Where Music & Dance Fall Face First Into The Internet

Monday, August 20, 2012

NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT

An Unfair And One-Sided Review by Sammy Kablam & Howie Kapow
SpinTunes #5 Round 2



You can leave comments for Howie below, on Ocean Of Bees, YouTube or on Twitter.

(Normally people seem to put the disclaimers at the bottom, but this should probably go up top...and in bold. Sammy & Howie's reviews do not reflect that of Spintown's, and have no influence over the contest whatsoever. The over the top reviews in Sammy's "NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT" series aren't meant to be 'constructive', and you should read the sub title. If you think he's picking on you...just listen the reviews he wrote for the others...he can be an equal opportunity ass. - Spin)

NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT

An Unfair And One-Sided Review by Sammy Kablam & Howie Kapow
SpinTunes #5 Round 1


You can leave comments for Howie below, on Ocean Of Bees, YouTube or on Twitter.

(Normally people seem to put the disclaimers at the bottom, but this should probably go up top...and in bold. Sammy & Howie's reviews do not reflect that of Spintown's, and have no influence over the contest whatsoever. The over the top reviews in Sammy's "NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT" series aren't meant to be 'constructive', and you should read the sub title. If you think he's picking on you...just listen the reviews he wrote for the others...he can be an equal opportunity ass. - Spin)

NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT

An Unfair And One-Sided Review by Sammy Kablam & Howie Kapow
SpinTunes #4 Round 4



You can leave comments for Sammy & Howie below, on Ocean Of Bees, YouTube or on Twitter.

(Normally people seem to put the disclaimers at the bottom, but this should probably go up top...and in bold. Sammy & Howie's reviews do not reflect that of Spintown's, and have no influence over the contest whatsoever. The over the top reviews in Sammy's "NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT" series aren't meant to be 'constructive', and you should read the sub title. If you think he's picking on you...just listen the reviews he wrote for the others...he can be an equal opportunity ass. - Spin)

Saturday, August 18, 2012

SpinTunes #5 Round 4 Review

Governing Dynamics - Houses
If the message of this song is to stop waiting around for things to happen, and to start making things happen I don’t really like the line “Start building houses”. If I completely missed the point (strong possibility), I suggest less metaphors. ;p If the message is simply to create rather than destroy, I’m not sure I would have chose to focus just on building houses. I like the overall sound, and the pacing of this song. You have a shot, so good luck.

Ross Durand - When The Tide Comes In
Once again you’re in the final round, and once again you’ve got a shot at winning. I like the acoustic guitar work, and the message of the song. At first listen it brought back memories of fighting the tide as a kid building sand castles in Florida. With a few more listens, it reminds me of various other fights you have to go through over & over in life. Good luck.

Edric Haleen - My Friend
The idea is very obvious. I heard a few people bring up bigfoot right after the challenge was posted. The SpinTunes reference got my attention, but since I don’t hear people use the phrase in that way, it felt too out of place. The Ohio line automatically drops you to the bottom of my list. (kidding) It’s not a bad song at all, but it just felt way too predictable, which I know is something you don’t like to be. Good luck.

Mariah Mercedes - Footprints
That bio really helps a lot, and is a great example of why I tell people it can’t hurt to include extra info like that. I totally get the song, but you’ve got some issues with the recording. The audio has to be turned up to understand all the lyrics, but if you turn it up some of the instruments are so loud it’s distracting. With a better mix this could be pretty awesome, as is, I would have to put you as my 4th pick this round. The only part of the song I had any issue with (other than the low audio) was the pauses after each of these lines:

“It was time for a redirection
It was time to take action
Trust me, my friends, you will not be forgotten
I refuse to feel heartbroken”

It just felt strange to have everything stop so often. Maybe that’s just me, but I would have rather had the music continue through them. Good luck.

RC - Orange Beach (Shadow)
I love the music, it’s very relaxing & mellow. After the first listen though, it’s a really sad song. Probably got the biggest emotional response this round. Solid song, and can’t wait to have you back for another SpinTunes.

Dr. Lindyke - Carbon Footprint (Shadow)
Interesting idea, that I don’t think anyone else would have thought of. The chorus failed to be catchy...at all. That’s really the biggest issue I have with the song. Holds my interests up to that point, then makes me want to skip to the next verse.

