Johannes Schult

Shindell in Germany – it felt like my patriotic duty to attend the show in Oldenburg last Sunday. The Wilhelm 13 is a sweet, cozy venue. A steady stream of people arrived, every other wondering aloud that they had expected to be the only ones in the audience (partly due to the soccer match Germany vs. Norway, which took place that night.) In the end, the promoters had sold all tickets, making the event not just a musical success.

The show began shortly after 8 pm with “All Wide Open”, preceded by a quick “Guten Abend – that’s all I got”. The first set featured lots of new(ish) songs. “Transit” was more enigmatic than ever. It helped that the sound was very good, particularly the vocals. “Careless” was another early highlight. During “Parasol Ants”, Richard kept glancing at his lyrics book. With “Ascent” he warned the audience there would be mistakes because he hadn’t practiced the song and didn’t have the lyrics at hand. The rendition was spotless, though. This resulted in the situation of all available copies of “Blue Divide” being sold during the break. “Satellites” on the electric guitar had a nice drive. “Atlas Choking” has to be one of my favorite Shindell songs, and that night’s version was awesome.

The second set contained old and new, originals and covers side by side. “We Learned the Sea”, a Dar Williams cover, sounded particularly haunting. The venue wasn’t as hot as the UK pubs, and Richard seemed to appreciate the lack of sweat running down the guitar body. Anyway, “Are You Happy Now?” got some additional “Are You Happy Now?”s at the end and I think Clara lost some line during the last chorus. After announcing “The Next Best Western” and tuning the electric guitar for several minutes, the Western was ditched in favor of “There Goes Mavis” on the acoustic guitar.

“Any requests?”, Richard asked when he was called back for an encore. Silence. Then someone said: “Courier“. Good choice if you ask me. Great song, happy Johannes!

The second encore was a classic. I was just a bit confused by hearing the Joan Baez story while Richard seemed to play the intro to “The Ballad of Mary Magdalen” on the bouzouki. Naturally, “Reunion Hill” was played, eventually.

“Any more requests?”, was the question before the third encore. Silence. Then someone said: “Che Guevera T-Shirt”. “That’s a long and complicated song”, said Richard, considered it briefly, but then opted for “Stray Cow Blues”.

1. All Wide Open
2. The Deer on the Parkway
3. Transit
4. Careless
5. Parasol Ants
6. Ascent
7. Satellites
8. Atlas Choking
9. We Learned the Sea
10. A Summer Wind, a Cotton Dress
11. Midnight Bridge
12. I Know You Rider
13. Are You Happy Now?
14. Get Up Clara
15. There Goes Mavis
16. The Courier
17. Reunion Hill
18. Stray Cow Blues

Nach dem schönen Konzert am selben Ort im vergangenen Jahr kehrte Dar Williams am 25. Mai in die Kulturfabrik zurück. Im Vorprogramm bot diesmal Vanessa van de Forst recht gewöhnlichen Country-Pop mit einer facettenreichen Stimme. Neben Mainstream-lastigen Stücken wie “Middle of Nowhere”, “Ponchartrain”, “Twenty One” und “Lucky” gab es mit “Jolene” (Dolly Parton) und “Free Fallin'” (Tom Petty) zwei nette Coverversionen.

Ganz anders dann Dar Williams mit ihrem eigenwilligen Folk. Zu nahezu jedem Lied streute sie eine umfangreiche Erläuterung ein und vertonte Themen wie moralische Kompasse, Babysitter, griechische Göttinnen, Psychotherapie, Gender und (natürlich?) Hippies kongenial. Das mit lieblichster Stimme gesungene “Family” war für mich einer der Höhepunkte des Abends. Dar ging auch auf zahlreiche Publikumswünsche ein und wurde gleich zweimal für eine Zugabe auf die Bühne zurückgerufen.

1. Emerald
2. The Light and the Sea
3. The Babysitter’s Here
4. I Am the One Who Will Remember Everything
5. Family
6. I Had No Right
7. After All
8. Slippery Slope
9. Mercy of the Fallen
10. You’re Aging Well
11. Iowa (Traveling III)
12. Storm King
13. When I Was a Boy
14. February
15. The Ocean

Während ich häufig bei Konzerten auf die Hauptband warte und dem Vorprogram mit Skepsis begegne, war es letzten Dienstag umgekehrt. Nachdem ich Von wegen Lisbeth letztes Jahr in Potsdam und Stuttgart live gesehen hatte, wollte ich nicht bis zur Headliner-Tour im Herbst warten. So fuhr ich nach Ulm ins Roxy, wo um Punkt 20 Uhr die Lichter ausgingen und Element of Crime-Frontmann Sven Regener die Vorband ankündigte mit den Worten “Die sind halb so alt wie wir und doppelt so gut. Sie sind jung. Sie sind schön und sie sehen toll aus und sie können übers Wasser wandeln. Sie geben sich selbst einen seltsamen Namen, aber den tragen sie mit Stolz und Würde. Hier sind sie: Von wegen Lisbeth.”

