Jon Eric – “The Dance”
So I’m pretty sure that, out of everyone still remaining in the competition, I’m by far the most experienced rapper. I thought that would give me an edge, but I can see I’m up against some stiff competition. My song isn’t meant to be funny or gimmicky, though there is a little wordplay there (innocent / in a sense / insolent, “We split a cab home but forgot to split up”), but the goal was simply to tell a story – and of course to rhyme a lot. I worry that this decision makes my song less memorable than others this round and even puts me at a disadvantage. Suffice to say, getting cut this round is a very real threat, I can see.

11. Caleb Hines – “Two Musicians”
You know you’re getting cut, right? I hate to seem overly harsh, especially because this isn’t the least-pleasant song to listen to this round, but I really do feel like you violated both the letter and the spirit of the competition here. You didn’t rap. The challenge was, and I quote: “Write a rap.” You neither wrote nor performed this piece (vocally, anyway). The beat isn’t enough to save it. Sorry, man.

10. The Offhand Band – “Not Cool”
You’ve got wordplay, wordplay, and more wordplay here. I think that might save you in the reviews, and in spite of your placement of second-to-last on my list, I wouldn’t be surprised to see you advance. Nonetheless, I think your clever wordplay and rhymes are masking an inherently flawed song. Your flow is practically non-existent. A lot of first-time rappers (including me) equate the concept of “flow” with the ability to cram as much info into as short a musical space as possible. It doesn’t really work that way in practice; the rests are just as important as the lines for building flow – it’s like the melody of your song – you want it varied and interesting, not just flinging lines at the listener. Plus, you make a bunch of strange syntactical decisions that make it hard to parse your sentences. The end result is a song that’s impossible to follow without the lyrics sheet, and even then it’s tough to keep up with.

And then there’s the matter of its length. At about the three-minute mark, you rap: “I’d hope that you’re hip now that I’ve performed this patter / But I sense no evidence will dispense this anti-matter.” This seems like a pretty good note to close on. But alas, we’re only halfway done! 5:46! My goodness! It’s not impossible to do a good long rap song (Blackalicious pulled it off with ”Release”), but this ain’t it.

If you were interested in rapping more, I’d recommend listening more to three people who are exceedingly good at finding their own inherent cool-ness without compromising their identities: Paul Barman, MC Frontalot, and George Watsky.

9. Wait What – “Six Years Seventeen Days”

You’ve got the story down pat, and a pretty good grasp on how to deliver your rap in such a way that it can be understood by the audience. I appreciate that, so don’t say I never wrote anything nice about you. Now. Your rhythm is off. There’s a good half-dozen spots in the first verse alone where your delivery runs off the rails, and that gives the song an amateurish, tossed-off feel. I also think you’re a little too mumbly. And I just don’t care about the character or the story being presented here. Dude got dumped; get over it.

If you were interested in rapping more, I would recommend listening to rappers who have successfully injected emotionality into their work without delving into tall tale or histrionics – The Pharcyde, Main Source, and Atmosphere.

8. Matt and Donna – “Anatomy Dance”
I wonder if I’m being unfair because of how far ahead you are in the popular vote right now. I feel bad giving you a bad review because you’re clearly very charismatic individuals who are having fun. Even the sound of your voices just makes the listener think you’re probably a lot of fun just to be around. And this is a fun joke, kind of, and the cramming of that much anatomical jargon into one rap song is an accomplishment, but it belies the fact that Donna’s flow sucks. She’s uncomfortable with the genre and it shows because her voice is very monotonous throughout. I think maybe she was concentrating too hard on hitting all the syllables that she didn’t have any energy left to focus on delivery. That’s never a good place to be, but I bet if there had been more time in the week, she would have become more familiar with the lyrics and some of the natural vocal inflection would have begun to take over again.

If you were interested in rapping more, I’d recommend listening to a guy who leverages his innate charisma to turn okay-to-good material into great songs with stunning regularity: Lyrics Born.

7. Steve Durand – “A Place For Love”
Oh my, I wish I could have gotten my bass tone that clear and punchy. Mmm. You’ve got the funk groove going on here. One thing I find weird is that your voice sounds really lo-fi, but I know for a fact you’ve got a good vocal microphone. It clashes with the track. Don’t know what to say about that. Your rapping is barely passable, more like a proto-rap, like some of the funk vamping that inspired rap in the 70s. If you were interested in rapping more, I would recommend… Eh, who am I kidding, you’re not interested in rapping at all, are you?

6. Charlie McCarron – “Trail in the Snow”
Here’s our old enemy mumbly delivery again. I really feel like I should like this song better than I do. Your rap delivery lacks conviction. The rap duo Atmosphere has a song called “Became” that this reminds me of, both thematically and imagistically with your shared images of tracking things in the snow. You also share with that song an eerie tension that keeps the listener engaged. I just wish you could commit to your vocal delivery more. The mumbling really belies an intense story worth hearing.

If you were interested in rapping more, I’d recommend you listen to some of the great rap storytellers, like Slick Rick and Kurtis Blow, but also to some of those who could build atmospheric beats, like Afrika Bambaataa.

5. Jutze – “My Friend Kay”
You really dive into this performance. This is what I’m talking about when I criticize Wait What, Matt and Donna, and Charlie McCarron. I like the way you shift the accents in the measure on the word “digress” in the chorus. The addition of the banjo catapaults this into keeper territory, and it meshes with the synth later on pretty well. My only real complaints here are your reliance on cheap rhymes. Rhyming “Kay” with “okay?” Sheesh.

If you were interested in rapping more, I’d be remiss if I failed to recommend rap’s pre-eminent class clown Biz Markie. Most rappers worth anything have at least a couple of fun-loving funny songs like this every go round, though. Makes it tough to tailor a recommendation to you. The Beastie Boys come to mind, but based on this song, I’m going to assume you’re already familiar with them. Oh, try Lonely Island.

