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Times up! Guitars and Synths Down!

By 256 (Tue May 02, 2006 at 01:54:26 PM EST) MFC (all tags)

The invigilators will be by shortly to collect your MFC5 entries.

UPDATE: The Results are In!

MFC 5 was an occasion of great RTFOing and all the talented Husicians showed us how far their skills can reach. I won't do the entries the injustice of blathering on at great length. Rather, here they are, in the order submitted:

mns: bird's lament.mp3
vorheesleatherface: government_flu.mp3
Driusan: Try This On For Size.mp3
Millman: When All Becomes Clear.mp3
ana: H5N1.mp3
blixco: dwfosw2.mp3
TPD: Deathfromabove2.mp3
cam: superhappy_bowwow.mp3
Pretty Much Everyone: The Three Minute Flu.mp3
Dr Thrustgood: mv2.mp3
Gazbo: Bird flu aint so blue.mp3

The poll is multiselect. Personally, I encourage you to limit yourself to three votes or less. But hey, if you want to vote for every damn track there's not much i can do to stop you is there?

Oh, and by the way, the Album Cover voting is over here

Voting in both polls will remain open until the weekend. Arbitraily: 3pm EDT saturday.

We Have a Winner.

Two, actually. Congrats to blixco and Dr Thrustgood, with Gazbo tight behind.

Since Blixco ran the Waits MFC, the MFC6 falls to Thrusty, should he choose to accept the responsibility.

Rock On.

And amazingly, the Album Cover contest also turned out a tie:

< Stuff Update | BBC White season: 'Rivers of Blood' >

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Poll

Votes: 37
Results	\|	Other Polls

Related Links

- husi
- bird's lament.mp3
- government_flu.mp3
- Try This On For Size.mp3
- When All Becomes Clear.mp3
- H5N1.mp3
- dwfosw2.mp3
- Deathfromabove2.mp3
- superhappy_bowwow.mp3
- The Three Minute Flu.mp3
- mv2.mp3
- Bird flu aint so blue.mp3
- over here
- 256's Diary

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Times up! Guitars and Synths Down! | 40 comments (40 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback

1st link (MNS's tune) broken [nt] by yicky yacky (4.00 / 1) #1 Tue May 02, 2006 at 01:59:14 PM EST

----
Done.

thanks by 256 (4.00 / 1) #2 Tue May 02, 2006 at 02:03:33 PM EST

fockin apostrophes.
---
_{I don't think anyone's ever really died from smoking. --ni}
[ Parent ]

: The Eagles are coming by cam (2.00 / 0) #9 Tue May 02, 2006 at 09:46:11 PM EST

nt
cam
Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic
[ Parent ]

My votes by gazbo (4.00 / 4) #3 Tue May 02, 2006 at 03:22:32 PM EST

MNS - Great production, good lyrics, and a proper hook! (I love pop - hooks are what I live for)

Driusan - Dude quoted "down to the lake"! Also: "Death would fly on sparrows' wings"!

Blixco - Another version of the same song, but utterly different style. Guy can sing.

Thrustgood - Keepin' it real, yo - electro style. Plus marks for the Paul Hardcastle remix.

"Engarde!" cried the larvae, huskily. - Scrymarch

For the record by gazbo (4.00 / 2) #4 Tue May 02, 2006 at 03:25:17 PM EST

I keep listening to Driusan's as it makes me smile.

"Engarde!" cried the larvae, huskily. - Scrymarch

[ Parent ]

Have to by sobeinom (2.00 / 0) #5 Tue May 02, 2006 at 04:10:31 PM EST

agree "Driusan's" song is the bomb. He's so good in it, I almost don't believe its him.

"As for the above statement, I'll ignore it just for my well being."
[ Parent ]

I don't know what you're implying. by Driusan (2.00 / 0) #6 Tue May 02, 2006 at 04:40:55 PM EST

A quick look at the previous MFCs will show that it's stylisticly, vocaly, and otherly similar to my other entries. Who else would have made them?

[ Parent ]

: Me by sobeinom (2.00 / 0) #7 Tue May 02, 2006 at 04:47:00 PM EST

implying something, no of course not. Its just that well done I wasn't aware you were capable of such things, and as a result I'm astonished.
"As for the above statement, I'll ignore it just for my well being."
[ Parent ]

Comments by spacejack (4.00 / 3) #8 Tue May 02, 2006 at 07:05:03 PM EST

vorheesleatherface - Government Flu
Keeps it real. Makes me think if post-punk industrial music was around in the 70s, this is what it would sound like.

