May 2010 Archives (all archives)

May 31

Teardrop

A recording from my vocal exam last week, of the song Teardrop, originally by Massive Attack. [more inside]

posted by MaiaMadness at 2:45 PM PST - 5 comments

Darker Shade of Blue (Electric version)

Amped up version of a song I posted a few days ago. Gnarly guitars, Hammond organ, sweet harmonies, in a Television / Big Star / Matthew Sweet frame of mind. [more inside]

posted by unSane at 2:01 PM PST - 2 comments

Na Na, Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye) [Steam cover]

If, at a meetup, bondcliff hadn't pointed out this month's music challenge to me, I might have covered this song eventually anyway.
But since it's this month's challenge, and since bondcliff and I were born on the same day/month/year (same city and same first and middle name, too), I decided, hey, why not do a nutty, rushed job on it instead so that it actually means something. [more inside]

posted by not_on_display at 1:37 PM PST - 6 comments

May 30

Wedding Song

Committed years ago for newly committed friends.

posted by blue bar at 6:54 PM PST - 0 comments

Benjamin Britten - War Requiem: Agnus Dei

I sang in the college choir, and one semester, we performed this selection from Benjamin Britten's War Requiem. One day, I pictured a tremolo guitar replacing the orchestra. [more inside]

posted by NemesisVex at 1:34 PM PST - 2 comments

Mutations

My band MYELIN SHEATHS has a LP coming out, and this is the first song on the record! ROCK! [more inside]

posted by Quartermass at 10:38 AM PST - 12 comments

Current best unknown music thread!

hey who out there are you listening to who is awesome that no one has heard of? [more inside] posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:18 AM PST - 18 comments

the boy in the bubble

an infectious, pounding cover of the Paul Simon classic.

posted by dacre at 3:51 AM PST - 9 comments

May 29

canon

...or the same eight chords... [more inside]

posted by peterkins at 6:54 PM PST - 3 comments

Song for Heather

This song was written for and inspired by a very dear friend of mine who is battling her second round of cancer. It's dedicated to her and everyone else who suffer and fight. They are the strongest people in the world. [more inside]

posted by MaiaMadness at 4:28 PM PST - 0 comments

"Fairy Dust" - The Troggs Tapes Parts 1 & 2

I first heard these tapes (Pt 1 and Pt2) way back in the early '80's when they were circulating around UK recording studios. The scene: The Troggs ('60's band -"Wild Thing" etc) are in the studio trying to get a track down. They're having a few...er....differences of opinion. Not an unfamiliar situation to those of you who are, or have ever been, in a band. Their unmodulated Wiltshire accents (English West Country "ohh arrr" etc) are a particular delight. Foul language from the get-go, so make sure anyone with a sensitive disposition isn't around when you play this. posted by MajorDundee at 3:31 PM PST - 6 comments

public 0.7 (Da Vinci)

A recording of live synthesis made in Da Vinci park. [more inside]

posted by idiopath at 12:43 PM PST - 7 comments

May 28

Heart Full Of Soul

If I'd been born in 1965 and this had been #1 on the day, I'd have submitted this for the May/June challenge. But I wasn't and it wasn't, so I won't. Or something. [more inside]

posted by MajorDundee at 1:05 PM PST - 16 comments

Forty-Six & 2

Recording from my vocal exam at school last Tuesday, of the Tool-song Forty-Six & 2. [more inside]

posted by MaiaMadness at 12:19 PM PST - 5 comments

Syllogismobile

∃P: ¬(P⇔¬(¬P)) [more inside]

posted by doubtfulpalace at 11:59 AM PST - 7 comments

Really Bad Moon Rising

Done in one take with the mic built into my laptop. Poor recording quality, but still lots of fun. Hope you enjoy. [more inside]

posted by Jenkiins at 11:49 AM PST - 3 comments

May 27

socks

Downtempo! Meandering beat, melodic electronic. I'm kind of into making synthesizers sound like samples right now, so everything came out of a synth of some sort. [more inside]

posted by Horizontally a Champion at 11:33 PM PST - 1 comments

she moved through the fair

three double basses and a vague recollection of the tune = this.