4. Edric Haleen – “Sarah”
At first I was mad at you for gaming the challenge by doing this Broadway-style treatment. Still, I could easily hear this on stage. Last week, with “What About Love?” you demonstrated that you’re capable of understanding and delivering good flow, so it’s fascinating to hear you writing and delivering intentionally bad flow. I read the song bio, about how the smoothness of his delivery comes and goes with his identity, and I’d like to think that, although I didn’t consciously pick up on that dynamic, something about it grabbed me, because I did think even before I read that bio that it just “felt right” to have the rap trail off with “My name is… Sam…”

If you were interested in rapping more, I’d go out of my way to seek out rappers with songwriterly approaches to their craft, particularly those with strong positive messages. Arrested Development would probably interest you, and maybe Digable Planets. Some old-school Queen Latifah, maybe?

3. Pat and Gweebol – “TickiTock (Top Tad)”
You’re number 3 on my list, so obviously I liked this song a lot. It’s a lot of fun, the delivery is spot-on, and you’re exploring some ideas that aren’t exactly obvious, like the manner in which a seemingly-desirable potential mate’s poor choice of a mate for herself can be as much of an indicator of her personality as the things that the narrator likes about her. But I’m going to nitpick here. And I want, in particular, to nitpick about the use of profanity.

I’m not against the use of profanity in rap songs (or songs in general). I do feel that it should justify itself, however, otherwise the dirty language is taking up space on the page that might have been better spent on more creative language. In particular, I can’t help but wonder if you could have found a better noun than “ass-clown” for the chorus. This is especially jarring to me because of the outward image you project, with the puppets in your logo and the fact that this song is sung to a character whose name sounds like something from a children’s book. I still liked the song a lot, obviously, but, I dunno, saying “ass-clown” right after hearing the singer address the girl as “TickiTock” just rubs me wrong.

If you were interested in rapping more, I would recommend… Sheesh, I don’t know. Your voice is so unique that I can’t think of a decent point of comparison. Sorry. EDIT: I got it! Jason Mraz.

2. Dr. Lindyke – “Politics and Promises”
Almost everyone here is rapping with kind of a wink and a nudge, as though to say “Don’t worry, I’m not really rapping.” You are most certainly not doing that. I applaud your chutzpah for doing a straight-up song, no gimmicks, no jokes, no irony. You mentioned in your song bio that you checked out a book to learn how to rap. Can you tell me who wrote it, or where I could get a copy? I didn’t think rapping was a textbook-teachable subject, but clearly you learned well in a very short span of time.

Your song was kind of the dark-horse for me this round. It started at like 8th place, but upon relistening, I realized how strong and varied your flow is, and how strong your lyrics are. “Does the riot become quiet for the silence of just one man,” and “Did the Baptism take, or did it just make you wetter?” are both amazing lines. At first it sounds like your voice is ill-suited to the genre, but I got into it after a little while. The female singer sounds muffled, for some reason. Is she using a different microphone?

If you were interested in rapping more, there’s an enormous tradition of socially-conscious rappers you’d be joining – try starting with KRS-One and Grandmaster Flash, and for something a little more modern, Brother Ali and Atmosphere.

1. Ross Durand – “Camp Romance”
Wow, Ross! I thought you were going to be doomed when I saw the challenge, but you came out with my favorite song this round. Great flow, clever rhymes, good imagery. The beat is really nice, still sounding quintessentially Durandian while lending itself to a rap. I love the addition of the harmonica in the second verse, and the breakdown for the third. I love the “Kumbaya” chorus. I love that it builds more voices every time it comes around. My one problem here is that there’s a moment in the first verse (the line is “Little kids are gettin’ off of that bus over there”) where your double-tracked vocals fall out of sync for a second. I got worried when I heard that, but it was the only production slip in the song.

I find it interesting that you took the extra challenge of writing about a workplace romance, even though you’ve never actually rapped before. Did you just find it more inspiring to have that prompt? Oh, and one other thing… what does your wife think of this song?

If you were interested in rapping more, I’d recommend Atmosphere (am I a broken record about him yet?), K’Naan, and Sage Francis.

There you have it. I voted for Ross Durand, Dr. Lindyke, Pat & Gweebol, Edric Haleen, and (okay, I admit it) myself.

The Offhand Band – “Program Aids Food Stamp Users”
I know you were trying to simulate an actual news article, but it would have been nice if you could have managed to fit some rhymes and better scansion in there. This feels a little rambly, which affects its memorability. You got the mood down pat, though. This is pretty and conveys a mood of sublime optimism here. Nice keyboarding.

Gold Lion – “Message for Vivian”
Nice vibe going on here. I really dig the use of rests in the drum beat. I’m kind of on the fence about the vocal performance. At points it feels to breathy and strained, but that’s also what gives the performance its mood. The verses are good, and the choruses are good – the transitions between the two are somewhat awkward. Definitely liking the harmonies when the chorus comes back after the solo. I know you had a lot of story to fit in, but after that chorus, I really felt like the song was about to end, so everything after that point felt like kind of a drag.

Edric Haleen – “What About Love?”
I’d like a copy of this song, please. I heard it at the listening party and liked it. I don’t have any specific criticisms because I don’t have the mp3 to re-listen to.

Jutze: “Re: Your Oil”
You start out with a vaguely offensive joke about differences in cultures, but quickly turn it into a pretty sharp satire on international attitudes. I like the transition between the punk-ish verses and the moody half-time choruses. I’m going to be hearing “All we want is your oil” in my head for the next several days, I can tell you that.

Dr. Lindyke – “Prayer for Peace”
You really nailed the Hebrew prayer vibe, melodically. This reminds me of nothing more than “Hatikvah,” the national anthem of Israel. This is in my top two this round. I have nothing bad to say about it.

