's not saying much) The only number I really didn't care for was Betty's "Burlington Bertie From Bow". I enjoyed Dan's a lot, but Betty's just bored me.

William Frawley (of "I Love Lucy") had a small role in the beginning of the film, and Mae Marsh makes an appearance. Other than that I wasn't blown away by the supporting cast. Not much star power, and nobody really stood out.

I was only able to find 2 numbers from the film on YouTube, but I'm including 2 versions of ""Burlington Bertie From Bow" from other sources.

"We're A Couple Of Broadway Brothers" & "Kokomo, Indiana" by Dan Dailey & Betty Grable

You Do by Betty Grable

Burlington Bertie From Bow by Julie Andrews (from "Star")

Burlington Bertie From Bow from The Muppet Show

"Twentieth Century-Fox had wanted either James Cagney or Fred Astaire to play the role of song-and-dance man Frank Burt. After negotiations with Mr. Astaire fell through, Betty Grable requested John Payne.." - IMDB

I think Dan was the best choice...even over Fred.

Joshua Bell’s Washington DC Subway Performance

I saw this when Walt Ribeiro posted about it (go visit his website), and thought it was worth sharing here as well. Also, I'm tired...and this is an easy update. :p

Daddy Long Legs (1955)

This is a movie about a middle-aged millionaire (Fred Astaire) who happens upon an orphanage during a business trip. He sees a young 18 year old Leslie Caron, and is inspired by her beauty & way with children. He decides to do a good deed, and send the girl to college anonymously. Couple years go by, and he has no contact with the girl, and doesn't even really think of her until a couple employees force the issue. Well he decides to meet the girl without disclosing who he really is, and of course he falls in love. The movie is about Fred trying to decide if it's worth pursuing because of the age difference (which is a little creepy). Overall I thought this movie had it's moments, but fell short in most of the dance routines. The ballets bored the hell out of me. Even the drum routine, which might be the highlight of the film, wasn't the best routine I've seen Fred do with a drum set. "Daddy Long Legs" is far from Fred's best flick, but it's not terrible. I enjoyed the rapport that Fred & Leslie had, as well as Thelma Ritter & Fred Clark who had important supporting roles. If you want, you can watch the trailer on YouTube, and then decide if you want to watch the movie...which is also on YouTube.

I'll include some of my favorite moments from the film below, along with a few fun facts from IMDB.

History Of The Beat
"Fred Astaire's wife died during filming, and between some takes he would retreat to his trailer and cry. That's why, in some scenes, his eyes look red and swollen." - IMDB

Welcome Egghead
"Mitzi Gaynor was the studio's first choice to play Julie, but Fred Astaire personally asked for Leslie Caron." - IMDB

Sluefoot
"Fred Astaire thought the "Sluefoot" would become a huge dance craze. He was wrong." - IMDB

Something's Gotta Give
"Leslie Caron told Fred Astaire that she wanted to create her own costumes for the film. Astaire told her: "OK, but no feathers, please", recalling the utter exasperation he had with an elaborate ostrich feathered dress that Ginger Rogers insisted on wearing in Top Hat (1935), earning Rogers the nickname of "Feathers". Feathers started shedding from Rogers' dress, creating a huge distraction during filming. The shedding feathers nightmare was hilariously recreated in a dance in Easter Parade (1948) with Astaire and Judy Garland." - IMDB

"The song "Texas Millionaire" is the only time Astaire's singing voice was ever dubbed. The dub vocals were performed by Thurl Ravenscroft, known mostly for being the voice of Tony the Tiger." - IMBD

Song Fight Review: Boron Rod

The last challenge over at Song Fight was titled "Via Sunderland", and my favorite song was from Na Style Jaa. Turns out most people agreed with me, and they got the victory. A new batch of songs can be found over at Song Fight, so I suggest you go pick your favorite songs for the current round. My picks are listed below:

Voted For:
(Right Click "Save As" on the artist's name for a MP3 of their entry.)

Lonbobby - This is such a strange, but catchy sound. A smack down...has been laid. I didn't even like all the lyrics, but they won't get out of my head.

bgm - Such a sweet song considering the prompt is "boron rod". Song felt shorter than it really was, but that's better than feeling too long. Probably just me, but the line "Like those spikes for old wood so the house doesn't rot" just seems awkward. Overall I enjoyed this a lot.

Others:
(Head over to Song Fight to listen to these songs.)

