In this thread, I see a handful of people who have generally given me compliments and suggested minor fixes, and three or four who have completely derided the track beyond all repair. What conclusion should I draw?

This is not the only board I've posted this to, but not surprisingly, it's the one where the track has received the harshest criticism by far.

I'm not trying to be defensive, but when the criticism is "this sucks," what can I possibly do to ameliorate it?

I can make it sound less sterile and more passionate, but short of junking the whole track (which I happen to like just fine), I'm not sure what I can do about "this sucks"

as I hinted at on one of those other boards, I think on the first few bars she need to have more swagger. I think that would help lure the listener in, and make the chorus more satisfying.

can i work for Taxi now?

I think the criticism has been mostly constructive. Moreover, I wouldn't have wasted my time posting if I thought the track didn't have potential.

I think it could use some nice backing vocals in the chorus.

The vocalist is good, but I possibly could see this working better with a more dirty, rock'n roll style singer.

The guitar sounds really good.

I have yet to hear the song, because I cannot get my ass over to MySpace 90% of the time.

You got someplace else to post it where I can hear it? Because I really wanna.

sell it to kelly clarkson

in all seriousness, this is who i hear playing/singing this song.

I wasn't joking.

Overdramatic much? At this point, it's clear you were fishing for compliments or street teaming since you post here once a month. GFY.

i also thought of Kelly when i heard it

Sorry man, I was fishing for honest feedback. I've learned over years and years of doing this that 90% of the comments are just opinions, and everyone is entitled to them, certainly.

I don't need to have my ego stroked and I don't care if people like or dislike the track, as long as they are honest. If anything, I hope they either strongly like or intensely hate the track because strong reactions are the best.

I care for constructive criticism. When Dalen says "uneventful rock" and "this is power pop", I'm not sure what I can do with that, so I essentially need to ignore it. However, in all the noise in this thread there are kernels of truth, and I got what I was looking for: that there's a bit of a negative reaction people have to the sterile production and mechanical delivery.

I'm not sure why you took any of what I previously said personally, because it was not meant to be that way. Some of the things you said I do appreciate, and I was not trying to lump you in to any group or anything, so I apologize. It is true that I don't post much, but the people here are knowledgable about music and I generally respect their opinions about that, which is why I posted.

It really isn't surprising that I would get harsh criticism here, because I tend to get a lot of flak compared to some of the other boards. That's all I meant.

Todd, I'll email you the track.

I thought you knew that any negative comments by dalen were in fact compliments.

so you'd rather i be blunt and say that i've heard shit like this in the 99 cent used bins at the CD Connection plenty of times over the years?

look, it's boring, paint by numbers. my comments got that across, and imo, that's constructive criticism.

if i designed a piece for a client, i would rather them save me the candy ass shit and get to the point in saying "it sucks" or "i dig it."

I appreciate the bluntness. As I said, I'm not sure really what I can do with your comments.

Been going to garden parties?

Well this went down the precise road that I knew it would.

lol

Excuse me fellow, but personal opinion and musical taste have nothing to do with it. This is some American-idol "professionally written" proud-to-have-a-vagina rock, which has me seriously questioning your validity as a man if you're in this for any other reason than "the money".

As someone who has listened to music before, and has at worst a loose grasp of what different musical ventures sound like, I can state this as fact. So spare the "entitled to your own opinion" bullshit, it is that cut and dry sometimes.

Whoever said, "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture," has to have been the most pretentious self-preserving twat to have ever walked the earth. Writing about music is like writing about architecture, it is only as virtuous as the observer's grasp of the subject matter.

Just like if you painted a picture in the style of a Blue period Picasso, through deductive measures, I can acknowledge the influence as FACT. Or if you wrote a poem which eruditely adhered to the fundamental approach of a Rimbaud or Verlaine, I can say that the specter of 19th century French symbolism looms large over your work. This where it goes beyond opinion. There are facts in art. It's not all uninterpretable, defiant whimsy created in obliviously uninfluenced independence.

If you want my advice. Scrap the song. And next time, keep it fucking simple. And then simplify. Simplify.

Try writing a song that only uses three or four chords, no riffs, and focus on subtlety, vocal character and deft, understated melody, and be cool man, be fucking cool. This sounds like it was written by someone who is still breastfed.

You seem way too comfortable. Drink a little. Hang out with some new people. Don't be so polite and disingenuous. Unbutton your shirt a few notches. Read something that will ignite potent lyrical influence. Get in a fist fight over something stupid. Lose. See if you can score blow without getting thrown in jail. Tell people what you think of them, and call them on their bullshit. Fuck someone you don't particularly like. Lie about shit for no particular reason. Leave town for the weekend. Shit. Do something.

Also, important: most people think their vocal range is higher than it is.

this is awesome.

That's just good advice for anyone. About anything.

and precisely why Mick is one of my fav boarders.

Seriously? That's a bunch of trainspotting gibberish.

record an album of this soulless shit
print it up
promote it
lose three thousand dollars
and your dignity

oh come on, it's all true.