Worst critique ever!!!

[geo]

Hi guys...I just got this critique and I am dissappointed.... not in the lack of forward... I honestly evaluated where I was in my songwriting career about 6 months or so and realized I had a lot to learn so I scaled back my subs and really concentrated on my craft... rewrote/arranged a lot of my stuff and applied what I had learned from the screeners and members to my new compositions. This also meant I focused more on my engineering... I cut the amount of recording sessions I was doing in half so I could spend more time trying to get to the almighty "Broadcast Quality". Now even though I had improved (random props from more established members) I still know I have a ways to go, upgrades in equipment that need to be made... so I still don't expect a forward ... but use the critiques as a "not so custom critique" to gauge my progress. So what is my problem? I am dissappointed in the critique itself. In 6 of the 7 comment boxes he/she says the exact same thing..."Outa genre and not broadcast quality". There are no specifuic references made to any of the songs, no suggestions on improving the recordings or even where I might consider listing them.... nothing. Two of the songs contain quite amusing lyrics but no comment is even made on lyrics... I lost Robin's email but did email a complaint to Taxi (Craig something or other) with the full critique and waited the standard galaxtic year (24 hours) before posting here after receiving no response.For a contrast I will also post the very first critique I received in which I was so outa genre it's embarrassing...Peace, GeoI put scores/boxes ticked in yellow, I know the scores don't mean anything but a newer member was a little confused with how the critique posted...These link to threads which have two of the songs if anyone is interested....http://taxi.proboards27.com/index.cgi?b ... 42POP/PUNK SONGS in the range of Blink-182, Fall Out Boy, Sum 41, Simple Plan, Paramore, Good Charlotte, All Time Low, Yellowcard, Sugarcult, Le Tigre, etc. are wanted by a successful Music Publisher based in L.A. who has secured tons of Film/TV placements for many TAXI members. Songs with vocals only and be sure the tunes are original - no covers, please. These songs should sound current, exciting, edgy and hip. Lyrics should be universal enough as to apply to many different scenarios/characters/imagery. Solid performances are a must and recordings need to be Broadcast Quality (great home recordings should be fine). They offer a non-exclusive, 50/50 split deal - you keep your original copyrights. Please submit one to three songs online or per CD. All submissions will be screened and critiqued by TAXI and must be received no later than January 7, 2009. TAXI #S090107PKName George Daniels Listing # S090107PK Title: The Ballad of King Kong (Love Song #1) N/A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (10=best) Music Lyrics Marketability Arrangement Production Engineering Musicianship Lead Vocal 4's & 5's here...This is not close to the respected listing as they are seeking POP/PUNK SONGS in the range of Blink-182, Fall Out Boy, Sum 41, Simple Plan, Paramore, Good Charlotte, All Time Low, Yellowcard, Sugarcult, Le Tigre. Moreover, this submission should be broadcast quality. Status: Forward Return Title: Nothing I Do N/A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (10=best) Music Lyrics Marketability Arrangement Production Engineering Musicianship Lead Vocal Yup, 4's & 5's....I have to restate what I said above. This listing is calling for modern pop punk and this is not a fit within that realm nor is it Broadcast Quality. Status: Forward Return Title: Superstar V7 N/A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (10=best) Music Lyrics Marketability Arrangement Production Engineering Musicianship Lead Vocal One 5....Once again, same story as above. Not on target and not broadcast quality. Status: Forward Return Style On target for this listing Hard to classify Not close enough to what