People would probably be up for that. There's Forced Listenings in a fair few other sections in the board. Other music and the pit would probably be the most suitable for classical.

But still, just give a few options and make one of them for classical music. That way you can either do an R&M FL, or a classical piece.

letmypeopleho - You can give classical pieces if you want. Just make sure to give more than one choice, and at least one under about six minutes.

[QUOTE=Chu]That's a good review, in my opinion.[/QUOTE]

Thanks. Not sure why you said that though :)

Dibs.

I'm not sure if I've heard anything by Walker before. I've definitely heard you talking about him, but I can't remember if I've ever reviewed something by him for Forced Listening. Anyway;
[b]Butch Walker - Get Down[/b] - 4:03

Starts off very cool. Echoing guitar, and what sounds like orchestral samples accenting the silences. Very nice. Drums cut in with strong, simple beats, which basically plays with the song as it is very well. Good start to it.

Vocals come in, and he's got a good enough voice. Better is the flow he has, he sounds really easy moving through the lyrics, and it just goes well with the music. Female backing singers come in for the chorus.

I know I haven't had much to say so far (about two minutes in), but I'm enjoying this.

A quiet part in the middle; everything goes kind of muffled for a while, so there's no stand-out sound to concentrate on, and then a very 'thin' (in visualisation) guitar solo starts. Very fuzzy tone, it's pretty cool, and the solo itself is a nice, relaxed one, played at first over "ooh"s from the backing singers, and later some acoustic strumming in the background, I think. The strings (samples?) come back in the background, again helping the song progress nicely, as well as just being a good touch.

Another quiet, muffled part, which the song more or less leads out on, on top of some quiet, gentle piano.

9/10, I think. The start was awesome, as were the verses, and the end. Through the midsection it seemed to drag out a little maybe (lack of verses, repetitions of chorus), but overall it was a really enjoyable song.

[b]Songs;[/b]
[url=http://s7.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2WKBZXCASUQUP2WTL7XNWDSXV7]Nomeansno - It's Catching Up[/url] (rock/hardcore punk?)
[url=http://s7.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1H4A7T8EKMAJH1TYSIA6SWFMAK]Hot Cross - Finger Redux[/url] (emo/hardcore)
[url=http://s13.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3GN3PZCBSK2JL3K1OHWBCUD6WT]Talking Heads - Slippery People[/url] (art/post punk - later, with 'world music' influence)
[url=http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3CGS81S8MHA441H17XW06WBSVS]Talking Heads - Psycho Killer[/url] (art/post punk - early)

Bump.

Dibs.

Hot Cross - Finger Redux

My first encounter with the band. Let's watch in:

Starts with a slow single note riff with a nice bassline. Singer comes in with a high-ish voice and a fast riff comes in. Continues with this riff, which is pretty good with the vocals being buried a bit, but that's ok.

Goes slow again, with a similar riff to the intro, then the drums and singer kick in and the guitarists start to play off of each other, which is cool. Cool riff again.

Slows down and ends.

Good track, but vocals are too low in the mix for my taste.
8.75/10

Songs:
Mastodon - March Of the Fire Ants (straight ahead metal)
Porcupine Tree - Sound Of Muzak (progressive acoustic-ish rock)
Judas Priest - All Guns Blazing - (Classic Metal)

Well it's a short song (2:44) and a short review.

No dibs; I can't get my hands on any of the songs without an upload of some kind.

[QUOTE=Grateful Dead]Is it just me, or does 7 minutes seem like an awfully short time to listen to and review a song?[/QUOTE]
Sorry, I know I didn't do a great job, but my time was short. It will be better next time, I promise.

Also, I apoligize for not being able to upload, I'm on dial-up at home, and I do this at school without my music collection.

Dibs.

What I've heard by them, I like.
[b]Judas Priest - All Guns Blazing[/b] - 3:57

Starts off with just Halford's vocals, very high-pitched, singing metal-sounding lyrics. A metal riff starts in, and a little (very cool-sounding) mini-solo leads us into the song proper.

Not much to say here really, it's just high-energy heavy metal, played well. There's nothing peculiar to comment on, so I won't. Good so far, though. A solo starts around 1:17, and carries on for a long time. A long long time. It still survives in some form around 2:25, as the song momentarily slows down before going back to the verse with Halford.