JoAnn Abbott - The Mermaid's Waltz (Shadow)
Doing a song inspired by “The Little Mermaid” is kinda risky. I mean there are so many great songs in that cartoon already, that it’s going to be hard not to think about better songs that have already been written. If you don’t think of the cartoon, then you don’t have enough backstory to hold someone’s interest. (imo) So yeah, this is a tough road to take. It’s an ok song, that is inspired by something that makes me think of great songs with more fitting vocals.

Gray Havens - Onward To The West (Shadow)
First off, your voices sound great together. Unfortunately, this isn’t my type of song. It’s slow as heck, and even though you’ll get a lot of phrase from others...it’s just not up my alley. This type of song just makes me sleepy. Love you both, and look forward to having you both back in a future contest. That is...if Brian isn’t too scared to take on his own kin. ;p

JoAnn Abbott - First On My List (Shadow)
Well, you can’t say I didn’t warn you. You will not be allowed to compete or shadow in SpinTunes 6. Not just because of this song, but because of all the whining, poor sportsmanship & flat out lies that have been spread on multiple social networks...even after the warning.

After I made the decision to ban you from the next contest, I blocked you from all social networks, and I don’t wish to hear from you again until after SpinTunes 6. At that time, if you can convince me that you’ve grown up, you’ll be allowed back in. If anything happens after that, there will be no more chances.

I did get your apology e-mail, and I don’t know if it was heartfelt or not. Too me, it’s too little too late anyways. I won’t go into detail about that since it’s not something that was made public. It came after your warning, after various other jabs, after I blocked you, and after I decided to ban you for at least 1 contest.

I guess I should review this...but I don't feel like it.

Boffo Yux Dudes featuring Osmium - Wash Away (Shadow)
I think this is the first song I’ve heard that didn’t directly mention footprints in the sand. I enjoyed the lyrics, except for the last verse. It just didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the song. The vocal performance seemed a bit bored, and needed a bit more energy. Solid shadow, but better luck with the record in SpinTunes 6.

Boffo Yux Dudes featuring Denise Hudson & Mick Bordet - Sand In My Toes (Shadow)

There will be 5 judges who are not participating in the contest & who will not shadow rounds until the contest is over.

I think Mick found a loop hole. He didn’t shadow, he just contributed to a shadow. In the future that might be addressed, but lets get on with the review.

There was music, but it was like music that’s played at the theater before the previews even start. Like the stuff they play while they have “Did You Know” facts & trivia questions on the screen. It was more of a spoken word performance than a song, and unfortunately I didn’t laugh when I was supposed to.

Boffo Yux Dudes - Footprints (Shadow)
I think this is the best idea you had for a shadow. Very funny, and I think it could be even better if you weren’t spread so thin trying to do multiple songs. Smooth out a few lines that feel a bit clunky, and this is a winner. Well done.

Boffo Yux Dudes featuring Dr. Lindyke - Foot In The Sand (Shadow)
You forgot to post lyrics, and to stay consistent with my past reviews...no lyrics...no reviews. ;p

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Poking The Bear

I wasn’t going to address JoAnn’s whining any farther than I already had, but I’ve read a couple comments that could insinuate that I ranked her low just because I didn't want her in the final round. That is completely false. I ranked her low primarily because of what I said in my review (the song bored me). I’ll copy & paste the original review at the bottom of this post.

Now to address specific comments:

“Since it is apparent that composition, orchestration and lyrics do not matter in the face of a judges bias/prejudices,”
Just because I didn’t mention something, don’t assume I liked it. Let’s use lyrics as an example since I’ve ALWAYS ranked heavily based on lyrics. Sure Hamlet has always bored me, but that’s because the dialogue is hard for me to follow at times. When it comes to lyrics...just ask Governing Dynamics or Denise Hudson if I’ve ever ranked them low because their lyrics were hard for me to follow. Ranking you low based on that was not an inconsistency.