Governing Dynamics – “Cameras, Streetlights, and Things Worth Fighting For”
Man, with a title that pretentious, I was thinking, they’d better bring the genius. Thankfully, you didn’t disappoint. This is highly reminiscent of Death Cab for Cutie. I love the distant-sounding drums and the layering of the guitars. I’d like to hear your vocals louder. The melody is a tad rambly (you could probably have cut a line or two per verse and tightened up the song without hurting it), but you’re smart enough to thicken it out and supplement the mood with octave harmonies. I’d also have liked to hear some kind of instrumental indicator for the chorus – something to make the chorus stick out a little more than the verses, like another guitar playing on a higher register, or some extra “ooh ahh” harmonies or something (Pat and Gweebol right after you did this very well with vocal harmonies, and Godz Poodlz does the same with the synth pad). All in all, though, this is a wonderful song, the kind I’d be proud to play for my non-musician friends.

Pat and Gweebol – “The Story Is Mine: Confession of an Undocumented Immigrant”
What is it about this round that brought out such long titles? Anyway, this is beautiful. I love the juxtaposition of the happy bouncy music against a a fairly dark story of self-sacrifice. The complex chord structure contributes to this contrast. I’m pretty sure this is my favorite song this round. I love the last part of the chorus, “Taking one for the cause.” I get chills. The effect is even more poignant after I’ve seen what the actual news story is. I’ll be following this now. Gosh, I love the harmonies on the chorus. I also love the concision of the lyrics, which several of the other participants could learn a lesson from. You could easily have doubled the length of your verses to get the whole story across, but you worked to keep it short and tight. Great job!

Alexa Polasky – “Infidelity”
This is a little awkward. I read that whole article (in fact, this is the only song whose article I had read before the listening party), and spent a good portion of it yelling at my screen. The author was sympathetic to Dan Savage’s cause, but I feel like he missed several of the points, and oversimplified some complex ideas. And you buy into that. It’s not your fault, because you’re just reading an article with a weird point of view. But it frustrates me to see people co-opting Dan Savage’s advice without clearly understanding it. I like your round harmonies. The bleakness of this song, and the bitterness of the lyrics, create a mood that carries it, and I probably wouldn’t be this upset if I had never seen that it was based on that article. As a matter of fact, the “People lose their love / people love their love / every day” part is a really strong hook. I probably should like this more than I do, but that’s just life. I spoke in generalities a lot here, because this isn’t the place to have a philosophical discussion about relationship structures, so if you have any questions, just contact me and I’ll be happy to talk about it more.

Matt Walton – “Take Your Placards Down to London”
I don’t mind the drone, but I wish the other instruments had come in at a quicker pace. You’ve got a nice melody, and having nothing but that one (then later two) droning note(s) to accompany it does your song a disservice… especially for the one chord per verse when your melody clashes with the one chord your bagpipe is capable of playing.

Godz Poodlz – “Independence and Freedom for All”
This is really interesting when contrasted by Young Stroke’s shadow entry. His song makes this guy look like a buffoon, where you’re actually really sympathetic to his struggles. Your song, consequently, is much more interesting to listen to. I like the synth that pops up in your chorus. This song doesn’t stick out, but it’s very pleasant, and will likely continue onto the next round. Not sure what that takeoff sound effect is all about at the end there… But oh well. I enjoyed this.

Chris Cogott – “Welcome to Kabul”
Man, your acoustic guitar always sounds so crisp and perfect. I like the fingerpicking here. I like the immediacy of your first-person approach. The harmonies are lush and gorgeous. In the listening party people were comparing you to the likes of Yes and Kansas, and I have to say I agree. This song keeps moving. Just when I think I have it pegged, it does something different. That synth bridge works brilliantly. One of the most effective protest songs I’ve ever heard. Top three stuff for sure.

Inverse T. Clown – “Something in the Air”
In the listening party, I compared this to Weird Al trying to do Nine Inch Nails. Turns out, Weird Al did do a Nine Inch Nails parody, so we’ve got some framework for discussion here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqSKqS91UdA

Aside from the timbre of your voice and the fact that this is a funny song, I think the Weird Al comparison also came (unfairly) from the fact that all your instruments are clearly fake. The synths actually sound pretty good, but your drum machine and electric guitar patches sound like toys. This was likely an intentional aesthetic choice, but I find it jarring. Oh well, any ill-will this song merits is quickly dissipated by that great bridge. “I mean, it’s only Kansas City / So… why?” I laughed out loud.

Caleb Hines – “Too Soon to Say Goodbye”
For a song about the end of the space program, maybe it would have been more poignant to sing about someone who never got to live the dream of being an astronaut, instead of this main character to attains that dream but has to say goodbye to it. However, at least we get some nice space imagery. Some really nice piano playing here, though I spend the entire song feelign really distracted about how fake the strings sound.

Matt and Donna – “A Tight Spot”
I like the twee vibe immediately established by that sawtooth lead. The cuteness of the music matches the childish innocence of the predicament the narrator gets into. All the instrumentation and performances are right in place, making this a definite contender.

Wait What – “Bunny Please Don’t Go”
Right off the bat you’re handicapping yourself with obvious fake drums and bass. The bass is setting up a nice groove. Oh, goodness I’m not a fan of the autotune vocals. Here you’re clearly using them as an effect, but I also think they’re masking the fact the verses don’t really have a strong melody, and you maybe even spend good portions of that performance still kind of hunting around for the melody. Also, I mean, wow, “I crave the / sweet underage labia / for which I’ll pop the blue pills for my penis” is both bad writing and just way too much information. Yeesh.

Ross Durand – “The American Way”
Ross done right, yessirree. You’re playing a little loose with the rhymes, but the message is very strong. This’ll be stuck in my head for a little while, I’m sure. It would have been nice to hear another instrument in there somewhere, like a mandolin, or a higher guitar. But hey, you do guy-and-guitar like no one else I know.

Steve Durand – “When Frankie and Johnny Get Married”
This just makes me think of Frankie Big Face and John Benjamin when they duetted on “Schadenfreude” and “Unholy Alliance.” Ah well. The horns add a great sense of verisimilitude here. I don’t remember the last time your brass sounded so nice. I like how the various instruments throw in little flourishes in between the vocal lines. The chromatic risings under each line in the chorus contributes to the overall mood as well. This is one of your best songs ever, in my opinion.