Manhattan Glutton - Probably my favorite musically, but lyrically it just wasn't for me.

Big Crouton - First couple minutes I was bored, even though you finished strong. The music wasn't bad, it was actually really relaxing. There just wasn't anything about it that could hold my attention for 2 minutes without mixing it up a little.

Caravan Ray - Once I looked up the term "White anting" the song made more sense to me, but I still didn't care for it lyrically. Even though it's not required via Song Fight rules (it's clearly inspired by the title), I usually don't vote for songs that don't use the entire title.

Berkeley Social Scene - Really rockin' entry. Music was badass, and I enjoyed the performance. Didn't care for the lyrics though.

Schlimminy Cricket - Aside from the glockenspiel & kazoo it made me think of a few cowboys singing by the fire or along a trail.

The HATE Noise - I usually wince a little when I hit play on one of your tracks. It's just not a natural thing for someone to do if they've heard past entries. I probably would have just passed on writing anything, but this time it was especially painful. More than 8 minutes of someone who sounded like they couldn't make up their mind on what they wanted to do. You don't have to use the term "Fuck You" over & over. Trust me, I felt like someone raped my ears already.

UPDATE:

"I've done rock, rap, acoustic, experimental, noisy, subdued, even stuff with a swing feel to it, and you always seem to have something nasty to say about me. Pray tell, Mr. Town, what type of music DO you like? I understand that you must be a 'hard sell,' but I get the feeling that you're more like an Appalachian moonshiner firing off rounds from a Civil-war-era rifle at all the many things of the modern world he doesn't understand. I.E. somebody who is NOT a selling point for me anyhow. But, just because I'm a tolerant man, give me a genre/style/mood to work with, and the next Songfight I enter will be just for you.

P.S. Your response to this track was exactly as I anticipated it would be. Maybe that was the point? Something to think about...Do you write music? I'm betting not... - The HATE Noise"

Where to start...

I don't really have 1 genre that I prefer over all others, although there are some I can't stand. Death metal has very rarely done anything for me...opera always sucks...and I hate instrumentals when entered into songwriting contests (techno walks a very fine line with me). I enjoy country, rock, rap (not gangsta though, I don't like the cursing & stuff that comes with it), musical/broadway, pop, big band, and the list goes on... That should cover the genres well enough, on to what type of things I like in songs regardless of genre.

I typically like songs that tell an interesting story, and that are not ambiguous. I often enjoy novelty type songs that are humorous. The lyrics need to be clear enough that I can EASILY understand them without needing to read them in the forums.

As for how you should take my 'reviews'. I'm the first to admit that my reviews suck ass. Even for songs I like, I'm rarely able to give much feedback about the music since I'm not a musician. You will read some of the same shit over & over like "I didn't care for the lyrics." (I should have a t-shirt made saying that) I write them because I (overall) enjoy listening to each round, and people seem to want feedback wherever they can get it. When I do write them, I'm not thinking "How can I help this guy improve as a songwriter?" I'm telling them why I did or didn't like it, so they can get my vote later on. However, getting MY vote shouldn't be anyone’s goal (and I don't think it is for anyone). So there's a few very good reasons to give little or no credence to my sometimes nasty reviews.

If I'm not liking your stuff on a regular basis, we just have different tastes. Center Of Mass just said he's enjoyed your work, and I've read other positive comments about your work. So you're doing something right...what I don't know...but something.

If I remember correctly...I did like (or not hate) 1 song you entered. I'm not 100% sure on that, but I kind of remember being surprised during 1 fight. I'd have to go look at my past reviews to be sure.

Hxaro Guide: Part 3

If you don't know what "Hxaro" means, I posted the definition in Part 1 of this series. I also posted an explaination of why I'm posting these songs.

This is the 3rd batch of songs I decided were worth hanging onto from the hxaro archive. My favorites from these 16 tracks are linked to so that you can listen to the cover (as well as the original) for yourself. The others you should look up in the archive for yourself.

PS: This is the final Hxaro post. I'm sure years down the road there will be enough new covers to merrit another post, but for now I've listened to everything there is.