I didn’t really mention the music in the review, but the fact that you assume I would have found it entertaining is part of the problem here. I’m not saying it was bad, but it held my interest as much as the lyrics. It’s not a tune that makes me feel like dancing or singing...it’s just something I’d expect to hear in the background of a movie I was probably being forced to watch. It may be appropriate, but not something I’m going to pop into a mp3 player to listen to.
“One thing, I don't know why / It doesn't even matter how hard you try / I tried so hard and got so far / But in the end it doesn't even matter”
7 other people tried just as hard as you, so keep your Linkin Park to yourself.
“Since Spin doesn't like Hamlet though, it didn't matter if I met the terms of the competition. He didn't want me to go forward, and ensured we couldn't by putting us dead last.”
IF you’re saying I ranked you last just so you wouldn’t move onto the last round that’s BS. I didn’t even know my reviews/ranking were going to be used until after I wrote them. I wrote my reviews first thing in the morning on Saturday, and didn’t even hear from the last judge until 6PM. I even wrote to him around 11:30AM that day to see if he would be able to send them in late. And before your screaming & cursing fit that you directed toward me in G+, I e-mailed him again saying he could just send rankings if he didn’t have time to write full reviews.

I ranked you where I ranked you because the level of enjoyment that your song brought to me put you there. That’s it. I tried to avoid using my reviews, and even waited until the last possible minute to post the rankings in case I got a last minute e-mail with the last judges rankings.
“I hope Hamlet is there with a bloody daggar haunting you”
“Well folks, in spite of winning the popular vote, one of the judges said he has never liked Hamlet, and so he gave us the lowest possible score, neatly putting us into fifth place- we cannot go on in competition for Spintunes. We worked hard, but it just wasn't good enough. Read his review on http://?spintown79.blogspot.com/ and if you want to, let him know how you feel about his decision.”
“Write whatever you want to, Dave, it's a shadow after all. I started my song a hour ago, before this was posted”
Really? This is just an example of how childish you’re acting. In the previous contest you whined a bit when you were eliminated, and were a bit of a poor sport. But you’re taking it to a new level this time around. (at least I didn’t have anything to do with the last time) This is the first time you’ve made it past round 1. I would think that getting INTO round 3 would be something to celebrate.
“I am still really depressed at not getting to the final four in Spin tunes, aaaalllll because of Travis C. Langworthy who does not like one of the greatest plays if all time and made sure we would be dead last and couldnt move along.”
Yes...I was the only person to have any say in who moved on... If my review for round 1 had been used, would I have gotten full credit for you going to round 2?
“Most judges I have seen here in the past competitions go first for the question "Did it meet the challenge". No matter how much they may have liked it, if it was supposed to be a song about a puppy and all they got was a song about going to work, then it didn't meet the challenge and would be dropped. Spin said that I clearly met the challenge. The judge would next sort by other criteria, such as "Do I like this?"”
I was very lenient with the ‘meeting the challenge’ issue for 2 reasons. A few people expressed concern about the examples, and how they could have caused problems with the interpretation of the challenge. Also, I’m often more lenient when it comes to technical challenges since I’m not a musician and it’s hard for me to judge certain things. There were no DQ discussions this round, and so I felt that I shouldn’t knock someone much if (in my eyes) they didn’t hit the challenge squarely. Not that it matters much, if I felt like ignoring the challenge EVERY time I’m allowed to do so if the song isn’t DQed.
“Spin said that I clearly met the challenge. Had he judged my song like things usually are, I would have placed fifth on Spins list, tied for a position and my having the highest popular vote would have gotten me in. He knew that.”
I don’t think there’s a need for judges anymore. You seem to know where each judge SHOULD place you, so what’s the point? Once again I did NOT know where you would be placed in the overall standing when writing my reviews. IF you're saying that I did, it's just a flat out lie. I wrote my reviews before I heard from the last judge, and before I did the math with the 4 judges that I had heard from.

You could be the perfect poster child for SpinTunes. SpinTunes is meant to push you to do new things, and to help you improve along the way. You’ve done both over the past few years. Instead you’re on the verge of no longer being a part of SpinTunes because of your attitude and poor sportsmanship. I’ll leave it up to you, but keep in mind, that if someone is a pain in my side long enough, I don’t have to deal with them after SpinTunes 5.

I hope you decide to continue with SpinTunes,
Spin.

(If people have a problem with this message to JoAnn being public, when I could have easily e-mailed her, you shouldn’t. She decided to make this issue public, not me.)