Happi – “Double the Fetish”
Off-key singing in the chorus as it starts… not a great start. Plus the whole “just fuck off and die” bit. I dunno, I guess the issue seems to be pretty one-sided here, so I’m not sure why you’re spending so much time talking about it. “Then into the arms of the police I landed” is bad poetry. The technique you’ve used is called hyperbaton, and while it sometimes has its place, it seems like you’ve only used it to make the rhyme fit, which is awkward. Again it comes up with “To tackle me down, he’s not prepared to commit.” This makes it look like you don’t know how to put lyrics together. You also have some serious diction and flow issues in your rap. In sum, you’re right: That was a waste of three minutes of my life.

Charlie McCarron – “The Mountain Will Not Yield”
What a sad story to write about! I like the tension created by the piano’s unresolving chords. The story overtakes the song sometimes, as this is all narrative and mood, with a rather slight melody. Definitely liking how the harmony contributes to the darkness, and how it never seems to fully resolve.

Jon Eric – “North Dakota”
I usually feel like four minutes is a lot of time to ask of an audience. I don’t know what I was thinking asking over nine minutes of you guys. For more information, see the song bio I posted to my blog.

Alex Carpenter – “The Last Launch”
Some pretty desne lyrics, but there do appear to be some rhythmic issues. This feels more like a demo than a finished song – a feeling not helped by the cutoff ending. I’d love to hear the final version of the song this is trying to be. Maybe could use a bridge, too. Still, at least you didn’t overstay your welcome.

My five votes went to Dr. Lindyke, Pat & Gweebol, Chris Cogott, Steve Durand, and Charlie McCarron. A seriously diverse batch of songs from a very interesting round. Great job, everyone!

First of all, the prompt. I was to take an article from the online version of a print publication. I found this one: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/us/27flood.html?_r=2&hp

The Grey Lady limits the number of free articles you get lately, and hides arbitrary picks behind a paywall, so you may not be able to read the full article. The crux of it was that North Dakota has been experiencing statewide flooding just as the economy was beginning to improve: they had the fastest-growing economy in the country and the lowest unemployment. The human interest portion of the article concerns a woman who just moved up there from Texas. I live in Texas now, but my mind translated the idea all too well. I envisioned a character who stayed in New Orleans after the floods and ravaging of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The song starts in the summer of 2010, when our narrator gets fed up with the five years of waiting for the situation in the city to improve (I. Five Years). He departs New Orleans, drives north to the source of the Mississippi, and settles in North Dakoka (II. Fargo). He secures employment and adapts to the cold with relative ease. Not long after that, notice of the overflowing rivers and impending floods hits (III. Panic). Rain adds to the flood damage (IV. Rain), and forces our narrator out onto his roof to await salvage (V. Dry Land).

My wife described this as one of the most depressing things I’ve ever written. Honestly, I was thinking of tearjerking or trying to pull people’s heartstrings. Heck, I wasn’t even trying to write an epic song. I just had a bunch of half-baked ideas that I couldn’t choose among. I started out with “Dry Land,” but it didn’t feel right on its own. I threw in “Rain” as a kind of bridge, but realized that even the two of those only worked together as a coda. This was about 72 hours before the song was due, and only then did I realize exactly what kind of song I had on my hands.

I wish I had figured it out sooner. The time constraint made some of the arrangement suffer. I spent more time than usual in the recording process because of how long the song was, plus how difficult it was to get the tempo track and the transitions between the songs correct. As such I didn’t have time to record as many instruments as I would have liked. “Fargo” was supposed to have mandolin in it, “Panic” was supposed to have accordion, and there was supposed to be guitar throughout. Instead I threw in kazoo, liberal use of backup vocals, and the whistling in “Panic” to fill out the sound. I still plan on finishing the song completely and putting it on my next album. In the meantime, I just hope that what I’ve got is enough to keep me afloat for round 3.

I’m going to muse a bit on how this album differed from its predecessor, An Air of Legitimacy. First, some raw numbers.

Total Length
Air of Legitimacy: 13 songs, 40:43 (including the untitled bonus track and the 45 seconds of silence preceding it)
Happiness is Subjective: 12 songs, 43:02

Longest Song
Air of Legitimacy: “Elegy for Industry,” 4:03 (not counting the long pause between “Surrender (Peace)” and “[Untitled]“)
Happiness is Subjective: “Let it Roll,” 4:56

Incidentally, “Elegy” is the only song on the former album to exceed four minutes, whereas the new album has six tracks (half the album!) over 4:00. On the other hand…

Shortest Song
Air of Legitimacy: “Rhymes with Lucia,” 1:46
Happiness is Subjective: “Again,” 1:18 (my shortest song ever, by the way).

For some reason, I felt it appropriate to open my new album on its shortest song, and close the album on its longest. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it wasn’t intentional.

Average song length:
Air of Legitimacy: 3:07 (this includes that #$*%ing gap between “Surrender” and “[Untitled]“)
Happiness is Subjective: 3:35

Number of guest appearances:
Air of Legitimacy: 5 (“Race to Seven” had lyrics by King Arthur; “Back to the Well” had drums by Signboy and bass by Spud; “We Keep Them Alive” had trumpets by Steve Durand; and “Your Little Heart” featured Spud on the bass)
Happiness is Subjective: 3 (“Hardly a Moment” had drums, backup vocals and mixing by Manhattan Glutton, and “When Did You Know” featured drums by Signboy and guitar by Christopher Cogott. Also, “Half a Million Nerds” is a cover of a song originally by Jan Krüger, but I don’t think covers count. I intentionally cut three songs which featured prominent assistance from other musicians.)