Gone Phishing
Steve Durand covering Abominominous

Satisfaction
Paco del Stinko covering Ross Durand

Too Far Away
King Arthur covering Steve Durand

Dinga Da Donga
King Arthur covering Abominominous

If I Were Italian
Paco del Stinko covering Steve Durand

God Hates Penguins
Paco del Stinko covering Jim Tyrrell

So Kind Stacey / Onomatopoeia
Puce covering Hell Yeahs / Abominominous

Sunny Again
Ross Durand covering Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff

Don't You
King Arthur covering @eclectic spOOns

Need Stilts
Phil And Heather covering Glenn & Rachael

Rate Of Decay
Puce covering Steve Durand

Don't You
Steve Durand covering Bjam

Need Stilts
Mr. & Mrs. Caravan Ray covering Glenn & Rachael

Ignorance Is Bliss
Paco del Stinko covering Jolly Roger

Two Bucks And I'm Yours
Loyalty Day covering Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff

Back From Brazil
Lunkhead covering King Arthur

Hxaro Guide: Part 2

If you don't know what "Hxaro" means, I posted the definition in Part 1 of this series. I also posted an explaination of why I'm posting these songs.

This is the 2nd batch of songs I decided were worth hanging onto from the hxaro archive. My favorites from these 18 tracks are linked to so that you can listen to the cover (as well as the original) for yourself. The others you should look up in the archive for yourself.

PS: There's a shit load of King Arthur in this post...I didn't plan that. The man just kicks ass, I can't help it.

Oversleeping
King Arthur covering Caravan Ray

Level Best
Jim Of Seattle covering King Arthur

The Puppet's Dream
Jim Tyrrell covering King Arthur

Crack In My Heart
Ken covering Steve Durand

Don't Fix It
Hostess Mostess covering 15-16 Puzzle

I Know My Rights
John Benjamin Band covering Caravan Ray

Hold My Calls
Jim Tyrrell covering Lunkhead

Hey, Ruth
King Arthur covering Josh Woodward

She Gave Up
King Arthur covering Bjam

A Variation On Two
Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff covering King Arthur

Tracks For Future Practice
John Benjamin Band covering Jonas Emmett

So Aggravating
Jack Shite covering King Arthur

Accelerator
King Arthur covering Insects Ahead

Short Life
Ken covering Andre Was Here At Midnight

Too Goth To Rock
Hell Yeahs covering King Arthur

Beauty Is A Burden
Jack Shite covering Hell Yeahs

Bad Dreams
Hoblit covering 15-16 Puzzle

WTF
Jim Of Seattle covering Niveous

Hxaro Guide: Part 1

For those not very familiar with Song Fight, I should probably give you the definition of Hxaro. Here's the definition as posted by Song Fight:

"Hxaro" (pronounced "schwar-o") is a term that, in the world of songfight!, means one songfighter recording a cover version of another songfighter's song. Sometimes this is done as part of an organized coverfight or tribute; other times someone just decides to cover another person's song just for the fun of it.

Ok, now that you know what it is, you should know that there are over 250 of these covers over in the Hxaro archive. I forget the exact number, but I downloaded everything there was. It took awhile to listen to everything, and I did it over a course of 3 very long listening sessions. After those 3 sessions I had the field narrowed to 64 songs that I was willing to listen to a 2nd time. I decided I'd narrow the field just a bit more, then post my favorite covers over the course of 3 blog posts.

This first batch of songs do not represent all my favorite songs from the archive, they are simply the first 18 (alphabetically by artist doing the covering) that I had left in my "keeper" folder. My favorites from these 18 tracks are linked to so that you can listen to the cover for yourself, as well as the original. The others you should look up in the archive for yourself.

Run Free
Glenn Case covering Frankie Big Face

Level Best
Glenn Case covering King Arthur

World Of Screens
Deshead covering 15-16 Puzzle

Red Flag
Balls To Monte covering King Arthur

Wedding Song
Caravan Ray covering Billy's Little Trip

Deuce
Glenn Case covering King Arthur

Crack In My Heart
Deshead covering Steve Durand

Here Comes My Dragon
Cow Exchange covering Rabid Garfunkel

Rockopolousaninjananophone Eternal
Cow Exchange covering Glenn Case

Outside Paradise
Caravan Ray & Flvxxvm Flvvrm covering Hell Yeahs

Back To The Airplanes
Brother Machine covering 15-16 Puzzle

Hands Up
Bell Green covering Johnny Cashpoint

Stronger Than
Duboce Triangle covering John Benjamin Band

Don't You
Caravan Ray And The Dirty Croutons covering Rone Rivendale

Dirty Chucks
Balls To Monte covering Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff

I Love You
Brick Pig covering Gil Sans

Thanks For Coming
Deshead covering Jack Shite

Mumbo Jumbo
Eight Legged Oedipus covering The Def Author

Let's Be Happy (1957)

Not a bad movie...just not good...pretty average musical. It's Vera-Ellen's last big role, and I think she's adorable...as usual. Her character inherits a small some of money, and she decides to go on vacation to Edinburgh to live it up. There she finds 2 men that are both interested in her for different reasons. The only other star in this film is Tony Martin, and his character eventually wins the girl. Don't seek this film out, but if you happen to see it on TV, it's not a bad flick if you like musicals.