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Menage a Tune - Poison, Or, All Of Hamlet In 4:04
I’ve never been able to read (or watch a film or stage version) of Hamlet all the way through. Puts me to sleep...every time. This really isn’t much different...although I made it to the end...multiple times. You hit the challenge right on. Unfortunately for you...this is about the worst topic you could have picked to hold my interest.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

SpinTunes #5 Round 3 Review

Since there are no guest judges this round, I had to make sure that my reviews were done on time & ranked.  And here they are.  I had some extra time this week, so I went back & reviewed the shadows from Round 2 as well.  They've been added to my review of that round.  I plan on going back & ranking the songs from round 1 as well.  Don't know if I'll get to that today though.  For anyone that wants to listen to the songs that I'm reviewing in this post, just click the image below.

Ross Durand featuring Bryanna Acosta - Apart
I like everything except the ending. There’s nothing really wrong with it, but I like my happy endings you sob. Great vocals from your friend Bryanna (I hope to hear from her again), and great job of telling a story...again... The only bad thing I can say is that Bryanna’s vocals made me wish yours were better...and I never have issues with your vocals.

RC - He’s Dead, Jim
Just as a song...this is my favorite song of the round. It’s pretty much a 1 sided conversation which I’ll knock it just a tiny bit for. Had our examples been better I’d probably knock it more. It’s a great song, I just wish I got more from Bones.

Edric Haleen featuring Kevin Savino-Riker - (Vows)
Well...I’m not surprised by anything, which is a disappointment considering the e-mail I got from Edric made me think I would be. I kinda figured that Edric & maybe a couple others would collab with other SpinTuners for this challenge. Getting Kevin was a GREAT choice, because their voices sound great together...just not surprising. Having a love song that could be sung by a straight or gay couple isn’t all that shocking either. It’s a great song, but as a straight guy who likes to sing along in the car...this is more than a little odd to sing along to. As great a job as Kevin did, I don’t think I’ll be singing along this time around.

Governing Dynamics featuring Rebecca Brickley - Dark Places
It’s about time that you 2 worked together, you’ve been talking about it forever. Was it worth the wait? I think so. Travis has improved his vocals a lot over the past couple years, and you 2 sound pretty good together. I don’t know how comfortable Rebecca is with this style. There are a few times where it seems like she’s wanting to hold onto a note longer than needed, and can’t do to the structure of the song. In her defense, she can hold a note & it’s a joy to hear her do so. It’s hard to say if you’ll make round 4...to me you’re right around the cut off mark.

Mariah Mercedes - Dear Jeremy
I’m glad to see that Luke decided to join in the fun. Unfortunately the only problem I had with this song was in part Luke. I think he did a great job in the parts where it’s simply spoken word. He performed those parts. But when he’s asked to sing, there is no performance value at all. The vocals are as clear as I’ve heard from Luke, but the singing sounds as if he’s reading them off a page for the first time. I think Luke can do this & do it well (based off the spoken word parts he DID do well), but I don’t like this take.

The Chocolate Chips - The True Way
You really seem to do your best to stretch yourself for each challenge & approach the contest with a great attitude each round. I’m just not sure I get what’s going on here. At some points the vocals get a little lost with whatever you filter you ran them through. There’s plenty of dialogue, but I’m not into the story. It’s too weird & not quite clear enough for my liking.

Felix Frost - Lyman Boone And The Moonshine Scoundrel
“This took 100% more focus to review than it did to write. I keep thinking I’m jumping between multiple songs, and never stay in 1 long enough to get into it. The transitions aren’t even very smooth, you’re just suddenly into something else. It’s not just musically all over the place either. Your lyrics are all over the place as well. It’s a shame that you couldn’t FOCUS on something smaller in scale because you do some interesting things musically & your voice is pleasant. I love me some 8-bit music...but more focus is needed.” - Spin (round 1 & 3 review for Felix Frost)

Menage a Tune - Poison, Or, All Of Hamlet In 4:04
I’ve never been able to read (or watch a film or stage version) of Hamlet all the way through. Puts me to sleep...every time. This really isn’t much different...although I made it to the end...multiple times. You hit the challenge right on. Unfortunately for you...this is about the worst topic you could have picked to hold my interest.

Dr. Lindyke - Mr. Nobody (Shadow)
You should have signed up. Based on what I’ve heard from your shadows so far...you would be my favorite to win going into the last round. I’ve only heard Williams voice once, and I had no idea the man could sing. I think you’ve used up all your allowance of going meta for a long time, but this was a lot of fun. I’d have ranked you #2 this time around.