Number of different instruments:
Air of Legitimacy: 15
Happiness is Subjective: 8 (I left my mandolin, accordion, harmonica, and synths in the closet this time around)

Number of songs with swing beats:
Air of Legitimacy: 8 out of 13 (61%)
Happiness is Subjective: 1 out of 12 (8%)

Number of songs in a minor key:
Air of Legitimacy: Zero.
Happiness is Subjective: Two and a half (“Happy” is technically in a major key, but it fluctuates modes, borrows chords from its respective minor chord family, and is overall pretty dour, so I’m counting it for half).

Number of Songfight-related tracks:
Air of Legitimacy: 8 (well, seven Songfight tracks and one Nur Ein… close enough for me).
Happiness is Subjective: 4

Number of FAWM-related tracks:
Air of Legitimacy: 1 (“We Keep Them Alive” was both a Songfight track and recorded for my 2009 February album)
Happiness is Subjective: 4

Longest-postponed work:
Air of Legitimacy: The entire bridge of “Surrender (Peace)” was made up off the top of my head while recording vocals. It’s one of the only first-takes on the album.
Happiness is Subjective: The day before album release, I decided to cut a song (“Interest”) and un-cut one that I’d nixed months before (“Happy”). I spent most of the day of release frantically writing revised lyrics for “Happy” and recording new vocals.

That one element I’m still not happy with, even after a thousand retakes:
Air of Legitimacy: The drums on “Surrender (Peace).”
Happiness is Subjective: The chorus vocals on “Corporate Conscience.”

The oldest song on the album:
Air of Legitimacy: December 2009: “Race to Seven,” originally recorded in January 2004. Out of the songs that I actually wrote the lyrics to, the oldest was “Soap,” which was mostly penned as of October 2005, in the wake of the hurricane that inspired it. “Soap” was originally going to be the closer on an EP full of songs inspired by Hurricane Katrina, but I was too busy and too emotionally devastated to finish and record the songs.
Happiness is Subjective: June 2011: “Corporate Conscience,” written summer of 2008. It was actually an outtake from An Air of Legitimacy. The version on this album has been rerecorded from scratch no fewer than six times.

The most quickly-assembled track:
Air of Legitimacy: The untitled track at the end of the album was written a few weeks before the release, and the lyrics came to me pretty much fully-formed. I improvised it on the piano and recorded it as originally written. Took about two hours, then I did a vocal retake a few days later.
Happiness is Subjective: “Grown Up Geek” and “My Uncle Romeo” were both part of an Album-A-Day project that I did in early February 2011. They took about two hours each in their original incarnations. I then went back and re-recorded them both from scratch, but left the lyrics unchanged. “Happy” had been bouncing around in my head, but most of its lyrics were rewritten on the day of release.

I guess the point I’m driving at here is that the songwriting and recording processes for these two album were dramatically different from one another. Sometime in the next couple of days I plan on going into more detail on exactly why that was, and exactly what my plans are for the future. Until then, enjoy the music, and try not to think too much.

Most of you know that I have a hobby. Since 2003, I’ve been recording songs (and distributing them for free online) in whatever has passed for my bedroom at the time. I’ve never turned a profit from it, and do it entirely in my spare time. Still, to me it often seems like more than a hobby. In fact, I think of it as more of a career than my actual career.

Part of the reason that my musicmaking often doesn’t feel like a hobby is because of how hard it is. How brutal and discouraging it can often be. And of course, how rewarding it can be when those brutal hours pay off. I learned this in middle school, when I earned a standing ovation at a piano recital after considering quitting out of discouragement with my practice sessions. I’ve learned it every time I’ve had a song place highly in a Songfight competition (one win to date, tied for third twice, tied for second twice).

It doesn’t feel like a hobby because more often than not, it’s something I don’t actually feel like doing. There have been times when I have been exhausted from my own output. There have been times I just plain didn’t want to do it, but felt obligated.

One such time, I’m afraid, is upon me now. As most of you know, I’m starting a new job this week (tomorrow morning, in fact). I’m highly concerned that this new job will leave me a little short on energy in the coming months. But I’ve got two ongoing musical projects. I’m participating in Nur Ein, and I’m still on track to have my next album out by Memorial Day this year.

That’s why I’m making a public commitment right now: no matter how tired I am, no matter what other excuses stand in the way, I will record music every day from now until my album is finished and I’m eliminated from Nur Ein. Every day. Yes, that means tomorrow, when I’ll just want to unwind from all the information I’ve absorbed on a new day. That means Tuesady, Wednesday, and Thursday. That means Friday, even though I’ll want to relax and celebrate the end of my first week immediately. And yes, that means Saturday and Sunday.

Something will get committed to recording every day. You heard it straight from me, and I hereby grant you permission to guilt the dickens out of me if I try to backpedal on this.

Bart was one of the ones who was born in our apartment back when we lived down in South Austin, back when I was collating papers for a living for $10 an hour, just over two years ago.

Starting this past Wednesday night, there had been some fighting in the cage. I picked up Bart, found a couple of minor scratches around her body, and what appeared to be a broken toe. I didn’t think there was anything else wrong. I put Bart into what we call “the hospital cage,” where the degus can convalesce from injuries without being bothered by other degus. I called the vet, and she said that as long as Bart was eating and drinking, we didn’t need to bring her in – they couldn’t splint her toe anyway because it’s too small.

She wasn’t moving much, but she was moving. This afternoon, I saw her curled up under the ramp, and I noticed that she wasn’t breathing. I picked her up, and she didn’t resist. I don’t know what actually killed her, but I know she died alone, and in pain.

Bart was Allyson’s favorite when she was little. She liked to explore, and didn’t seem to mind us big people as much as the other degus did. I knew that eventually we would have to deal with our critters dying; death is a part of life. But I never would have thought Bart would be the first to go, and to be so young. We’ve got degus twice her age who are still going strong. But Bart died today. Two years and a few days old. It’s not fair.

I’m shaken, sad, frightened, angry, and sad all over again. I can’t help but linger on all the millions of little things we might have done differently. I wish we had gotten a bigger cage. I wish we could have figured out why they spent so much time fighting. I wish we hadn’t had to change roommates so frequently on them. I wish I had taken her to the vet yesterday, when I found out her toe was broken. I wish the vet hadn’t told me to keep her home as long as she was eating. I wish she hadn’t died at two years old.

SUNDAY
Boardwalk Empire (pilot) – HBO has a reputation for doing dramas right, so this is probably the most anticipated pilot of the season (I can’t believe I forgot about it when I was writing this post the first time!). Steve Buscemi is one of those guys who’s always been recognizable, but never well-defined as an actor (especially as a leading man). This Prohibition-Era drama might define his latter-day career. People are already calling it “the next Sopranos.” Maybe, maybe not. But I sure wanna see where it goes.

MONDAY
Chuck (Season 4 premiere) – I’ve made no secret about how this has ben my favorite show on network TV for the last couple of years. Last season amped up the drama and the action, even as it scaled back on the budget, and it accomplished the impossible – it hooked Allyson. When I realized, about midway through last season’s finale, that I cared about the goings-on in this show far more than about the goings-on in the previous night’s series finale of Lost, I also knew that catching this premiere was going to be a top priority for me.

Lone Star (pilot) – Apparently it’s about a con man who starts to believe his own hype. It has potential, but it might also get mired in its own whistfulness. I’ll be on board for the first few episode, though I’m not expecting it to wow me.

How I Met Your Mother (season 6 premiere) – This show is hitting a weak middle patch, but I’m not ready to call it quits yet. I’m hoping the producers decide to make motions towards ending this story sooner rather than later, though, because even though every single cast member on this show is outstanding, the overarching drama is getting tiring, and the jokes are starting to sound like throwaways from a waning Seinfeld.

Castle (season 3 premiere) – A Some of the mysteries are lackluster, but you can’t help but feel like this was the role the Malcolm Reyn– I mean… The role that Nathan Fillion was born to play. Even when the mysteries bore me, the chemistry between him and Stana Katic is spot-on. I don’t generally get too upset when I miss this one, but I love getting caught up.

Hawaii 5-0 (pilot) – It’s a crowded Monday, so in all likelihood, this is going to be the first thing to drop from my schedule, but I’d like to at least watch the pilot of this reboot to see where it goes. And to give Daniel Dae Kim some love. Lost, represent!

TUESDAY
Glee (Season 2 premiere) – Last season, Glee was a runaway success that disappointed a little in its back half. When it’s on, it’s on, but sometimes you get the feeling that the middle parts are all just filler to string together certain powerful emotional scenes or set piece musical numbers. Oh well. After a lackluster second half of the season, Glee is on probation with me. If they don’t seriously bring it this season, I’ll be cutting them loose.

Raising Hope (pilot) – Greg Garcia, executive producer of this show and the recently-canned My Name Is Earl, has a knack for portraying stupid people in a way that doesn’t talk down to them. The hicks of Camden County in Earl were dumb, and you were laughing at them, but you also liked them. It was endearing, and not nearly as mean-spirited as it looked. Based on the trailer alone, it looks like Raising Hope pulls off the same trick, but with a baby. I’m an outlier among TV critics, but I’m looking forward to this about as much as any show this year.

Running Wilde (pilot) – Will Arnett’s character on Arrested Development was written and played to a tee, but I think a big part of the reason he worked so well was because he was a side character. I’m not so sure about this Mitch Hurwitz follow-up which basically looks like “The G.O.B. show.” Nonetheless, Arnett and Hurwitz have a ton of good faith to spend on me, so I’ll at least be giving this show the benefit of the doubt.

No Ordinary Family (pilot) – A family gets into a plane crash, but they all survive. In the following days, they all discover that they’ve got superpowers. It looks terribly campy, but if they can avoid the melodrama of Heroes (the trailer is predominated by bright lighting effects, so looking good on that front!), and capitalize on some of the philosophical side of The Incredibles, they might have a decent show on their hands, even if it never amounts to “appointment television.”

WEDNESDAY
Terriers (season 1, continuing) – A fresh P.I. drama with an all-star writing team and staff. I already reviewed episode one over at my Livejournal (sorry, I suck about cross-posting). Good banter, believable characters, and realistic handling of the investigative craft make this one worth paying attention to.

Undercovers (pilot) – The trailer for this show was basically just the pilot, condensed into six minutes, and presented without comment. So… We’ve got a charismatic black couple who own a restaurant together. They’re outwardly happy, but their marriage has lost its sizzle. Oh, and they’re ex-spies. Turns out that being called back into duty, in addition to making better television than a catering shop, is also a good thing for their marraige, too! It sounds a little formulaic and trope, but on TV that can be an asset (see also Abrams’ other current show Fringe). Still and all, I probably wouldn’t care if it didn’t have the Abrams brand on it. Could go either way for me.

THURSDAY
Fringe (season 3) – I don’t think the season 3 premiere is actually this week, but when the show comes back, I’ll be tuning in.

Community (season 2 premiere) – Two outstanding half-hour comedies debuted last year. One of them swept the Emmys. The better one got snubbed. Community made me laugh more consistently than any other program on TV last year, thanks to a quirky cast and a strong writing staff. Looking forward to seeing them keep it up.

Outsourced (pilot) – I work in a call center, so this one kind of hits close to home. It’s about a call center manager who comes into work and finds that the call center has been stripped, the jobs outsourced to India. Lucky him, though, the job is still his if he wants it! He goes to India to manage the rogue’s gallery of new employees; hijinks ensue. I’ll be interested to see whether the creative team behind this show (along with the inevible meddling team behind NBC) can walk that tightrope between endearing and racist when dealing with a 5/6 brown-skinned cast and an “exotic” setting. How many network sitcoms are set in foreign countries, anyway?

Shit My Dad Says (pilot) – Make no mistake; this will be just awful. But I’d like a front-row seat to just how awful it will be. I don’t plan on watching anything beyond the pilot.