I like the guitars in this song, they keep putting little flourishes, squeals, pinch harmonics and mini-solos on the end of riffs and phrases, it's really very cool. Another solo starts after the verse-chorus, not as long as the last one, but still hardly short. And the song fades out on the sound of an artillery shell, or something similar.

8/10. Good, strong, anthemic metal.

[b]Songs;[/b]
[url=http://s8.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3RQFK8OO694053F6I1EKG9U8Z6]Nomeansno - The End of All Things[/url] (rock)
[url=http://s7.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2WKBZXCASUQUP2WTL7XNWDSXV7]Nomeansno - It's Catching Up[/url] (rock/hardcore punk?)
[url=http://s13.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3GN3PZCBSK2JL3K1OHWBCUD6WT]Talking Heads - Slippery People[/url] (post punk? - later, with 'world music' influence)
[url=http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3CGS81S8MHA441H17XW06WBSVS]Talking Heads - Don't Worry About the Government[/url] (post punk? - early)
[url=http://s18.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=20AVASIPSCCBQ06A1EAXE1NK9Z]Aeon Spoke - Silence[/url]

Dibs.

Un-Dibs. Im very sorry, but im drinking to much to write an acurate review. Ill do one tommorow.

[QUOTE=88_Fingers_Joe]Un-Dibs. Im very sorry, but im drinking to much to write an acurate review. Ill do one tommorow.[/QUOTE]
What? No. Do a drunk review. Drunk posting is so much more fun :)

I'm bumping all my other forced listenings, so I'll do this one too.

:D

Cheers

(review in this space)

..or in this one

[B]Nomeansno - The End Of All Things (5:16)[/B]

Another new band for me to sink my teeth into :)

Lively start with a cool bass line. The vocals don’t sound like they should fit, but they seem to go flawlessly (although I cant comment much on the lyrics). The harmony between the male and female voices is good.

Seems to drag on in this format for a bit too long, but once the drums die down, the guitar part is a change of pace, adds an extra dimension to the track. The fall back into the main melody works, any excuse to get that bass line back is good :)

The vocals keep threatening to go over operatic, but they stay within a sensible level, which is good. (and I cant help but think I recognise the male vocalist from somewhere). The main bass section does get a little old by the end, but there is always something varied or new in there at least towards the fade out, which has some great layering.

7/10

It’s a fun piece, with some over extended sections, but enough variety to keep me interested. Ill take a listen to their other track to see if they’re worth checking out properly.

[B]
Songs[/B]
[URL=http://s38.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1KP9M8LJVK7I93C0LZQSTEASU3]Million Dead - I Am The Party[/URL] - (Rock with almost rap like lyrics)
[URL=http://s45.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3933EOB5WUG8O3NY95HXOWX6WP]The Black Mages - The Skies Above[/URL] - (Varied Hard Rock track with piano, operatic vocals and sweet solos)
[URL=http://s49.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0K5ILD320H4QS1ERQPV89Y072I]Reuben - Freddy Kreuger[/URL] - (Pop Rock with a catchy riff)
[URL=http://s10.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1UJR0GL6YIYEL32WGCDXQILSGV]Mastadon - Ol'e Nessie[/URL] - (Dynamic Metal/Hard Rock)

dibs

[B][I]I Am The Party[/I] - Million Dead[/B]

The song gets under way pretty quickly (not super fast tempo wise, just bit of guitar - drums - vocals all in quick succession). I like it, maybe came in a bit to quick for my liking, but the tune is good, not liking the vocals too much though, seems out of breathy, not sung more shouted but not harshly.

A brief guitar interlude at around about 20 seconds demonstrates some above the norm song writing skills which is cool, happens again then the drums get a little louder for the pre-chorus with the chorus after being very good, but the vocals grate me a little.

The aprés chorus is constructed a little differently, sounds good though. It goes from around the 1: 20 mark to 2: 10, where there is another bridge thingy from the guitar which leads back into the chorus, got some oomph to this, all good. Extra push for the finishing line in the form of some deeper over-drivey stuff ends the songs nicely.

Overall a good track, the vocals were a bit meh in my eyes but I will probably look into this group further...I give it a [B]7.75/10[/B]

[B]Forced ch00ns:[/B]

[URL=http://s5.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=30U9EJBY0891F1HX33KGL2Z0OL]Towards Loss - Wolverine[/URL] - Prog Metal

[URL=http://s21.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0E3VJDKZCI6II2QQPRYA9MYY2K]Sticky 2 Me - New Wet Kojak[/URL] - Saxophone Rock, barely.

