Goes211
June 30th, 2008, 11:00 PM
(Ok...in my neck of the woods...it's July 1st !)
We've counted, and recounted.
We've added your votes and our pro panel votes :
Our pro panel was made up of :
Bob Olhsson
It's hard because each has different strengths and weaknesses.
I can see why "Going Back" is in the lead however the lyrics are nothing special and it sounds a bit like jack radio where everything quickly made the top of the charts for a week and then disappeared into oblivion because nobody wanted to hear it more than a few times.
After the way too long intro, the first verse of "Shipbuilding" sucked me in lyrically, more than the other tunes, but then the song didn't take me anywhere with its non-chorus and I found the other verses disappointing.
I think "Who's Gonna Tell" would probably make a great Eagles tune. The complete train wreck of a performance doesn't do this song justice. It's my overall winner.
My gut reaction to "Best Thing" is competent but so what?
Mixerman :
Alright, I listened to the final songs, and here are my thoughts, including my vote for the winner.
Rolley "Going Back"
The song grabs me right from the jump. The first two lines are great, but the song fails to push me forward after that. The chorus isn't strong enough lyrically, melodically, or harmonically for me, particularly given the strength of the melodic and harmonic forward push from the verse. Plus the song has no staying power to me. It seems dated to a fault, to a time when music first became about what some mook thought was a single, rather than a label believing in a long-standing career of an artist.
Scratchy Potts - Shipbuilding
I love the Irish influences on the guitars, and i could make a killer production out of this song. At first, I was mistakenly enamored with the total production, but in listening at a more telling level, I can see great room for improvement on a production level. In fact, from a pure standpoint of production, I think i could make a phenomenal track out of this song. And in the end, it would be nothing more than a pleasant song, with a killer production. And there's nothing wrong with that, but if the purpose of this exercise is to pick the best song, this one isn't it for me.
Tannoy - Who's gonna Tell
I can't tell what the hell this song is about. I listen to the lyrics, and they make no sense to me and more importantly, they don't draw me in. As a producer seeking songs for an artist, I wouldn't have even made it to the chorus on this one. Frankly, I wouldn't have made it to the verse.
Dikledoux - Best Thing
Finally a demo in which I CAN'T IGNORE the vocal!
I was thinking about the day
When the world up and blows away
And the thing we call human
All disappears
it's all lost forever
And all I can think of
Is that the news ain't all bad
A total loss might be the best thing that's happened in years.
Killer lyric. I'm pulled in right from the start. I'm hearing about something that we probably all think about these days, the end of the world, and then I'm paid off with an upside to this? I'm sorry, but that's pretty fucking brilliant, and I WANT to sing the chorus. The rest of the song doesn't disappoint.
To me this song is the clear winner of the bunch.
I pick Best Thing.
Otek :
Well, here are my two cents:
Best Thing - I like the structure and movement of this song. The lyrics start out great but turn a bit banal in parts as the tune progresses. Still, with the right production/arrangement this could really work. It keeps me interested through repeated listening.
Going Back - This tune sets up something cool in the verse and doesn't quite follow through in the chorus. I can see where a lot of people are lured by its current form, because it has the most full-sounding production around it. But I lose interest pretty quickly. It sounds a bit like the American EMO radio of a couple of years back.
Shipbuilding - another tune that start really cool lyrically and sonically, but the storytelling rambles. It's very suggestive in terms of sonic directions and ornament, but doesn't seem to go anywhere special.
Who's Gonna Tell - Again, not a bad song, even though I am a bit distracted by the monochromatic presentation. I think however it's one of those tunes that runs the risk of ending up sounding very "stock"... for me it leads down a very specific and well-trodden path in terms of possible production.
The verdict? My choice is Best Thing.
Kenny Gioia :
Well, here are my two cents:
Best Thing - I really like this song. I think it needs a better vocal. Shawn Smith (Brad) would just kill this song. I really like how the hook hits. It's a kind of surprise. I doesn't have that "here comes the hook" thing. I would love to hear this in a movie.
