Also in Blue - I Know Tom Dooley Done It
This is a very enjoyable listen and an entertaining retelling. The traditional musical form and present-day setting combine very naturally. The mix of cop-show lingo and murder-ballad phrasing tropes is fun as the narrative unfolds. There’s suspense in the storytelling, and the music is catchy and dynamic -- I like the overall build, and the way verses end with a pause followed by a loud drumbeat and interlude. I like the way each refrain is contextualized differently. The harmonies on the quiet verse give me chills!
Chewmeupspitmeout - Narcissus and Echo
Narcissus and Echo’s story was certainly ripe for contemporary picking. I think this is exactly what these mythical characters would be doing in the digital realm.
Musically, this is quite interesting. I like the piano loop alternating with the strings and squelchy bass, and the synth strings.The phone ping played on the piano is a fun touch.
The dramatic, tragic musical approach makes this more serious than I expected from a song referencing selfies and instant messaging. “Stands in his underwear” seems laughable, but is sung so sadly! It made me remember when I first read the source material, before narcissism seemed like a common thing to laugh off. I wouldn’t mind a little more lightness or energy for contrast. The bass and drums help, but they drop out most of the time and then I’m lonely for them to come back. Which is fitting, in a way ….
There’s some awkwardness in the lyrics, mainly in the random switching between present and past tenses. I’m guessing this is down to having started with a different song and having had less time to edit this one.
Dented Bento - Og Go To Safeway
Clever, funny way to riff on the quest for food, incorporate your sushi theme, and go ridiculously wide in the distance between time periods. Bonus points for the caveman narrative voice. There are some great turns of phrase (“mammoth hunger”, “cell phone starts to howl”) and an overall charming sense of the absurdity of first-world problems.
The musically-minimal sections are appropriate for the Og voice, and make a nice contrast with the disco Safeway beat. I don’t care that it’s not super produced - the main thing is that the comedy comes across in the clearly heard lyrics.
The stress pattern on “Big cats prowl THE savannah” is awkward, but I’ll give Og a free pass on prosody.
Fire Bear - True Love
The Princess Bride story works well transported to other eras. The lyrics suggest the 50s and 60s, but the music sounds like more recent pop-punk. Well, I guess the main chord progression is 50s, just with more energy. The harmonies are fun. I like the change in the bridge, although it feels long after the bouncy main section.
Prosody-watch moment: “Wasn’t happy UH-bout-it.”
Firefly - Dot Dash Dance
A painter inventing Morse code dancing in post-apocalyptic quarantine? That is definitely a unique response to the Round 2 challenge. It’s also a rather elaborate setup, that works best in the choruses, and seems to require footnotes in the verses. I’ll happily just dance to this, though. The disco-funk beat is undeniable and all the instruments sound great. I like the unpretentious and clear approach to the singing. I just realized this reminds me of Daft Punk. The call and response between sung and spoken words sounds good and is in keeping with the theme.
Governing Dynamics - A Traveler’s Journal
“Good Samaritan” is so much a part of my everyday secular lexicon that I scarcely consider its religious origin. This lyric revives more of the story for me while staying grounded in the present day. The recording has a nice alternative rock feel. I like the style and expression of the vocal, although it’s a bit pitchy at times. The guitar layers are lovely. The use of space is thoughtful, the better to absorb the story and meaning.
Hot Pink Halo - Going Really Far
Although Phar Lap’s story was new to me, I did not need to know it to feel the anachronistic tension in the idea of horse racing in space.
The use of strings is fresh and appealing; the opening in particular is ear-catching. I love the suspensions and other compositional surprises. The backing vocals are lovely, as is the bass sound. The countdown sample was also a nice touch.
I was confused at first by the gentle rhythms and fairly static melody in a song about “going really far”. It makes sense when I realize this is a sort of eulogy. And it’s a tender, beautiful one at that.
Mandibles - The Jester King
Another really enjoyable listen! Without having read the song bio, I might not have realized the Zelensky reference, but once I map it onto these lyrics I appreciate the fresh and apt Putin/Attila tanks/horses parallels. I would have liked more than one overtly anachronistic phrase (“gotta step up if you’re gonna throw down”) to highlight the timeliness of the story.
Nice upfront glam-rock approach. I like the plinky rock piano. The lead vocal has a lot of spirit.
Melody Klein - Virtual Descartes
Using contemporary understanding of artificial intelligence to satirize Descartes, this exploits the anachronism prompt well. The friction between the time periods yields sparks of insight and humor. This I know from reading the lyrics, as I wasn’t able to understand them from the heavily processed vocals. I do like the musical nod to the earlier time period in the opening “etude” section, followed by the “virtual” electronica, but overall I wish the song were shorter.
