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Saturday, January 24, 2015

SpinTunes #10 Round 1 Reviews: Jana Pochop

Found Jana on Twitter, saw this video, looked at her BandCamp page....instant fan.  Very happy she decided to judge after a random stranger asked her to. - Spin



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1. Mariah Mercedes - As Charming As You
Great production and a Great Voice!
The lines "But see it’s so cold out darling  / Whatever you are guarding you can trust me to know"…is a little vague – the rest of the song is so charming, the chorus nails it, I want more specifics or the story to move along in this bridge.  This is nitpicking because I thought this song was great.

2.  Kolton H. featuring SpknSpell - Binary Love
This is awesome on so many levels. Great beat, great production, great flow, great build on the song, and your sense of humor is perfectly aligned to being smartly seductive instead of too clever. The Speak and Spell is a perfect addition. 

3. Jailhouse Payback - Another Line
This was a refreshing tune because it's folky and straight forward production-wise with perfect harmonica!
The "Simple" hook is great
I like the bridge, but – maybe less repetition? If you cut the bridge is half I think it would make just the right point.

4. Megalodon - Can't Weight
This is charming and clever and I love the premise – well done – to the point. The Mile High Club line is the clincher that won me over.  I'm also a fan of the guitar/sax solo trade off.

5. Zoe Gray - Make The Most Of It
Really great, rich lines – concrete showing instead of telling to set the scene – I enjoy the apocalyptic bent on it.  The music and vocal quality's sweetness is a cool juxtaposition to the subject matter.

6. Taylor Rundell - Make A Move
Love the groove – this sums up the anticipation and excitement of a new potential flame extremely well.  Points for simplicity, which is an under-appreciated quality in love song writing, I think.

7. Edric Haleen - 2​-​14​-​11
The beat is good, it grabs the listener right away. Math nerdiness is always seductive, and each verse builds well.  The only critique is that this is kind of long…maybe some editing would keep the average listener's interest all the way through.  Yay mobius strip!

8. Governing Dynamics - Introvert Asks To Spend The Night
Great guitar hook and a great topic, as being an introvert is near and dear to my heart. 
"Though I tend to whisper what I'm sure that I should scream" is a beautiful line. For some reason this reminded me of The Cure. Double check and tighten up the rhyme scheme on the last verse - end strong and it's golden.

9. Adam Sakellarides - All I Wanna Do 
 I love the Netflix mentions in this, and the melody and hook are super catchy. Diction could be worked on for easier understanding of words. It grabs you in the chorus but perhaps the lead up in the verse needs to have some humor to ease the listener into the fact that this song is clever.

10. Ominous Ride - Open Your Fire
It’s romantic and clever – sweet, well performed, the music doesn’t get in the way of the emotion, and accompanies very well. I like the use of “romance clichés” but with a different twist on them.

11. Pete Murphy - (I Wanna) Get It On With You
I get this and thank you for the song introduction. The funk is passionate and it works.  Great lines – especially "silence is silver but I want gold." All of this works – it builds in intensity – accomplishes the goal

12. Domingo - Escondidas
Lovely voice and beautiful melody.  Cool beat when you bring it in – make it happen sooner and it would maybe help engage the listener and keep them.  Check tempo when recording just to keep things even and clean!

13. Pigfarmer Jr - Hold You Tonight
I like the quick intro that launches straight into the song.
Lovely guitar work!
I can see there’s genius in simplicity – but with so few words I want them to really count.  Just a little more revision to really pack a “wow” into some of the lines and this song would be a great "wooing" song.

14. Dr. Lindyke featuring Cherry Pi - Date Night
This is very cute – characters were present from the beginning and stayed in character throughout.
Great back and forth with vocals. Music was well done and matched the playful vibe of the song.

15. Melissa Leona - Rocking In The Waves
 This fits the prompt well and there is a great melody line on this.
I think I want the beat to build more – give me more dynamics and built to the full on beat
Tighten up some ideas to make them more lyrical – “show, don’t tell” is the general rule and this song can get there with a few tweaks.

16. Ross Durand - I Wish
Great first line!
I feel the plaintiveness and longing...though I am missing a complete "tonight is the night" explanation.
I want more detail in the “wake up and find you there” – what is the story here?  Who are these characters?

17. Gorbzilla And The Gorbzookies - First Kiss
This is romantic and the music fits it....great response to the prompt!
For recording, I'd put the vocals a little bit more on top of mix
Edit for length here and it's a magic pop-rock song.