My Generation
(pilot) – The biggest experiment on network TV since 24, this is a documentary-style show about the high school class of 2000 – then and now. I predict that at least the first few episodes will be highly interesting, and possibly even great, but it also looks like the kind of concept that might run out of steam pretty quickly. I’ll let you know.

FRIDAY
The Good Guys (season 1 back half) – I don’t think this one is returning along with the rest of the class this week, but I became smitten this past summer with Matt Nix’s earonic buddy-cop show starring Bradley Whitford and Tom Hanks’ kid. When it’s bad, it’s still watchable; when it’s good, it’s got some of the best crime writing on TV.

Now, Songfight and I have a long history, so let me explain for a moment why this particular fight is such a big deal to me.

In 2003, a friend of mine introduced me to MC Frontalot, the Nerdcore Hiphop superstar who, at the time, was still pretty obscure. On Frontalot’s site, I noticed that three of his songs were listed separately from the demos that would later congeal into his first proper album, Nerdcore Rising. These three songs – which included “Yellow Lasers,” which I thought was the best one he had at the time – were marked as Song Fight entries. Curious, I clicked the link and changed my life.

Songfight, in case reading this blog hasn’t yet made you familiar with the idea, is a community centered around a semi-weekly contest to see who can turn in the best song with a given title. The Fightmasters post a title, which is publicly visible on the site for about ten days before a set deadline, and anyone who wants can record a song of that title and e-mail it in. The submissions all get posted, and all users of the site can listen to the posted material and vote for the ones they like.

I listened for about two weeks before I decided I wanted in. My early efforts were weak – I didn’t have multitrack recording software and I wasn’t much of a singer or guitarist – but through active participation in the community, I learned basically from scratch how to record and mix a full pop song. I was seventeen then. I’m twenty-four now. If I hadn’t stumbled upon Songfight, I don’t think I would ever have realized that it’s possible to record quality music from my own home, without the use of an expensive studio.

My persistence was rewarded with wisdom, but never with critical or public acclaim. I’ve been involved in winning entries, sure, but I’ve always felt like there ought to have been an asterisk next to each one. Back in the early days, I collaborated with my real-life friend Andrew, and entered the fight “Sunny Again” under the name Silver Rush. Andrew spammed the servers with votes, and we won with a huge margin of the votes – but it was not legitimate. It’s still a little sketchy to me, but at best he simply made a bunch of his friends go vote without listening to the songs, and at worst he hacked the server to accept multiple votes from one IP address. We won, but I knew it didn’t feel like a victory.

Later on, I joined the earonic MC Frontalot tribute group The Frontalittle Squad. With beats mostly constructed in Fruityloops by Glenn Case and rap parts shared by anywhere from four to nine rappers, we were roughshod and unproficient, but our sense of humor and charisma led us to a few victories. I still didn’t feel like I had won, though, because my contributions to each Frontalittle song were so minimal.

Finally, last year, I wrote a song for Ross Durand, and he wrote a song for me. The song I wrote was recorded by Ross with no input from me, and the song he wrote was recorded by me with no input from him. The “Ross Durand Sings a Generic Song” entry won, but again I felt uninvolved, because he had done the whole recording.

Times when I felt like i had done my best, I found myself tying for second or third.

Finally, with Manhattan Glutton’s help, I came in first. I wrote the song. I sang it. I played all the instruments except for the drums. He added the drums and some backup vocals, and he mixed it, but this was my inspiration, my execution, my song, and my victory. And after seven years, it feels quite earned.

A year ago, I was not at all clear on my direction in this life. I had recently applied at the Austin Live Music Academy, using my EP …One Would Hope as an audition CD, and got accepted. The hours for the program conflicted with the hours for this job, though, so I went into the interview feeling conflicted. I was hoping that they would turn me down, and the decision would be made for me, but after my conversation with Tony (who would later be my supervisor, and later still would abruptly quit the company), I knew that I would be offered the job. When the call came in, I made a conscious decision to take responsibility for myself, start paying off my debts, and to defer my dreams for a while – pretty much everything the movies tells ya never to do. It was a tough decision, but when I made it, it felt right.

That was a year ago, and I’ve now held this job longer than any other I’ve had in my life. I’m reasonably satisfied, but I’m also assured (am living proof, in fact) that it is possible to advance in this company, and do so quickly, if I want.

A year ago I would never have guessed that this job would provide me with the closest thing to stability I’ve ever felt.

So, withou further ado…

Reviews! Listening on speakers, but my right ear is still a little screwy, so if I didn’t like your song, you can always blame that.

The Affirmative Mention – The recording is reasonably tight. No instrument is too overpowering (maaaaaaaybe the vocals in some spots), and the keys fit in just right. In fact, without the keys, it wouldn’t sound active enough. They help fill in the spaces in between the phrases of the song. My main complaint here is that the verse melody feels too vampy. The longer it goes, the more convinced I am that you didn’t actually write a verse melody; it sounds like you just made it up as you went along and tried to make your rambly words fit the music. You know what, though, Phil? As a vocalist, you’ve come a really long way in your time here at Songfight. Your voice can carry a rock song. I just wish you’d restrain your lyrics to a melody. In the end, my complaint with this song is the same as Cock’s: it doesn’t have any one particular part for me to come back for. A hook, a catchy melody, a profound lyric. This kind of washes over me and then it’s gone.

Bella D – Sounds like the drums and the guitars don’t agree on where the stresses fall in the beats here. Oh man, those vocals are annoying. I don’t object to kid vocals on principle, but these aren’t even in tune! I got maybe thirty seconds in, and couldn’t stomach any more.

Berkeley Social Scene – This is straight-up 4/4, but Ken keeps throwing in random stresses in the intro that make me want to compulsively count. Don’t recognize the singer on this one. Like Affirmative Mention, it sounds like you’re trying to cram more words into the melody than can comfortably fit there. There’s a lot of wordplay here, and some of it doesn’t really work. The harmonies on the chorus fall a little sour. Glen’s eBow brings an etherial sense of class to the show, as usual. By the end of the second verse, I’m checking the timer. Realizing there’s another minute and a half left was not heartening. Is the b-chorus doing weird stuff in the right channel, or is it my ear? Who knows? Nice outro.

