Rankings and reviews from Sara Parsons!
1 The Dutch Widows - What Does It Matter?
Concept - “What does it matter if I tell you now? / This awful secret that I’ve kept somehow.” Meets the challenge, and to be honest, hurts my feelings. But in a good way.
Very moody and understated throughout, but you clearly know how to manipulate your instrumentation to keep it interesting. I love the reverb on the percussion, but the beats came across just a little too treble for my ears during your verses. I’d probably have tried to muffle the high range a bit to keep it really deep in the moody space.
Re-listenability - I legitimately and whole-heartedly can say this is a song I will listen to over and over and over again until I am absolutely sick of it, forget about it for a couple months, find it, and start the process all over again, until the end of time.
2 Hanky Code - Secret Lair
Concept: “don’t be scared / let me show you around my secret lair.” Heheheheheeeee! I am absolutely tickled by your approach here. Definitely meets the challenge and in a fun and unique way.
This is just some good, clean, “dad-rock.” This feels very much like Jonathan Coulton’s Shop Vac. Nothing particularly unexpected in the instrumentation or vocals, but the concept is interesting enough to stand on its own without pushing things too far on the music front.
Re-listenability: Might be the countless times of being yelled at about it in choir practice, but when there is a note purposefully drawn out on the closing consonant rather than holding the vowel, it always always ALWAYS makes me laugh. “Secret lairrrrrrrrrrrrrr” ugh so good. Also this song is just a bop in general so will absolutely be bumpin this outside of the competition. Muahahahaha…
3 thanks, brain - I Should Have Told You
Concept: “There's something I really should have told you.” Meets the challenge, and makes me sad :(
One thing I definitely love are deceptively sweet songs about really heavy stuff. You’ve rather expertly handled the ebb and flow of the instrumentation here. I like the slow build of instruments from verse to verse, and when it drops out for your final verse to really help the turn land. I especially like the removal of the high octave on that verse to really separate the thought out that much; that was a smart move there.
Re-listenability: The next movie like Garden State or Juno that comes out would have this on its soundtrack. And I’ll skip all the other tracks to listen to this one when I’m in my feelings.
4 Also In Blue - A Good Man (But A Lousy Wizard)
Concept: “I’m the joker in the middle / And I’m lying through my teeth.” Meets the challenge, with a super entertaining reference and concept all over. I really dig your approach here!
I started choreographing this scene in my head from your first couple of beats. Very effective use of style. I have no real comments on the instrumentation or transitions between verse, chorus, bridge; it’s very clear you have a firm hand on this style. I don’t even feel like I can make a comment to the effect of it being too “expected,” because it’s just an unabashedly good tune.
Re-listenability: I can see high school theatre-kid Sara getting WAY too into this musical and using this song for every audition they go out for.
5 With Joe - Somebody Knows
Concept: “Somebody knows, knows what you've done.” Meets the challenge for me, also love that we’re not sure if anybody else saw what happened or not. Gives a very uneasy feeling.
Wowowow the complexity here is really impressive. Lots of depth and cool robot noises. I love all the layered vocals, nothing feels like it’s “too much.” The latin breakdown before the final chorus is a really nice touch, makes the contrast into the backend of the song really pop. The whole thing is also mixed really well.
Re-listenability - I’m looking forward to listening to this song again when my reviews for this round are done. I’d blast it with the bass turned to 11 while walking away from a cool-looking explosion in slowmo.
6 Governing Dynamics - Widow’s Peak, Kentucky
Concept: “this town can keep a secret / and so can you.” Meets the challenge, though it did take me a couple listens and read-throughs of the lyrics to decide for sure. It’s a bit deceptive, which I think is part of the concept as well.
Great groove on this one from the jump. Found myself swaying in my seat during the first listen. I enjoy the light touch on the vocals here, the falsetto line really adds to the overall vibe.
Re-listenability - it’s no secret I’m a big GD fan already, but this one really appeals to me and feels super evocative of some very powerful imagery. I’d listen to this while sitting on a cliff, staring out at the ocean.
7 Pigfarmer Jr - Sitting Silently
Concept - “And the reason will never be revealed / She'll take it to her grave.” Meets the challenge beautifully, and without even using the word “secret!”
It’s not common for my millennial brain to wish any piece of media was longer than it already is, but oh my GOD I wish there were one more verse here! You had me wrapped from the beginning. The guitar work is very cool and pairs very well with your concept and voice. Not sure if it’s an intentional affect, but the bits of vibrato in your voice work so nicely for this style of music, it’s like a sweet little treat at the end of each phrase.