listing asked for Not "current" sounding Style not consistent enough from song to song for an artist pitchThe listing is seeking modern a la POP/PUNK SONGS in the range of Blink-182, Fall Out Boy, Sum 41, Simple Plan, Paramore, Good Charlotte, All Time Low, Yellowcard, Sugarcult, Le Tigre. This is not in the wheelhouse. Overall CommentsOverall, this is not a match with respect to the sound of the listing and the quality of the tracks need to be broadcast quality. Sound Quality Well-recorded Not great, but clean enough for this listing Too much distortion Drums/percussion sound stiff and/or mechanical Instrumentation sounds too synthetic (see below)The production of the tracks are somewhat distorted and they are not discernible with respect to the instrumentation. The main reason(s) you were or were not forwarded for this listing is:Thank you for submitting to TAXI and for letting me hear your music. Unfortunately, sound quality and stylistic differences prevent us from making a match at this time. Listener ID # Note: The comments and numerical scores on this sheet are meant as helpful, objective information and are not used to determine whether or not your music This is my first sub....ROCKABILLY/PSYCHOBILLY SONGS & INSTRUMENTALS from Eddie Cochran, Carl Perkins, and Gene Vincent to Chris Isaak and the Stray Cats to the Cramps, the Reverend Horton Heat, and Southern Culture On The Skids are wanted by an LA-based Music Library headed by veterans of that industry. All tempos are OK. No lyrical restrictions - all themes are OK. Great performances are essential. They offer a non-exclusive, 50/50 split deal - you keep your original copyrights. Broadcast quality needed (great-sounding home recordings are OK). Please submit one to three songs online or per CD, include lyrics. All submissions will be screened and critiqued by TAXI and must be received no later than June 6, 2007. TAXI # S070606RYName George Daniels Listing # S070606RY Title: Hey Little Sister N/A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (10=best) Music Lyrics Marketability Arrangement Production Engineering Musicianship Lead Vocal 6's & 7's....Energetic song, musical performances are tight & propel the tune confidently. Vocal performance is solid, melody works well (even up in the high register!). Lyrical idea has a story to tell, I think a little fine tuning would add power to the idea. Getting a little more personal with your imagery, rather that using phrases/ideas that are used often, can add power to your thought.Status: Forward Return Style On target for this listing Hard to classify Not close enough to what listing asked for Not "current" sounding Style not consistent enough from song to song for an artist pitchRock/R&BOverall CommentsHi George, thanks for the opportunity to listen to your song and share some of my thoughts with you. There are strong ideas in this one. Solid musicianship, tight melody & vocal performance that shows range. There good ideas in your lyric, I think you can streamline the idea to make it more your own. For example, in the chorus you rely on imagery that is used often. It does serve your rhyme scheme (coming inside, nothing but pride) but is less substantial than your verse ideas. I think digging deeper here could benefit the song, overall. Style is a bit off the mark here, this song has the hallmarks of a rocking r&b type song rather than rockabilly/psychobilly. Best of luck to you!Sound Quality Well-recorded Not great, but clean enough for this listing Too much distortion Drums/percussion sound stiff and/or mechanical Instrumentation sounds too synthetic (see below)Overall recording quality needs to be improved to meet the broadcast/master quality needed for this listing.The main reason(s) you were or were not forwarded for this listing is:George, I feel the style of your song is different than the listing is after, and I feel more work is needed on the recording quality (if submitting for broadcast/master quality listings) and lyrical ideas.Listener ID #

