Mind-Melting Demo Disasters

This holy week, let’s all reflect on how to be virtuous,...

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:41:29 -0400

This holy week, let’s all reflect on how to be virtuous, shall we?

“GATES OF HELLLLLL swing open wide…” - I dare you to get this out of your head if you make it through the whole thing. At which point, you’ll go on a murderous rampage, and go straight to hell, where you’ll hear this song, on repeat, for the rest of your days (a.k.a. eternity.)

You. are. welcome.

I’m not sure if the band is going for total math-rock...

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 02:03:10 -0400

I’m not sure if the band is going for total math-rock style syncopation here, but they sure… achieved it? I mean, they achieved something - whether that something is sounding like they totally recorded this track on a cell phone, are terrible, or should never ever even try to make music together again - that’s for them and you to decide, I suppose. It’s Friday and I’m tired.

Did y’all know !!! is recording new songs? Total...

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 23:03:00 -0400

Did y’all know !!! is recording new songs? Total groove! And tite rimes!

Hey guys - What, me worry? Nahhhhh, I mean, it’s...

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:08:10 -0500

Hey guys -

What, me worry? Nahhhhh, I mean, it’s summertime and 5 o’clock somewhere, and it’s time to just kick back, think about boys and drink some margaritas.

That’s why I wrote this song, “Sippin’ on Summertime,” because the absolute best way to express feelings regarding weather is slow bluesy guitar and a faux-sultry lady voice.

I just found some notes I made when I was writing lyrics for this song about things I should include… and I fit them all in! Can you believe it?
* Tiki torches
* Honeysuckle Margaritas
* Tan-Line Tequila
* Hammocks
* Wind chimes
* Paper umbrellas
* Getting high

Hang loose, guys! Fins to the left!

So, like, long time no see and stuff. What can we say?...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:11:55 -0500

So, like, long time no see and stuff. What can we say? We’re busy.

We did get this demo, though, that we couldn’t NOT pass on. Actually, it was three demos, all in one envelope, with a professionally bound 8.5 x 11 book of lyrics for all the songs featured. Flipping through, it’s your standard crap, with the exclusion of one track that we just had to check out. It’s called “Looney Tune” and the lyrics are below. Forewarning: I wouldn’t buy your mom this track for her new iPod.

Looney Tune (note: all grammatical mistakes theirs.)

V1:
Tin Man… you got no heart…
Scare crow… went and fell apart…
Lion … to yourself…
For a farm girl … to put you up on a shelf

CHORUS 1:
Bow before the Wizard of Oz
You’ll be perfect for a new set of flaws
Got your back until you need a brace
Then he’ll cum and wipe that look off your face

V2:
Peter Pan… is old and grey…
Snow White… drifted away…
Pooh Bear… lost his stuff…
Big Bird… came out too tough

CHORUS 2:
They ratted out the cat in the hat
Now, why’d they wanna go and do that
Little Red was ridin’ me in the hood…
She gave me splinters from Pinochio’s wood

V3:
He Man… came out gay
Blondie… such an awful lay
Pig Pen… snuffed out Puff
Smurfette… got a big blue muff

CHORUS 3:
Porky Pigg is out of his head
Caught his wife with G.I. Joe in the bed
Drinkin’ liquor with Yosemite Same
Killed ‘em dead like he did Charlie in ‘Nam

CHORUS 4:
Elmer Fudd got strung out free-basing quack
The Little Engine couldn’t track down more smack
Tweetie’s puddy and your woody should meet
Cuz he’s pimping down on Sesame Street

REPEAT V1

CODA:
Bow before the Wizard of Oz…

Ew! A demo came wrapped this way today… TOILET PAPER???...

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:25:09 -0400

Ew! A demo came wrapped this way today… TOILET PAPER??? “SAFETY SHEETS”???

Denied. Esp. when your letter mentions how your band is “constantly evolving.” Buzz wordzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Literally. zzzzz.

This six and a half minute long ditty is heavily - HEAVILY -...

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:11:46 -0400

This six and a half minute long ditty is heavily - HEAVILY - influenced by “Dark Side of the Moon.” It practically reeks of Pink Floyd. If Pink Floyd had shitty vocal harmonies, lyrics, and tried to rhyme things with “definitely.” Or used lines like “That monkey is such a bitch.”

That being said, I want to see the laser show that goes w/ this shitstorm.

Oh, and lyrically, it’s not just about bitchy simians, but also about wolves and shooting stars (timely!) so hopefully they’re angling for that coveted Twilight/New Moon market. And who can blame them? That thing’s a cash cow. Watch out, Thom Yorke.