18. Red Watcher - Hopeless Dreamer (Shadow)
I like this – I get the Beach Boy vibe.
The wedding night hints to me at a larger story and I want more of a peek into it...tell me more about.  What are you reigniting? What happened to kill it?  I am left wondering more than feeling seduced here.

19. Dex01 - Get Together
This starts off earnest and cute, which is the point.
Catchy melody...excellent job here.
Then the Bridge turns kind of desperate and breaks the mood for me - I think it breaks the character of the song.  Edit that to point more toward the soul of the song and the prompt.

20. The Boffo Yux Dudes - I Can't Get Enough
I loved this – great sense of humor, great continuity of metaphor throughout.  The vocals were perfect for the mood and cleverness of the song. This would clearly be seductive to a very particular type of woman...but I applaud your niche approach.

21. The Ken Kesey Fan Club - How To Seduce Women
This is funny!
The artist name made me understand the song more – honest use of humor
Is it seductive?  For the right whacked out sense of humor...maybe make it a little more accessible if you're aiming for a non-niche audience here.

22. Jutze - This Could Be The Night
Lovely production – radio friendly
Great melody lines – the verse and the chorus are both very singable
Fits the prompt – earnest
Maybe be a little more specific in some lines – “almost a lifetime of I don’t know” seems like a cop out

23. Emperor Gum - Tianjin
Great intro to this...brought me in immediately.
Check your diction when recording so words are easily understood.
Very atmospheric and cinematic production, which works well with this song.
The rhyme scheme varied a bit - check it to tighten up the song as a whole.

24. David J - Language Of Love
Sets the mood and place and characters immediately, which I liked.
The whole song gets a bit repetitive and monotonous...maybe decide if your vocals are going to be talky or sung?  Be obvious about it, as they kind of vary back and forth right now and it took me out of the song.

25. James Young - In The Dark Of The Night
Very cool groove and nice vocals
Great composition and flow
Is this about seduction though?  I was missing a cohesive thesis that pointed me to the seduction aspect here.

26. "BucketHat" Bobby - Glad You Came
Check for diction when recording – I can’t understand the words when just listening.
Click track...check that for tempo.
Embers verse – GOOD!  Follow the vibe and style of this verse with the rest.  I was drawn in here.
Again, focus is on your prowess than on her pleasure...maybe talk more about her.  Be seductive!

27. Charlie McCarron - If You Need Romance
The mood is right...
"They never text me back like you do" made me smile - I love it when love songs acknowledge modern day tech... and the IM sound is hilarious
The song was pretty serious up until the end
Romance is not telling girl what she wants to hear

28. Brian Gray - Just You And Me
I like the melody and musical composition
What is the story line in 2nd verse?  Who are you talking to?  I want a little more set up to character and place.
The Beach house confuses me, as the song sets an Apocalyptic tone but the beach house mention breaks that flow.
Rhyme scheme on chorus is a bit messy...tighten that up.

29. Army Defense - Sexiest Sex
Good groove but check for tempo issues.
Hard to understand words with the way it is recorded.
The vocal delivery fits the mood and point of the song...extra points for that!

30. Atom & EV - Tarzan And Jane 
My thought here is that this will put not put Jane in the mood...check those cliché lines – "like the animals do" and such. This is a fantasy song from a male POV, not a love or seduction song. Stretching to get to 2 minutes is hard – I can tell there is lots of filler...maybe add a verse to round it out and add more content.

31. Ben Taggart - The Story Of Us
"You to us" – I like that idea of building a new life with someone
I would have liked this better if it was about YOUR past and how you are done with YOUR old life and how you look forward to the US with your partner, as opposed to how sad her life was before you.
I think the “story of me” is introduced too late...tell me more about you.
I like the potential of “let’s write the story of us" but what is the story here?
 I want quirky details – WHAT is the story, tell me things about your life together.

32. Ben And The Angel Fish - Love's Lost
This seems like a pretty sad love story that doesn't really speak to the seduction aspect of the prompt for me.

33. Jurek Mika - The Mood For You
Check your tempo!  It draws me out of the song because it is uneven.
It has potential to be seductive, but I don't think the groove really fits the seductive story being presented here.

34. Dreiviertel Drei - Gag Reflex
I can see where this might be seductive to certain people, but it really didn't do anything for me.

1 comment:

  1. Then you've clearly never tried haggis! ;-)

    Thanks for taking the time to listen and comment, anyway.

    ReplyDelete