Driusan - Try This On For Size
Count me as another who was ignorant to Driusan's skillz. I need to keep up with more of these MFCs.

Millmman - When All Becomes Clear
WTF, another accomplished musician? Like I said, I need to keep up with this stuff better.

cam - Bow Wow
More toe-tapping-inducing music from Husi's own master of pop. I half expect to find out he's a member of some world-famous Aussie pop band.

ana - A song about bird flu, performed as a gregorian chant? Maybe this should win just for most original idea.

blixco - dwfosw2
Another awesome track from him. I'm a real sucker for high-quality singing, songwriting and acoustic guitar.

TPD - Death From Above
Artist, coder and musician? You guys really piss me off. Extra extra points for the song title.

Gazbo - Bird Flu Ain't So Blue
As I commented to him earlier, great track. The alleged EQ screwup is indetectable to me. It just struck me now that his style reminds me a bit of New Model Army.

606/SMUT/Shawshack - Three Minute Flu
Hearing misslake sing "ring around the rosy" nearly made me vote for this one right off the bat. Excellent collaboration to all involved.

Dr. Thrustgood - mv2
Pretty much exactly what I expected from him. I mean that in a good way. Especially enjoyable to someone who spent his formative years in late 80s alternative clubs.

mns - Bird's Lament
Thank god I'm not a music reviewer because I'm running out of ways to say "great track". Uhh, FRIGGIN INTENSE!

All in all, the songs were better quality than I'd expect on any given day cruising the mp3 blog scene. Well done folks.

Heh by yicky yacky (2.00 / 0) #13 Wed May 03, 2006 at 03:41:05 AM EST

the songs were better quality than I'd expect on any given day cruising the mp3 blog scene.

Is that not what they call "damning with faint praise"?

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Done.
[ Parent ]

: noooo by spacejack (4.00 / 1) #17 Wed May 03, 2006 at 09:25:04 AM EST

Well, not intentionally anyway. I mean, they usually put up songs from signed bands, often the standout track from the album, and I tend to visit the ones where I find stuff I like, etc.

[ Parent ]

Anyone who doesn't vote for TPD by vorheesleatherface (4.00 / 3) #10 Wed May 03, 2006 at 12:10:14 AM EST

is a terrorist and makes baby Jesus cry.

"Stabbing someone in the head with a pitchfork is rarely beneficial to the relationship." - MereKat

: Seems to be an awful lot of terrorists! :) by TPD (4.00 / 2) #12 Wed May 03, 2006 at 03:33:13 AM EST

The standard in this MFC is absolutely through the roof! I can't think of many commercial albums I've brought with anywhere near as good a collection of songs.
No idea who I'll vote for (and there's still a couple I haven't had a chance to listen to yet), but in terms of your entry I have to say that the riff that kicks in after the inital one is absolutely fantastic, and completely blew me away on first listen!

Rock Hard Abs are just a sw-sw-swivel away!
[ Parent ]
: TPD is starting to show us more and more by cam (4.00 / 1) #22 Wed May 03, 2006 at 12:35:55 PM EST

of his skillz. That was a difficult composition which was impressively pulled off.
cam
Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic
[ Parent ]

Vote breakdown by Dr Thrustgood (4.00 / 3) #11 Wed May 03, 2006 at 02:49:54 AM EST

cam: It's fuzzy pop about bird flu, what more can one ask for?

Pretty Much Everyone: I am laying blame for my nightmare squarly at this song's feet.

Gazbo: Well writen, finely produced what eq issues?, good stuff.

VSTFP (why's it not there already) by TPD (4.00 / 3) #14 Wed May 03, 2006 at 07:12:39 AM EST

and how about a frontpage poll too (like last time?)

Rock Hard Abs are just a sw-sw-swivel away!

