well today was the 7th day of my SotD postings, so i figured i'd have a weekly recap...you get to join in the democratic process!
vote for Song of the Week
- Thread starter narlus
- Start date
im a big rjd2 fan so i had to vote for that song.
i downloaded them all but have to confess that i hadn't listened to any of them (or any music at all this week, pretty much). bootleg recordings of kaplan review path lectures rule my listening life.
anyway, i just bust out the amp and big cans and am making my way through. good variety so far (after listening to mogwai and part of tom waits).
anyway, i just bust out the amp and big cans and am making my way through. good variety so far (after listening to mogwai and part of tom waits).
I think I've heard of tom waits. I have heard some zz top songs but didn't know the names.
They wereall good, so I voted they all sucked to even it out a bit! 
search back for the song of the day threads narlus posted this week. each thread has a link to download the song of the day as listed above in the poll...mtnbrider said:
actually, nvmd, i have done your work for you:
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145708&highlight=song
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145785&highlight=song
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145913&highlight=song
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146026&highlight=song
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146148&highlight=song
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146245&highlight=song
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146331&highlight=song
commentary from a classical musician with absolute pitch and a concern for little else
'narlus spectre' - Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
i like the sound, but the balance is off. bass is kind of in the background and the drums are much too in my face for my taste. B min: I, I, vi, iii gets old, but the texture, guitar, and singing are interesting. not my favorite, but not bad.
'swallowtail' - Brian Jonestown Massacre
cool intro: I7, V (all with the leading tone lowered), iii743 if that makes sense, vi. vocals: B min: I, V, V6, vi, etc. kind of lifeless vocals, reminds me sort of interpol. this song had so much promise from that intro, but everything else has the same kind of droning texture afterwards... it's fitting that the song ends with a fade out, since there's no place to logically stop the monotony.
'birds' - Swervedriver
i don't care much for the random noises at the beginning, but i quite like the feel of this one. upbeat, energetic, not flat (!) haha. C: IV, I6, VI, V (II-III-II), I, with some variation even. <swoons> the texture is the same through the piece, but it has enough "depth" to it that i didn't get bored. thumbs up.
'esther be the one' - ZZ Top
decent song, horrible singing imo. might be the transfer, too, but i thought pitch sounded a bit flat, which is weird imo when combined with the bright, sibilant sound of the rest of the track.
'yesterday is here' - Tom Waits
i like the kind of glazed feel to this one. the recording feels present, with a sharp, bright edge only when intended (as in on the cymbal at 0:43, which kind of reminded me of the kill bill soundtrack). everything else feels very murky, a dark green in shadows in my mind. the first low A in the guitar is really flat btw, kinda annoying, and random notes are flat, too. maybe that's part of the murky image trying to be portrayed? my take on the chords from the vocals onward: A min: I, V, I, V, I, iii, V, V, I, I6, IV, I, IV (or IV/IV6 later), V, I, V, etc. second section: I, vi, I, vi, I, V/V7, I, I, I, vi, I, vi, I, IV, V of V, V. much cooler than I, IV, V, I . i like this song for its reasonable chord complexity and interesting texture.
'glasgow mega-snake' - Mogwai
loud and not going anywhere. the only interesting part is at 1:56 or so. hint to song writers: it's still the tonic even if you have your bass player playing scale fragments underneath it. :nuts:
'chicken-bone circuit' - RJD2
aurally jarring. felt like it only had two textures, that of the drumset and the soft bass/strings-tunings background. needs more chords, unless i'm high (and even then
) i can't be satisfied with the same four chords, especially if three of the four are just the tonic + the bass adding in VI(natural), IV, I, and the fourth is uninteresting, too (V with the leading tone lowered). oh, and the pitch is about halfway between A and Bb: that's annoying. thumbs down on this track.
which one would i pick from this first week's crop? it's tough deciding between Yesterday is here and The Birds, but i think tom waits has to get the nod for the sound alone.
'narlus spectre' - Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
i like the sound, but the balance is off. bass is kind of in the background and the drums are much too in my face for my taste. B min: I, I, vi, iii gets old, but the texture, guitar, and singing are interesting. not my favorite, but not bad.
'swallowtail' - Brian Jonestown Massacre
cool intro: I7, V (all with the leading tone lowered), iii743 if that makes sense, vi.
vocals: B min: I, V, V6, vi, etc. kind of lifeless vocals, reminds me sort of interpol. this song had so much promise from that intro, but everything else has the same kind of droning texture afterwards... it's fitting that the song ends with a fade out, since there's no place to logically stop the monotony.'birds' - Swervedriver
i don't care much for the random noises at the beginning, but i quite like the feel of this one. upbeat, energetic, not flat (!) haha. C: IV, I6, VI, V (II-III-II), I, with some variation even. <swoons> the texture is the same through the piece, but it has enough "depth" to it that i didn't get bored. thumbs up.
'esther be the one' - ZZ Top
decent song, horrible singing imo. might be the transfer, too, but i thought pitch sounded a bit flat, which is weird imo when combined with the bright, sibilant sound of the rest of the track.
'yesterday is here' - Tom Waits
i like the kind of glazed feel to this one. the recording feels present, with a sharp, bright edge only when intended (as in on the cymbal at 0:43, which kind of reminded me of the kill bill soundtrack). everything else feels very murky, a dark green in shadows in my mind. the first low A in the guitar is really flat btw, kinda annoying, and random notes are flat, too. maybe that's part of the murky image trying to be portrayed? my take on the chords from the vocals onward: A min: I, V, I, V, I, iii, V, V, I, I6, IV, I, IV (or IV/IV6 later), V, I, V, etc. second section: I, vi, I, vi, I, V/V7, I, I, I, vi, I, vi, I, IV, V of V, V. much cooler than I, IV, V, I
. i like this song for its reasonable chord complexity and interesting texture.'glasgow mega-snake' - Mogwai
loud and not going anywhere. the only interesting part is at 1:56 or so. hint to song writers: it's still the tonic even if you have your bass player playing scale fragments underneath it. :nuts:
'chicken-bone circuit' - RJD2
aurally jarring. felt like it only had two textures, that of the drumset and the soft bass/strings-tunings background. needs more chords, unless i'm high (and even then
) i can't be satisfied with the same four chords, especially if three of the four are just the tonic + the bass adding in VI(natural), IV, I, and the fourth is uninteresting, too (V with the leading tone lowered). oh, and the pitch is about halfway between A and Bb: that's annoying. thumbs down on this track.which one would i pick from this first week's crop? it's tough deciding between Yesterday is here and The Birds, but i think tom waits has to get the nod for the sound alone.
toshi, awesome critique! i know absolutely nothing about music theory, so it was interesting to read yr comments.
I am with Narlus... I have limited music theory from HS... but reading your critique and then listening to the songs helped on hearing and experiencing some of the structure!!!narlus said:
thank you for that...and as for the POLL... Narlus you should be ashamed of yourself for trying to make us decide...
I LIKE THEM ALL... I hate HATE when someone asks me "who is your favorite band?" I then ask well did you mean Blues, Rock, Punk, singer songwriter??? 
etc... then people just give up,
because I will tell them... I can give you my top 5, but they always change order so dont even try to lock me down!!! I like them all keep them coming!!!
Tom Waits got my vote.
I must confess, "narlus spectre" did as little for me this time around as it did on the dhg CDs... Just can't get into it.
I must confess, "narlus spectre" did as little for me this time around as it did on the dhg CDs... Just can't get into it.
swervedriver would have to get my choice... but my actual vote is for 'heart in a cage' - the strokes...