Going Back - I think this one is radio ready. A smash? Not sure. But I could hear it getting radio play. Not super original but not derivative of anything in particular that would make me turn it off. The hook could use a bit more melody but it's still pretty good as is.
Shipbuilding - It took me a few minutes but this melody is a bit too similar to "Turn The Page" by Bob Seger.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe7yOccqdxI
That said, I do love the Bob Seger song so you could do worse.
Still a good song but I can't get past the similarity. Sorry.
Who's Gonna Tell - This is a really nice song. I don't hear it as a classic. Very much for the artist. Which isn't bad but I'm trying to hear it being covered. The chorus doesn't fill that bill for me. The verse does though. Very classic. Nice job. Although I bet Tom Petty would rock this one. I honestly think this song is better than the presentation. A great singer would improve it.
My verdict? My choice is Going Back.
As a radio, hit driven guy, I just think it has the best shot.
McAllister :
Best Thing
Well put together. I like the unfinished quality of the demo as it lets my head come up with cool things to put into it. The lyric borders on preachy, and these are waters that naturally repel me. Tell me a story, make me think, surprise me, but don’t preach. It didn’t step over the line, but for a sec I thought it was gonna. I really, really like the bridge – exactly what a bridge should be, the high point, surprising, perfect. When it ended I wanted to hear it again.
Going Back
Very produced and finished and shiny; but when I strip away the production I’m left with a kinda boring song. It’s like the writer followed a songwriting manual rather than going where the song itself goes. Some songs come at you from the ether – some are manufactured. This feels manufactured to me. Good, but not great. Common lyrics with no surprises. The rather obvious production actually pushed me away some, too.
Shipbuilding
Score ten points for the “ahhh shipbuilding” in the intro, but minus 50 for doing it twice. This could easily be solved in production, but still. Great vibe. It’s odd to have fingerpicked instruments with a heavily autotuned vocal. The instruments pull me in but the vocal processing makes me want to hit the stop button. Autotune on a song I'd expect to hear in a pub is just so out-of-place and wrong. Good song, very good; but when it’s over I have only a very small desire to hear it again. And only a fuzzy idea of what lyrics just told me. And the ending is, like, four times too long.
Who’s Gonna Tell
Some obvious U2-isms (vocal, guitar, melody). Like Going Back, this sounds like it was written with a manual, step-by-step, paint-by-numbers. That is to say, not bad, just very few surprises. This could be a very good track, but I don’t think it will ever be great. Maybe if Bono (or other great vocalist) sang it it would transcend, but probably not.
Best Thing got my vote.
Charles Dye :
This is a tuff 1... these are 4 good songs.
hmm....
Who's Gonna Tell
Aardvark :
Best Thing
Soooo...let's add it all up :
members votes (= 50% of total) :
tannoy - Who's gonna tell : 36 votes = 29,51%
rolley - Going Back : 35 votes = 28,69%
dikledoux - Best Thing : 35 votes = 28,69%
Scratchy Potts - Shipbuilding : 16 votes = 13,11%
Pro panel votes (= 50% of total) :
dikledoux - Best Thing : 4 votes = 57,14%
tannoy - Who's gonna tell : 2 votes = 28,57%
rolley - Going Back : 1 vote = 14,29%
Scratchy Potts - Shipbuilding : 0 votes = 0%
total :
dikledoux - Best Thing = 42,91%
tannoy - Who's gonna tell = 29,04%
rolley - Going Back = 21,49%
Scratchy Potts - Shipbuilding = 6,56%
Our winner of the 1st WTF Global Song Challenge is
DIKLEDOUX
with "BEST THING"
(let's give him a big round of virtual internet applause !!! :D )
Congrats to each and everyone involved, you guys were superb.
And thanks to everyone who voted and made this possible.
Of course, we'll be keeping you informed of the progress in the production of the winning song.
