A Screeners Perspective?

[Casey H]

May 9, 2009, 8:23pm, heinsite wrote:honestly folks,there is NO friggin' way on this planet, that ANYONE should have allowed a description like "randy newman lyrics and josh groban music", Why not? Industry folks such as film/TV sups put stuff like that out there all the time... Actually, it's not nearly as bad as some of the ones outside of taxi I tried to work with.Best,Casey

[heinsite]

ok Casey, that's fine, but that "stuff" aint good enough.i say this with honestly and caring, and you are more experienced and successful, and i have respect for you (if there's a scorecard out there) BUT....just because "it's not as bad" as somebody else, hell, that is NO way to measure anything worthwhile. i'm not arguing with you here, it's just that there isn't one.... these "pros" should do it right, especially since they want "us" to--and uh, they are PROS...no? i'll still say that randy newman lyrics and josh groban vocals/style, or whatever it said, is just plain WACKY! all the best to you and yours, happy mom's day! i've got to get them baby back ribs done, we had eggs benedict for b-fast, and i make my own hollandaise, being on "old" cook, (when i was quite young...) man, i still have it...based on my musical success, i may go back into the restaurant biz! LOL.....warren

[Casey H]

May 10, 2009, 3:56pm, heinsite wrote:ok Casey, that's fine, but that "stuff" aint good enough.i say this with honestly and caring, and you are more experienced and successful, and i have respect for you (if there's a scorecard out there) BUT....just because "it's not as bad" as somebody else, hell, that is NO way to measure anything worthwhile. i'm not arguing with you here, it's just that there isn't one.... these "pros" should do it right, especially since they want "us" to--and uh, they are PROS...no? i'll still say that randy newman lyrics and josh groban vocals/style, or whatever it said, is just plain WACKY! all the best to you and yours, happy mom's day! i've got to get them baby back ribs done, we had eggs benedict for b-fast, and i make my own hollandaise, being on "old" cook, (when i was quite young...) man, i still have it...based on my musical success, i may go back into the restaurant biz! LOL.....warrenBest, back at ya--- to you and yours, Warren...If a legitimate music or film/TV exec with real opportunities comes to taxi with a listing and can't describe something better than he does, what should taxi do? They can turn down the listing or run it as is. Which would you prefer?This description isn't really that bad. It might be very hard to find or create something to submit but it does say what they want. Anyone can research Randy Newman's lyrics and Josh Groban's vocal style to see if they can put that together.Taxi runs 10-12 pages of listings per month. If there are 1-2 tough descriptions, is that really such a big deal? There is such a thing as not submitting for THAT listing. It's OK for us to argue... It'll just cost you more at the bar buying me drinks in November. Casey

[heinsite]

heck i'm not arguing. we'd both know if i was arguing...LOL...we disagree, and with that i know neither of us have a problem.honestly, the answer to your question borders on one of ethics and "truth in advertising" for want of a quick metaphor (not taxis', but the listing agent's absurd description)and my answer is yes, i would prefer that if an exec can't describe the listing better than that, then it's a disservice to the members and all the money spent, or at a minimum TIME, an researching lyrics of randy newman vs. the style of josh groban's songs--and heck, let's open this up to another "a la"--i seriously would want to hear SOME VOCAL/PERSON who writes those lyrics and performs what groban does. honest questiion, 'cuz though i'm fairly well versed on "today's" music (though i don't write much in those styles, admittedly...) who the hell would be an "a la", or an example of that medium? style...whatever one wants to call it.and honestly again, this is just one of those interesting questions that i chose to give a sh*t about, as i'm not a current "member." and if i was, even after 400 submissions in about 5 years, even i would NOT have submitted to that listing....just too weird.ok, i know you like the last word on stuff sometimes, but this isn't worth the time for me any longer, talk to you later.all the best to you,warren

[mojobone]

I'm with Casey, on this one one; how does that cliche go?-talking about music is like dancing about architecture? There's only so much we can expect from a listing, no matter how well written, and figuring out sometimes obscure listings is part of our job, part of the fun. Jes' try to think of yourself as one of the Scooby-Doo gang, off in the Mystery Machine on another adventure, in case that helps any.

[Mark Kaufman]

May 9, 2009, 10:31am, hummingbird wrote:On Just Plain Folks they have a mentor review forum... each week people post a song/lyric that they'd like to get the review for... and the mentor picks one of those songs. Then everyone else reviews that song; then the mentor reviews that song; and finally the writer comments on the reviews. It's an interesting process. Harriet Schlock is one of the mentors (along with Pat Luboff)...Vikki my friend, it's Schock. Harriet Schock!

[hummingbird]

May 13, 2009, 12:19pm, lyle wrote:May 9, 2009, 10:31am, hummingbird wrote:On Just Plain Folks they have a mentor review forum... each week people post a song/lyric that they'd like to get the review for... and the mentor picks one of those songs. Then everyone else reviews that song; then the mentor reviews that song; and finally the writer comments on the reviews. It's an interesting process. Harriet Schlock is one of the mentors (along with Pat Luboff)...Vikki my friend, it's Schock. Harriet Schock! duh. I did google it to be sure, but I think that "l" got in there because I have a good friend named Schlacter (crs7string). that's my excuse, anyway

[watksco]

Wow - Thanks ML for weighing in on this one. Most educational. I have found the screeners comments to be useful in all the cases - I haven't always liked it, but they've been right on the money and I'm forced again and again to make it better. I have learned a lot from my short time at Taxi thus far - more than in all the years of writing before.Cheers,Scott

[louis2012]

Am I the only one that is troubled by the thought of a pre-successful Katy Perry screening songs at taxi? What were her credentials exactly? (apart from being cute) A couple of failed record deals and an ambition to break through (like many taxi members I'm sure) doesn't exactly fill me with confidence in her critiquing abilities. To be honest, this seems to explain why some of my recent critiques bear absolutely no relevance to the listings I submitted to. I know its always 'one person's opinion' but I want that opinion to come from the right person and not an aspiring musician.

[mojobone]

I think I'd be a little encouraged that Katy Perry became successful-she must be doing something right, to my way of thinking, seein' as how she's got chart hits and I got, erm, bupkis.