Song Fu 6: A Summary

Well I’ve already reviewed every round, and Song Fu 6 has officially ended. Unfortunately it ended with a pop…and not the BANG some were hoping for. I don’t want to focus on a lot of negatives in this blog, but I will touch on some things I viewed as negatives at the end of the blog. I’d like to start off with some positives.

In today’s blog I’d like to share with you my favorite songs of Song Fu 6, and my favorite Song Fu’ers of the tournament. This is going to be similar to my Song Fighter of the year blogs I’m doing. It’ll consist of a few lists & some links to download the mentioned songs. Lets start off with my favorite songs of Song Fu 6.

Top 7 Songs Of Song Fu 6:
(Right click “Save As“ on the name of the song to download the MP3)
1. Edric Haleen - “This Song Doesn’t Rhyme” (Round 2)
2. Inverse T. Clown - “Devastator” (Round 3)
3. Leigh & Hoover - “Yesterday Hero - Someday” (Round 4)
4. Mike Lombardo - “Sit And Watch The Rain” (Round 1)
5. Governing Dynamics - “Broken Boy” (Round 3)
6. Caleb Hines - “Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliaphobia” (Round 2)
7. Mike Lombardo - “I Found You” (Round 2)

Based on my voting those shouldn’t be too shocking, but as time has passed I wouldn’t be too surprised if some of my votes would be a little different. Some songs grow on you, and some you never play as much as you expected after first hearing them. (one reason I don‘t vote right after listening to the songs) Now you know my favorite songs, but who is my favorite Song Fu’er of Song Fu 6?

Top 5 Fu‘ers
1. Caleb Hines - If I was to extend my list of favorite songs, Caleb’s other 2 songs may not crack the top 10, but they would definitely be in the top 15. Every single round Caleb managed to make me smile with his entry, and I know I voted for him at least twice (I’m too lazy to go check). I knew before Song Fu 6 that Caleb had talent, but I’ll be honest, his songs were never one of the first songs that I listened to each round. You can be assured that the next time Caleb enters Song Fu….he’ll get my first right click “Save As”.

2. Inverse T. Clown - He may be a NOOB, but his 2nd round rant got my attention. Then in the 3rd round he blew my mind a bit with his geektastic entry. (Although Voltron is still better then Transformers) A solid shadow entry bumped him up over the next 2 people.

3. Edric Haleen - Well he had my favorite song of this Fu…so I sort of have to put him on the list. I will say that “Robot Monkey” has gotten a lot more plays in my car then I originally thought it would. If I was to make a top 10 list including songs from ALL past Song Fu’s….Edric would be on that list at least 3 times now.

4. Mike Lombardo - For me it’s so close between Mike vs. Leigh & Hoover that Mike is getting the edge simply because he won in the end. I thought Mike’s round 1 song kicked major ass, and even though his round 2 song isn’t all that complex….I really enjoy listening to it. I think Mike faded a lot toward the end, but for 2 rounds he put up 2 songs that I loved.

5. Leigh & Hoover - 2 more NOOBS on the list. I really didn‘t expect that to happen. Their round 1 song was great, but their songs from round 2 & 3 failed to make it onto my playlist. Round 4 more then made up for that, because they saved their best for last.

Positives:
- There weren’t very many people that skipped rounds.

- There were a lot of great songs.

- I voted for at least 4 people I’ve never voted for in the past.

- It had a final round, even if it wasn’t what everyone wanted.

Negatives:
- I can’t say that Ken failed this time, but I will say he disappointed. Ken deserved to have “Fail” tattooed onto his forehead the previous 2 tournaments. Mostly, but not entirely because he failed to plan ahead to ensure that a master participates. This time there was no promise of a master, so he didn’t really fail at that. Because of the previous fails I know a lot of people were really hoping he would provide a master & redeem himself a little. That didn’t happen, and because he left that part open ended to start with, I have to say I was disappointed with the ending.

- The limit of 20. The songs were great for the most part, but limiting the tournament to 20 could have some negative affects in the future. A big concern is that it could mean less new blood is pumped into the talent pool. Ken says he takes the first 20 to enter (I’m not convinced that’s entirely true), but if he does, who is most likely to get in? People who have participated in Song Fu in the past who are sitting at their computer waiting for “Fred” to post a sign up form. I’m not saying that I don’t want past Song Fu’ers to get in, but I really think the entry form should be a challenge & let the voters decide who the 20 will be. There’s new talent that couldn’t get into Song Fu that wanted in….that’s not exactly widening the fan base.

- Too much whining…whine before…whine after…not during….at least not if you’re competing.

Going Forward:
I really hope Ken promotes Song Fu 7 (if there is one) more so then he has with all the previous tournaments. Even little things like posting about the end of the competition seems too difficult for the man. I’ve been waiting for a post saying, “It’s all over, congrats to Mike Lombardo” for awhile now.