More to come on that.
:Coolio:
We've counted, and recounted.
We've added your votes and our pro panel votes :
Our pro panel was made up of :
Bob Olhsson
It's hard because each has different strengths and weaknesses.
I can see why "Going Back" is in the lead however the lyrics are nothing special and it sounds a bit like jack radio where everything quickly made the top of the charts for a week and then disappeared into oblivion because nobody wanted to hear it more than a few times.
After the way too long intro, the first verse of "Shipbuilding" sucked me in lyrically, more than the other tunes, but then the song didn't take me anywhere with its non-chorus and I found the other verses disappointing.
I think "Who's Gonna Tell" would probably make a great Eagles tune. The complete train wreck of a performance doesn't do this song justice. It's my overall winner.
My gut reaction to "Best Thing" is competent but so what?
Mixerman :
Alright, I listened to the final songs, and here are my thoughts, including my vote for the winner.
Rolley "Going Back"
The song grabs me right from the jump. The first two lines are great, but the song fails to push me forward after that. The chorus isn't strong enough lyrically, melodically, or harmonically for me, particularly given the strength of the melodic and harmonic forward push from the verse. Plus the song has no staying power to me. It seems dated to a fault, to a time when music first became about what some mook thought was a single, rather than a label believing in a long-standing career of an artist.
Scratchy Potts - Shipbuilding
I love the Irish influences on the guitars, and i could make a killer production out of this song. At first, I was mistakenly enamored with the total production, but in listening at a more telling level, I can see great room for improvement on a production level. In fact, from a pure standpoint of production, I think i could make a phenomenal track out of this song. And in the end, it would be nothing more than a pleasant song, with a killer production. And there's nothing wrong with that, but if the purpose of this exercise is to pick the best song, this one isn't it for me.
Tannoy - Who's gonna Tell
I can't tell what the hell this song is about. I listen to the lyrics, and they make no sense to me and more importantly, they don't draw me in. As a producer seeking songs for an artist, I wouldn't have even made it to the chorus on this one. Frankly, I wouldn't have made it to the verse.
Dikledoux - Best Thing
Finally a demo in which I CAN'T IGNORE the vocal!
I was thinking about the day
When the world up and blows away
And the thing we call human
All disappears
it's all lost forever
And all I can think of
Is that the news ain't all bad
A total loss might be the best thing that's happened in years.
Killer lyric. I'm pulled in right from the start. I'm hearing about something that we probably all think about these days, the end of the world, and then I'm paid off with an upside to this? I'm sorry, but that's pretty fucking brilliant, and I WANT to sing the chorus. The rest of the song doesn't disappoint.
To me this song is the clear winner of the bunch.
I pick Best Thing.
Otek :
Well, here are my two cents:
Best Thing - I like the structure and movement of this song. The lyrics start out great but turn a bit banal in parts as the tune progresses. Still, with the right production/arrangement this could really work. It keeps me interested through repeated listening.
Going Back - This tune sets up something cool in the verse and doesn't quite follow through in the chorus. I can see where a lot of people are lured by its current form, because it has the most full-sounding production around it. But I lose interest pretty quickly. It sounds a bit like the American EMO radio of a couple of years back.
Shipbuilding - another tune that start really cool lyrically and sonically, but the storytelling rambles. It's very suggestive in terms of sonic directions and ornament, but doesn't seem to go anywhere special.
Who's Gonna Tell - Again, not a bad song, even though I am a bit distracted by the monochromatic presentation. I think however it's one of those tunes that runs the risk of ending up sounding very "stock"... for me it leads down a very specific and well-trodden path in terms of possible production.
The verdict? My choice is Best Thing.
Kenny Gioia :
Well, here are my two cents:
Best Thing - I really like this song. I think it needs a better vocal. Shawn Smith (Brad) would just kill this song. I really like how the hook hits. It's a kind of surprise. I doesn't have that "here comes the hook" thing. I would love to hear this in a movie.