: Decision made by TPD (4.00 / 1) #29 Wed May 03, 2006 at 06:21:03 PM EST

In the end I loved them all and I ended voting on the smallest little elements.
Gazbo - Awesome TPD's top pick. The solo at ~50 seconds and the fade to next to nothing at ~1:30 coupled with a fantastic basic riff this song sounds great, and if that weren't enough the lyrics are inspired! (Tone's great too!)
Driusan - I love this not only musically but it also made me laugh out loud more than once.
Vorheesleatherface - 1:18 to me that's all that needs to be said!
No vote but if I could vote for 256 for the "sparrow's wings" lyrics I surely would they are great!

Rock Hard Abs are just a sw-sw-swivel away!
[ Parent ]

Gazbo! by blixco (4.00 / 3) #15 Wed May 03, 2006 at 08:04:15 AM EST

Holy crap, what a great track. Well worth the wait. Goddamn. Pure genius, that.

Dr. Thrustgood! Brilliant goddamn track as well.

MNS! Despite being stalked and threatened by a contingent of shemales, manages to produce a great track.

ana's contribs are always good because they are so very different, and ana's voice is so well matched to the style. Guess all that singing pays off.

Cam! Superhappy bowwow! Goddamn!

Everyone, though, every track is gold, as usual. Well done, kids. I'm going to have to step up, start using more tracks and maybe some borrowed musicians for the next one. Yeeesh.
---------------------------------
Taken out of context I must seem so strange - Ani DiFranco

my own choices by 256 (4.00 / 3) #16 Wed May 03, 2006 at 08:56:09 AM EST

vorheesleatherface - really nailed the creeping horror sound. the slow first half is really good and just when you're thinking "is the whole song going to be like this?" it hits you hard. also, the lyrics are excellent.

TPD - the metal guitar on this track was damn near trancendental.

Dr. Thrustgood - f-f-f-f-f-fatal. totally solid and probably the most creative entry.

well done all, as always!
---
_{I don't think anyone's ever really died from smoking. --ni}

Hot Damn! (VS2FP you byatches) by yicky yacky (4.00 / 3) #18 Wed May 03, 2006 at 10:36:58 AM EST

Another high-quality haul.

I find it kind of hard to appraise the tunes where people have used the same lyrics (256's?). Don't get me wrong; they're all great tracks (I was getting some R.E.M. or Tom Petty vibe from Millman's version, a fucked-up busker from Driusan and ... errr ... blixco from blixco's version), but it feels a little bit as if they're off on their own challenge somewhere relative to the rest.

Dr. Thrustgood's track was reminding me of some '90-ish Bomb the Bass stuff crossed with the wicked bits of the Lemmings 2 soundtrack (and those bits are truly great). vorheeseleatherface and TPD are becoming increasingly disturbing individuals, but they're decent tunes. Neat hack fom ana, but have to confess to being slightly disappointed as the version of "I hope I don't fall in love ..." from the last one was some top-quality earwormy-type stuff and was hoping for more. The Shawshack and guests: Cool, vaguely disturbing, John Carpenter-esque vibe. <cultural_imperialism>"Husha"? WTF?</cultural_imperialism>

I may be deaf, or an arsehole, or quite possily both, but is cam's tune nothing to do with bird flu at all? It's a great track and starts kind-of Stones-y but then becomes more surf/skate/garage rock in typical Super Motivated style. I owe cam a debt of thanks as I was trying to work out which band SHMRB reminded me of and, in doing so, found a load of killer old punk tunes from my skate-video'd mid-teens. Ah, nostalgia. It was 'Kirk and the Jerks', if anyone's interested (you can hear 'one way' [from H-Street's now-legendary 'Hokus Pokus' video] here.

This leaves MNS and Gazbo's tracks as the ones I'm voting for. They are both great tunes. I don't know whether it's because of the poisson distribution being unfavourable or MNS's style being off-putting to some people, but his last two or three tunes have deserved three times as many votes as they received IMO. I'm reluctant to vote for acoustic guitars + vocals + nice production as it sort-of represents the happy, complacent median I feel we need to get away from as a tropism, but gazbo's tune is too damned decent for me to be able to hold out on that one. Great work.

I was going to do a Test Recordings style remix of "Catch the Pigeon", but never had time :(

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Done.

IAWTP by gazbo (4.00 / 3) #19 Wed May 03, 2006 at 11:07:50 AM EST

I got major REM vibes from Millman's too. Not sure exactly what it was - maybe the bright, doubled guitars?

