Dammit, Tad: Python

Part 2

Footlight Parade (1933)

Footlight Parade (1933) stars James Cagney, Dick Powell, Joan Blondell & Ruby Keeler. Cagney plays a musical producer who starts making musical prologues for movie theaters. The film is about him dealing with his 2 business partners who are ripping him off, a mole leaking ideas to another competing company, 3 love interests & meeting crazy deadlines. In all it just seemed like too much. The movie felt busy, yet almost bored me to sleep. There was only 1 musical number I enjoyed in the film, and it didn't even involve Cagney. I think Cagney's highlight for this film would have to be the very short dance he did with Ruby Keeler in the number "Shanghai Lil".

You can watch the movie trailer below & you can go watch "By A Waterfall" on YouTube. It's the highlight of the film for me, and shows the influence of Busby Berkeley in Hollywood.

More Info: (Source)
- Not only was this Dorothy Lamour's first film appearance, but Ann Sothern also made an appearance. Both were uncredited chorus girls.
- John Garfield may or may not have made an appearance in this film. If it wasn't him, apparently the guy looked so much like him that people still aren't sure.
- The film that Guy Kibbee and Arthur Hohl takes James Cagney to see is "The Telegraph Trail" starring John Wayne.
John Wayne

Song Fight Review: Ruthless Lately

Yeah…so I got WAY behind with my reviews. I know my reviews suck, but I’m going to get caught up…so lets get started…

The last challenge I reviewed over at Song Fight was titled "Under Over", and my favorite entry was from Ross Durand. Ross finished in the middle of the pack, and PiGPEN got the win. 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 favorites from the fight Ruthless Lately are posted below.

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

Yardley Social Scene - Dang, great way to cap off a pretty good fight. Totally earned the victory. Clean, catchy & interesting sound. (use the lyrics forum)


BLT and the Psychotics - Aside from a couple lines I really dug this. Yall sound great together, my only real complaint is that it sounded like the 2nd line of the first chorus was flubbed? Of course I was listening on my shit headphones & not my good ones…so maybe I just misheard it…like 5 times.

King Arthur - Fun story & the music kept me entertained while you told it. Nothing bad to say…and that’s the norm in regards to your work.

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

Berkeley Social Scene - This is odd. I mean the music is ok…I like the lyrics, but they don’t mesh for me. The lyrics remind me of something you might hear in a Rocky film or as Hulk Hogan walks to the ring, but the music is too laid back.

Canonical Man - Didn’t find the lyrics all that creative…but I didn’t HATE it.

EggNogAdam - Keeping it simple isn’t a bad idea since the vocal performance was pretty good, but the piano got annoying…and it’s not a long song. (use the lyric forum)

illscreen - I understand that a lot of rap is about boasting, and I’m cool with that. But if you’re going to boast you better be good. I’ve heard worse…but that’s nothing to boast about. I’d like to hear you enter more fights…but with rap I really want more creative lyrics.

Kapitano - That long intro could put someone to sleep. The lyrics weren’t all that easy to make out, and whatever effect you used on them didn’t do anything for me. I don’t care what genre of music I’m listening to, I never want to strain to make out what someone is saying.

Larry - I see that you had 0 votes this fight. Consider yourself lucky it wasn’t lower.

MC Who Izzy - What the hell? I was expecting a rap…change your name.

noah mclaughlin - Not really sure what it’s about, and your link in the lyric forum didn’t work. I’m WAAAAAY to lazy to put any more effort into research.

Paco del Stinko - The music was pretty cool, but the lyrics just weren’t that interesting. I normally like your lyrics, so I was a bit surprised.

Scott Gesser - Didn’t like the vocals, and they were muffled at times. I think there’s some good stuff here, but the vocals hurt it a lot. (use the lyrics forum)

Steve Durand - The opening reminded me of an old music video I saw on the Disney channel as a kid. Can’t remember the song name…just that it was about haircuts. Anyways…it was a fun song…even though it annoyed me at first cause I couldn’t find the song it reminded me off. (use the lyrics forum)

NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT

An Unfair And One-Sided Review
by Sammy Kablam

Fight: You Are the Heartbeat of This Office For Sure



You can leave comments for Sammy below, on YouTube or on Twitter.

Dammit, Tad

If you didn't subscribe to Sammy Kablam's YouTube channel when his NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT series moved from text to video, you've now got another reason to. Sammy will still be reviewing Song Fight & SpinTunes in the future, but he's now moved onto movies. Unfortunately for Sammy, he's having trouble getting his hands on GOOD movies. But Sammy's misfortune isn't necessarily a bad thing for you. It just gives Sammy more ammo to blast the shit out of the films. I've embedded Part 1 from a few episodes below.