[URL=http://s4.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=18MXDZVBTCZTL24OPI4TRESCFW]The Fall of Math - 65daysofstatic[/URL] - Post - Rock/Metal mixture.

Those links may not be around for long because they are some oldies I had uploaded for different reasons, so get in whilst ye can!

I'll try one

[b]Wolverine - Toward Loss[/b]

It fades in... for some reason, seems like it's mid song already. Sounds very cool though, the music definately "pumps" with the drums, technical riffage and organ-y keyboard, it's quite melodic.

Growled vocals come in and they're pretty loud, it overpowers the music. He goes away quickly and there's some cleaner, slighly power metal vocals replacing, which suits the song much better. Some nice vocal harmonies too. The clean guitar drops in to settle it down a bit, which is nice I guess, but this song isn't that heavy.

What the song needs is to lose those growls, or halve the volume of them. They are in the way of the goings on behind it. The music gets a bit more power along with the growls, and the normal singer is singing as well.

Another section comes in, 6/4 time now, but as pumping as ever. It leads into a very aesthetically pleasing syncopated keyboard/guitar interplay. A guitar solo follows this, also pretty nice.

After this, two vocal lines take on the syncopated rhythm of before, in a very staccato manner. I'm liking it for the most part, but the stupid thing suddenly fades out mid song.

Hmm, I've done this much, so.. I guess I'll stick with it. I did like the music, it was technical, but had a raw simplicity about it, mainly the rhythm I guess. But it was also good to hear some changes in the rhythm as well. The only thing I didn't like was the growls, which only appeard twice in this mp3.
For this section of the song, I'd give it 8/10. I want to hear the rest of it now.

______________________
[b][url=http://www.comcen.com.au/~caracarol/The%20Red%20Paintings%20-%20Walls%20-%2002%20-%20The%20Streets%20Fell%20Into%20My%20Window.mp3]The Red Paintings - The Streets Fell Into My Window[/url][/b] - very art rock

ah crap I uploaded the wrong version, I have one which was a taster I got ages ago from a site, I had forgot it wasn't the same as the CD version.

I can re-upload the better version for you.

EDIT: Not a dibs.

EDIT2: Link - [url]http://s41.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1EC0XD2GPGL7I1XG4MZY4G7DYV[/url]

Deebs.

Never heard of this guy before, but I decided to take this one since I'd heard a Marvelous 3 song before.
[b]Josh Todd - Burn[/b] - 3:08

Starts out with some simple enough, nice, clear-sounding chords, before something of a roar announces the arrival of the vocalist and the rest of the band, most of which seems to be concentrated in riff form. The riff is alright, but I don't like the tone of the guitar much. It just sounds kind of..depressed. The vocalist yells a couple of more times over the top of the music leading up to the first verse. I quite like the rhythm of the lyrics in the verse.

The chorus I like less. It's alright - other voices (maybe double-tracked lead vocalist) join him for it - but it's kind of a let down, I think. The verse repeats, and then the chorus. Ah now this part I like. The guitars slow down (around 1:50), and the tone isn't so much of a problem any more. It sounds really cool. This whole bit's really good, though; the slower, almost spoken vocals, the drumming, the slower and kinda heavier guitar. Pretty good. And then it goes back into a chorus, maybe with a little variation on before, before the song ends.

8.5/10, I think. The review was written listening through it for the first time; the rating after listening to it a couple of more times. It's really quite good, despite an average first impression. The guy's voice is good, has a bit of character, and there's quite a bit of variety (the intro chords, the verse, the chorus, the cool bit after the second verse, etc) for a three minute rock song, and it bears repeated listening.