Night Sky - Murder on the Greyhound
This bluesy whodunit is a lot of fun, especially with that sax. A straightforward transposition from one moving vehicle to another allows for a welcome familiarity and some fun contrasts. It takes a little while to establish the time period - when the cell tower is mentioned - but the Greyhound does situate it as distant from the Orient Express. I love that you’ve namechecked Toledo and Laramie, homely flyover towns for sure.
The whole thing has kind of a bar-band vibe, with a friendly guy fronting it without theatrics. He’s just there to tell the story while the rest of the band keeps the audience dancing. The casual, fun vibe is pretty appealing, but for a little pitchiness from time to time and a few fast words that are hard to make out..
Ominous Ride - Allegory of the Echo Chamber
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and the current news echo-chamber phenomenon were just begging to be paired, and this song starts out with a strong fusion of the two worlds, not to mention deftly crafted rhythms and rhymes. I find that the lyrics lose the shared symbolism and nuanced sense of anachronism when delving into the list of Fox News hype.
The fun, light music does give the more on-the-nose lyrics a sense of sarcasm, though. I especially love that bouncy bass.
Phlub - A Night in Babylon
Biblical and 21st-century experiences of ecstasy blend easily in this rather poetic lyric. I particularly like the mix of allusions in the “mountain of subwoofers” verse.
The ancient-sounding opening segues nicely into the recitation / rave section. The changing states of mind continue to be communicated well through changing musical sections that still flow together. There’s a lot of energy in the drums - I like those fast fills - and overall musical expression of delirium. The use of alternate tunings and pitches serves the song and trippy subject matter very well.
Rackwagon - Please Like and Subscribe
There is something really appealing about an approach to the prompt that comes from a personal place -- and one that’s relatable for a lot of songwriters, at that. I like the way this song mixes not only past and present diction (“you radiate grace” “I’m pushing my twitch stream”) but orchestral instruments and rock composition.
The opening is very intriguing, one of the most unusual for this challenge, and pulls me in close to hear what this is about.
I love that the vocal approach is subdued (but clear!) and sincere. This could easily have gone gimmicky with the references to digital music promo, but it stays focused on the inner life of its narrator, and the swirling combination of reverence and envy.
Richard Shakespeare - Push
Sisyphus working in an insurance office is a winning concept - an apt way to bring the myth into the present day. The introduction’s “Puuuuush” is a lot of fun, as is the bass playing throughout. There are some lovely chuckles in the profane and mundane language about the foibles of the gods. The verses put the story across nicely. I like the “Greek chorus” answer vocals, too! The actual choruses could use more production work on the vocals, but overall this is well-written and entertaining.
See-Man-Ski - Ellie
I was unfamiliar with both references you yoked together here, so I can’t remark in detail about how this song combines them, but the story works for me without needing to know the source material (though I did look it up). Anyway, this is really pretty! It’s a tight piano ballad with a lovely, catchy chorus and a tender feeling. The piano part has been in my head periodically throughout the week, in a good way.
Sober - The Soldier’s Song
Immediately gripping, by the first verse this song has established the breadth of the timeline, and the daily, endless work of its universal soldier. The single first-person perspective is a powerful way to describe this common experience. The descriptions are concise and trenchant. “It’s a job and my employer chooses when and how I die.”
The traditional instrumentation and folk composition fit well and are nicely put together, with plenty of nuances to appreciate on repeated listens. I like the mandolin playing in particular. The breakdown verse and use of space are effective as well.
I love the vocal performance: it’s tuneful, with a natural grit and a mature understatement.
This is my favorite song this round, but I still want to nitpick about the phrasing of “First o-VER the transom”. That’s my one critique.
Star Bear - Nothing
The vocal reminds me of Billie Joe Armstrong, and that lends a youthful, pop-punk tinge to this folk-rock ballad about the numbness of cumulative global grief. It’s ambitious to take the listener back and forth through time periods and perspectives on tragedy. The pretty melody and dynamics engage me, and I think this song takes on a great theme to explore, but the lyrics aren’t quite doing it for me this time. I think it tries to do too much, to be general, particular, personal and universal. If I were rewriting this, I would begin by situating one first-person narrator in a time and place, watching the news and talking through memories.
The Dutch Widows - Demolition Order
What a witty mash-up of bedtime story and bureaucratese. The premise makes excellent use of the friction in two worlds of diction. I love the finely drawn character voice of the wolf. The pig-pun asides also exploit the premise well. The lyrics fly by at a rapid-fire pace, which makes them hard to catch, especially with the very understated vocals and wall of guitars. The music is catchy, well-played and well-produced. The melody in the verse sections would benefit from more movement - if that wouldn’t interfere with getting all those syllables out! But the main difficulty I have is that I really needed to read the words to be able to understand them. I wish I could rate this higher but those great lyrics are just not audible enough on this recording.
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