Dammit, Tad: Ghost Game (Part 1)

Part 2 & Part 3
Dammit, Tad: The Graveyard (Part 1)

Part 2 & Part 3
Dammit, Tad: Basketweave (Part 1)

Part 2
You can find Sammy on Twitter: @SammyKablam or the website http://www.oceanofbees.com

SpinTunes #3 Round 4 Review

Well, this is it. The last review of SpinTunes #3. The contest has been over for a few days, and the winner has already been announced. (Results) All 4 of the finalist did at great job, but 1 stood out a little more than the rest to me.

Pat And Gweebol - In The DeVille
Strongest hook of the finalist by far. Loved the first & second verse, and how you're coming back to the childhood memories after the passage of time. It kinda left me wanting more story wise, but I don't know where you would have taken it from where you left off. Yeah, this is going to be stuck in my head awhile...

Ross Durand - Rusty
"Cause they don't make em like me anymore" might have been my favorite line this round, but for whatever reason the chorus didn't have much punch to it. The song does make me feel sorry for the car, which is good I guess, since you got me to care about it apparently. With your round 1 song I don't think I ranked it extremely high, but it's got more plays from me than any other song in this contest. It grew on me, and I hope this does, but right now it's not standing out from the other 3 entries.

Matt And Donna - Back Down The Road
The music & performance were fine for me. No issues. Lyrically I loved the first 4 lines, but then got lost until "And while you may like to think you're part of it all". From that point you grabbed my interest again, and held it for the remainder of the song.

Charlie McCarron - Skipping Stones
Until the last verse I was really wondering how the picture was worked into the song. I would have liked a stronger connection between the car & the relationship early on. You totally met the challenge, but I just think the story would have been held together more if that the connection was made at the beginning. In the end it was pleasant to listen to, but nothing really stood out that got stuck in my head. Meaning if I heard it on the radio I wouldn't change the station, but I'm not likely to search for a copy of it after hearing it.

SHADOWS
Gold Lion - Some Things Weren't Built To Last
I think this could work, but when you go acapella it can be hard to hold someone's interest throughout a song. This is too repetitive to do that for me. Your voice is great, but you need more story or some music to keep it interesting the entire time.

Noah McLaughlin - Seeds To Sow
I liked the image "steel tombstone" put in my head, and the music was very relaxing & enjoyable. I was never really able to get into most of the lyrics though.

Dr. Lindyke - Photo Finish
I read the description on BandCamp, and thought it was an interesting idea. The song itself held my interest for the first half, but lyrically it just wasn't for me & I ended up having to force myself to pay attention to them. The highlight for me was Dave's singing, but I could have done without the 2nd vocal track.

Kevin Savino-Riker - Forgotten But Not Gone
Kevin told me this was going to be a "placeholder" track. Something he was going to work on later (after his orange song I assume), so I'll overlook the 1:19 running time. :p Since it's short & acapella there's not much to review. I like what little lyrics there are, but I can't really say anything else cause there's so little there.

Governing Dynamics - Flooded
I picture a black car keying itself to this song. (Kidding) Lyrically it's mostly not for me, but it set some cool mental pictures (for real). The whole "I lose" section was just awesome, and one of the more memorable things about this round. Great shadow.

JoAnn Abbott - Tempted
Impression after the first 10 seconds: 4:44 run time...acapella...this has no chance from the get go.

Impression after the first 2 verses: Sounds a lot more creepy than probably intended, or I'm just a sicko...likely a little of both.

Final Impression: Creepy, depressing, and only half a song at best.

Boffo Yux Dudes - Alien Octopus Trilogy
The first 2 parts LOOSELY fit together...but the 3rd...just comes out of nowhere. I'd have rather you stuck with part 2 until the conclusion. It was funny & had me interested, then just lost me completely. Loved the music throughout.

Boffo Yux Dudes - Car
Chorus is supposed to be catchy right? This is just something I totally don't get, and with that chorus I'm afraid there's not much I'm going to remember about this. Oh...and what's with the sudden end?

Boffo Yux Dudes - My First Car
Ok, this is my favorite shadow of the round. Was upbeat, funny, and something everyone can relate to. You really need to change "Then it didn't look too bad" line. Wasn't a great line to begin with, but you just told people it looked good even while sitting still. Get rid of that 1 terrible line...please.

Boffo Yux Dudes - Bayou Cadillac
The music surprisingly worked for me. At first I thought it was just going to be too much, but after repeat listens I rather enjoyed it. The story idea just didn't go over well with me, and I found myself not paying much attention to the lyrics after the first listen.

Boffo Yux Dudes - Cadillac Coupe DeVille
Bluesy music isn't really my thing. It made me picture an open mic with a bunch of hippies wearing sunglasses in a dark smokey room. So you got the feel down I guess...but again...not something I like.

Boffo Yux Dudes - (Lay Around The) Caddy
I like harmonica, but at times it was overpowering in this. Good shadow, but I just think it needs mixed again. I don't really understand why the production seems rushed when you only wrote 6 songs this round. It's not like you did anything crazy & did 7...

NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT:

An Unfair And One-Sided Review
by Sammy Kablam

SpinTunes #3 Round 4