Dem habe ich eigentlich nur wenig hinzuzufügen. Los ging es mit “Bäreneck”, dessen Stimmung gleich gut beim Publikum ankam. Nach “Mon Cheri” folgte der wohl poppigste Titel des Abends, nämlich “Sushi”. Spätestens hier kippte dann die Abwarthaltung der meisten Zuschauer, denn es folgte lautstarker Applaus. “Zimmer” unterstrich anschließend die ausgezeichnete Passung Von wegen Lisbeth mit der Hauptband, die man so eigentlich gar nicht zwischen Indie-Pop und Retro-Romantik-Melancholie erwarten würde. Noch melancholischer wurde die Stimmung dann bei einer neuen Ballade. “Lang Lebe die störung im Betriebsablauf” war auch schon der letzte Song, der bislang nichts von seinem Reiz eingebüst hat – im Gegenteil, gerade live ist der Groove herrlich mitreißend. Dankenswerterweise war der Sound bestens ausgesteuert und die Lautstärke nicht übertrieben. Zum Glück gibt es im kommenden Herbst eine Headliner-Tour der Truppe, wo sie dann sicher länger als 25 Minuten spielen (dürfen).

Zwanzig Minuten später betraten dann Element of Crime die Bühne. Der Sound war verblüffend nah an den Studioaufnahmen dran. Gerade die Rhythmusgruppe wirkte recht zurückhaltend. Richtig lebendig wurde die Musik durch die gefühlvolle Lead-Gitarre und natürlich durch den charismatischen Gesang von Regener. Als Gelegenheitshörer von Element of Crime freute ich mich über den tollen Sound, da die Texte gut verständlich waren und immer wieder mit faszinierenden Ausdrücken (“ex-Spargelkönig”) begeisterte. Das Publikum lauschte eher zurückhaltend, spendete aber zwischendurch kräftig Applaus. Dreimal zwei Songs als Zugabe waren die logische Konsequenz eines kurzweiligen Auftritts in der gut gefüllten Roxy-Werkhalle. Meine Lieblingsstücke des Konzerts waren “Immer da wo du bist bin ich nie”, “Immer noch Liebe in mir” und das flotte “Mehr als sie erlaubt”.

On Saturday, July 4th, 2015, I finally got to see Help! A Beatles Tribute. Two band members used to play with The Brandos, which is why I became aware of this Beatles cover band in the first place. Still, I went to the concert primarily to hear Beatles songs – and, hopefully, to get an idea what a Beatles concert would sound in the year 2015 if John, Paul, George, and Ringo had magically travelled through time (and had even more magically solved their conflicts). So I drove to Schramberg in the middle of the Black Forest. It was a particularly hot summer day and the town seemed very sleepy. As the sun set, however, people flocked to the venue, a beautiful garden area. About 350 people had arrived when the four musicians appeared on stage.

The music sounded terrific, mostly because the songs were and are amazing, but also because the band brought the tracks to life with fervent passion and dedication. This wasn’t about creating an exact copy of the original in terms of looks, chronology, or stage banter. Yet, the songs themselves were performed faithfully to the point where you could just close your eyes and pretend to witness the magical journey through time mentioned above. Here was a group of musicians with strong voices and even more impressive melodies. Song after song, hit after hit, classic after classic – it was a barrage of the very best that music has to offer. The first set was a blazing journey through 2-minute pop symphonies. The second set was more of the same with a few songs off the later albums. I just loved that Help! A Beatles Tribute focused on songs that work in a live setting.

There was hardly any pause between songs. There were no solos, no pointless animation attempts, no tiresome history excursions. Only once in every set did the band encourage singing along (“Yellow Submarine” and “Hey Jude”). Plus, there was a conga-line (Polonaise in German) during “Ob-la-di Ob-la-da”. Naturally, people sang along during most of the songs, anyway. The song selection left nothing to be desired. A few lesser known songs spiced up the show – and similarly to the original, there were a few driving cover songs sounded oh so good. I don’t remember the exact setlist, but the list below should be rather complete. If you get the opportunity to see the band (tour dates can be found here), go to their concert!

First Set:

A Hard Day’s Night
Eight Days a Week
Ticket to Ride
Love Me Do
I Should Have Known Better
Please Please Me
It Won’t Be Long
Rock and Roll Music
I Feel Fine
We Can Work It Out
The Night Before
From Me to You
Please Mr. Postman
Yellow Submarine
Can’t Buy Me Love
I Want to Hold Your Hand
Long Tall Sally

Second Set:

Help!
Day Tripper
Drive My Car
Paperback Writer
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
I Saw Her Standing There
Get Back
Here Comes the Sun
Come Together
Revolution
Back in the U.S.S.R.
Ob-la-di Ob-la-da
I Wanna Be Your Man
She Loves You
Let It Be
Twist And Shout
Get Back
Don’t Let Me Down
With a Little Help From My Friends
Hey Jude

Encores:

The Ballad of John and Yoko
All My Loving
Yesterday
Roll Over Beethoven
Something

The Hooters are touring Germany relentlessly. Having seen more than 20 gigs and having written about several of them here, I find it a bit tiresome to write about the regular stuff afterwards. The trend away from lots of jamming towards a tight collection of classic songs and a few other tunes continued at the concert in Neuleiningen on July 3, 2015. The small town near Mannheim used a (gorgeous) castle ruin to stage the show. It was a really hot day, but it became bearable towards the evening. The walls around the court provided some shade and nobody seemed to mind the absence of an opening band. The show was sold-out.