[b]Songs;[/b]
[url=http://s11.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=12FN2G6EG1SZ105UTEN9OKX38S]Bolt Thrower - IVth Crusade[/url] (death metal/grind)
[url=http://s11.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3R9O2V65K98WJ1H0WQZ8JI6LB7]Bolt Thrower - Icon[/url] (death metal/grind)
[url=http://s11.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2S3MGQRWZT58B3UXLSMO7V8RL8]Mr Bungle - Golem II: The Bionic Vapour Boy[/url] (genre? Mr Bungle? hahahahhaha)
[url=http://s19.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=313V84HPRGE2U3QDIU508P3X1I]Mr Bungle - Retrovertigo[/url] (ahahahahahahah)
[url=http://s19.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1PQB2V1UQYYP624FR36405164S]Mr Bungle - Vanity Fair[/url] (...)
[url=http://s19.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0NTWVUYCP8YA60P9SZDXMH1Q4Y]Murder By Death - You Are the Last Dragon[/url] (alt/indie fodder, with violins and pianos and things)

[QUOTE=Grateful Dead]Unfortunately, the mp3 seems to skip quite a bit in this part[/QUOTE]
****, the file was fine on my computer... this is not the first time I've had mp3's go skippy either... maybe I need a new ftp program.

[QUOTE=Grateful Dead]10/10, saynomore.[/QUOTE]
:D This made it all better. But I'll try and get a good version up.

Dibs

[b]Murder by Death - You Are the Last Dragon[/b]
Never heard anything by this band before.

Begins with a very cool piano and guitar duet. Very melodic with jazzy elements. Violin and cymbals add in. Sounds very awesome. Then a cool rhythmic guitar part enters with distortion and gets the song cooking. The guitar is a little loud in the mix. THere is a violin in there which is nice and everything sounds very well thought out. I like this. A lot. There is a lot of emotion in the music without the vocals being some annoying whiny moan. He is singing and not forcing anything and the vocals are hardly the focal point of the music.

This is excellent. Lots of little bridges and interludes and dynamic shifts. I like this a ton. The violin is an excellent touch although I think it's a viola. Maybe not but it sounds too low for violin but not like a cello. Woah! a very cool synth part ends the song. I wish it were longer. I wish this song were 10 minutes long. It is so well done and everything is just so good.

Give me the name of the album this is off of. I may even buy it I liked this song so much. My only complaint is the guitar mix. Just a little too loud and the distortion interferes with the drum mix. The song writing is perfect. Nothing cheesy or overdone, all very thought out and well arranged. I loved it.

9.999/10

[url=http://s49.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2LGOR26XFGWGQ2PZUOYFTPNH2T]Mare - Sun for Miles[/url]post metal with a little bit of awesome
[url=http://s49.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3774IJKPZTH6Z0P372WSGBFT0E]Blut Aus Nord - Metamorphosis[/url]Black metal with something else
[url=http://s49.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0ETXIDLXJWZNF0YMR9U961VT60]Corpus Mortale - Mass Funeral Pyre[/url]Technical death metal

links as soon as they finish uploading.

The album is called [i]Like the Exorcist, But More Breakdancing[/i]. It's an excellent album, as is their other one ([i]Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them[/i]).

What release is that Blut Aus Nord song from? If it's their later stuff, I might do it (or at least download it), as all I have is one of their earlier, more pure black metal releases, and I hear they've gotten very interesting recently.

It's from their 2003 album [I]The Work Which Transforms God[/I] it's not straight black metal.

Alright then, dibs.

Sorry, revoked. Unbelievably, something has come up in my life :)

just as well I decided to download one of those anyway.

coach z style deioghrbs

That was the most creative dibs I've ever seen.

[b]Mare - Sun For Miles[/b]

A big scream ends the last song I guess, it just happens to be on this track.

Ah, now a choir, very calm, this must be the song. The choir consits of 3 or 4 voices singing "Ahh" as chord, and another vocalist or 2 sings falsetto melody. This goes on a while. Different chords and lines are sung, but I don't know what's being sung.

After a while it gets high and sounds like the beach boys harmonies. It's getting a bit tedious.. no sign of the forcefulness that opened the track.
Some darker, deeper sounding chants come next, some of the backing chorusers shift notes a bit more, adding a bit of variation.

Oh wait.. 3:15 minutes in it fires up, a slow drum beat and sludgy guitar chords. There's some various screams.. but I still have no idea what it's about. And on that, it's pretty much over.