Going Back - I think this one is radio ready. A smash? Not sure. But I could hear it getting radio play. Not super original but not derivative of anything in particular that would make me turn it off. The hook could use a bit more melody but it's still pretty good as is.
Shipbuilding - It took me a few minutes but this melody is a bit too similar to "Turn The Page" by Bob Seger.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe7yOccqdxI
That said, I do love the Bob Seger song so you could do worse.
Still a good song but I can't get past the similarity. Sorry.
Who's Gonna Tell - This is a really nice song. I don't hear it as a classic. Very much for the artist. Which isn't bad but I'm trying to hear it being covered. The chorus doesn't fill that bill for me. The verse does though. Very classic. Nice job. Although I bet Tom Petty would rock this one. I honestly think this song is better than the presentation. A great singer would improve it.
My verdict? My choice is Going Back.
As a radio, hit driven guy, I just think it has the best shot.
McAllister :
Best Thing
Well put together. I like the unfinished quality of the demo as it lets my head come up with cool things to put into it. The lyric borders on preachy, and these are waters that naturally repel me. Tell me a story, make me think, surprise me, but don’t preach. It didn’t step over the line, but for a sec I thought it was gonna. I really, really like the bridge – exactly what a bridge should be, the high point, surprising, perfect. When it ended I wanted to hear it again.
Going Back
Very produced and finished and shiny; but when I strip away the production I’m left with a kinda boring song. It’s like the writer followed a songwriting manual rather than going where the song itself goes. Some songs come at you from the ether – some are manufactured. This feels manufactured to me. Good, but not great. Common lyrics with no surprises. The rather obvious production actually pushed me away some, too.
Shipbuilding
Score ten points for the “ahhh shipbuilding” in the intro, but minus 50 for doing it twice. This could easily be solved in production, but still. Great vibe. It’s odd to have fingerpicked instruments with a heavily autotuned vocal. The instruments pull me in but the vocal processing makes me want to hit the stop button. Autotune on a song I'd expect to hear in a pub is just so out-of-place and wrong. Good song, very good; but when it’s over I have only a very small desire to hear it again. And only a fuzzy idea of what lyrics just told me. And the ending is, like, four times too long.
Who’s Gonna Tell
Some obvious U2-isms (vocal, guitar, melody). Like Going Back, this sounds like it was written with a manual, step-by-step, paint-by-numbers. That is to say, not bad, just very few surprises. This could be a very good track, but I don’t think it will ever be great. Maybe if Bono (or other great vocalist) sang it it would transcend, but probably not.
Best Thing got my vote.
Charles Dye :
This is a tuff 1... these are 4 good songs.
hmm....
Who's Gonna Tell
Aardvark :
Best Thing
Soooo...let's add it all up :
members votes (= 50% of total) :
tannoy - Who's gonna tell : 36 votes = 29,51%
rolley - Going Back : 35 votes = 28,69%
dikledoux - Best Thing : 35 votes = 28,69%
Scratchy Potts - Shipbuilding : 16 votes = 13,11%
Pro panel votes (= 50% of total) :
dikledoux - Best Thing : 4 votes = 57,14%
tannoy - Who's gonna tell : 2 votes = 28,57%
rolley - Going Back : 1 vote = 14,29%
Scratchy Potts - Shipbuilding : 0 votes = 0%
total :
dikledoux - Best Thing = 42,91%
tannoy - Who's gonna tell = 29,04%
rolley - Going Back = 21,49%
Scratchy Potts - Shipbuilding = 6,56%
Our winner of the 1st WTF Global Song Challenge is
DIKLEDOUX
with "BEST THING"
(let's give him a big round of virtual internet applause !!! :D )
Congrats to each and everyone involved, you guys were superb.
And thanks to everyone who voted and made this possible.
Of course, we'll be keeping you informed of the progress in the production of the winning song.
More to come on that.
:Coolio: