Songwriting competiton: The Judgement

Thanks Ignar,

Job well done. I know it took a lot of work and it is appreciated. Lots of insight, excellent comments.

Neil

Hi Neil,

I agree with you that its a lot of hard work. Great work by Ignar.

-diatonick

I volunteered to be a judge in this comopetition and then i thought that it was dropped. but i see that it wasn't. I hope no one minds buts i'm just going to add my two cents into this thread.I didn't go quite so much into depth in my crits as Arjen, just took some notes as I listened to the songs. In general it's hard to critique the song itself without being influenced by the delivery and recording quality.

Life Story - In the delivery and pharsing in some spots this reminds me of Leonard Cohen. Arjen has already said that is is a "troubador" song, which I agree with, in the style of Dylan, a little. The lyrics turned out to have a little twist in them as the character went off to war which is unpredictable and good. to me there is nothing wrong with this song but it doesn't grab me and make me want to listen again. Number four.

Dont Pray For Me - I like the more complicated guitar part in this song and I like the way the guitar seems to compliment the lyrics. The lyrics, though, are more of the descriptive type where nothing actually happens. It's sort of reflective. There's a lot of songs where not too much happens (think Norah Jones) but what makes those songs compelling is a clear and strong melody line. It sounds liek i don't like this song but I do. For me this song is the runner-up in this competition. It's a number two.

The Mind Game - This is the kind of song where they lyrics make more sense in the context of the music. On their own, I was wondering how they would work in the song. That's not to say that this is bad, tons and tons of songs are like that. And the lyrics do work here with the music. What's both good and bad about this song is that it sounds like something I've heard before. It's "radio friendly." Well put together, nicely crafted, good delivery. Tied for number two.

And So It Goes - This is probably not fair but it's too hard for me to say much about this song because of the recording quality and poor delivery. it could be the best song in the world but I can't tell. Therefore this song comes in last place for me.

Rest in Peace - Another radio friendly tune with a nice introduction to it. the lyrics are full of metaphors sometimes I thinkn too many. You can overdue it with the metaphors. sometimes it best to use one metaphor as a theme to keep coming back to. Number three.

Painted Blue - This is the most dramatic song of the bunch, a song where a mood is created right from the first note. Since this is a competition, for me this is the song that "wins." It's the most complete, most compelling, most dramatic with good recording and delivery. The thing about this song is that the lyrics, and it's a kind of a big thing, is that compared to some of the others the lyrics are weaker. But within the whole of the song, it actually doesn't make that much of a difference to me. It should but it doesn't. A lot of songs, tremendously popular, have lyrics a little on the weak side but it's the whole that counts.

Thanks for your time on the reviews pearl. Like the other judges, your feedback and input are greatly appreciated.

Matt