[cmrmurray]

Hi George, I'm very new to this game, but it seems to me like it's just a case of having a different screener on a different day and possibly with a different workload.Your recent screener comments primarily in terms of the listing rather than the song per se. It looks like the people who approached TAXI to run this listing knew exactly what they were after, because I think the bands they name have very similar sounds (this as opposed to, say, a listing I submitted to recently that grouped alt-rock bands together that I thought were very dissimilar, like QOTSA and Raconteurs). This leaves the screener little room for interpretation, and it's no discredit to you that 'The Ballad of King Kong' is not a Sum 41 song.On the other hand, parts of the assessment seem contradictory to me:the quality of the tracks need to be broadcast quality.Sound QualityWell-recordedNot great, but clean enough for this listingToo much distortionOverall I'd say the tone is dismissive due to the generic mis-match, bluntly so even, but I'd chalk this one up to bad experience and wait for a listing that matches your interests better as a measure of how your recording techniques have progressed.

[billg]

Hey Geo, this might be a good time to suggest that the screeners elaborate a bit when they check something as "not being broadcast quality." Part of the Taxi membership gig is to help us improve, just saying the sound quality "needs to be improved" without adding anything doesn't help much. (as in the 2nd critique)In the first critique at least the screener added that he thought there was distortion in the recording. I listened to your tracks and I'm not so sure there is actual distortion in the "tracking" itself (although it could be). What i hear sounds more like some of those harsh digital transients to me. Somtimes you can soften or even get rid of those with some "soft" peak limiting or the right compressor . . . you may have to experiment with a saturation plug in cojunction with some soft peak limiting.Thank you, that will be $5. (PayPal is ok).

[geo]

Jan 30, 2009, 7:14am, billg wrote:Hey Geo, this might be a good time to suggest that the screeners elaborate a bit when they check something as "not being broadcast quality." Part of the Taxi membership gig is to help us improve, just saying the sound quality "needs to be improved" without adding anything doesn't help much. (as in the 2nd critique)In the first critique at least the screener added that he thought there was distortion in the recording. I listened to your tracks and I'm not so sure there is actual distortion in the "tracking" itself (although it could be). What i hear sounds more like some of those harsh digital transients to me. Somtimes you can soften or even get rid of those with some "soft" peak limiting or the right compressor . . . you may have to experiment with a saturation plug in cojunction with some soft peak limiting.Thank you, that will be $5. (PayPal is ok).I should pay you, you were more informative ... if the screener had written the same as you... I would be cool.... that would have been my nugget to take away and work on.... I just feel like he gave me the 30 sec listen and moved on... no reach around or nothing!!!Back to the faders....Peace, Geo

[geo]

Jan 30, 2009, 5:55am, cmrmurray wrote:Hi George, I'm very new to this game, but it seems to me like it's just a case of having a different screener on a different day and possibly with a different workload.Your recent screener comments primarily in terms of the listing rather than the song per se. It looks like the people who approached TAXI to run this listing knew exactly what they were after, because I think the bands they name have very similar sounds (this as opposed to, say, a listing I submitted to recently that grouped alt-rock bands together that I thought were very dissimilar, like QOTSA and Raconteurs). This leaves the screener little room for interpretation, and it's no discredit to you that 'The Ballad of King Kong' is not a Sum 41 song.On the other hand, parts of the assessment seem contradictory to me:the quality of the tracks need to be broadcast quality.Sound QualityWell-recordedNot great, but clean enough for this listingToo much distortionOverall I'd say the tone is dismissive due to the generic mis-match, bluntly so even, but I'd chalk this one up to bad experience and wait for a listing that matches your interests better as a measure of how your recording techniques have progressed.Thanks cmr (?) ... sorry you obviously haven't vented here before.... when you post the critique the check marks don't show up... I hilighted it to be easier to understand... he did tick "too much distortion" and "not close enough to style" in the critique and you are most likely on target with your assessment... work load/annoyed outa genre... but here's the thing... I sweat out 50 hour weeks in a kitchen... if someone doesn't like there food/service I gotta fix it... within reason... my view here is a critique is a critique, so I deserve one, not someone annoyed at my tunes so I don't get a fair, no proper evaluation...Don't let this sway you on Taxi.... been listening to your stuff on myspace... very good songs... clean recordings.... even like your site graphics, sweet... good luck!!Peace, Geo

[Casey H]

Hi GeoThe screener probably should have given you a little more input and I hope Robin gets back to you. 24 hours is not a long time as far as getting a response. I think when something is far off-target, the screeners may not spend as much time on the details. That is not how it should be for an "S" listing as I understand their rules, but it is the way the A&R world behaves and they may feel that when very far off, you should do a custom whereby someone can devote more time to it. Once again, I hope you are able to clarify this with taxi.BUT the onus is upon us to really understand what listings are asking for and sample the "a la" artists before submitting. A few minutes on amazon.com or iTunes sampling Blink-182, Fall Out Boy, Sum 41, Simple Plan, Paramore, Good Charlotte, etc. would have told you that your song (not that it's bad!) wasn't even close.I am a lot like you in that I write songs not generally in the style of modern artists. I depend on others-- producers with vision to either make it fit a particular time period or style or modernize if possible. Of course, this is pricey so you either have to learn to DIY or collaborate. DIY here for making tracks that sound like modern artists is very difficult for folks who's roots are in older music. Maybe you can seek out folks here who can help take your songs in raw (or not-so-raw) form and make them fit what a music library might sign. I landed deals because of working with folks here. FWIW, I think the raw material in a lot of your songs has very good potential... just needs channeling...Best, CaseyPS Don't forget to send me that mp3 you mentioned!