I couldn't find jack shit about "Let's Be Happy" on YouTube. But I decided to post some of Vera's routines from other films. After all, she's an Ohio girl, gotta show the girl a little love.

"Dancing is like breathing -- missing a day doing either is very bad." - Vera-Ellen

So In Love
This is a great tap number from her first film, "Wonder Man".

Something To Dance About
This is from "Call Me Madam" with Donald O'Connor.

Abraham
Vera-Ellen & John Brascia dancing together in "White Christmas".

Little Miss Marker (1934)

Little Miss Marker wouldn't have been decent collateral for a stick of bubble gum. Shirley Temple plays 'Marky' who is put up as a marker at the track. Her father ends up disappearing, and Adolphe Menjou who plays Sorrowful Jones maintains custody of the girl. It's a story about a little girl who saves a man while the man ruins the little girls innocence (NOT like that...you sicko). The man then saves the little girl...after all...you can't kill off Shirley Temple. The story isn't terrible, but the execution is. Shirley only has 1 musical number in the whole film, and the whole party & dream sequence is just stupid at the end. It would have been nice to have a little more star power in the film...aside from Shirley their really isn't anyone notable.

Laugh You Son Of A Gun by Dorothy Dell & Shirley Temple
"Dorothy Dell and Shirley Temple became good friends while filming this movie. When Dell died in a car crash shortly after the movie was completed, Temple was shielded from the news for as long as possible." - IMDB

Fun Fact: Adolphe Menjou was having difficulty with a particular line in the script. After the prompting of others on the set, Shirley Temple turned to director Alexander Hall and asked, "Is it too late to replace Mr. Menjou on this picture?" - IMDB

Spencer McGillicutty

3 of the 4 members of Spencer McGillicutty signed up for the last SpinTunes...and the 4th ended up on a few tracks as well. Not only was this band a big part of the last contest, but Mitchell Adam Johnson ended up winning. They recently (ok, it's been a few weeks...) uploaded a YouTube video, and I was amazed by how good they are live.

In My Arms Again


You can purchase their latest album "Games", and download all the SpinTunes tracks for free. Below is the song that gave Mitchell the title of SpinTunes champion.

Musings On A Song

Russ Rogers recently started writing a column called Musings On A Song. Before today I had read 3 of the 4 he had posted & it's clear the man puts a lot more effort into his writing than I do. Each week Russ features a Creative Commons Copyright song, in hopes to introduce people to new artists, while sparking a little discussion in the process.

His latest post was about the song "Spintown" by Jonathan Mann. I already thanked Russ for not mentioning my many negative qualities, but I'd appreciate it if you checked out his column. If you're reading this, you're probably into the type of musician he would feature. So go...now...read something by someone who doesn't destroy the written word.

Periodic Table Of Geek Musicians

Dave Leigh is starting an interesting project to raise money for the Rite Care Centers For Childhood Language Disabilities. The project is called The Periodic Table Of Geek Musicians, and I'll just let Dave explain it...

Hello, all...

I'm Dave Leigh, aka the vocal half of the songwriting team Dr. Lindyke. While not programming or writing songs, I also spend a portion of my free time supporting a charity called Rite Care Centers For Childhood Language Disabilities. Rite Care provides speech and language therapy to pre-school children at absolutely no cost whatsoever to their parents, insurance companies, or the government. It's funded entirely by members of the Scottish Rite through fund-raising project (not all of which are as harebrained as this one).

YES, this is a fund-raising project. But more than that, I'm hoping it will be a FUN-raising project! A while back I had an idea to create a "Periodic Table of Geek Musicians", and set about doing just that. I actually have the table. But I think we can have a little more fun with it than just having me put the names in the boxes. A few days back, I created some swag for Edric Haleen. It was a joke, and I really didn't expect to sell any; however, I have sold a few T-shirts, and Edric was gracious enough to allow me to donate the proceeds to Rite Care. So what I want to do is this...

