PSRSotwNotes04.02-20

Peter's Song of the Week Club!

2/20/04

Save a Pony from the Glue Factory

Peter's Comments:
Yay! I managed to enter a song in by the SongFight deadline for the first time in seemingly forever. I did this mainly by writing and recording as quickly as I could -- I squeezed the entire recording session into the one hour between coming home from work and heading out to choir practice.

The song itself is pretty mmmluuuhhhrg. If anything, it's a testament to the fact that I know my way around the simplest aspects of songwriting, and can bang something together from pretty standard parts without too much difficulty. But frankly, if I'm going to write songs like this, I don't want to keep writing songs.

I'm proud that I wrote lyrics that were from a different point of view than my other songs. Still, there's just not much of interest here. The melody in particular sounds pretty much the same as all the other melodies I've done, and the chords are pretty dull. (How many times have I bounced back from C to D to C to D? Far too many.) I wanna play bass again. And sing backing vocals. And stuff.

This actually started out as an attempt to write a Lilac-Time-like song. The only remnants of that are the heavily-repeating guitar riff for the verses, and the emphasis on VI scale degrees in the melodies. I really need to listen to more Stephen Duffy, consult with the proprietor of angryrobot, and have more time to do real production, before I can pull that one off effectively.

The Reviews

Polish Rhino This has a very nice pop feel to it. It has some melancholy undertones I think, but that could just be my inexperience talking. No, definately melancholia existing in this song. Guitar work is good, and I could be this done as an acoustic bit (maybe with a cello or violin or something in the background). Very good song; I like the message, too.

Dan the Apathetic i'm not really into the distortion on the guitar but i like what it's playing. it's boy + guitar. it's nat a bad song, but it suffers from the plague of boy + guitar. as i continue to listen the sincerity of this is very endearing.

GC Nice song. Nothing wrong with it per se; it just didn't thrill me. ***

the human cello This is nice and pretty. I find it quite enjoyable. Thats about all their is to it. The chorus is really catchy.

Jim Tyrrell Good lyrics with a wonderful end. This one really feels like it's fun to perform. I'm going to learn this.

JoshyBlue The recording is pretty simple but well done. the guitar playing works... some nice little bits there. the vocals are good - strong for this type of song. the song doesn't really jump out at me - but it seems pretty catchy, but not in the way where you are humming the chorus after the first couple of listens. not really the type of thing i can get into - a bit too "storyteller" for me - but it's well done. i find the song does get a bit tedious/boring as it goes along.

Lunkhead Good singing, got some passion in there. Nice song all around. The kind of thing that would be a pleasant surprise at an open mic night, though it's maybe a little long.

Mother Funker Nice boy/man and guitar track which is well executed, I can imagine someone busking this down King's Cross tube station.

neil thrun A little too light and acoustic for my taste. Amazing guitar work though, and the vocals were right on. Its just not my kind of music.

PinV Like the clarity of this piece. Nice voice and guitar playing. This will stand up well with a full band playing it. It would rock alot. A little more dirt n' drive for me, and it'd be sold. It does well as it is...dig it. Like the verse progression better than the chorus...that's what keeps me here.

Phil. Redmon. Ha, a mention of a brown box! Pretty good song, and it sounds like a pretty honest + real performance. Is that two guitars, or a some kinda echo-y chorus cascading off of the accoustic? Either way, it's a pretty cool tone, as far as clean guitars go. I'm a fuzz man, myself. Good production boosts it above typical b&g fare, nice use of title. I give it a big O.K. Jing!

Poor June i'm liking the guitar... the vocals are good... just be careful about some of the softer parts... when you start strummin' your voice sounds really nice... and everything after that... i like how the guitar sounds really nice... you're a really good guitar player... i like it anyways... :-)... really awesome sounding guitar... after the first vocal part... your voice seems to sort of fit the song... i really like it... great job

Starfinger you are too earnest. there is some fine guitar playing here though.

tonetripper Good pop feel in this one. Not crazy about the excess buzzing on the track (computer noise and a little digital noise on the vocal). But the tune is good and well played. There is a group here in Canada called Ron Hawkins and the Rusty Nails, the style reminds me of his writing skills. Nice composition and good lyrics, too bad about the production. I'm sure with a band this tune would be a good tune to record and play on the radio (pop format)

the voice inside your head i really dig the guitar tone, it holds up real well even without any other instrumentation. the whole thing sounds pretty polished and clean. singing isn't too bad, and it's a great story. she named it "panini"?

A Windy Shaky Driver I really like the guitar. The vocals and lyrics are really good too. This gets my vote.

Footnotes