IvanP
Ted, I notice you don't say the Insanitizers are good music.

Despite subjectivity of taste, a knowledgeable person can say something about the quality of a particular art. I recognize that there's a fair amount of surf music that is done well but which is just not to my taste. I would never put that down. But in this instance, it's clearly not good. Again, we're not doing anyone any favors by being too sensitive or polite to admit that.

But hey, if any of you out there like it, let's hear from you!

OK. I own the Insanitizers' CD, and I like it. It sounds good to my ears.

Ivan, I like you and respect you as a person and a musician. But to declare that any piece of music is "not good music" is just plain narrow minded. I personally despise the music of Creed with every fiber of my being. My own personal hell (One of them, anyway) is being locked in a room and being forced to listen to a mix of Creed, Madonna, and Britney Spears 24 hours a day for eternity. I hate it. But that doesn't mean that it's necessarily "bad" music. It's just music that I have never, nor will I ever, care for, even if I live to be 238 years old!

I guess the can o' worms has been opened.

Ted James
Deep Eddy Records http://www.deepeddy.net
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I listened to all the songs on the myspace page and CDBaby. IMO, this is a project released before completion. It sounds like demos for a band, not a band. The guitar tones sound like they came out of a digital box; it makes me feel like Conrad hasn't found his "voice"- yes, even surf guitarist can find their signature tone. Digital reverb- yuck. The electronic drums are muddy, buried in the mix, and sloppy, often changing patterns at odd places in the song. The bass never feels locked in with the drums.
Listen to "Hot Sauce": http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/insanitizers2

After reading Conrad's autobiography, (it's not an interview, no questions were asked) it's clear he has put a lot of thought into what he is doing. He has a recipe, but hasn't made the stew. Does that makes sense? He has a concept, now he needs to get the band together, mix it up and get some feedback from people outside his bubble.

(Incidentally, we all do this, sending MP3s back and forth before we release albums. Sometimes the truth about your songs hurts, but it's better to hear it from a trusted friend while you still have time to make changes.)

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Squid
As far as Ivan goes, I don't get his music so I am not at all surprised that he doesn't get mine. His emotionality and the extreme quality of his criticism suggest that he feels threatened by my work.

Ivan
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The greatest sin of music is to be dull.

Much popular music is dull. I don't need to point fingers and make lists, but much of surf music sounds most appropriate on an elevator. I like the surf podcasts because they are great background for working.

If you want music to help you relax, there is lots of surf music around to do this well. This is why some people listen to surf music and the sounds of surf.

To me surf music is energizing and represents action, intensity and risk. This is what my music is about. Some songs have so much variation that to understand what is going on can require repeated listening.

I have been criticized here for not doing several things that I actually did do. For example, I passed around recordings to many people to get their impressions and to cull out recordings that were not liked. Yet I was criticized for not doing this. There is a lot of loose criticism written in these threads. Still I do appreciate the gentlemen who post here, and I tip my hat to them.

Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

Thanks for finding my work unworthy of such harsh criticism.

I look for and solicit useful criticism. Useful criticism is specific, delivered with a sense of being constructive, and not personally insulting.

Regarding harsh tones...I believe they often depend on the audio system you listen through. If you are listening through computer speakers, it's going to be harsh. The "fine audio system" in my car adds harshness to any music.

I use Grado audiophile headphones (model 125 as I recall) in engineering my recordings. Then I make sure they also sound right through the professional monitor speakers, and in several small stereos. Finally I make sure that in my car stereo they are not too harsh. I have a pair of Klipsch speakers in my movie room, and they make everybody's music harsh, but they are great for movies.

Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

Why "fingers of steel?" This is why:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP28ApxieEI

Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

I listened with super mega ultra high fidelity ear-massaging, happy-ending headphones and I'm still unhappy.

Ok, your fingerpicking skills are vaguely impressive I think. I can do some folky fingerpicking myself but my right hand is not very fluid and it looks like you're probably a step above me, probably well above many of the people on this forum.... oh but wait, that doesn't matter.