Oh, and PS, I couldn’t decide what photo to use, so… bonus wolf star image!

How disappointed were we that this wasn’t an album of mall...

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:42:22 -0400

How disappointed were we that this wasn’t an album of mall piano style R. Kelly covers?

Very disappointed. Very, very disappointed.

OH, and we're 21st century now

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:52:08 -0400

http://twitter.com/WowDemoBlog

now you don’t have to like… actually check this site anymore. It can just show up in your media consciousness. Although, come on. You like our fancy pictures, right?

Handy Hints for Demo Submitters

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:43:00 -0400

Hey pals, here’s a couple of handy hints for sending labels demos.

1. Don’t spend $40 to send a typewriter so we know you’re “original and authentic.” Now we just have to get rid of a fucking typewriter, and you’re out $40.

2. When you include a letter (which you should) don’t note that you have “120 songs written and ready to be recorded.” You want us to sign you to a 10 record deal then? Or do you just write a bunch of really lackluster songs?

3. Write your band’s contact info ON the cd face. Those letters you send? Yeah, they get thrown away pretty fast, and we might not get to the demo for weeks (read: years).

4. If you include press quotes or clips, make sure they’re not from, like, “stevelikesmusic.blogspot.tumblr.twitter.com” - real reputable source, dudes…esp. when the quotes aren’t even that good. Who cares if “this record was a mildly pleasant listening experience.” If that’s your best foot being put forward, I’d hate to see how you’d actually deliver if we asked you to do anything.

Tons more label whining to come, I’m sure. That’s just what’s on the top of my head at this second.

Oh, and don’t call us. We’ll call you.

After letting my “tumblarity” fall to 0, I’m...

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:30:00 -0400

After letting my “tumblarity” fall to 0, I’m back from vacation with a vengeance.

You see, the problem was not only vacation, but that most of the demos lately just haven’t been THAT terrible. But then a track came up today that’s pretty effing bad, so we’re delivering.

Basically, today’s cut is Kokomo lite - all the schlock and bad rhymes without any of the 80s Beach Boys or John Stamos. Also, it features such rhymes as ocean/slow motion and waves/DAY(v)S - and that’s before the first chorus.

This jam’s got an air of faux-wistfulness with a “caribbean” beat. For the record, on the front of the CD it’s noted that this is recorded at the artist’s home - in case you couldn’t tell. (zing!)

Ugh, this song. I’m bored even typing about it.

“You guys know what would be, like, totally sweet? We...

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:56:20 -0400

“You guys know what would be, like, totally sweet? We should, like, record ourselves smoking a bong, and then write a song about, like, if we died, because if I died, man, I’d just want to be buried with my bong… i mean, “bury me with my bong.” Because you know, like… St. Peter would be totally into rollin’ fatties and blazin’ it up with Jimi Hendrix!”

So... remember that cover of "Walking After Midnight"?

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:01:44 -0400

Yeah, that one. The “techno” one.

Well. That record was one of those that it was really hard to decide what tracks to include on the blog too, and it was also a total “complete album,” in that if you listened to the whole thing, with the last track being the cover, it really built to a “OMG HOLY SHIT” climax.

Thus, we now bring you the full record. Again, names hidden to protect the “innocent.”

Autotune Twins - Twinning Out

Our first full album post

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:58:58 -0400

For the most part, when we check out demos, there’s one standout HORRIBLE track, but sometimes, a special little demo friend comes along.

Listening to this demo in the office, we were riddled with giggles and rife with “weeeeahhhhhhhhhh!” impressions of the singer. Thus, with as much identity hiding as we could do on imeem, we bring you our first full album stream.

Bathe in it. Breathe it in. This is horrible in its purest form.

WowDemoBand - WowDemoAlbum

A 35 second acoustic guitar intro of repeated strumming is...

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:23:59 -0400

A 35 second acoustic guitar intro of repeated strumming is never a good sign, and this jam delivers in spades.

It’s not overwhelmingly “my ears! my brain!” terrible, but if you really listen to the lyrics, they’re so melodramatic, and with this champ’s tenor vibrato, it’s just a whole bunch of blah.

Whoa, man. “Different Versions of the Same Story,” and you’re singing with a girl. Deep. It was almost too subtle for me.

A colleague pointed us to a post about us (aw, we’re...

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:38:57 -0400

A colleague pointed us to a post about us (aw, we’re flattered…) on MetaFilter. We don’t want to get into the whole discussion about anything but mp3s that suck eggs, but a couple of points.