If you're an independent musician with any kind of presence on the web, and you would like to be on the Periodic Table of Geek Musicians, sign up. Give me permission to create a T-shirt, a mug... some kind of salable item. I'll take care of the design, the fulfillment, the shipping, everything. All you need to do is give me permission, and Rite Care will be able to use the proceeds to pay trained therapists to assist the kids who need it. This is really critical work... a child who can't communicate gets left behind in school and rejected by his peers. Many of them wind up dropping out. By taking care of this problem early, you can change a life for the better. You'll also have some great swag that you can point your fans to. I will do my best design work for you, free of charge. These particular designs will only be available here. Of course, if you'd rather we just use a design that you yourself provide, then absolutely... whatever you want!

You can get more info from the website Dave set up, and you can see the table Dave will slowly be adding names to. I think he's planning on doing 1 or 2 boxes a week, so it should be fun to follow along with.

Today's The Day...Again!?

I was wondering around YouTube last month when I came up on a piano cover of "Ain't We Got Fun". I love that song, and I watched a couple more piano covers like "The Office Theme" & "The Charleston". I decided to see if the user did requests & sent him a PM. Turns out he does sometimes, and he did for me. I think I made the request early in Jan, and early in February he uploaded his cover of "Today's The Day" by Inverse T. Clown. Big thanks to YouTuber TheBJDillon (go check his channel out), I think he did a wonderful job. If anyone else would like to cover this song, you can find a link to all the information you need in the sidebar.

I'm hoping we'll have covers from Anna Marie Pesut, Chris Cogott & Rebecca Brickley sometime in the future. Feel free to prod them on a little. :p

Songwriting Clubs

Aside from running my own songwriting contest (SpinTunes), you might have noticed that I enjoy following others. The first I ever stumbled onto was Song Fight, but the first I ever really got into was Masters Of Song Fu. Later I started following Song Fight again, and eventually Nur Ein. Recently Jonathan Mann uploaded a video that pointed me in the direction of a couple songwriting clubs I hadn't heard of: KC Turner Songwriting Club & The Song Club. Unlike the others I already mentioned, these are more laid back challenges & don't involve any real competition. So if you're not into competition, but still want someone else to provide the inspiration, you might want to check them out.

KC Turner Songwriting Club - This is like a cross between Song Fight & The White Elephant Music Club. It's a simple title based weekly challenge (like Song Fight), but it's run on Facebook (like The White Elephant Music Club). I would like to follow this project, but I honestly don't think I will if the only way to follow along is on Facebook (I hate Facebook). I know KC has a YouTube channel, and that the submissions are turned in via a YouTube performance (not the typical MP3 or audio file), so I'm hoping KC is willing to make a weekly playlist of the entries. Better yet a channel just for the club? Having a video submission is a nice twist, but it does make it a little more complicated for people to enter.

Oh, and one detail that makes this title based challenge better than Song Fight's, is that the title has to be used in the song.

The Song Club - Doesn't have a big following at this point, and it's about as laid back as you can get. It's not title based, but it does give you a theme each week. You submit your song via e-mail in MP3 form, and the webmaster puts direct links to the songs in a blog post. It's run on Blogger (I love Blogger), so I will definitely keep an eye on this project. There isn't enough entries each week to merit me reviewing each round as I do with Song Fight, Masters Of Song Fu, Nur Ein & SpinTunes. If I see something that I really like expect me to tweet about it...maybe a blog once in awhile.

Coffee Burnt Tongue
This is the video in which Jonathan Mann points out different songwriting contests & clubs. It's at the end of the video.

Songwriting & YouTube

If you want to learn how to do something, someone has probably made a tutorial of it. I have no interest in becoming a songwriter, but I do subscribe to a couple people who teach a little bit on the topic. For those interested in becoming better writers, I thought the following channels could be useful.

Lyrics 101: Part 2
I'm a big fan of brentalfloss (aka Brent Black), and even hired him to write 2 songs for me ("Good Example" & "Internet People 2"). Aside from posting videogame 'WITH LYRICS' videos, he also teaches kids how to write their own musicals at camp each year. Recently he decided to start a YouTube based class on lyric writing. He uploaded the 2nd video in the series yesterday, and you can also go back & watch Part 1 if you like.


Rhyme (And Why Eminem Is Awesome)
Mike Lombardo is a professional songwriter, and I did an INTERVIEW with him last year. From time to time he has been uploading music lessons onto YouTube as well. He even has a music theory channel on YouTube. Below is an example from his main channel.