posted by peterkins at 4:36 PM PST - 6 comments

Two Tribes

by Frankie Goes To Hollywood [more inside]

posted by minifigs at 1:30 PM PST - 1 comments

tickle

instro minstro. [more inside]

posted by sleepy pete at 11:44 AM PST - 3 comments

May 26

May Challenge = June Challenge

I received this MeMail the other day from Karlos the Jackal: "I would like to suggest that since 1) There are still people finding the "#1 Song" challenge thread and expressing interest -- and also because it wasn't sidebarred until halfway through the month -- and 2) A lot of people are going to be busy doing stuff for Astro Zombie's project next month, that maybe the current challenge should just run through June as well in lieu of a new challenge?" [more inside] posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:55 PM PST - 16 comments

Outside #2

Summertime gives me a lot of time to write music. Especially outside. This track samples "Do While" by Oval. I wanted to turn an ambient track into something a bit more danceable. Any thoughts?

posted by azarbayejani at 10:18 AM PST - 1 comments

Siren

A quick minimalist cover of Malcolm Lincoln's Siren, a losing entry from this year's Eurovision.

posted by LSK at 9:13 AM PST - 1 comments

Wouldn't That Be Fine

Here's a raw, punked rendition of a tune that up until now I'd been doing in a mellower vein, but I was feeling just a little edgy, I guess, for this gig in Kamakura the other day. Proximity to the famous giant Buddha there didn't get me into a serene state or anything, so the result was this pummeling version performed on one of the roughest, crudest instruments one might imagine, the Marron Glacé Guitar. Video at YouTube.

posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:28 AM PST - 4 comments

Girls on Bicycles

Myself on nylon. [more inside]

posted by blue bar at 12:00 AM PST - 3 comments

May 25

Darker Shade of Blue

Another semi-autobiographical 1995 slice of cheerful melancholia. But a pretty guitar riff and one of my favorite choruses to sing, even if I never really could hit the last note. There's an electric version of this with more of a Big Star / Matthew Sweet feel, but darned if I can find it and anyway I like this one. [more inside]

posted by unSane at 6:30 PM PST - 2 comments

parkway

a bit of polite fluffery... [more inside]

posted by peterkins at 4:01 PM PST - 6 comments

Just This Once

Another live recording from a concert at my school in spring 2009. Music and Lyrics by me, vocals also me. [more inside]

posted by MaiaMadness at 3:48 PM PST - 1 comments

Heavenly Club

This song was #1* on the day I was born. [more inside]

posted by chococat at 2:02 PM PST - 3 comments

Show Me the Way to the River

Another tune from the same recent Medicine Bone show as this one, with special guest Ken Kawashima on harmonica. Video at YouTube and Vimeo.

posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:20 AM PST - 1 comments

May 24

Ring My Bell: Tango

Always despised this song. Seems ironic that it was at the top of the charts the day I was born, but there you are. I thought maybe making it a sort of a bastard tango might improve it. [more inside]

posted by koeselitz at 10:18 PM PST - 6 comments

Aim

An ambient song with some loops and drums and stuff. The first thing I've written in months.

posted by azarbayejani at 5:11 PM PST - 5 comments

running into

needs editing, and i need to rework the rythm of the lyrics

posted by IngeChiles at 4:22 PM PST - 1 comments

We Need To Talk

Another SongFight Nur Ein entry, with an interesting challenge: extended acrostic. [more inside]

posted by davejay at 3:19 PM PST - 1 comments

For Now

Just a quick song I threw together in Reason today. [more inside]

posted by onehalfjunco at 3:15 PM PST - 1 comments

Abstract Placidity

An ambient electronic track, in perhaps an early Warp Records vein. Made using Ableton Live and various plugins (Absynth and Massive, among them).

posted by acb at 10:28 AM PST - 1 comments

Don't Fool Me

Full on vocal harmony twin electric 12-string assault, my attempt to collide the Monkees with the Byrds with a side of the Go-Betweens. [more inside]

posted by unSane at 9:28 AM PST - 3 comments

Something...

...you figure it out. This is an unfinished project; to be complete, it still needs someone to sing the revised lyrics I wrote for it (perhaps it should be you!) but no-one seems to be interested in doing that. However, it's kind of fun in this mashed-up incarnation, so what the hell, enjoy. [more inside]

posted by Wolfdog at 6:41 AM PST - 1 comments

Chased

Live recording from a concert at my school in spring 2009. Female vocals by me, and I wrote the lyrics. [more inside]

posted by MaiaMadness at 4:57 AM PST - 0 comments

May 23

public 0.6 (US Grant)

Audio synthesis performed in US Grant park. [more inside]

posted by idiopath at 7:43 PM PST - 1 comments

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Roberta Flack cover)

umbú and I were born pretty close to each other, since this song was also #1 on the week I was born. For some reason, I pictured my version performed by some weird mix of Geinoh Yamashirogumi and Tokyo Jihen. [more inside]

posted by NemesisVex at 10:57 AM PST - 4 comments

May 22

Wuthering Heights

This is an unplugged version of Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights that we recorded for a project at school. The arrangement was a joint effort, and I'm singing it. I got a terrible cold days before we were due for the studio, and thus this is not as good as it could have been. [more inside]

posted by MaiaMadness at 8:24 PM PST - 6 comments

May 21

MetaFilter Music Charitable Project?