1. Trust us, it’s not just one band recording all these songs in different styles. That’s almost preposterous, and considering how much work it takes to even go through all the demos we get and find horrible tracks, I can’t even imagine how much work it would take to actually be that band and write tracks in different styles.

Each of these gems comes from an individual or individual band’s hard labors. That’s almost more depressing - that there’s so much shit being produced, but hey - it keeps us, recording studios, instrument manufacturers, record stores, blogs, magazines, venues, etc., in business, so keep it comin’!

2. Not to be apologetic, but yeah, it’s a lot of work, so not that anyone’s grousing about this, but we worry - don’t hate us if maybe we only post 3 tracks a week instead of 5. We’ll aim for 5, but honestly, there’s no forcing terrible. Somedays we’ll plow through a ton of demos, but there’s just nothing in there that’s terrible. It’s all just middling and bad. We have standards, k?

3. One of the comments we always get goes something along the lines of, “hey - I like this song…” Sure. Taste is relative. I’m sure we like stuff that you think is horrible. Lady GaGa wouldn’t have a career w/o that sort of polarization. In general, we try to post things that we think are terrible for a reason - ridiculous lyrics, overproduction, horrible topics, out of touch-ness, etc., but sometimes it’s just a “oh I don’t like this” feeling.

Not to get all “academic” on y’all, but Canadian journalist Carl Wilson wrote a whole book on taste - why good things are good, why bad things are bad, and why that whole idea is kind of bullshit. Highly recommended. It’s also about Celine Dion, but that’s another point all together.

That being said, let’s get to today’s demo.

He’s trying too hard.

See y’all tomorrow on the web.

Alright, this is so confusing it’s just…...

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:24:51 -0400

Alright, this is so confusing it’s just… mesmerizing. Basically, we got this demo from this dude, and it starts out all J-Pop (which we don’t put out…), or songs that Korean singing sensation Rain would be super comfortable with. 4 songs in, whatever, it’s ok, but not awesome.

Then comes the total mindfuck. 11 more songs w/o lyrics or titles. All musically different, all with “la la le la la… lala…” where words WOULD BE in this bro’s mind, if you either a) signed him, and then he’d finish the record, or b) wanted to buy a song for your burgeoning j-pop career.

I’m truly sorry tumblr doesn’t let me post more than one track here, because the magic in this demo is really in listening to 11 songs back to back with just this guy’s mediocre voice going “la la la le la… la la la le la” over and over and over and over. But, hopefully this deep cut will satiate your nonsense lyric quotient for the day.

Extreme bonus points to anyone who actually writes lyrics to this song.

OK, I’m not sure how familiar everyone is with the story...

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:31:06 -0400

OK, I’m not sure how familiar everyone is with the story of John Henry, the steel drivin’ man, so here’s the wikipedia summation:

“John Henry is an American folk hero, famous for having raced against a steam powered hammer and won, only to die in victory with his hammer in his hand. He has been the subject of numerous songs, stories, plays, and novels.

Like other “Big Men” such as Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill, John Henry also served as a mythical representation of a group within the melting pot of the 19th-century working class. In the most popular version of the story, Henry is born into the world big and strong weighing 33 pounds. He grows to become the greatest “steel-driver” in the mid-century push to erect the railroads across the mountains to the West. When the owner of the railroad buys a steam-powered hammer to do the work of his mostly black driving crew, to save his job and the jobs of his men, John Henry challenges the owner to a contest: himself alone versus the steam hammer. John Henry beats the machine, but exhausted, collapses and dies.”

From that, if you think like these demo knuckleheads do, then, DUH, John Henry was a wrath bringing hellion coming down from above and murdering the vengeful. Yes, the tracks will run red with the blood of sinners, when John Henry comes to judge the living and the dead. Let the cookie monster backing vocals be your guide to the sound that hammer makes when it comes crashing down on your skull.

Watch your backs railroad professionals (and professional sinners like us)!

“I want to live,” today’s track, is part rock...

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:53:34 -0400

“I want to live,” today’s track, is part rock opera, part… dude-who-doesn’t-know-how-the-fuck-to-edit-himself-and-really-FEELS-music.

Also please note that this little gem, titled, “I want to live” is the shortest track on this demo, clocking in at just under 9 minutes. And the CD cover is just a really really close up photo of a wolf’s eyes.

Truth.

Ok, this song’s got a little Stephin Merritt thing going...

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:03:36 -0400

Ok, this song’s got a little Stephin Merritt thing going on, with some handclaps, which is positive. Then it takes a nasty turn into a pitchy oom-pah chorus, some snapping, and jazz piano.

Plus, as a rule, I don’t support any song that uses the word “hullabaloo” - esp. more than once.