[geo]

Jan 30, 2009, 9:47am, hurowitz wrote:Hi GeoThe screener probably should have given you a little more input and I hope Robin gets back to you. 24 hours is not a long time as far as getting a response. I think when something is far off-target, the screeners may not spend as much time on the details. That is not how it should be for an "S" listing as I understand their rules, but it is the way the A&R world behaves and they may feel that when very far off, you should do a custom whereby someone can devote more time to it. Once again, I hope you are able to clarify this with taxi.BUT the onus is upon us to really understand what listings are asking for and sample the "a la" artists before submitting. A few minutes on amazon.com or iTunes sampling Blink-182, Fall Out Boy, Sum 41, Simple Plan, Paramore, Good Charlotte, etc. would have told you that your song (not that it's bad!) wasn't even close.I am a lot like you in that I write songs not generally in the style of modern artists. I depend on others-- producers with vision to either make it fit a particular time period or style or modernize if possible. Of course, this is pricey so you either have to learn to DIY or collaborate. DIY here for making tracks that sound like modern artists is very difficult for folks who's roots are in older music. Maybe you can seek out folks here who can help take your songs in raw (or not-so-raw) form and make them fit what a music library might sign. I landed deals because of working with folks here. FWIW, I think the raw material in a lot of your songs has very good potential... just needs channeling...Best, CaseyPS Don't forget to send me that mp3 you mentioned!On point as always..... Peace, Geo

[benjamine]

Jan 30, 2009, 9:47am, hurowitz wrote:Hi GeoThe screener probably should have given you a little more input and I hope Robin gets back to you. 24 hours is not a long time as far as getting a response. I think when something is far off-target, the screeners may not spend as much time on the details. That is not how it should be for an "S" listing as I understand their rules, but it is the way the A&R world behaves and they may feel that when very far off, you should do a custom whereby someone can devote more time to it. Once again, I hope you are able to clarify this with taxi.BUT the onus is upon us to really understand what listings are asking for and sample the "a la" artists before submitting. A few minutes on amazon.com or iTunes sampling Blink-182, Fall Out Boy, Sum 41, Simple Plan, Paramore, Good Charlotte, etc. would have told you that your song (not that it's bad!) wasn't even close.I am a lot like you in that I write songs not generally in the style of modern artists. I depend on others-- producers with vision to either make it fit a particular time period or style or modernize if possible. Of course, this is pricey so you either have to learn to DIY or collaborate. DIY here for making tracks that sound like modern artists is very difficult for folks who's roots are in older music. Maybe you can seek out folks here who can help take your songs in raw (or not-so-raw) form and make them fit what a music library might sign. I landed deals because of working with folks here. FWIW, I think the raw material in a lot of your songs has very good potential... just needs channeling...Best, CaseyPS Don't forget to send me that mp3 you mentioned!Quote:I am a lot like you in that I write songs not generally in the style of modern artists. I depend on others-- producers with vision to either make it fit a particular time period or style or modernize if possible. Of course, this is pricey so you either have to learn to DIY or collaborate. DIY here for making tracks that sound like modern artists is very difficult for folks who's roots are in older music. Maybe you can seek out folks here who can help take your songs in raw (or not-so-raw) form and make them fit what a music library might sign. I landed deals because of working with folks here. or to put it another way,your too old.

[allends]

Jan 30, 2009, 10:31am, benjamine wrote:or to put it another way,your too old. Now, now sonny. The correct spelling is:you're too old.Tisk-tisk-tisk! <couldn't resist>

[geo]

Hi guys....Just got an email from Robin... all has been handled in a satisfactory fashion... she really is great....Peace, Geo