MuFi fundraiser album? [more inside] posted by Astro Zombie at 9:11 AM PST - 91 comments

Physical

Completely fucked dance-noise cover of Olivia Newton-John's "Physical." Sincere apologies to my parents, who were big fans of her when this came out. [more inside]

posted by naju at 8:59 AM PST - 3 comments

Where you gonna get your good things now?

One of my favorite chord progressions ever. A demo from about 1995 for a notional solo album, and for once I sound like I'm actually worked up about something, which I was. [more inside]

posted by unSane at 5:05 AM PST - 2 comments

May 20

Africa (Dark Continent Mix)

Well, it's different. [more inside]

posted by ropeladder at 9:27 PM PST - 4 comments

Slice of Jade (Final Mix)

A be boppy tune I did for alittle one.

posted by american caesar at 5:10 PM PST - 3 comments

Minnesota Porn inspired remix

Well I thought id try to trance-ify Astrozombies minnesota porn but it kinda took on a new life of its own..... [more inside]

posted by Greynaab at 4:39 PM PST - 2 comments

SMUT - My Girl

Lyrics NSFW.

posted by 256 at 6:51 AM PST - 3 comments

Wrinkle in Time

A 1991 recording of one of my songs, recorded at Egg Studios in Seattle. I'm not quite sure what I think of this one, all these years later. It's a love song, of sorts. [more inside]

posted by litlnemo at 6:32 AM PST - 2 comments

May 19

Flowerpusher

beep beep boop

posted by ageispolis at 11:50 PM PST - 3 comments

Lonely Teardrop

From a recent live show with my band, Medicine Bone. The key we did this in wasn't the best for me, so I ended up kinda screaming it. And the recording is dirty and clipping. So, it turned out just about right. Oh, and the best thing is that old buddy Ken Kawashima (hear him with me here, here and here) was in town and graced us with some of his superb blues harpery. Video at YouTube and Vimeo.

posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:00 PM PST - 7 comments

Seventeen Below

Me, a 4-track, a guitar, some cigarettes and some booze. Probably the most autobiographical thing I've ever written. That I'll cop too, anyway. And one of my favorites too. [more inside]

posted by unSane at 5:10 PM PST - 3 comments

Hello Stranger (Barbara Lewis/Yvonne Elliman cover)

My covers of Linda Ronstadt and Gabby Pahinui bookend this third generation cover of "Hello Stranger". (I used the Elliman cover as reference.) [more inside]

posted by NemesisVex at 11:18 AM PST - 2 comments

May 18

public 0.4 (da vinci)

5:30 in the morning at the park by Da Vinci middle school, me and my sampling synth and some birds under a roof [more inside]

posted by idiopath at 9:59 PM PST - 0 comments

Slice of Jade

Slice of Jade...Is a tune bout my new baby Grand daughter..Happiness

posted by american caesar at 9:27 PM PST - 0 comments

Lovely Fiberglass

You know how sometimes you feel like bad days move slower than happy days?

posted by Brent Parker at 6:42 PM PST - 0 comments

Where you are

This is a quick little tune about a few people I'll never meet. [more inside]

posted by Pecinpah at 7:56 AM PST - 10 comments

May 17

VII. Gondola

Finally, we close the evening with a waltz...sort of. Thank you for joining us for this, An Evening With... [more inside]

posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 10:30 PM PST - 1 comments

public 0.3 (Laurelhurst)

A performance with a synth made using the supercollider programming language [more inside]

posted by idiopath at 9:48 PM PST - 3 comments

Entomology

This is News From Nowhere with a fresh lyric and an improved vocal melody in the versey/bridgey bits. More "finished" now, I think. Comments, as ever, welcome. [more inside]

posted by MajorDundee at 2:45 PM PST - 3 comments

Jazzsick

Mel Torme in hell. What started out as a tribute to Norwegian improv giants Supersilent became an outtake from Zappa's Lumpy Gravy. Kinda...