Re-listenability - this is the kind of song I would have on repeat all day long without realizing it, and every time I remember it’s playing I’d take a second to vibe out on it and sing along.
8 Hot Pink Halo - Invisible Ink
Concept: “How I feel about you is / Written in invisible ink.” I. Love. This. This is a great take on this challenge, and I appreciate your creative approach.
Your writing style is giving me big They Might Be Giants vibes, including the adorable synth solo. This little ditty is just the right length too; gets in and out, does what it needs to do without overstaying its welcome, with just enough variety throughout to keep the listener engaged.
Re-listenability: I’d be happy to find myself listening to this while cooking Sunday morning brunch for my family.
9 Sober - Can’t Take It With You
Concept: “Go on, take it with you to the grave.” Meets the challenge, and best wishes to your partner in receiving their much-due justice.
Your voice carries such natural emotion that I can almost literally feel my heart breaking every time you swing up on that “caaaaan’t” pitch bend. Also the line “They’ll be swept out with your tide” gives me chills. You have an expert handle on placing your really strong concepts and - I guess I’ll call them zingers, for lack of a better term - in very prominent places, allowing them to fully land and be appreciated before moving on to your next thought. Your lovely change-up in that instrumental breakdown gives the listener time to reflect on what has already been introduced while still living in a similar musical/emotional mindset; that was used very effectively.
Re-listenability: I’ll listen to this and fantasize about being a cabin boy aboard a pirate ship lost at sea.
10 chewmeupspitmeout - Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?
Concept: “Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?” Says it right there on the can. Though, is this song about a secret, or is it about a mystery? …what’s the difference? I’m confused, but I think it meets the challenge.
I like the eerie instrumentation here a lot, very cool spooky noises throughout, but without being cheesy. I do wish it would have been a bit more vocals-forward. I think I understand what you were going for with the audio aesthetic and why the vocals were so withheld, but they come across feeling unconfident in your first verses. I don’t know if they need to be “louder,” but they could stand to be “prouder.”
Re-listenability: I’d put this on my alternative Halloween party playlist.
11 Firefly - It’s Juicy
Concept: “Now I know something you don’t know.” Meets the challenge.
Super groovy, this style really lends itself well to your concept. Love the “neener-neener” inspiration throughout the instrumentation, that’s a nice touch. The text in the bridge is really cool, I just wish that section would have been executed a little more thoughtfully. It feels a little rushed and tacked-on.
Re-listenability: This is good road-trip music.
12 Dented Bento - A Man is a Clam
Concept - “The tighter I am clamping / Holding back or hiding / The harder she pries / She tries to get inside inside me.” I do not get “secret” from this song at all. I understand the analogy of being shut up tight like a clam, but other than the line “holding back or hiding,” I didn’t get any reference to secrets being held within. This song is literally just about seafood. And while there is great value and merit in a song about seafood, it just didn’t hit the mark of the challenge for me. Also it made me hungry so I’m kind of mad about that.
This song is so damned catchy, just on the second listen-through I found myself singing along. The harmonies are super fun and the little “wee-hoo!” backing vocals in the last chorus are so endearing.
Re-listenability - If I had an Asian-fusion restaurant I would play this song every day during happy hour. I also just enjoy it because I find it silly so I look forward to coming back to it as an example the next time a seafood challenge rolls around.
13 rackwagon - Articles
Concept: “Holding out ’til secrets can be put to rest.” Meets the challenge - a song about the secrets of a famously secretive person. Good twist!
The slowdown of the “Articles” chorus is unexpected to my ear, compared to the feeling of running present in your verses. I was almost hoping you’d pick back up with a really energetic round of “Articles, articles” etc to give some variety, but I still really enjoy the contrast of Fast-Verse-With-Lots-of-Words vs Slow-Chorus-With-One-Word-Repeated. I’m terrible at pulling references to real-life bands, but this sounds like a song my dad would listen to, and he has good taste in music. So it’s good. And catchy.
Re-listenability - I’d be happy to hear this song again, it would go well on a road trip playlist I think.
14 FireBear - The Seeds
Concept: “Learn its secrets / But never tell a soul.” Meets the challenge - the bridge saves this one for me, where the narrator mentions the secrets specifically even though they are not able to share them with the world. Takes this from being a cool story about some magic beans to being a cool story about some magic beans… with a secret.
The moody guitar is so nice, I really wish it would have lasted longer on its own, maybe through the first verse before the treble electric coming in during the chorus. But I like the overall vibe. The lack of a rhyme scheme in the verses feels kind of phoned-in, especially with the great rhymes between the two stanzas of your chorus. That hit a really needed sweet-spot for me here. I liked the progression through to the bridge, it really felt like the song had grown from the start, but tacking another chorus on at the end could have been executed more elegantly, especially considering the last iteration of the chorus is the exact same as we have seen before in this song.
