SpinTunes #11 Round 2 Reviews: Dr. Lindyke

SpinTunes 11, Round 2. The challenge: "Write a song about your favorite guilty pleasure".

Playlist

This round I'm looking for sincerity. We did say "your" guilty pleasure, after all. Now, there's no way we can check up on that, so I don't really care if it's your actual guilty pleasure or not. I'm looking for you to convince me that it IS with a marriage of lyrics and style. And hell, if you can make ME like your guilty pleasure, then that's just icing on the cake.

That's the part I write before hearing the songs. Now that I'm hearing them, I don't know what to say... once again, there's no way these should be spread into 16 slots, but them's the rules. So here are the rankings, top to bottom. And if you see less verbiage from me than usual, it's because you guys (and gal) seem to know what you're doing. So I'm just sitting back, chillin', and enjoying the songs this round.

--==//oOo\\==--

Glen Raphael - Cadbury Shanty
You brought the troubadour in strength, Glen. Clever lyrics, a tune with nice contour, an addictive rhythm. And spoons. Yeah.


Jailhouse Payback - Watching "Lockdown"
C'mon... a band named "Jailhouse Payback" jointly writing a song called 'Watching "Lockdown""? A song with genetics like this cries out for a smokin' C&W sound with banjo? AND THE DELIVERED! What's not to love about this? A favorite.


Ominous Ride - Cheap Wine
There's that great sound again! I could go for Mogen David myself. http://bumwine.com.


Mark Humble - Secret Desire
LOL. Mark, I never knew you were such a meme person. Heavy metal, sweat, long hair and cheezburgers. Meow.


Adam Sakellarides - Guilty Pleasure
JUDGE Judy -- GUILTY pleasure -- oh, you're killing me. I can't believe I'm putting this here.

Uh Oh!

Ross Durand - Uh Oh!
Oh, wow... This fun number is a callback to the classic commercial. It's also an effective defense of childhood comfort food. :)


Megalodon - Exact Change
Oddly enough, my mother had this same mania. She'd dig around in her purse until the entire queue was tapping their toes like Fred Astaire. Then she'd beam at the clerk, pleased with herself beyond all reason. I like this song. It's got a nice beat, it's easy to listen to. It doesn't jump up and demand anything from me, but it doesn't languish either. Good stuff.


"BucketHat" Bobby - Ode To Internet Explorer
I hate the browser. I don't know why I like the song. Maybe it's just that vague resemblance to "Under the Sea". Maybe it's the hand claps. Maybe it's the fact that I was never cool enough to use Piczo. Whatever. I still like it.


Edric Haleen - My Dear Wife
Candy Crush is addictive, or so I hear. I wouldn't know: as with heroin, I've never tried it. And here I am on the day before St. Valentine's, submitting a review of an Edric Haleen song in which he blames his wife for wasting his time. I hope Edric has a recovery plan.


Governing Dynamics - Ireland Delay
When I heard the first line I could have sworn I had heard the phrase "City of Angels" from you before.  Probably just deja vu. It's the sort of phrase you can get away with once, so check it off your bucket list. Smooth rock, with more than a touch of U2's distinctive style. Oh, let's face it, you nailed the style. And a good pastiche goes far.


Pigfarmer Jr - I Like p0rn
Everyone loves p0rn, even the people who are offended by it. And pleasures don't get much guiltier than this. The music outdoes the lyrics here. I guess that's not a bad thing... a friend of mine commented that it has an "appropriate" rhythm. Don't ask. Really. Just don't.


James Young - Love (Actually)
Really nice rhymes and near-rhymes. I was kind of getting into the schtick where you're calling out the actors for other roles, and I wish you'd kept that up. It would have helped with the awkward "Billy Bob Thornton" line. Musically, there's nothing *wrong* with it, but it doesn't grab me. I'm pretty sure the other judges are going to rank this higher.


Rob From Amersfoort - Girls In Leggings
This has a nice, quirky sound. I can't quite be as enthusiastic about the so-so lyrics. To make it up to you, here's a link: http://www.girlsinyogapants.com.


Ellie Sparrow - Bathe In Media
I like the simple accompaniment, but the instrumentals still overrun the vocals. Not as bad as in round 1. Ellie... PLEASE... your voice is nice. We want to hear it. Don't bury it.


Emperor Gum - Electricity
I don't quite buy this as a guilty pleasure. I'm not even sure it's what we meant by "guilty pleasure", but it's certainly an interpretation of the phrase. Congrats on the musical departure... this was a big change for you, and well done. It's particularly clever to bring the electric sound into a song about electricity... but I can't shake the feeling that it was soft on meeting the challenge.


Jon Eric - Candy Cigarette
Argggghhh... I hate it when this happens. I don't think this song meets the challenge. If I got it wrong, I apologize, but I've got to be able to say "challenge met". This kills me because the song is catchy and poppy, and very cool. It's as sweet as the lyrics. It's titled like it should be, but you're singing about the girl, and metaphorically compare her to the candy cigarette exactly once before comparing her to other candies. That's not what we asked for. You're supposed to write a song about your guilty pleasure. Now, the girl might be that, but that's not where the song went with it. Rather than being guilty, the singer's flat out enthusiastic. It's doubly sad because this would have been perfect for Spintunes 9, round 2: "Write a song about unconditionally loving someone who plainly isn't worth it." The first verse and refrain easily nails that challenge.

Shadows

Brian Gray - Building An Orc Army (Shadow)
Intricate tight rhymes that would make Eminem bow out! Speedy delivery! Funky beats! If this hadn't been so long in the making and had been written for this challenge, you'd get another number one ranking from me. I might even buy it as being a guilty pleasure. I mean, after all, Saruman *did* hide his dirty misdeeds as long as he could, and obviously took pleasure from his megalomania. But you didn't write it for this contest, so you'll have to content yourself with being the very best shadow of this round.