I know what you mean about my choice of genre representing the boring medium. As you know, I'd normally do a synth-laden modern pop song. It's just that I wanted to take my new guitar out for a test drive. Plus, I noticed that my singing is a little more bearable in the miserable low registers where it normally resides.

Fear not - we'll be back to arm-wavy poppers-sniffing pop before you know it, voter appeal be damned!

"Engarde!" cried the larvae, huskily. - Scrymarch

[ Parent ]

Um, yeah. by ana (4.00 / 2) #20 Wed May 03, 2006 at 11:46:58 AM EST

Neat hack fom ana, but have to confess to being slightly disappointed as the version of "I hope I don't fall in love ..." from the last one was some top-quality earwormy-type stuff and was hoping for more.

I'm still in the phase where I can count my attempts at recording something on one hand. I'd kinda like to get back to my folk roots eventually, which is more or less what I was doing with I hope. But it's fun to take modern themes and set them to ancient music. And open 5ths just shiver my spine in a way suggestive of a lament on the subject of extinction. That, and I ran out of time, what with IRL music to do.

Anyway, thanks for the mention.

Can you introspect out loud? --CRwM
[ Parent ]

Disturbing Moi (ha ha ha!) by TPD (4.00 / 3) #21 Wed May 03, 2006 at 12:28:19 PM EST

Not really just thought it would be fun (given the subject) to have a go at a really thrashy/death metally track, it was!

Rock Hard Abs are just a sw-sw-swivel away!
[ Parent ]

The SHMRB by cam (4.00 / 2) #23 Wed May 03, 2006 at 12:41:17 PM EST

cheated. I couldnt get a 'proper' bird flu lyric together without it sounding lame, so sang about Husi celebrity dogs instead. In the last MFC I hit the same problem, which was supposed to be "I Couldn't Sleep" and did a quick Waits cover instead.

In truth the SHMRB are probably a mix of The Angels (80s Oz Rock) and Ratcat (90s Sydney pop). I can send you some mp3s of those two bands if you want.

Thanks for the link to Kirk and Jerks. What era are they from? They sound like a post-MC5 rock-punk band.

cam
Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic
[ Parent ]

I came across them by yicky yacky (4.00 / 1) #24 Wed May 03, 2006 at 01:21:54 PM EST

somewhere between 1989 and 1991 via the H-Street (a now-defunct manufacturer of skateboard decks) skateboarding video called 'Hokus Pokus'.

'Hokus Pokus' is a story in itself (it was DIY before there really was such a thing, and long before the web), but one of its main features was that it used music from genuinely independent bands: 'Kirk and The Jerks' were one, along with Wheezing Maniac, Wonderful Broken Thing, The Cry and others. Nearly all of those bands were american and existed in that period ('87-'92ish). In some respects, those bands (and the video makers) weren't doing anything different to what we all do today, but the difference was that it was a hell of a lot harder to do it back then. As a result, it's quite hard to track a lot of it down today. H-Street themselves released a compilation some time ago ('97-ish?), but that was about as mainstream as it got.

A whole generation of skaters and their friends who'd seen that video kind of fell in love with the whole ethos; and the music stuck in their heads. If you look round the web in the right places (and I have, trying to track things down myself) you can find lots of posts saying, "what the hell was that one tune on that one skate video?". It turns out that video is almost always 'Hokus Pokus' - probably the first highly-rated DIY sports video ever. There are a couple of clips here and here (the first of those features "Roam Around" by 'Wonderful Broken Thing'; the second is longer and features "Gun and a tear" by 'Kirk and the jerks').

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Done.
[ Parent ]

Cool videos by cam (4.00 / 1) #25 Wed May 03, 2006 at 01:46:19 PM EST

but they do look old now in comparison to the high quality surf stuff. I guess technology is cheap enough to make amateur production look good now. Either that or more money in it.

Good music too, that is what I like listening too. Going through the mp3 on the sites you linked ....

cam
Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic
[ Parent ]

: Yeah by yicky yacky (4.00 / 1) #26 Wed May 03, 2006 at 01:53:46 PM EST

The production looks quite dated now (it was shot on super VHS then IIRC) and youtube's flash-ing doesn't help. Not only that, but the tricks are getting dated now, too - at the time they were state of the art (nobody'd really started pushing what was possible on a board until the mid-80's) but, nowadays, the kids at my town centre aren't at all far off where the adult pros are in those vids. The nature of progess.