Re-listenability - Would definitely seek this tune out again. It’s got really good bones, there are just a few things I’d tighten up and bring more focus to. I’d put this on a playlist to listen to while hiking up a steep incline, maybe on a search for my own secret magic beans.
15 "BucketHat" Bobby Matheson - Ease My Mind
Concept: “I give you my all secrets / you ease my mind.” In the strictest sense, I don’t believe this meets the challenge. The song has suggested secrets in it, but it’s a song about a diary, a “secretkeeper” per se, but not about the secrets themselves.
This is a nice sleepy song, and I love the use of the organ. Makes it feel very comfy and warm. For some reason though, the concept is just not grabbing me. I don’t find a lot of depth here. To me it comes across as an ode to journaling, which is an objectively good thing to write a song about and bring attention to, but I think would have been more impactful if the narrator had gone a little deeper into specifics about their struggles and potential secrets they’re keeping from the world to really help the diary feel like a safe space.
Re-listenability: I’d put this on for sleep meditation, it’s that comfy.
16 Melody Klein - Just
Concept - “A just world is just a dream / that’s the secret, it would seem.” Heavy concept, but presented well with the “evidence” in the prior verses. Kind of a bigger concept of a secret, but a secret nonetheless.
I’m a big fan of “music that sounds like a robot would like it” so the vibe here had me from the start. I appreciated the ebb and flow of the instrumentation, but I did find that as the instrumentation got busier toward the end of the song I had a hard time picking out the lyrics of the vocoder. However by that part of the song the concept had already landed, so I don’t feel like much was missed there.
Re-listenability - As mentioned above I love the winding electronic instrumentation, but to really put it over the edge for me, I would have liked to hear a little more variety and growth in the vocal line from verse to verse.
17 See-Man-Ski - Our Little Secret
Concept: “it's our little secret / that no one else need know about.” Meets the challenge decisively.
I like the call back in “Oh well/Oh yeah, it’s not that bad” from first verse to second. That stood out to me immediately and I liked it! I am having trouble relating the “implication” in the 2nd half to the first verse though. To me it still reads very innocently. I’m like, “Oh that’s great, the teacher helped them catch up in class and learn their vocabulary, and they kept it a secret because the kid was embarrassed, that’s so sweet!” But then my brain is like, “wait, why would someone write a Ben Folds-style bop about that?” I feel like there are some sneakier innuendos that could have been plugged in here to make it a bit more apparent what was going on, IF that is the intent of the song. Feels a bit too nebulous to me to really land firmly in either camp. The song IS still a bop, though.
Re-listenability - Immediately got a head-bob out of me. Your inspiration is apparent in this round. Something about the vocals in the lead-in and the chorus is just a tiny bit abrasive to me that it comes off just slightly off-key on a couple notes, but it’s not so much that I wouldn’t want to hear the tune again.
18 Regis - Three Can Keep a Secret (If Two of Them are Dead)
Concept - “Three can keep a secret / …If two of them are dead.” Meets the challenge.
Not sure how else to describe the instrumentation other than “spacious.” I don’t think it’s too much by any means. It feels like it fills the space well. There is a bit of pitchiness in the harmonies which is hard to overlook considering your spot-on melody line. I think it’s a well-written and well-recorded tune, but when the song gets to the turn, there isn’t anything particularly surprising about the reveal. Maybe the tune is just too, I dunno, “bouncy” for the subject matter.
Re-listenability - This one doesn’t particularly excite me, but it’s not something I would avoid listening to again. It’s nice and it’s fun to bob my head along to it.
19 Star Bear - A Foreign Language
Concept: “I am lost in this story / Love’s a foreign language for me / I never learned to read it / It’s kept from me a secret.” I don’t think this song is about a secret. It’s more a story of stuff being “lost in translation.” I think I can see where you were trying to go with this, but it feels like a stretch and the “secret” aspect feels like an afterthought in this case.
I do really like the instrumentation, and the strings were a very nice surprise in the middle, unexpected in the best way. It’s a pleasant little song, but I just don’t think the idea of secrets really plays into the overarching theme in a cohesive way.
Re-listenability - I would listen to this song on a stroll next to a babbling brook.
20 SunLite - Secrets
Concept: “We watch our secrets / Turn into regrets.” I don’t know if I was just dissociating while listening to this one, but I don’t think I “get” what this song is about. The concept continues to elude me even after several listens… Wait, is that the secret? Hmm.