Well, I honsetly didn't find much enjoyment in there. The choral part was nice, but then it kept going, even with the changes it was tedious. Then the heavy bit.. too little (or too much), too late. It made me wish the whole thing was just choir.
Nah, definitely not something I go for. 4/10


_________________________
I'm not able to upload anything at the moment, so you have heaps of choices.

[b][url=http://s48.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=393CIQWCOLCWQ0OB03ZFYK4LOT]Goldie Lookin' Chain - Half Man/Half Machine[/url][/b] - comedy rap

[b][url=http://mp301.epitonic.com/files/reg/songs/mp3/20_Minute_Loop-Jubilation.mp3]20 Minute Loop - Jubilation[/url][/b] - dirty alt-rock/country

[b]Fagan - Slight Return[/b] - trip-hop [url]http://www.fagan.com.au/mp3/slight%20return.mp3[/url]

[b]Breakeven - En Vogue[/b] - ska hardcore - [url]http://files.mp3.com.au/MP3/Breakeven/Breakeven-None-En%20Vogue.mp3[/url]

[b]Goldie Lookin' Chain - Soap Bar[/b] - comedy rap

[b]The Cranberries - Ode To My Family[/b] - soft rock

[b]XTC - Greenman[/b] - pagan pop-rock

[b]Rumors Of The Big Wave - Nightmare[/b] - prog pop-rock

[b]Decoder Ring - Collapse Coming On[/b] - like Mogwai on speed (still not too fast)

[b]A Chorus Line (the musical) - At The Ballet[/b] - jazzy + lots more

[b]Alchemist - Worlds Within Worlds[/b] - really weird metal. close to 8 minutes

[QUOTE=Dancin' Man]That was the most creative dibs I've ever seen.[/QUOTE]

I still consider [url=http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5493465&postcount=671]this[/url] the best dibs ever. blue's the master of the creative dib.

Not a dibs, I have to go to sleep soon.

Heh, I like that dib.

/nota dib wrong omputer justa bump bad stickykeyboard

Dibs.

Never heard/heard of.
[b]20 Minute Loop - Jubilation[/b] - 4:54

Starts off with a bit of noise, sounds like it's probably the end of the last track. The song proper, I'm assuming, starts with some slow, kinda ominous bass, with a rising guitar tone in the background. Pretty cool way to start the song. The guitar crashes in with some very prominent drums - not overly prominent in a bad way though, just nice and strong, and "da-da-da" female vocals, I think. They sound kinda like they're mixed with a trumpet, imitating them. Sounds very rough and ready.

Vocalist singing now, and most of the instruments keep it down to being in the background to let him have his say. He's got a decent voice; not doing anything special. Joined by the female vocalist just before 1:00, and the interplay between them's pretty cool.

All the music fades out, leaving just the voices for a few seconds around 1:35, before everything starts up in the same way it started after the introduction earlier. Extra bits joining in and dropping out, for variation; a little extra electric guitar in the background, for example.

Everything slows down again, and some acoustic stringed instrument - possibly a guitar, though I wouldn't put too much faith in that - plays for a while, before we go back to the verse. A little bit concentrates on the vocals after this, before a short guitar solo.

Well barring something drastic happening in the next half a minute or so, I think the song's going to pretty much go out like this. And it's great. Just a mightily fun song, great play between the two vocalists, lost of variation in the instrumentation to keep it interesting. Very good.

9/10

[b]Songs;[/b]
[url=http://s11.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=12FN2G6EG1SZ105UTEN9OKX38S]Bolt Thrower - IVth Crusade[/url] (death metal/grind)
[url=http://s11.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3R9O2V65K98WJ1H0WQZ8JI6LB7]Bolt Thrower - Icon[/url] (death metal/grind)
[url=http://s11.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2S3MGQRWZT58B3UXLSMO7V8RL8]Mr Bungle - Golem II: The Bionic Vapour Boy[/url] (genre? Mr Bungle? hahahahhaha)
[url=http://s19.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=313V84HPRGE2U3QDIU508P3X1I]Mr Bungle - Retrovertigo[/url] (ahahahahahahah)
[url=http://s19.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1PQB2V1UQYYP624FR36405164S]Mr Bungle - Vanity Fair[/url] (...)
[url=http://s19.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0NTWVUYCP8YA60P9SZDXMH1Q4Y]Murder By Death - You Are the Last Dragon[/url] (alt/indie fodder, with violins and pianos and things)

I'd just like to say Grateful Dead's review of The Red Paintings - The Streets Fell Into My Window was top notch.
I actually downloaded the song because I thought the review was so good.

^Is that the guy who just randomly comments on reviews?

Dibs