Driving north & south at the same time

[nomiyah]

I got seemingly opposite reviews of "Solid Ground". It's hard to figure out what to do with the comments. What do you think? You can hear it at: http://www.nomiyah.com/dashboard/avgall ... 3S060510PR (Pop/rock songs a la Pink, Rob Thomas, Kelly Clarkson, Counting Crows, etc are wanted by an LA-based Publishing Co for film/TV/media placement, etc... Great vocals are a must. Broadcast quality needed...)Listener 111"There's a very serious story here... but the vox aren't very convincing of these words... There's a VERY serious & deep story here; but you've really gotta make me (the listener) believe it in some way... It has potential in general, esp since the story is so meaningful & deep."S060612MR (Modern Pop/Rock/Emo songs a la Avril Lavigne, Saves The Day, The Promise Ring, the Get Up Kids, etc. are needed by a NY-based Music Library/Publisher … Lyrically, he’d like songs that deal with the topics of Love & Loss. Your vocals must be young/youthful sounding... Songs must be Broadcast Quality)Listener 169“Vocals are strong and engaging. Quite alluring. I like the cadence here in your delivery. Good song structure working here… For me "how" you are delivering the lines (vocals/performance) is stronger than "what" (verse/chorus lines) you are actually saying here… I really like the feel here in this song. Strong mood creation with melody and performance. Vocals are strong as well, and I was pulled right in from the get go. Strong effort… This song is close...just feel that the performance here is stronger than "what's being said" lyrically. Vocals and song structure are strong. Actual performance really helps to "sell" this idea (like the cadence in the delivery).”

[nomiyah]

So 111 and 169, care to comment? Of course, I've never seen a screener response on the forum. That's ok, there's such a high level of opinion-givers amongst us. How do you think I should interpret this?

[Casey H]

Drive East Seriously, my feeling is that if one person likes "A" about a song and another likes "B", then both "A" and "B" have merit... Don't make yourself nuts (any nuttier than we all already are )...And... maybe it's a conspiracy... Screeners 111 and 169 are really the same person ("Deep Screener") and this is just to throw you off base... Happy 4th!CaseyPS The 4th will be the 22nd anniversary of when I met my wife.

[davewalton]

Quote:Drive East Seriously, my feeling is that if one person likes "A" about a song and another likes "B", then both "A" and "B" have merit... Don't make yourself nuts (any nuttier than we all already are )...And... maybe it's a conspiracy... Screeners 111 and 169 are really the same person ("Deep Screener") and this is just to throw you off base... I like the conspiracy theory. I don't think that there's any way to get around the fact that on any issue, even with the most informed individuals, that there's going to be conflicting opinions. If this is a song that you'll be submitting to more listings, then some common ground will come out of those additional critiques.What is your gut feeling about the song? Do you side more with one critique or the other? Sometimes I really don't know but most times I have private reservations at least about certain portions of most of my songs. Many times even with conflicting critiques, the combination of a certain critique and my private reservations tell me what I need to change/modify/improve with the song.FWIW, I thought it was a cool song. Nothing "professional" about my viewpoint, just that I liked what I heard. Dave

[Casey H]

Hey NomiFinally found the headphones to plug into my laptop and listen. I am more inclined to go with what screener #111 said. It's a good track but the vocal is a bit emotionally flat. So you might want to re-do the vox with more feeling.I disagree with screener #169 saying that lyrics were a reason for the non-forward. If this was, as I understand it, a film/TV pitch then any little nuances of the lyrics should be irrelevant- it should be a matter of recording quality and general sound and "feel".That doesn't mean there still isn't a conspiracy, LOL Casey

[nomiyah]

Thanks for the input, Dave and Casey. A conspiracy theory is the best interpretation yet ( ). Meanwhile, I think I'll just leave the song as it is for now because I like it like that. Nomi

[matto]

Nomi,Contradicting critiques happen from time to time. It's usually when a song just "doesn't grab" the screener or just "isn't right" for a listing, without there being anything particularly wrong with it. So each screener will try to find a reason for that and those reasons can vary wildly.You should never "take action" on a song as far as changing it unless you 1) absolutely agree with a reviewers point or 2) have at least 3 critiques that point out the same "flaws" in a song.Btw you'll see that the first listing specifically asks for "great vocals are a must", so I think it's no coincidence that the screener would dwell on what he doesn't consider a "great performance". Similarly the second listing mentions lyrics/lyrical themes and "youthful", so the screener there is paying special attention to the lyric. Please remember that songs are always critiqued in the context of the listing you submitted them to.Fwiw I think the reason this song wasn't forwarded is that it's really not close enough in sound/energy/attitude to the artists mentioned in either listing.matto

[nomiyah]

Thanks for the opinion, Matt. Yeah, I would never automatically change a song based on anyone's critique. But I do like to seriously consider all industry feedback.