Overall this has a nice sound to it. Nice use of drum machine, and I particularly like when you brought in the guitar and distortion at the end, I wish there had been this similar complexity build-up throughout the rest of the tune. Vocals are a little on the pitchy side in a few spots, but spot-on and rather lovely in others, so it all balances out in the end for me.
Re-listenability: This song sounds a bit like something you’d hear a band playing at an outdoor event where there is alcohol (and potentially other inebriates). That might help me understand it a little better. Not unenjoyable musically-speaking, just contextually baffling to me personally.
21 Ominous Ride - Don’t Say Anything
Concept: “You can do whatever / I won’t talk.” Meets the challenge.
I enjoyed the guitar and drum work here, but did find myself stumped by your time signature and rhythm in the verses in the 2nd half of the song. It wasn’t “wrong” or anything, it’s interesting and… kind of bizarre? But I don’t think it takes away from the song. What I am disappointed by is the turn in the very last verse; the narrator just spent the last two minutes telling us how they’ll never break, and out of nowhere it’s like, “just kidding, here’s my secrets.” That seems to come out of nowhere and I am left kind of wishing I knew what it was that finally made the narrator crack.
Re-listenability: Not necessarily something I’d seek out on my own, but not a bad tune at all. I’d let it play if it came up on shuffle.
22 Night Sky - Secret Society
Concept: “Will I ever know why / Most nights you cry.” Meets the challenge.
Saxophone!! That was such a nice surprise and put a big smile on my face on first listen. Excellent addition to an already groovy tune. As far as lyrics go, I really wish you would have explored the “secret society” concept a bit more fully. How exactly is she acting like she’s in a secret society, beyond just her reactions to general romantic interactions described in verse 2? Has the narrator tried to ask her about it and been shirked, does she get phone calls from the person in her past that’s constantly haunting her that she’s trying to hide? I feel like there could be more evidence presented there to make it seem a bit more *~*secretive*~*.
Re-listenability: Not something I’d seek out again but it would be cool to hear it at a speakeasy or jazz club over a martini or other fancy but not fruity cocktail.
23 Fluke Wilson - Corner Store Jesus
Concept: “And I know just how to hide it / When the demon starts to glow.” Meets the challenge.
Simple and straight-forward instrumentation and vocals, which I think works well considering your concept. I do find some clash in your melody line and chord progression in some spots. The composition major in me wants to say those were intentional because the narrator is a troubled person with a drinking problem, but my inner SpinTunes reviewer is saying that it’s crunchy and not really in a good way.
Re-listenability: If this were cleaned up a bit with some more confident chord changes and vocals, I’d definitely seek it out again.
24 Mandibles - To Have and to Hide
Concept: “Don’t allow / Him to reveal your secret.” Meets the challenge, though I think this would make a better screenplay. This is a pretty convoluted storyline to write a song about within a crunched amount of time so that is certainly ambitious, but I definitely think I would have been lost on the concept without reading your notes submitted with the entry.
The “You had only borrowed him” section is really strong musically-speaking, and I think you know that. The rest of the song comes across a bit directionless to me. Again, you have a big story to tell so everything feels kind of shuffled into order to get your big points across, which leaves the whole thing feeling confused.
Re-listenability: The closing line made me chuckle, I’d listen again just for that.
25 Richard Shakespeare - Oh No
Concept - “That she sees him when I’m not at home / oh no.” I like how you went a level deeper on the secret; not just that someone is cheating, but someone knows that their partner is cheating… secret-ception.
I clearly understand the story being told here and it’s weirdly relatable regardless of if the listener has experienced this before, but I’m not necessarily getting my heartstrings tugged. Sweeping statements like “We’ve loved, we’ve lost, we’ve cried some tears” and “We’ve been we’ve seen we’ve done it all” just don’t hold a lot of weight for me; I think I would have felt more compelled if there had been more concrete examples of the kind of things the narrator has been through with their partner. And for me personally, “And that said it’s all a big no” falls super flat (lyrically-speaking) in the chorus. There’s definitely a stronger hook in there somewhere.
Re-listenability - It’s not a tune I would seek out. Rocking back and forth between a couple chords can work, but it doesn’t really do it for me here. Between that and not finding a lot of interest or emotion in the lyrics, it’s just not a favorite of mine for this round.
26 marlon. - *Tom Delonge Voice* Wheroar Yheww
Concept: “Let's get new clothes and new names / And go away where we might not need either.” I don’t see enough in the lyrical content to understand why this relationship would need to be kept a secret. It just sounds like some nice pining and longing content, which I always enjoy and appreciate, but it’s not really secretive to me.
You’ve got some beautiful visuals here, but you’ve placed them around the song in such a way that they don’t really have a chance to land before we’re onto the next idea. I think this song could do with a bit more melodic variety to really bring attention to the lovely lyrics you’ve put together. When everything is following the same melodic patterns verse after verse, chorus after chorus, I’m expecting to hear the same words and kind of tune things out, but a little melodic variation could bring the listener back in to pay attention and realize there’s a new idea being offered.
Re-listenability - As much as I appreciate your ability to spin lyrics here, I’m just not super drawn in by the story and it didn’t really grab me as strongly as some of the other entries here. I wouldn’t seek it out, but I wouldn’t skip it if it came up on shuffle.
Finally, more songs need glockenspiel solos. So thank you for sharing yours, especially the lil glissando at the end of it. That’s just cute.
27 Quazimodo’s Balls - Limited Time Offer
Concept - “Yeah, I've got a secret for you / But only you.” I feel like this one meets the challenge, though I feel like the word “secret” in the case of this song could be swapped out for a few other options, like “answer” or “surprise” and still be effective, which is why I’m not sure it fully meets the spirit of the challenge, but I’m counting it for the moment… by the way, is the secret “drugs?” I’m not cool so I wouldn’t know.
I’m feeling a bit lost on this one. I’m struggling to pick out the instrumentation because of the overpowered vocal editing; I wish you would have left more space for the instrumentation to come through and had used the echo effect a bit more sparingly. I think the echo and distortion was effective in the “fine print” sections of text, but probably would have toned it down for the rest of the lyrics.
Re-listenability - Not my cup of tea but I appreciate the effort you’ve put in here.
28 Phlub - Extrasensory
Concept: “My biology is keeping secrets from me.” I’m not sure this meets the challenge for me. The narrator references secrets - things that their physiology is not allowing them to experience - but then goes on to describe what the experiences are like. Feels less like a secret you want to know about, and more like you’re just jealous of bees (aren’t we all?).
The instrumentation here reminds me of some kind of Incubus/Audioslave crossover, and I kind of love how the pre-chorus sort of wanders around a few unexpected chords. I find myself struggling to really get into the vibe of the tune based on the vocal pitchiness in the choruses, but I liked the sound trajectory.
Re-listenability: The sharp melody line makes this really hard to be enjoyable to me on repeated listening, but I still find a lot of value in the bones of the song. I could see 14-year-old Sara blasting this on their discman while moodily laying alone on the floor of their bedroom in ennui.
29 L.J.P - Hero
Concept: “It's no secret that I'm not the only one with both knees on the ground and face towards the sun.” I can’t find a throughline to the challenge prompt on this tune. You say it yourself multiple times in the song, “it’s no secret.” Ok, it’s not a secret then.
Good groove, and this is not a style I’ve heard much in SpinTunes so that is definitely refreshing! It does sound a little bit like the vocals are being recorded while the singer is in the next room, or even just straight up walking away from the mic at some points. That track could definitely have been brought up to match the instruments.
Re-listenability: I don’t think I would seek out this tune outside of the challenge. It’s a nice departure from the kind of stuff we hear a lot, but it doesn’t really grab me.
30 Roman Numeral Orange - dont pour it out
Concept - “Confidential / Super secret.” Meets the challenge.
This song is an absolute trip on headphones, and there are some great robot noises in here. I can definitely appreciate what you were going for with this song, though I personally didn’t find it particularly pleasant to listen to. The changes in instrumentation between each section/verse were too subtle to really feel any movement or overall development of the tune. I was hoping for a breakdown, or some big change-up in the drum machine pattern but it just kind of stayed at the same level until we get towards the end and have a little bit of a different beat, but it still doesn’t really feel like we’ve gone anywhere.
Re-listenability - Not really my jam.
31 Stephen Weigel - What’s Your Secret, Hermit?
Concept: “How? Why? What’s your secret? / How do you turn your back outwards and mean it?” This song does not strike me as being about a secret specifically. It comes across as a song about someone who is curious about another person’s way of life.
I appreciate the challenge you’ve set for yourself using an unusual tonal method, but I’m not sure it’s being used effectively here. It might have been cool to use a really straight-forward rote chord progression when speaking on the narrator’s life experience, and use something wild and different when introducing the Hermit’s way of life; overall the piece feels very meandering and confusing to listen to. You’ve clearly got a wide vocabulary (and vocal range!), but I really think everything could have been narrowed down and more focused.
Re-listenability - With some more focus on transitions and attention to detail, I’d be glad to give this a relisten.
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