Fingers of steel don't make this a good surf album. Crappy headphones don't make this a bad surf album. No more excuses. The "badness" here is inherent. I have to agree that I don't find this to be very good surf music at all. Definitely not the worst I've heard, but still not good... yet, at least. There might be a potential for improvement. I very much agree with Danny and Ferenc that these songs feel exploratory, more like demos of a band trying to get its chops and its voice together. Like a band that likes surf music but doesn't quite get how it works yet. I don't think the veil of "progressiveness" applies here--the music simply isn't executed well enough. I can supply (hopefully constructive) specifics here, per your request:

The guitar tone - is bad. It's simple, you're using the wrong kind of guitar, and the digital reverb or whatever doesn't help at all. The humbucker sound is obvious and sounds nothing like any genuine surf tone I've heard. It really sounds like the studio surf music you hear in the background of commercials, not like surf records by surf bands (good ones that know what they're doing, at least). It really is jarring and aggravating in a surf context, because it simply doesn't work in a surf context.

The playing - is bad. Ferenc is right, the instruments are not locked in at all. It's hard to grab on to an enjoyable groove with so many missed beats, so much conflict between the rhythm section and lead. If my band played like this, I'd be adamant about waiting to record an album until we got our chops together. I think the drums are particularly weak. There's a very straightforward unimaginativeness to the playing style, and an even worse stiffness to the attack. I think that's why there were some assumptions that you used a drum machine. Luckily there's an easy solution to this: the band just needs to practice together more to get the chops fluid, then try rearranging rhythm parts to make things more interesting.

The songs - are nothing special (Mostly bad). There's not much melodic integrity here, and certainly little going on in the way of dynamics or stops or all that interesting fun stuff. The result is that the songs just seem to kinda drone on without incident or excitement. Compounded by the sloppy playing and harsh tones, it makes it hard for me to want to listen at all.

And so I give this album a final rating of: bad. I'm not afraid to use that word. Of course there is such a thing as bad music. There are bad movies, bad television, bad novels, etc so yeah... bad music too. We don't have to be so open minded our brains fall out here.

I disagree that the greatest sin in music is to be dull. The greatest sin is to be bad. This isn't dull, nor is this but they sure as hell suck balls... BAD.
This is a great song. One of my favorites ever! But I find this version kinda dull, not nearly as cool as others I've heard. Still... PASSABLE.

So, it most definitely can be worse to be bad than dull. Making good music requires a combination of imagination, thoughtfulness, competence, and feel and I think all those are for the most part lacking here. Simply being "different" doesn't automatically make you interesting or imaginative, let alone good.

That's really not special though. There's bad music everywhere so I don't go out of my way to critique all of it. I think it's the lack of humility in this case that has inspired me to speak up. Who am I to say that what some PhD is doing in his free time is bad? Who am I to say how he should spend his time to express himself and have fun? That's pretty douchy. But who is he to tell me I should enjoy this music because it's better than what I'm used to or "comfortable" with? That's douchy too.

Touche Ben.
Yes Squid, I watched the Fingers of Steel video before. I still say without hesitation that you should lose the Fingers of Steel bit, especially since it's obvious that gave yourself that nickname. Actually steel fingers wouldn't be very conducive to guitar playing.

Ben, so dead on that it gave me the shivers.

Ivan
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We all have personal likes and dislikes. Some people are very preachy about them. They apparently want everyone else to agree with all their personal opinions. I say enjoy your own personal opinions and illusions but understand that they are yours and that other people are not you.

Is there anything more variable in opinions than music? Not only do opinions vary widely among people, but they change with time. I used to wince at all rap songs, but lately I've enjoyed several.

I like the definition of surf music described by Paul Johnson and others on his video "Pounding Surf." It's music that makes you feel as if you're riding on a surf board. So I see energetic, energizing, and intense, rather than mellow. Of course there are other qualities besides these, and the point is fun not purity of form.

Of course I do not pretend that my recordings are perfect. I do not expect them to withstand the scrutiny of competitors with magnifying glasses and strong opinions. Nor do I believe that anyone's recordings are perfect. Fortunately I do not listen for perfection. I listen for fun. Either I'm having fun or I'm not.

If you think you can judge a CD by listening to clips on CDBaby etc., you are unrealistic. I certainly would not publish a criticism based on such an incomplete--and chopped up--experience. I was adventurous enough to buy a couple of Ferenc's CDs and one of Ivan's. I guess they are less adventurous than I am, and cheaper.

Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com