I find it funny that I have never seen the Hooters in the same venue twice. They keep branching out into small towns and other pampa regions. The audiences are remarkably similar (unless it’s a big, big festival thing like Sound of Pop with about 100,000 people in the audience). The front row consists of die hard fans. They are rocking out from the first note on. The rest of the audience needs a few songs until they start grooving along. It helps when “Day by Day” appears early on. The Neuliningen concert featured a surprisingly large number of songs off “Nervous Night”. I was happy to hear “Hanging on a Heartbeat” for the first time. I’d suspect, however, that German audience are well familiar with the subsequent albums, too. From what I read in interviews, “Zig Zag” isn’t the band’s favourite album, so that might explain the reluctance to go beyond “500 Miles” and the occasional “Deliver Me”. The first encore, “Give the Music Back”, made a strong case that the album does deserve some of the limelight.

From “Karla With a K” onwards, everybody was eagerly cheering, singing along, and simply having a great time. Naturally, “All You Zombies” had paved the way, and the German parts of “Private Emotion” elicited a strong reaction. All in all, it was yet another excellent gig that underscored band’s reputation as a live band.

1. I’m Alive
2. Hanging on a Heartbeat
3. Day By Day
4. Silver Lining
5. Morning Buzz
6. Private Emotion
7. South Ferry Road
8. All You Zombies
9. The Boys of Summer
10. Graveyard Waltz (Slight Return)
11. 500 Miles
12. Where Do the Children Go
13. Karla With a K
14. Twenty-Five Hours a Day
15. Satellite
16. And We Danced
17. Pissing in the Rhine
18. Give the Music Back
19. Johnny B
20. Major Tom (Völlig losgelöst)
21. One of Us
22. Time After Time

Dar Williams has been touring in the United States steadily for over 20 years. She also played a few shows in the UK and in the Netherlands from time to time. On Saturday, 30th May, she played her first German concert in 17 years. I was thrilled! Much to my delight, I wasn’t the only one at the Kulturfabrik that evening. About 100 people showed up, filling the small club to the last row. The opening act was North Alone, a singer/guitarist with a fiddle player. The voice reminded me of Tom Waits, but the music was quite folky and upbeat. The audience (myself included) needed a few songs to warm up to the duo. I liked the songs “Missing Heart Shadow”, “Scatter My Ashes in the Sea”, and the closer “The Road Most Traveled” best. That last song in particular sounded really good and had everybody sing along at the end

Dar Williams entered the stage with a somewhat lengthy welcome speech that included the German translations of babysitter and hippie. Her first song was consequently “The Babysitter’s Here”. Dar accidentally said “The play was called ‘The Babysitter'” in the middle part, which was funny. Each song was met with friendly applause. “Emerald” and “Buzzer” were two highlights early in the set. When Dar asked for requests, many different song titles were yelled – and she played pretty much all of them! First came “Iowa”. Dar timidly asked us to sing along and someone in the audience replied “We won’t let you down!”, which drove any tension that might have remained at this point. Sing along, we did! It’s such a great song. Dar’s voice shone on “You’re Aging Well” (another request). <fanboy>She really is the best!</fanboy>

There was the usual banter between songs. Some stories did not really relate to the following song (e.g., her husband had asked her to thank the Germans for improving the passive house building techniques over the past few decades), some were funny, some were graceful, some were sincere. It still baffles me that Dar never seems tell any anecdote twice. Much too soon, she had played her final song. Thankfully, she came back for two encores (“February” and “Are You Out There”, both fantastic in their own way). Afterwards, she patiently signed cds and talked to the fans. There seems to be hope for future concerts in Germany. I’ll be there!

1. The Babysitter’s Here
2. Spring Street
3. The Beauty of the Rain
4. Emerald
5. Slippery Slope
6. Buzzer
7. Empty Plane
8. Iowa (Traveling III)
9. You’re Aging Well
10. Something to Get Through
11. The One Who Knows
12. Mercy of the Fallen
13. New York Is a Harbor
14. When I Was a Boy
15. February
16. Are You Out There

Perhaps the most magnificent element of the Chris de Burgh concert in Mannheim last Tuesday was the perfect sound mix. Unlike most live concerts, it wasn’t too loud. The vocals were crystal clear, the bass present but never obnoxious, the drums a piece of the puzzle instead of a bulldozer driving all across the puzzle. The acoustics of the Mozartsaal certainly helped transporting the sound to the audience’s ears. The light show was inventive but again never distracting from the actual star of the show: the music. Sure, some fans might indulge in seeing Chris de Burgh. I, however, was there for the music. Once again, the setlist (see below for pic and details) contained a balanced mixture of old and new material. There were plenty of songs that hadn’t been played for many years; there were the inevitable classics; there were seven songs off the new album “The Hands of Man” – some great (like “Where Would I Be?”), the rest at least good; there were other songs that were neither classics nor obscurities – “Where Peaceful Waters Flow”, “The Spirit of Man”, “The Same Sun”.

The mood was good on stage as well as in front of the stage. In addition to the usual presents (flowers, wine) Chris also got tomato soup. The first few songs were presented without comment. Later on, the banter between songs grew longer. It was generally filled with thankfulness and a bit of wit. In my opinion, the only flaw was the use of click tracks and samples during some of the band songs. Don’t get me wrong, “Go Where Your Heart Believes” sounded brilliant with those strings. It just made the show seem a bit like a TV show rather than a live show. I’m sure the band could have easily played the songs without additional help. I still enjoyed the songs, of course, even with the diminished tempo dynamics. As for the highlights, there were plenty.

“Transmission Ends” was wonderful, “Say Goodbye to It All” made me cry, the acoustic session proved that the players on stage don’t need to rely on backing tracks. And the solo section with “Carry Me”, “Borderline”, and “Where Peaceful Waters Flow” demonstrated that Chris de Burgh is still very much an amazing singer, musician, and performer. Then there was the cheesy synth sound in “Man on the Line” (awesome!). “Spanish Train” and “A Spaceman Came Travelling” were a blast from the past that got lots of applause. And for the encore, “Patricia the Stripper” made an (acoustic) appearance!

This was my fourth Chris de Burgh concert. Once again, the Irish singer delivered a fresh performance with just a few inevitable repetitions (which, by the way, haven’t lost any of their appeal – “don’t do it!”). And not only did he cover most periods of his career, the fans embraced pretty much every song with equal appreciation. The “cost” of this is probably a slightly smaller audience (the hall was pretty much sold out with maybe 1,700 people) compared with the draw of a pure best of program. The ticket prices were rather steep, so you certainly won’t find me at another concert of the current tour. Yet, from a musical and emotional perspective, it was an excellent show, sincere, uplifting, thoughtful, moving, and towards the end even rocking.

1. The Hands of Man
2. Big City Sundays
3. The Light on the Bay
4. Have a Care
5. Go Where Your Heart Believes
6. The Candlestick
7. Ship to Shore
8. The Same Sun
9. Spanish Train
10. Through These Eyes
11. Transmission Ends
12. A Spaceman Came Travelling
13. Man on the Line
14. Missing You (acoustic)
15. Pure Joy (acoustic)
16. Love of the Heart Divine (acoustic)
17. There Goes My Heart Again (acoustic)
18. Carry Me (Like a Fire in Your Heart)
19. Borderline
20. Where Peaceful Waters Flow
21. Where Would I Be?
22. The Words “I Love You”
23. The Keeper of the Keys
24. The Lady in Red
25. Africa
26. The Spirit of Man
27. Say Goodbye to It All
28. Don’t Pay the Ferryman
29. High on Emotion
30. Patricia the Stripper
31. The Moonfleet Finale

Once again, I wrote down my thoughts while listening to the recent SpinTunes round (the third of SpinTunes 10). The challenge allowed us to play “our” style for the most part. So it was interesting to see, how clearly the long sentences stood out in each entry. Once again, my rating are purely subjective. All songs met the challenge in my opinion, so I won’t point this out for every song. (Check out the next post for a song bio of my entry.)

Adam Sakellarides – Too Verbose: The rhythm does remind me of the Weird Al example. The song nicely picks up the challenge and uses it as a starting point for its plot. The upbeat rhythm is partially successful in compensating for the monotone verse vocals. Not that the vocals are bad, but well, they *are* rather verbose. The chorus is good. The ending, however, is a bit irritating in my opinion; I’d have cut off the song before the final refrain. Maybe add some fire noise. Sirens. Honestly, I couldn’t really make out the words to the backing vocals in the chorus. They could have been more prominent in the mix. 7/10

Governing Dynamics – Recursion: Finally a challenge that isn’t at odds with the Governing Dynamics style. The verses and the chorus sound a bit too similar. The words successfully indicate the chorus but the music (including the vocal melody) remains a bit tame. 5/10

Kolton H. – Muse of the Machine: Tough stuff; I mean, I can barely make out the vocals. The songs seems ok. I read the lyrics beforehand and liked them quite a lot. Still, the final outcome is a tad too much soundtrack and not enough song for my taste. 3/10

Dreiviertel Drei – Homosocksual: The contrast between the sinister mood and the pun is fun! A sock-eating monster in the washing machine could have been the cherry on top of the cake. The vocals are off-key every now and then. Jus tlike with Governing Dynamics’ entry, the chorus could stand out a bit more. The final reverb hints at the possibilities. The mandolin (?) works nicely. 4/10

Megalodon – You Need to Know: Real drums, nice. It takes the song 30 seconds to get going. There’s a progressive rock feeling to the tune that should appeal to me, but where is the standout chorus? The instrumental side is more convincing than the vocals. In fact, I struggle to make out anything. Is this the song about Minecraft? Mh, not that I know anything about that. Or do I need to know about it? The fancy break in the middle is fun; the ending spices things up, but the lyrics are just too repetitive. 3/10

Jurek Mika – Yagi: This song might just work after drinking one beer too many. The challenge is met headon, I can’t argue about that. Sadly, the whole thing becomes too repetitive too fast. The middle eight doesn’t help – unless illegal psychoactive substances come into play, I guess. The instrumental outro could have brought some air into the song if it had been put in the middle of the song. 2/10

Zoe Gray – When the Rain Falls: The mood is a nice change compared to the previous song. However, it’s rather monotonous. This seems to be a side effect of this challenge. Maybe the judges will even reward it. The arrangement could have put some air after the refrain, before the subsequent verses. 3/10

Charlie McCarron – The Animal Song: The sarcastic lyrics are fun – and the music doesn’t get in their way. The rhythm changes provide the necessary possibility to breathe. My ears applaud this approach! I feel bad for the plethora of animals mistreated in the lyrics. Being the second longest song this round, it could have been edited a bit, I guess (maybe sacrificing the A-Z gimmick). Those were my initial thoughts. After watching the video clip, I love this song. The chorus is great (“Screw you!”), the animation is spot on. I’m glad I’m not an official judge, because the video might bias me. 8/10

The Boffo Yux Dudes – Love You: I can’t do this song justice like Sammy Kablan certainly can. Did you guys ressurrect Roy Orbison? The atmosphere is surreal; I might just pretend this is about the afterlife. The vocals have way too much vibrato for my taste. 4/10

Edric Haleen – The Land of No Punctuation: 100% Edric. Excellent. I tried to figure out the meter but gave up halfway through. The lyrics are fab – and unlike some of the other entries in this round, the song takes a (much needed?) break just when the run-on sentence reaches the limits of my patience (after a quick detour to the Land of No Inflection). The middle part itself is pleasantly soothing. The ending is cool. While not a song I’ll listen to on repeat, it will certainly put a smile on my face every time I hear it. 9/10

Atom & EV – Conspiracy Theory: High ranking for idea, low ranking for execution. Similarities to Bob Dylan and Billy Joel are obvious. I like the lyrics, but yeah, the production could be way better. 3/10

James Young at the Bottom of a Well – How Was Your Day?: The vocals are drowned in the backing track. I have no idea how to describe the character of this song. It could rob a bank and I wouldn’t be able to pick from a line-up. There is a mood, but again, unable to make out the lyrics I struggle with this one. 2/10

Jailhouse Payback – Reflections in My Eggs: The music runs on and on like the lyrics, I guess. The guitar solo brightens things up. Sadly, I can’t get a grip on the story/on the song. 2/10
The rat says: Sounds quite good.

Pete Murphy – Liars: Starts out like a Deep Purple song. The vocals start out great but become repetitive. I know, that’s a run-on sentence in each verse. If I were a judge this might make me rank this song near the top. Personally, I’d love to hear a few more hooks in between. Hats off for the organic, clear production. 4/10

Ross Durand – Catch Me: I must confess that I recently watched a Ross Durand live video on his homepage. And now I can’t help but wonder if the song would sound more dynamic, more gripping if it were only acoustic guitar (picked?) and vocals. Only a few moments stand out – I wish I would have listened to this one first to appreciate it more. 5/10

Dr. Lyndike – No Time for Dreams: Another confession: I always imagine Dr. Lyndike as Dave hammering away on his keyboard in the basement (?), because that’s how I first saw him when he played some Jonathan Coulton songs. So now I’m irritated by the band arrangement. I mean, where does the band come from? Why are there tons of guitarists with harmonicas in front of them, but no piano players with harmonicas? I like the approach of the song; the mood suits the lyrics. Packing a whole lifetime into the song was ambitious but they pulled it off. 7/10

Ben Taggart – How Was Your Day? (Shadow): The music is (too) repetitive, but the lyrical approach is fine. 2.6/10

Ominous Ride – After Happily Ever After (Shadow): Again, the music is (too) repetitive. The song sounds a bit boring. No, wait it’s hypnotic. And also a bit boring. And hypnotic. 3/10

Here are my impressions from the first round of SpinTunes #10 (listen here!) – written and presented in the order in which I listened to the entries. The rating at the end reflects a) sympathy and b) nailing the challenge.

Gorbzilla – First Kiss: The ride cymbal is a bit too prominent in the mix. Otherwise, this is a good tune that suits the challenge/mood perfectly. It has this movie soundtrack feeling to it. The lead guitar in the middle is restrained enough to not distract from the romantic mood. The breaks come at the right moments. Good vocals, by the way. The mood reminds me a bit of “Don’t Let Me Down” by the Beatles (which itself suits the challenge well). 9/10

Governing Dynamics – Introvert Asks to Spend the Night: The big question here was whether I can still enjoy Travis’s music now that he cut his hair. The answer is yes. The song sounds a bit fast for a candlelight soundtrack. I might have prefered a more melancholic tune, yet it brings a smile to my face to find Governing Dynamics in a good mood. Rock on! 6/10

Jailhouse Payback – Another Line: A nice pop song with a bit of country here and there. The production sounds good (harmonica! slide guitar or pedal steel or whatever that is); the vocals are okay. The few minor chords in between spice things up in a nice way. 8/10

Pete Murphy – (I Wanna) Get It on With You: Whoa, professional production. Funky guitars. Soundtrack for a candlelight dinner AT A BAR. Judging from the title this is a bit more straightforward than most of the other entries. (What do I know, I’m only four songs into the round.) The rating is torn between a good fit regarding the challenge and a musical style I do not like that much. 6/10

Dreiviertel Drei – Gag Reflex: The music spreads a mellow summer evening’s atmosphere. Lyrically, mh, forget what I wrote about the previous song; this one here aims way beyond a romantic embrace. Consequently, things get creepy during the song. I wouldn’t want this hear this song during a date (or during a wedding or a funeral for that matter). The final twist got lost on me the first time I listened to “Gag Reflex”. Maybe it should have been featured more prominent. 3/10

Ominous Ride – Open Your Fire: The singing voice is quite low; maybe spice things up with more variation next time? The song starts out very un-intrusive. It takes up pace and ends up in Funkytown. Personally, I prefer the piano parts of the verses. All in all this is a solid effort. The lyrics contain no real surprises – which isn’t that bad for this challenge. 5/10

Pigfarmer Jr – Hold You Tonight: He: Here, have a seat; I’ll just put away that guitar. She: You play guitar? He: Well, a bit. She: Will you play me a song? He: Nah, I don’t know. She: Come on, please? He: Okay *sings this song*. The tune sounds a bit clumsy, but in the scenario I just described it should work perfectly. Nice bass notes towards the end. Charming lyrics. 7/10

Buckethat Bobby – Glad You Came: I find little I like here, sorry. I don’t think the vocal melodies suit a romantic evening. 2/10

Brian Gray – Just You and Me: There is a restless undercurrent that might distract from romantic endeavours. The vocals are great as expected. The breaks are a bit off; maybe I’m still too impressed by Gorbzilla’s entry. Anyway, Brian Gray does not disappoint. 7/10

Charlie McCarron – If You Need Romance: Soft, pop meets jazz. Certainly meeting the challenge. The singer seems a bit reluctant. The ending is, mh, too real to be good? 5/10

David J – Language of Love: Finally, a nice lyrical twist. The music is very laid back. This could have ended up way worse. (But also more to the point, tighter.) 5/10

Dex01 – Get Together: Blues is sort of a contrast to happily getting together music. The resulting song is nice and makes me wish I’d be more generous with my ratings. 4/10

The Buffo Yux Dudes – I Can’t Get Enough: The Buffo Yux Dudes explore their 70s pop roots. This song should help to ‘break the ice’, even if it’s just a relaxed talk about the strange sounds of the stereo. I’m very much looking forward to see Sammy Kablam get annoyed by this one. Meanwhile I’ll give it 2/10

Jutze – This Could Be the Night: I was trying to channel Chris de Burgh. My vocals suck, but I just had to do a ‘serious’ entry. I’m rather satisfied with the backing track production. ?/10

The Ken Kesey Fan Club – How to Seduce Women: Pigfamer Jr gone bad? Creepy stuff. Lyrically AND musically. It somehow underscores the difficulty of approaching this challenge with sarcasm. I find little to like here, sorry. 1/10

Atom & EV – Tarzan and Jane: Simple, primal, effective. At first the song is weird, and in between it gets a bit dirty. Nevertheless, I find the concept refreshing. The execution reflects the primitive story of (mutual?) affection. 6/10

Ben and the Angel Fish – Love’s Lost: Beautiful piano playing. The voice is nice, but its production is somewhat poor. I’m afraid, the song is too sad for the challenge. It’s not too sad for my taste, though. The challenge demanded a soundtrack for a candlelight dinner – NOT necessarily a song about a candlelight dinner. Consequently, “Love’s Lost” could work, after all. 7/10

Ben Taggart – The Story of Us: It’s easy to rate this one, but hard to comment on it. The vocals sound somewhat undecided. The guitar is lonely rather than romantic. The lyrics don’t stand out, go on a tangent or two. The song remains too plain to be sweet in my ears. In the end, it’s a solid effort but nothing I’ll return to when compiling a date CD. 4/10

Megalodon – Can’t Weight: Another song that’s more suited for a date in a bar than for a date at home. Bonus points for the saxophone – not an instrument I usually enjoy but the definite romance instrument, anyway. Moving the lyrics to space is a nice idea, one of the more successful attempts of humor in this round (in my opinion). In the end, it’s just my personal taste that prevents a higher rating, sorry. 4/10

Emperor Gum – Tianjin: This tune sounds rather bland to my ears. I’d consider this dating music only if it were played quietly – at which point almost all music becomes dating music. Okay, not all music. This is more a soundtrack for an old black and white home movie than for a candlelight dinner. Maybe for an old black and white movie about a candlelight dinner? 3/10

Julian and the Self – Love Is in the Air: High male vocals meet uninspired vocal melodies – is this going to be a progressive rock song? No, it’s not. It keeps lacking direction. A mellow acoustic guitar meets a hungry cat. The mood is consistent throughout the song, but (apart from the solid lyrics) I don’t see much dating soundtrack potential. 2/10

Taylor Rundell – Make a Move: Could be the sonical backdrop in a club or at a bar. The song doesn’t appeal to me. The lyrics leave a taunting impression on me. The mellow moments in between are a tiny bit irritating. Make a move, but hey, just relax? The production is all right. Certainly not one of my favourites, though. 2/10

Dr. Lindyke – Date Night: A song about a date rather than for a date – the mood is good. The performance is flawless (or rather quite appropriate), as I’ve come to expect from Dr. Lindyke. The tone of the lyrics might be a bit too offensive.  5/10

Army Defense – Sexiest Sex: Various stuff happens throughout this song, but I struggle to connect it to a romantic date. The electric guitar has a few nice moments. The lyrics have a hard time being subtle. Musically, I would have liked more direction. 2/10

Ross Durand – I Wish: A song about a date AND a song for a date – Ross Durand doesn’t disappoint. It helps that he has a great voice. The song develops in a nice, cozy fashion. The guitar playing is spot on, the additional tracks enhance the song without taking away from the main melody and overall mood. The part before the ending is a bit too loud, I guess. Then again, the actual ending is just beautiful. 8/10

Domingo – Escondidas: A song in Spanish (which I don’t speak) – tricky. It suits the candlelight dinner rather well. The middle parts a bit too dense. The vocals lose their emotion here. Anyway, the song could suit a date, so I’ll give it 4/10

Adam Sakellarides – All I Wanna Do: Sheryl Crow did it better, I’m afraid. This tune here aims at a similar groove. It should facilitate good feelings rather than romance. The ending, well, doesn’t really facilitate either. 2/10

Mariah Mercedes – As Charming as You: Jazz alarm. Strong vocals. Suitable lyrics. The song suits a cozy date, preferably late at night. A person who likes jazz would give this one certainly more than 5/10

James Young – In the Dark of the Night: Rock alarm. Pop rock. This song is probable suited for a drunk-at-the-bar-sort of date. I fail to see how it should draw two souls closer together. The lyrics attempt to link the song to romance. They just don’t stand out in any way. The wailing solo guitar sounds nice but the last thing you want during the date is the other person making eyes at a fancy guitar player, instead. 3/10

Kolton H – Binary Love: A computer love song that works to a certain degree. It suits an LED light dinner better than a candlelight dinner. The keyboard sounds and the computerized vocals make this song stand out from the rest of the field. I applaud the audacity but the actual song is too flat most of the time to elicit more than a nod. 4/10

Jurek Mika – The Mood for You: Sublety? No way! Not my cup of tea – no clear melody, monotone lyrics, lacklustering vocals. And way too much repetition. 1/10

Melissa Leona –  Rocking in the Waves: Finally, some more 80s drum computers. The production is a bit unbalanced: sometimes the vocals get buried, sometimes the piano becomes rather loud. Apart from this, the song has a subtle tension that suits the challenge. The change to major chords halfway through the song is surprising. I could do without it. Keep the tension and hope that the listeners find a way to loosen things. 4/10

Zoe Gray – Make the Most of It: A good balance between mellow and energetic. The higher vocals in the chorus spice things up before the title line gets back to a more subtle mood. The lyrics seem a bit crammed and over the top here and there. Less sarcasm might have improved the song. Still, it’s one of the better ones this round. 7/10

Red Watcher – Hopeless Dreamer: Do I spot a progressive rock vibe here? And is this a bad thing given that progressive rock is not suited as date music? Is it wrong to write these remark entirely as questions? The lyrics clearly aim at the challenge whereas the music relies on a beat I’d consider unromantic (3-3-2 claves or whatever you want to call it). 2/10

Edric Haleen –  2-14-11: The low voice is a bit creepy. Am I surprised that Edric chose a sarcastic/science-related approach? No. Would I have preferred a cheesy piano ballad? Hell yeah! Linking the song to Valentine’s Day is not helpful, in my opinion. The tune could have been way shorter, too. 2/10

TL;DR Matt and Donna made a fantastic song. It’s my favourite one this round and you should check it out!

Judging this round is easier, because there are fewer entries; it’s also harder, because you need to consider the newspaper story for each song. Personally, I found this challenge a bit too liberal – so many possibilities. Then again, my personal style relies on puns, and ordinary news rarely provide them. I guess I liked those entries best that strayed from the original story a bit and developed a life on their own. Here’s the individual verdicts.

Godz Poodlz: The pop band production gives this one a Jonathan Coulton feeling, yet I’d prefer a more basic approach in the style of the folk singers from the 60s. The lyrics require knowledge of the story, which might diminish the impact of the song. Apart from that, the plot and the values sung about speak directly to the listener (at least to me) and there’s little to no part I’d skip / shorten. Nice one.

Caleb Hines: Great atmosphere, beautiful melodies. The instrumentation gives the song a movie soundtrack / music vibe. I’m not sure the handclaps belong there. Also, the chorus could have done with a bit more closure imho.

Matt and Donna: I like this one from the very start. Yes, I’m a sucker for synth melodies (and sounds) like this one. The rhythm is this perfect mix between sparse basics and driving beats. The changes to some minor chords throughout the track give the song enough emotional depth to render the lyrics somewhat unimportant. And then I read them and the annotation, and I wish I had a) found such a story and b) come up with such a small, yet clever idea. Hot contender for my favourite song of #3 so far. (PS: A different, more memorable title could have made more sense in the challenge, like “stuck between the bars”. Then again, the actual title fits the song and is clever.)

Alex Carpenter: The sound of this stripped recording reminds me of the German Monsters of Liedermaching. The quirky man-with-guitar approach isn’t the perfect vehicle for a rather serious, highly motivated lyric. Alex should have changed productions with the Godz Poodlz! The ending could have gotten bigger with some more instrumental toys, I guess. In the present state it sounds rather flat, and the song remains nice at best.

Ross Durand: Top notch vocals – love the many words in one line vs. short line endings contrast. The guitar playing is exquisite as well. Once again, switching to a minor chord (?) when it comes to “Land of the free” give the chorus an extra bit of emotion. I’m not sure how including three headlines in one song is in line with the challenge. Still, the way they are combined into something new (i.e., this song) works perfectly for me. Very good entry!

Dr. Lindyke: May I suggest you add some vinyl playing sounds (crackling?) to the recording? It’s difficult to compare this contemplative song to the rather upbeat entries most other contestants made. I like how peace is in the center of the whole song. A bit more “plot” in the lyrics (as in the third verse, where a person, a place, and an action is given) would have appealed to me, I guess.

Alexa Polaski: Mmh, this seems to suffer from deadline writer’s block. Or maybe the flat, sober rendition is intentional. I find myself impartial to this entry.

Matt Walton: I get the feeling that this is a good idea. But the execution lacks energy and passion. Or maybe it’s intentionally clean. Speeding up the whole thing and adding a jig somewhere in there would have spiced up things. Speeding up your song is generally a good idea to figure out possible changes/improvements. I’m not a native speaker, so my impression of the lyrics is rather vague. The verses sounded too much alike. It’s a song about demonstrating, so it could have done with more outgoing temperament – and possibly a mellow last verse for contrast.

Charlie McCarron: The production and performance sound quite good – still, it’s a tad too jazzy for my taste. The soaring vocals in between are a nice touch. The song managed to turn a newspaper story into a song story, thumbs up for that!

Jon Eric: Epic song, longest entry so far!? It starts out good, but the first chorus is already taking the drive out of the song. The atmosphere is gripping and it becomes clear that this will be a longer journey. The whole thing reminds me of Trans-Siberian Orchestra – probably the pathos in the vocals and the piano. When I say that this one’s too long, I don’t mean that parts are very enjoyable. The plot line holds the thing together and is one of the better ones this round.

Wait What: Did the planned marriage involve a robot? No? Then why the excessive auto-tune? The music is solid, creating a dense atmosphere. I like how it becomes bigger half-way through the song. Having the vocals in a higher register afterwards is a good idea. But why the auto-tune?

Governing Dynamics: Much better than the previous entry – or at least more true to the dynamics and the vocal/e-git combination I admire Travis for. The choice of the news item isn’t exactly quirky or anything. But the aura suits the musical style. Tip for future hit songs: Try writing a refrain that starts with an offbeat (that is, the vocals have a couple of notes before the 1 of the first chorus bar). Right now the song seems to me like a reflection of a big city in turmoil (which is an achievement), but with the right kind of hookline it could have been, well, catchier.

Pat and Gweebol: The topic of the song is rather serious, but the overall tone is quite joyful. Apart from this cognitive dissonance it’s a solid song, neatly produced and with much better vocals than I can ever hope to perform myself.

The Offhand Band: Did Billy Joel sneak into the contest? The style of the song along with its unintrosive melodies makes it easy to dismiss it as (quite flawless) background music for movies, elevators etc. The story told in the song has an important message and I wish it would have been put into more concise words.

Chris Cogott: Amazing vocals! The news were translated into highly original lyrics. I don’t think you can meet the challenge more than this entry does. There’s little to complain here, only that it’s ever so slightly outside my musical pleasure zone. Maybe it’s a bit too soft, a bit too much U2 (though there’s little to begin with), a bit too vast a harmonic soundscape. I don’t know. It boggles my mind that this appears to be one of the earliest submissions as it sound really professional. Maybe next time there will be rock guitars or melancholic twang guitars. No wait, we all will be rapping.

Steve Durand: I like how Steve has a rather unique sound that sets him apart from the other competitors. His tune is cheerful and less elaborate than some of his previous works. The vocals struggle with the higher notes – transposing is no crime, I think. The music is a bit too casual for my taste. The instrumental part in between hints at a bit more depths. But in the end it’s a plain waltz with a lot of happiness.

Gold Lion: Again, this is not exactly my cup of tea. However, the droning motive in the guitar and the strong vocals make me enjoy this song quite a bit. The refrain is beautiful and the story rather touching. The guitars could be a bit tighter, but this doesn’t keep me from enjoying the song. Also, the second vocal track is a bit confusing, at least to my ears. I could imagine that some more instruments here and there could give the whole thing a bit more colour. Anyway, a pleasant entry.

Inverse T. Clown: Oh boy, why isn’t the rhythm in the chorus a double-time feel? The verses are a bit dull, but the chorus is strong and the sounds fit the song well. The dramatic chord near the end of the refrain is very effective. The instrumental is kind of cool. There could have been a tad more plot development throughout the verses. Nice ending, good song.

Happi: Not a pleasant entry, partly because I’m not into rap. Oh, the irony. The plot fits the style, sort of. The individual parts a rather flat, but the transition keep the ball rolling throughout the song. The chorus melody is sung out of key, I guess. But who am I to point that out?

Menage’ a Tune: A jolly tune with some nice rhymes and a sincere vocal performance. I would have liked the title line to be bigger, more like a recurring refrain, maybe sung by a bunch of players. (Is it baseball? Or basketball? Or American Football?) I’m sure I’d dig the song if I had a connection to the team/type of sport.

Noah McLaughlin: The off-beat hi-hat in the verses is an interesting choice. The twangy guitars are cool. The distorted vocals work well. The songwriting feels a bit rushed. The middle-part is rather confusing, yet another indicator that more time would have led to a better song (or no song at all, who knows). The lyrics deal with a complex matter (or well, a matter I’m not too familiar with), so while I’m catching glimpses of the news in the song, I struggle to connect all the lyrical dots.