Ken has said that if there is a Song Fu 7 it will be the same format as #6. (going on 2nd hand info here) If that’s the case I already mentioned what I consider negatives about this decision, so lets mention the positives. The obvious positive is people won’t be disappointed by a lack of a master at the end. Leaving things open is never a good thing in any type of competition. Rules, schedules, directions should all be made clear ahead of time, and that’s not always been the case in Song Fu. Song Fu will now be like Song Fight’s “Nur Ein“ tournament, but there’s nothing wrong with that.

I mentioned before that Ken not having the masters compete along side the challengers is a good thing. My reasoning was that it’s HARD to get masters to commit. Since Ken hasn’t been smart enough to “vault” a master’s song beforehand, eliminating the master altogether isn’t a bad decision.

Well that’s it for today. I may think Ken does a half assed job at running Song Fu, but everyone should be grateful to the man. He created Song Fu, hundreds of songs have been written because of it that wouldn’t have been otherwise, and TMA wouldn’t be if not for Ken. That’s a lot of music & friends I would’ve missed out on.

I’ll list my favorite song from each competitor below….well at least from each competitor that has a song on my personal playlist.

(Go to A Site Called Fred to download these songs.)

Mike Lombardo - “Sit And Watch The Rain” (Round 1)
Leigh & Hoover - “Yesterday Hero - Someday” (Round 4)
Edric Haleen - “This Song Doesn’t Rhyme” (Round 2)
Inverse T. Clown - “Devastator” (Round 3)
Governing Dynamics - “Broken Boy” (Round 3)
Caleb Hines - “Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliaphobia” (Round 2)
Denise Hudson - “Duality Cupcake (’Why’)” (Round 3)
Spencer Sokol - “Wicked One” (Round 3)
Glen Raphael - “Big In Japan” (Round 3)
Boffo Yux Dudes - “A Recipe For Love” (Round 3)
Gorbzilla - “A Song About This Song” (Round 2)
Ian “2 Shades” Johnson - “Downpour” (Round 1)
Godz Poodlz - “Rain Is Pouring Down” (Round 1)
Jeff MacDougall - “Ken Plume Is To Blame” (Round 2)
Common Lisp - “Polly Loves The Rain” (Round 1)
Zer0guy - “Recipe For A Bad Man” (Round 3)
“Buckethat” Bobby Matheson - “Forget About The Rain” (Round 1)

Oh…and lets not forget the most active shadow in the history of a Song Fu…
Joe “Covenant” Lamb - “Rain” (Round 1)

NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT:

An Unfair and One-Sided Review
by Sammy Kablam

Fight: Front And Center

I'm BAAAAAaaaaack! After a lengthy hiatus that began as illness and slowly became "I just don't wanna", your favorite Song Fight Reviewing Cuddlebunny is back on Spintown with another biting, insightful and all-around correct summary of this week's entries. So, let's stop dicking around with the intro, and head into the perfect prompt for my timely return: "Front And Center"!

SomeGuyCalledNoel

So, this is pretty depressing, but it's a good depressing. In fact, there are only two things that I'm going to point out as negatives: number one, the guitar riff, though wonderfully played, is pretty well repetative; Number two, when you drop to your hook/chorus, you appear to be singing uncomfortably low. As if you're on the verge of being out of your range. Those two points aside, this is an excellent tone setter for the picture it describes, and although it's not a happy song, it is successful in its INTENTION is to not be happy, which, in an indirect way, DOES make me happy. Thank you for starting this off in a pleasant way.

Joanthan Mann (TMA member)

I have only heard a fraction of your repertoire, but this strikes me as the best musically sound song I've heard of yours. I still have no idea what exactly you're talking about. I guess the guy is miserable because he has no friends. But I do get tired of having to decode things. Sometimes, it's nice to just have things put on the table, as opposed to hidden in "poetry".

The Weakest Suit

I'm going to ignore the glaring irony of repeating the line "I'm moving on".... Instead, I'll simply say that you remind me, quite sincerely, of Rogers & Clark. Except without the charm. (Google it, kids.) I'm just saying, this sounds like it's supposed to be motivational and uplifting, and everything about it is incredibly not. It's slow, it's unenthusiastic, the lyrics are repetative, and even vocals don't have any umpf. It sounds like you're just going thru the motions, like the kid in math class that's doodling on his worksheet while watching the clock tick closer to the bell. And you know what? So was I.

yelyah

I don't use the word "hokey" very often, but this is a great opportunity. I mean, this song isn't aggressively irritating, or anything like that, it's just...not really...good. It's more, like...vague and cheesey and overly simplistic, while hoping to be deep and meaningful. I get the sentiment, really, but it's just...hokey.

Jeplexe!

I apologize. At 2:04 I had to stop it. I can't understand the vast of what you're saying, and you're saying it all in a very fecking annoying way. The music was annoying enough from the get-go, but your vocals (or whatever) just tipped the scale. It may be unprofessional to post comments on a song I couldn't bring myself to finish, under the argument of "if you didn't finish it, you didn't hear the whole thing", and that's fine -- Spin doesn't pay me for this, so I'm not a professional. And I can't listen to this for free.

