Song Fight Review: In Time Of Crisis

The last fight I reviewed over at Song Fight was titled "That's Enough", and my favorite entry was from bgm who finished in 2nd. The John Benjamin Band (who I ranked 3rd) ended up getting 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.

I'm going to be really short on time for awhile. I'm in the process of moving, I have SpinTunes #4 to plan & other things going on taking up a lot of time. So in an effort to plow through this round quickly I will not be commenting on songs unless the lyrics have been posted in the Song Fight Lyric Archive.

My favorites from the fight In Time Of Crisis are posted below.

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

Ross Durand - Great performance of a topical song. Creates a sense of urgency that drives the song nicely. Everyone else can go home now, Ross just kicked your ass.

Billy & The Psychotics - Great sound, love the guitar. Rocks harder than any other entry by far. Lyrically not for me.

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

Jan Krueger - Lyrics didn't grab me & the music felt messy. At times sounds would just seem out of place.

Naked Philosophy - Performance wise it wasn't much to brag about, but the topic was a good choice. Seems like there's a new riot going on every day. Overall it was one of the better songs in a weak fight.

Monkey Touchers - The only people I respect less than you would be anyone who says anything remotely positive about your entries. I know your lyrics weren't posted, but what you entered has to be one of the worst tracks ever entered into this contest (that's not easy to do). So I had to point out how stupid your track was.

No Lyrics Posted:
Berkeley Social Scene - sonofsupercar - Life in Decibels - Micah Sommer - Monotone Destroyer - Ux Mpuzm - The Various Artists - hillbilly
Side Note:
This fight was one of the worst fights of 2011. Only a couple people came out swinging, and somebody should have warned the audience to protect their ears at all times.

Help Sammy Kablam Get Back To Insulting People

For anyone that has enjoyed Sammy Kablam's reviews on this site, please take a look at his ChipIn page & consider making a donation.

For those who have never heard of Sammy Kablam...let me introduce you. Sammy started off writing reviews of Master's Of Song Fu, SpinTunes & Song Fight (these are song writing contests) on this blog. He has recently been battling tech issues to do his reviews on video & posting them on YouTube & BlipTV. The tech issues finally gave Sammy a beat down after months of dealing with them. Since pan handlers typically give him money when he walks by, he hasn't got the funds to get the equipment he needs to overcome these issues.

The situation is a real shame because he had moved onto making fun of movies with his new series "Dammit, Tad" & I know he had other series planned. I'll embed a couple examples of his work below, and if they make you laugh you can click on the link above to keep the insults coming.

Negative Reinforcement: Song Fight (Has Been For Years)
As I mentioned, he has also reviewed SpinTunes.

Dammit, Tad: Python

Song Fight Review: That's Enough

The last fight I reviewed over at Song Fight was titled "The Last Afternoon Of A Woman He Only Thought He Knew", and my favorite entry was from Future Boy who finished in 5th. Mom&Data ended up getting the win, but I didn't really care for their entry.

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.

I'm going to be really short on time for awhile. I'm in the process of moving, I have SpinTunes #4 to plan & other things going on taking up a lot of time. So in an effort to plow through this round quickly I will not be commenting on songs unless the lyrics have been posted in the Song Fight Lyric Archive. I will still link to the songs I voted for, even if the lyrics weren't posted.

My favorites from the fight That's Enough are posted below.

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

bgm - Very sad song. Enjoyed the overall experience & thought the vocals were perfect for such a lonely song.

Semolina Pilchards - My favorite story of the fight. It's funny without being too silly. Musically it kinda bored me though, and at times the singer seemed bored.

The John Benjamin Band - Music was cool at times, but the first "Let's be together/Let's be interstellar" line jarred me a bit. The transitions weren't bad, but it's an unusual sound & I think I just wasn't ready for it. Lyrically it's not for me, but it's the most memorable song of the fight.

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

Billy & The Psychotics - When it started...honestly I about did a facepalm for you. BUT, it didn't take long for me to hear that you actually came up with a nice sound. Musically it was fun & the vocals were great. Lyrically not for me.

Berkeley Social Scene - Too repetitive for me, and I didn't care for the bare bones story.

heine - Felt really long, and the performance was too robot like for me to get into it.

Paco del Stinko - Enjoyed the music throughout. I liked the angle you took, telling people to be more independent. Just didn't think the lyrics were as creative as your music.

Pigfarmer Jr - You made me hungry.

Ross Durand - The first half is something I'd expect off a children's CD. Raffie-ish. The 2nd half went in a different direction lyrically, and it tried to make the song more than I felt it should have been.

No Lyrics Posted:

Billy Oh! - Dejected Motives - GreaseMonkey - Guiterrorists - Hip Hop Anonymous - Klownhole - Life In Decibels - Manhattan Glutton - Mike Lamb (feat. Suckweasel) - Monkey Touchers - the pannacotta army - Ripping Hammer - ShotPounder
That's Enough (acoustic) by Manhattan Glutton

Circle Of Titles 2

The Circle Of Titles is a project started by Jon Eric. Everyone who signs up makes up a title for a song that they want someone else to write a song for. When sign ups are over the titles are randomly given out to everyone & the songs are written. So everyone submits a title, and everyone writes a song. I decided to review this side fight much like I would a regular Song Fight round.