Song Fight Review: Via Sunderland

The last challenge over at Song Fight was titled "Cakes", and my favorite song was from Jon Wilson. Derictello (who I voted for, but had 4th) ended up getting the win. Overall it was a great fight, but I can't say the same thing about the current one. The new batch of songs can be found over at Song Fight, so I suggest you go pick your favorite songs for the current round. My picks are listed below:

Voted For:
(Right Click "Save As" on the artist's name for a MP3 of their entry.)

Na Style Jaa - I enjoyed this a lot. The flow was nice, and I could actually make out most of the lyrics...unlike a lot of rap in Song Fight. There were a couple lines I really hated, like rhyming "didn't know it" with "poet". The lack of creativity in using a line like that annoys me when I'm enjoying most of a song. You're still the hands down winner in what was a lackluster fight in my opinion.

Others:
(Head over to Song Fight to listen to these songs.)

The Dinnertime Boys - I could never vote for something like this without lyrics. In no way does it meet the challenge, but in all honesty I enjoyed it.

Naked Philosophy - Alright, but in this group it seems like a masterpiece. Lyrics didn't really grab me, but the music wasn't bad. The song felt very repetitive despite being short. So that's probably not good.

Side Notes:
The previous fight was a lot of fun, but this one left me extremely disappointed. I was hoping for Hulk Hogan vs The Ultimate Warrior & got Doink The Clown vs Goldust.

Lake Of The Flowers #AndEdric

Dave Leigh shadowed all of SpinTunes #1 (as Dr. Lindyke) & was a judge in SpinTunes #2. He recently posted 2 things I wanted to mention. The first is a shirt he designed for Edric Haleen fans. If you don't know who Edric is, he's a talented & geeky musician who has competed in both SpinTunes. To learn more about Edric & to see the shirt Dave designed just click the link: http://music.cratchit.org/2011/02/andedric.html

Lazy Listener
Dave also posted a new demo he did with his songwriting partner William Hoover (together they go by Dr. Lindyke). My initial reaction was positive, but before bothering to even read the lyrics I tweeted Dave to ask what it was about. Afterwards I felt like an twit for asking, I've said numerous times I don't like ambiguity in lyrics, but this was pretty clear. I was just being a lazy listener. What's that mean? Well I was on Twitter going through various lists, I had the TV on watching news updates scroll across the bottom of the screen, and I had the song playing as well. In short, I just didn't give it the attention I should have. Just sort of bobbing my head along to it while doing other things.

I find myself doing this a lot lately. Sometimes I listen to 100+ new songs a day (if you include covers), and I often find myself multi tasking through the dozens of videos & MP3's. I wonder how many songs I just blew off because I was missing something right in front of me? Probably a lot, especially on YouTube since (like most) you only have about 15 seconds to grab my attention in some way. After that 15 seconds... *click* ...I'm off to the next video in my inbox.

I'm going to attempt to be a better listener in the future. I may not give you longer than 15 seconds, but for 15 seconds I'm gonna focus. ;p Below is an embed of Dr. Lindyke song I mentioned, and below that is my interpretation of it. If I'm wrong...just ignore everything I wrote today. (as if most of you didn't already) :p

Man used to live in a big city, and got fed up with it. Took a trip to a lake (that had flowers), and time no longer felt like punishment & started to fly by. He was reinvigorated by the new environment.

YouTube Treasure Hunt #21

I'm going to admit I cheated in this hunt. Normally do these searches using certain RULES...which I loosely follow. This time I did do a search or 2 on YouTube, but I also used people I saw in the latest BlipTV tournament. Anyways...if you like any of these songs, I hope you decide to check out the channel I linked to below the video.

Nose To Nose by No Degrees Of Separation (2,381 subs)

0degreesofseparation & @NDOSofficial
Rewind by Carrie Johnson (31 subs)

Cfizzle19 & @Bflossie
Life by Gina Glover (35 subs)

Ginaahhh
Long Gone by Hayley Stead (87 subs)
hayleysteadmusic & @hayleystead + @haysteadmusic
Hey You by Horace Freeman featuring Anth (284 subs)

HighNotes7787 + anth703 & @HoraceFreeman + @Anth703
This Old House by Danny Korves (469 subs)

AcousticMonster
Fantasy by Joanna Saadeh (28 subs)

JoannaSaadeh