Give Our Regards To The Earth's Core

LOL rape. And badly written rape, at that. I mean, it's totally funny, because he's kidnapping this person and forcing her to do things against her will, but it's because he's in love. So it's funny. It doesn't need to have thought or effort put into the lyrics or anything, just the very idea is funny. Trust me. That's how comedy works; as long as I think it MIGHT be funny and effective, it IS funny and effective. Just ask Carlos Mencia.

PTP

What? This makes virtually no sense. It sounds like you tasted a stranger's hair; then it sounds like you and your wife fight against any authority to can find; then the stranger says she's joining the military -- a decision you praise, after talking about fighting against a very vaguely mentioned "powers that be". And the freakin' hook: "to stand front and center is liberty". What the hell does that even mean? Are you TALKING about being in the military? Because, I'll be honest, I never joined, but I don't ever recall the men and women having much say in where they go, what they do, or when they do it. Something about "taking orders", I think. Which doesn't exactly scream "liberty" to me. But then, maybe you aren't talking about being in the military, which means I just have no clue what your line is supposed to suggest. And your choppy, clunky music and singing pattern doesn't make it any easier to take.

Berkley Social Scene

Your music is pretty great this time. I can't really hear most of the lyrics, and I'm having a hard time not zoning out; I've restarted the song five times, and keep catching myself day dreaming about a minute in. That may sound like a dig, but it's more a compliment to the montage tone of your music. Take that how you will, I guess.

Internet Famous

I really think your next album should be titled "Facepalm". I honestly can't tell if you're trying really hard to be weird, or if you're just really bad. I tend to get a vibe indicating you wish you were TMBG, but I hope that's not the case. I hope you're just being ironic.

Rycehat

Speaking of TMBG, interesting voice. Some of your lyrical rhythm needs work, but overall, this isn't bad. If nothing else, it displays a lot of potential. But, since it wasn't a mess and I'm pretty much just here to mock things, that's really all I have to say.

William Parsons Project

I think it would be simply fantastic if the corpse of Frank Zappa got up and trekked to your home so he could knee you in the groin. You know, just to return the favor.

Steve Durand featuring Ross Durand

This is a cute little song and all, but...I fail to see how it really fits the prompt. I mean, the first line uses the word, "center", but, really. Kinda let down, here.

Hostess Mostess

So, the moment I heard the first line, something didn't feel right. Like...I wasn't sick...but I wasn't sure if I was all that well. I actually started to think maybe I was turning into a "Flagpole Sitta" rip-off. Then I realized it was just your song. Boy, was I ever relieved! Thought I was losing it for a minute, there. Beyond that, though, great entry.

Lord of Oats

There's a lot of weirdness going on here. I'm going to say there's a measure of potential, but I'm not going to say this is really great.

Well! There's the Big Return of Negative Reinforcement! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did, and I just can't WAIT for the next round. Keep up the... um... work!

See ya soon,
S. Kablam.

Song Fight Review: Front And Center

The last challenge over at Song Fight was titled "Robot Ninja Zombie Bear", and my favorite entry was Jonathan Mann (TMA member). Well Torrentz also produced a good track, and got the win. There's a whole new batch of songs 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.)

Give Our Regards To The Earth's Core - I think this guy must have at least a couple restraining orders out against him. I little creepy, but entertaining.

2. Jonathan Mann (TMA member) - Dug the 2nd verse a lot. Felt very minimalist & a little long, but overall it was a sweet tune.

Rycehat - I didn't expect a time traveling song during this round...well I normally don't expect one. Overall it was enjoyable. Some of the music was a bit annoying. I could have done without whatever effect it is that starts about 70 seconds into the song.

yelyah - Simple song about one of the harder things in life; letting someone go. This one felt very simple, and could have used something to mix it up a bit.

Still Good:
(Head over to Song Fight to download & listen to the following songs.)

Steve Durand featuring Ross Durand on Lap Steel - Great song, probably my favorite of the round. There's just 1 small problem...I can't see how in the world it comes close to meeting the challenge? If I missed something please explain it, but I can't vote for it since it seems like you picked your own topic for the fight.

Berkeley Social Scene - Very relaxing music, at times it was hard for me to pick up on the vocals.

Song A Day #452
Jonathan Mann made a video for his entry.


Side Notes:
- This song sounds so freakin' familiar that lyrics were on the tip of my tongue while listening to it. Unfortunately they weren't the lyrics used in this song. I have a feeling Hostess Mostess borrowed a lot from a popular song of my youth. It's annoying me that I can't place what song it is, so if anyone can tell me I'd appreciate it.

- The next fight should be interesting. The Song Fighters have been given 2 options for the upcoming Fight. They can pick from "Double Life" or "Half Life".

- Stucco Lobster Breadbox made me laugh with their entry, but as a song it falls flat. I admit to having a thing for 3 tittied women, but just because you theme your song around one....it doesn't make it a good song.