*Cock – Characteristically dark 80s synth-pop, and surgically clean-sounding, as usual. That’ll get you pretty far any week, even with a pretty weak song, but you don’t generally do those. This has some good lyrics, but I wonder if the melody doesn’t wander a little too much. I’m thinking of your “Back to the Well” on this one, which won in large part due to its really catchy “broken man” hook. Here I don’t hear any similarly-catchy element, nor even any part that repeats enough to dig in, but then again, it might take multiple listens before it sinks in. And, as I mentioned before, your sound is flawless, which does invite repeated listens. Probable vote, though I’d need to hear the rest of the entires before I can say for sure.

Hate Noise – Interesting combination of samples. But… generic hip-hop drug cliches don’t play too well for me. Pretty slick package, but I can’t engage with the lyrics at all. Gave up after about two minutes.

*Jon Eric ft. Manhattan Glutton – I wasn’t going to credit MG in the band name, but when I heard the drums and harmonies that he added, and how much it transformed the song, I didn’t feel right entering it without his name on there. Sometime this week or next, I’ll post my own mix. It will sound quite a bit weaker than the mix he finished. This song was pretty personal for me, lyrically, so I was glad my voice decided to cooperate when it came time to do the vocals. I guess I’ll go into that more later.

*Josh Millard – The tone on those hats is wack, but I’m more distracted by the fact that the drums aren’t well-played. They keep falling off the rhythm. I don’t mind the wordiness of your vocal delivery – unlike Affirmative Mention and Berkeley Social Scene, your wordiness feels more integral to the song. This is a charming little indie-pop song with bad drums. My wife thinks it sounds like Counting Crows, but it reminds me pretty heavily of Silkworm. Maybe vote, I dunno.

*King Arthur – Is it my ear, or does this mix sound like it’s coming at us from underwater? Really sweet guitar licks. Nice harmonies, too. I’m also a sucker for a well-executed Rhodes (or eqivalent synth ). I think the verse melody feels just a little too halting – I know it’s important to use the space between lines effectively, but it feels like it’s breaking the flow of what you’re trying to say. Probably gonna vote for this.

Lord of Oats – I like how it starts off with the really dark-sounding drums, but the synths start playing a major-key line. It toes the line between appealing and aggravating with the background noise. When the vocals start, it starts sounding like a b-list They Might Be Giants imitation. I know a lot of people gravitated to the line “Hardly a moment goes by that I don’t think of you,” but did you have to [i]start[/i] with that? It also sounds like you were trying to record the vocals without making too much noise, like you’re holding back. When we got to that sustained vocal note in the bridge, I checked the timer, saw that there were two minutes left, and then skipped ahead.

MC Who Izzy – Not bad, with the ambient opening. Then the music drops out and segues into this echoey preacher-man skit, which bores me. Then, at 1:43, with a minute left in the song, it actually starts. Oof, you and Lord of Oats both had to [i]start[/i] with the most obvious line available, eh? And then it doesn’t end, so much as it just stops. Oh well.

New Result – At about 1:30, I realized I had nothing to say about this. Wasn’t enjoying it, either, so I skipped ahead.

*Pillar of Paprika – This is reminding me of some Byrne/Eno tracks with the buzzy synth ambience. Well-sung, too. I don’t have a whole lot to say about it, when it comes right down to it, but I really like this, and I will vote for it. Probably my favorite of the fight.

Queef McBeef – What in the world am I listening to? This all ties together in a way that I recognize takes a lot of skill to pull off well, but I’m not really getting into it. Plus: title relevance?

*Queen Cigarette – You tagged your song, but didn’t put your band name in the tag, just the title… and misspelled at that. Alright, getting past my grammar snobbery (and the fact that I had to turn down my speakers just to make this listenable at all), and I’m actually hearing some halfway decent early-90s garage band pop. I’ll give it another listen, probably, but I think this’ll get a vote from me.

*Riot Nrrrds – I dunno, when I saw the name, I was expecting something a little more like what Queen Cigarette did. Heh. Oh well, for what this is, it’s not bad. The emphasis harmonies add a lot, but it feels like you’re holding back, vocally, which is exacerbated by the fact that the guitar is mixed too loud. I can barely make out the lyrics most of the time. I would have liked if the synth solo had more than, like, three notes. It could have reprised the verse melody and I wouldn’t have minded. Oh well. This has potential. Post your lyrics, and I might consider voting, if I like them.

Sockpuppet – It is what it is. I doubt a review from me could tell you anything you didn’t already know. Plus, it took me longer to type this than it did to listen to it.

Steve Durand – Are you playing your own drums now? They sound live. This is a genre I don’t expect from you. I like the chord progression over the “chorus.” I think this track needed one more guitar playing some lead licks, just to add that extra oomph. Or some harmonies over the verses – not like in the chorus, but some “Oooh”s or “Ooh la la” type deals.

Tailirine Irene – Mix the vocals a little louder (or rather, the rest of the song a little bit softer), because I can’t make out most of your lyrics. Sounds like you’ve got some halfway-decent flow. Flow doesn’t really mean much if you’re not saying interesting stuff, though, and I really can’t tell what you’re rapping about. The music sounds pretty good, but it sounds pre-fab. Is this just a built-in Garageband loop? I’ve never used Garageband, so I don’t know. Oh well. This is pretty middle-of-the-road. Any better and I might have voted. Any worse and I’d probably have panned it. As it is, you just haven’t inspired me into having an opinion at all.

Votes go to Cock, Josh, King Arthur, Pillar of Paprika, Queen Cigarette, and myself. If Riot Nrrrds post their lyrics, I’ll think about voting for them too. That’s a pretty good ratio.