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

Milo Dunderville - I'll Ruin This
Title suggested by DJ Ranger Den
Funky from the get go, and you never ruined the song. Will probably get more plays on my MP3 player than any other song in this side fight.

Jon Eric - Winter Clothes
Title suggested by Milo Dunderville
Bonus points for mentioning Cincinnati. This would have met the Masters Of Song Fu challenge of writing a non-holiday holiday song pretty well. Enjoyed it a lot, but you could have cut a little off the ending. Missed the title in the song.

King Arthur - Wisenheimer (my favorite title)
Title suggested by Bad Boys At Bat Mitzvahs
I'm glad you got this title, because you almost always come up with an interesting story. After a few listens I did think that maybe you shouldn't repeat the 1st verse again, but no real complaints here. Nice work.

The Real Sign - Melody Of Smoke
Title suggested by King Arthur
Great use of audio clips from the news. Music just seemed perfect for the lyrics. I'd like the vocals to be brought up just a little in places. Well done.

Jan Krueger - Somewhere I Don't Know
Title suggested by Paco del Stinko
I'm ashamed at how long it took for me to get this song. I was literally saying to myself, "I don't know what the fuck this is about." 2 seconds later I'm feeling like, "It's a me, Dumbass!" Well done sir....well done.

DJ Ranger Den - Shoot Through It
Title suggested by The Real Sign
I was going to say the music was great, but the topic was an odd fit. But with the topic you picked I can't picture what type of music would fit. I don't know why, but I thought of "Nightmare Before Christmas" while listening to this.

Schlimminy Cricket - Clinical Cynical
Title suggested by Jan Krueger
Really liked the idea you came up with for the title (still wished you would have used it). Definitely had a creepy hospital/factory feel to it.

Others:
(Head over to Circle Of Titles 2 to listen to these songs.)

Paco del Stinko - Another Day Another
Title suggested by Noah McLaughin
When I got to the bridge I felt like the rest of the song should have been more chill. The lyrics there were just more heavy & it's almost like the bridge belongs in another song. I didn't dislike the rest of song, but it didn't fit together all that well for me.

Noah McLaughlin - Bourbon & Boobs
Title suggested by Billy's Little Trip
This might be my favorite vocal performance that I've heard from you. Musically it held my interest, but I didn't get into the story since it left me with a number of questions. Was clearly inspired by the challenge, but I missed hearing it in the song.

Billy's Little Trip - At the Geothermal Plant
Title suggested by Jon Eric
This song was not completed, but if it ever is I'll include my thoughts here.

Bad Boys At Bat Mitzvahs - Trench-coat Warfare
Title suggested by Who Izzy
I'm usually not a fan of long spoken word sections, so this just wasn't up my alley at all.

MC Who Izzy - This Again
Title suggested by Irwin
sgkaf, asdf dg fweroh sfhts werkg srhjs rhfwtq gbnasfdg! Use the lyric archive.

Sockpuppet - Made From Corn
Title suggested by Mike Lamb
If it was funny...maybe I could listen to this. But it wasn’t' & I'm not a fan of the long spoken word stuff.

Suckweasel - Why Yes, I DO Have A Pistol In My Pocket, But That Does Not Necessarily Mean That I Am Still Not Pleased To See You (worst title of the bunch)
Title suggested by Caravan Ray
Let me start off by saying I know you got screwed with the title. The vocals weren't bad, they just felt like you were going through the motions though. Wasn't much feeling in it. Considering how stupid the title was I'm impressed that you included it ALMOST completely. Not bad.

Caravan Ray - Virgin Nancy
Title suggested by fluffy
Can't blame you for doubling this up with a Song Fight round, but since I've already reviewed that round there's no point in reviewing the song again.

Mike Lamb - The Bourgeois Orchestra
Title suggested by Shlimminy Cricket
Musically I enjoyed it, but never got into the lyrics. The ending was pretty sweet, you don't hear much of that in Song Fight.

Christmas At Spintown 2011

As usual, I avoided posting any Christmas videos until December. In the past I posted all the Christmas videos on the main page. This year I plan on posting them all on the other pages of the blog. So for those of you that only stop by once a year for all the Christmas videos, I suggest you follow the blog's Twitter account: @SpinBlogs. I'll post links to every Christmas post there.

For today I'll post 1 video below, but if you want more Christmas presents you'll have to head over to the Music Videos page of the blog.

Mall Santa Musical
Improv Everywhere starts off Christmas this year.

The Chronicles Of Rick Roll Movie Trailer

I have a feeling this is going to be really bad...but still worth watching.


Here's a little more about the project.