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Done.
[ Parent ]

This is awesome by cam (4.00 / 1) #39 Sat May 06, 2006 at 09:03:26 AM EST

Pressure Man is a great track. They have the right sounding guitars and bass for that music.

cam
Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic
[ Parent ]

yeah see... by 606 (4.00 / 2) #27 Wed May 03, 2006 at 03:09:47 PM EST

that's what I do too. I end up releasing a song totally unrelated to the MFC right around MFC time and then people get confused.

Thank god 256 was there to keep me on track, and provide awesome vocal stylings and bass growling.

-----
imagine dancing banana here
[ Parent ]

i thought that using "husha" by 256 (4.00 / 3) #28 Wed May 03, 2006 at 05:56:33 PM EST

instead of "ashes" actually made it creepier for the childlike sound of it, but YMMV.
---
_{I don't think anyone's ever really died from smoking. --ni}
[ Parent ]

when i was a little girl by misslake (4.00 / 2) #30 Wed May 03, 2006 at 06:54:24 PM EST

my olde english (via usa via the empire loyalists into southern ontario) grandmother taught me "husha" and as a child we all sang husha at school.

in grade 6, a new teacher came and we learned that the "real" words were ashes.

the song still sounds odd to me sung as ashes and not husha.

[ Parent ]

husha is how I learnt it too /nt by Greener (4.00 / 1) #31 Wed May 03, 2006 at 07:21:15 PM EST

[ Parent ]

i'm pretty sure that "husha" by 256 (4.00 / 2) #32 Wed May 03, 2006 at 07:32:31 PM EST

is standard in North America. doubtless having been changed at some point in the past by some school teacher who didn't think little kids were ready to learn about the black death.
---
_{I don't think anyone's ever really died from smoking. --ni}
[ Parent ]

: WHAT? by Dr Thrustgood (4.00 / 2) #33 Wed May 03, 2006 at 07:51:36 PM EST

You didn't have too-bad-for-commercials actors walking around with bubonic plague made out of cornflakes?
The shame

[ Parent ]
: I've never heard that before by ana (2.00 / 0) #36 Thu May 04, 2006 at 07:12:15 AM EST

and i grew up in the USian mountain west.
Can you introspect out loud? --CRwM
[ Parent ]
: We had by blixco (2.00 / 0) #37 Thu May 04, 2006 at 07:57:53 AM EST

mice carrying the plague in our schoolyards in New Mexico. So I've never heard "husha" and had to google it after I heard it in the song.
---------------------------------
Taken out of context I must seem so strange - Ani DiFranco
[ Parent ]

Aye - it worked by yicky yacky (2.00 / 0) #35 Thu May 04, 2006 at 07:02:30 AM EST

'husha' is definitely creepier than 'ashes', but either always catches me off-guard when I hear them. In semi-soviet UKistan, the kids tend to sing 'ah-tishoo' (or 'ah-tissue', or 'atishoo'; christ knows the spelling ...), which throws in an extra syllable for a 'bah-Dum-dah' type of effect. It's actually the rhythm change which throws me more than the phonemes.

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Done.
[ Parent ]

This was really hard by nebbish (4.00 / 2) #34 Thu May 04, 2006 at 06:42:48 AM EST

Ana - mental and reminded me of some avant-garde techno bloke I saw on Saturday. +1

TPD - sounds like a song off The Mighty Boosh, and your playing gets better by the power of 10 every time I hear it. +1

Dr Thrustgood - how music would sound if we'd all been locked in a rave for the last ten years with drugs of steadily increasing strength. +1

All round brilliance as always though.

--------
It's political correctness gone mad!

My votes go to... by ana (4.00 / 1) #38 Thu May 04, 2006 at 01:59:16 PM EST

blixco -- well, he's blixco. What can I say?
Pretty much everyone -- very cool track.
Dr. Thrustgood -- Like, wow, man.

But it could have gone any number of other ways.

Can you introspect out loud? --CRwM

How the heck by blixco (4.00 / 3) #40 Sat May 06, 2006 at 06:14:22 PM EST

did that happen? Last I checked, Gazbo was up.

Anyhow: congrats all, another very well done MFC!
---------------------------------
Taken out of context I must seem so strange - Ani DiFranco

Times up! Guitars and Synths Down! | 40 comments (40 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback