Music Banter - *** The Themed Weekly Member Mixtape Thread Is Back ***

Forigve my amateur writng, first review for week 1, part 1;

1.) Dengue Fever - Tiger Phone Card [Urban Hatemonger] - Wow! Wasn't expecting this. The lyrics were cheese, not too much cheese, but the right amount. Enough that I'd rip my... Their singing is a perfect match, Chhom Nimol has that eerie-soft Chinese-esque voice. Love it, adds to the cheese which like I said before, was good! Anyway, I've had this on repeat on YT for a while now, need to extract it to my iPod soon. looking into an album download as I write this! Great submission! - 9/10

2.) Killing Joke - Inside the Termite Mound [LoathsomePete] - Sounds like KoЯn. I liked it, a bit depressing but adds to the overall ambience of the song which is dark and gritty. Great sound. Lyrics were something else, not sure about how I feel about it at this juncture. Will give it a few more spins. I was reading a video description of this song on YT and it sounds like Killing Joke's catalogue is mostly political radicalism. True? Will look into a few more of their songs though. - 7/10

3.) Jesu - Farewell [Chrysalis] - I wasn't sure on how I felt about this song. Didn't like the vocals, thought they were too cheese. Although I couldn't hear him clearly, the vocals were cheese sonically. The synths were not my taste. But after the 4 minute mark when the bells kicked in, the song had pulled me out of my chair and I was standing idly in a desert looking at a pyramid. Just lost in a trance. It's one of those songs that wave a pendulum in front of your face subtly telling you you're sleepy. Final verdict? Still not sure how I feel about this song, but would give it a few more spins, maybe. ?/10

4.) Ken Kiernan & Ger McDonnell - Crom Cruach [Trollheart] - Weird, man. Sounds like, Tarzan meets Willow, if they ever made a movie like that, this song would fit perfectly. Just a weird song. Don't know when or where I'd listen to this again. Not really my thing. 3/10

5.) Beats Antique - Dope Crunk [Mondo Bungle] - Haha, this was cool. Not sure how this fits in with protest, although I could see a trailer to Assassins Creed with the protagonist jumping buildings and killing Templars from the sky, nodding with the beat. Like it overall, good composition, doesn't get repetitive and creative, just sonically pleasing! Great submission! 9/10

6.) Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Atlas Hands [Dr. Rez] - Nice, really nice. Beautiful. This song is just asking to be sampled. Good story telling to go along with a really good, subtle voice. Only problem I have with it is the length of the song. Everything else is really pure! 9/10

7.) Fort Minor - Petrified (Doors Remix) [djchameleon] - This wasn't too bad. I haven't heard the original so I wouldn't be able to compare. Could be mixed a bit better, low ends were all over the place. Maybe just my speakers. I'm always a fan of Shinoda's rapping. Felt like there was something missing with the overall mix, something gritty was missing. Heavy guitar maybe? Idk, song was alright. 7/10

8.) Chameleons - Second Skin [zer0] - Now, I may be a bit biased when it comes to your taste in music zer0. This is the type of 80's song I can really dig and play over and over. Would probably play this on a CD after New Order's, Crystal. Whole vibe of the song is really pleasing to the ears! 9/10

9.) Psalter - Dumpster Divers [Blarobbarg] - Sorry, didn't dig this song at all. I appreciate the energy but just doesn't move me at all. Lyrics were really cheese. I could only imagine the music video. 1/10

Week 1, part 2 review;

1.) Nouvelle Vague - No One Knows [wolverinewolfweiselpigeon] - This is a cool cover. Sounds like it could be the intro for a 007 film or the end of a Johnny English sequel. Soothing voice, smooth beat = one of my fave songs on the tape! 9/10

2.) Stara Rzeka - Przebudzenie Boga Wschodu [rostasi] - I thought I had, The Lovely Bones, playing in the background, haha. The beginning sounds a bit like a Cocteau Twins song. The guitars are a bit too loud and layered, almost distorted. Again, maybe my speakers acting up. And, gawdamn. The beat kicks in, and the song just loses it like it just popped a Molly! My fave kinda insanity, very entertaining. Although a bit too loud and messy for my taste. 8/10

3.) The Killers - Jenny Was a Friend of Mine [Powerstars] - Can't go wrong with The Killers. One of my favorite songs from them. Good pick! 9/10

4.) Alpine Decline - Sleeping Gas [duga] - Not sure how I felt about this one, it was good, but nothing spectacular. I think I have a couple songs that are the same sonically. Good pick, though. 7/10

5.) Sonny Sharrock - Promises Kept [Frownland] - I just recently started to get into jazz after watching the anime, Sakamichi no Apollon (The Kids on the Slope). I just loved the swing the music has. The drum solo was sick! This song just reminded me to pick some brains at the jazz forum here and to watch the anime again. Only thing missing from this song is a glass of whiskey and a cigarette. But that's my fault! 9/10

6.) Grand Belial's Key - Vultures of Misfortune [The Batlord] - I hate this song with a fiery passion. Why? Because I had this up pretty loud during the beginning then... I should've guessed from the name of the band it was going to be pretty heavy. Not my kinda music but I respect the energy it produces, had me head banging a bit. ;) 7/10

7.) Twelve Foot Ninja - Ain't That A Bitch [Astronomer] - Nice mellow vibe, sounds like Panic! abit. Totally dig everything after 2:00. Whole vibe changes to a heavy-anthem track. Really liked this one, probably wouldn't listen to this often, but would be regrettable to not have it on my iTunes when the time arises! 8/10

8.) Flume - Insane [Vanilla] - Not really my kinda electronic music. The vocals were alright, didn't like the pitch-shifts though. Not much going on. Had potential, maybe a remix would do this song justice. 4/10

9.) Corrections House - Hoax the System [bob.] - This what I expected the whole mixtape to sound like. Especially with a theme like, protest. A cliche protest song is how you could describe this song. Would never listen to this song again unless it was in a movie. And it should be in one. Ain't my type of song. 3/10

10.) Father John Misty - Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings [Arya Stark] - I remember this song from the video, which was kinda eerie. Kinda stuck on how to describe how I feel about this song. Upbeat-mellow-eerie. Love this song, would listen to this again! 9/10

11.) Coffins - Decapitated Crawl [Sequoioideae] - Not feeling it. 0/10

12.) Rush - Time Stand Still [Plankton] - Always biased towards 80's music. The female backing was really cool. Just overall a cool song. Good pick! 8/10

13.) Let's Active - Horizon [Burning Down] - Kinda song I'd listen to speeding through the desert in GTA: SA in my Bullet after I pick up my gurrl from her flat in Las Venturas. Then we go to San Fierro and setup shop there cause she just graduated police academy and was assigned to the SFPD. 2 years later happily married I get caught up in a drug deal I can't back out of and my photo gets sent to her office (she was promoted to Chief) and she starts to cry and tries hard to look for me, but I've gone back to Las Venturas and I'm crying to this song remembering our endeavors together and knowing I can never see her again... because I ain't going back to prison... not again...
9/10