posted by Jonesisdying at 12:20 PM PST - 3 comments

VI. Fortnight

Gun control and the wearing of pants are discussed in this, the penultimate selection of our suite, An Evening With... [more inside]

posted by man vs sun at 7:34 AM PST - 3 comments

May 16

Dead Man's Will (Iron & Wine cover)

A cover, but unfortunately not a cover of Vogue by Madonna for the monthly challenge. This is the result of me trying to really know what I am doing with a song before I record, instead of just recording with a "I'll fix that later" approach and piling on more and more tracks. So this is one track, recorded on a USB mic in a pretty stairwell on my college's campus. I'm still stuck on the BbGCFABb tuning. I'd absolutely love any thoughts.

posted by Corduroy at 10:52 PM PST - 2 comments

V. Effigy

The drama builds in part Five of our obiter opus, An Evening With... [more inside]

posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 10:02 PM PST - 1 comments

Memo To My Son

I love Randy Newman. Along with the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, and Cat Stevens, he was the first musician I fell in love with as a child, thanks to my parents. I've covered him once before on MeFi. Now I'm doing it again. [more inside]

posted by ORthey at 6:16 PM PST - 2 comments

public 0.2

An ambient piece, performed in the fountain at Oregon Park in Portland, OR [more inside]

posted by idiopath at 6:15 PM PST - 7 comments

IV: Dvorak

The fourth in a series of seven movements from our inadvertent album An Evening With... [more inside]

posted by man vs sun at 7:31 AM PST - 0 comments

May 15

Son of My Father

This is a cover of the pop hit that was #1 on my birthday - for the MeFi Music Challenge. [more inside]

posted by Pecinpah at 10:52 PM PST - 6 comments

III. Corpuscle

The third part of the accidental An Evening With..., and quite possibly the world's first electric snare organ. [more inside]

posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 9:35 PM PST - 1 comments

Moonlight Lady (Gabby Pahinui cover)

Moonlight Lady by Gabby Pahinui is the only Hawaiian music song I like. I covered it in the style of a shoegazer band. [more inside]

posted by NemesisVex at 7:28 PM PST - 2 comments

Solitude

It took Duke Ellington fifteen minutes to write this song, but it only took me four and a half to tear it apart. [more inside]

posted by koeselitz at 7:16 PM PST - 2 comments

R. Stevie Moore Tribute Album!

Just saw this and thought I'd share: the blog Sick of the Radio is putting together an R. Stevie Moore tribute album with winners chosen by Mr. Moore himself. [more inside] posted by sleepy pete at 5:29 PM PST - 6 comments

aint no rest for the wicked - cover

Cover of cage the elephant's song aint no rest for the wicked.

posted by pwally at 4:18 PM PST - 2 comments

A Love Song For George Rekers

George Rekers, one of the founders of Focus on the Family, needs love and self acceptance. This love song is made with his own words, as recorded by a journalist shortly after he was seen with an escort at an airport (along with some simple synthesizers). [more inside]

posted by idiopath at 3:01 PM PST - 2 comments

II. Bologna

Second movement of our accidental seven-part suite entitled An Evening With... [more inside]

posted by man vs sun at 6:59 AM PST - 0 comments

May 14

I. Aardvark

We just accidentally a whole album, is this bad? [more inside]

posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 9:07 PM PST - 2 comments

I just like to do the hum hum hum

Vocals by my son's preschool class, cut up and GarageBanded into a kind of loungey 4-K dance track.

posted by escabeche at 3:06 PM PST - 1 comments

Syncopia

Tension-laden synth piece with analog elements. Expect ticking time-bombs, paranoid running at night, and an unseen enemy catching up with you.

posted by lord_yo at 4:07 AM PST - 1 comments

May 13

I Can't See Why

I was sitting in my friend's basement reading Rene Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy and then I wrote this song and recorded it. [more inside]

posted by swellingitchingbrain at 9:05 PM PST - 2 comments

minnesota pr0n

this started out as a remix of astro zombie's minnesota porn but... [more inside]

posted by peterkins at 5:47 PM PST - 8 comments

May 12

The Man I Love

The Gershwin standard. Really just testing the equipment/setup. I think it failed, but here it is anyway. [more inside]

posted by koeselitz at 8:07 PM PST - 8 comments

May 11

a perfect preservative (big ghost version)

Big Ghost's version of this, which gets nice and jam-bandy, we feel. Thanks in advance for continuing mixing/mastering advice. [more inside]

posted by es_de_bah at 5:27 PM PST - 3 comments

Apache

The Shadows classic - number one on the day I was born and given a lo-fi acoustic treatment, rather unsuccessfully

posted by Jonesisdying at 4:32 PM PST - 5 comments

Take Stuff from Work

A small bit of comfort for those of us who still need to have a day job. [more inside]

posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 11:26 AM PST - 8 comments

Help me with this project thanks!

Advice sought for a possibly strange multi-year project involving melody preservation. [more inside] posted by ORthey at 9:08 AM PST - 11 comments

May 10

Fall In Silence

Sort of an odd tune, relying primarily on one chord. The lyrics actually mean something but that might not be very obvious. Features my dad on alto sax. [more inside]

posted by ORthey at 10:14 PM PST - 6 comments

(Not) Missing You

Cortex and snsranch play music under me turning John Waite's "Missing You" into an angry phone call. [more inside]

posted by The Whelk at 3:29 PM PST - 8 comments

97

Last night just before the kids went to bed, while I was dicking around on the piano and recording while my son played his drums, my daughter walked up with princess dress on and told me about a dream she had. [more inside]

posted by davejay at 11:38 AM PST - 6 comments

May 9

FujuBot

Rough cut of a song I worked on today. [more inside]

posted by hellojed at 8:54 PM PST - 2 comments

Fever

Delaytastic mix. [more inside]

posted by motty at 6:30 PM PST - 2 comments

Alien Rocket Skateboard Cat

Strap in, kids.

posted by CarrotAdventure at 12:13 PM PST - 3 comments

Circles

Really old demo recording that I recently found on a decaying tape. [more inside]

posted by chococat at 12:18 AM PST - 16 comments

May 8

Sanctus Langanum Immolare

Loosely translated, it means "Holy Cake Fire." That's exactly how awesome. [more inside]

posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 11:28 PM PST - 2 comments

The Same Four Chords

Inspired by this MeFi thread, I wanted to see if I could write a song using only the famous chord progression seen in "Don't Stop Believin'", "With Or Without You" and about a zillion other songs. This was the result. It's also a sappy love song, because those are fun to write. [more inside]

posted by ZsigE at 4:35 PM PST - 3 comments

News From Nowhere

Instructions: to be liberally applied aurally when driving through Godforsaken backwaters. Warning: lengthy instrumental section may induce quasi-prog aversion syndrome. If this occurs, please seek immediate medical assistance. In the alternative, large quantities of beer and/or marijuana have been known to effect temporary relief from this distressing condition. MajorDundee Inc - A Familiar Company [more inside]

posted by MajorDundee at 12:20 PM PST - 18 comments

backseat nudist

Haunted punk from my band Big Ghost. This is my second attempt at recording drums (thanks for all the advice, Mefites!) and my first post that all the band worked on together. so pointers are very welcome. [more inside]

posted by es_de_bah at 7:06 AM PST - 8 comments

May 7

Exhale

A fast, peppy, electronic beat that will remind you of the importance of breathing. [more inside]

posted by sputgop at 10:59 PM PST - 3 comments

All Shook Up

Elvis Aaron's #1 hit single for May 25, 1957. My version clocks in at eight seconds longer than Mr. Presley's, and uses slightly different instrumentation: the marron glacé guitar, the one string double drum, a shekere/maraca and talking drum. And, um, I made a... *ahem* ... video for it, which, if I had an ounce of dignity, I never would've posted to YouTube or Vimeo.

posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:18 PM PST - 24 comments

You Light Up My Nightmares

An Accidentally Terrifying cover of Debbie Boone's "You Light Up My Life", the number one hit song on the day I was born. Born under a bad song. [more inside]

posted by Kirk Grim at 4:41 PM PST - 6 comments

May 6

Hello, are you interesting?

Be my guest, and contribute to a track I have to turn in before the weekend is over! [more inside] posted by davejay at 2:41 PM PST - 5 comments

Phasing problem - advice sought

Need a steer from the more technically adept amongst the crew. If I use peripherals with my machine (Yamaha AW2400) I often get a horrible tinny sound - difficult to describe in words, but I think it's some kind of phasing problem. The signal route is: a feed out of the DAW, into the box (Lexicon reverb unit, for instance), then back into the input channels of the DAW, control via "Aux" faders. So....the "treated" signal is being mixed back in with the original, and I think this is where the problem lies. I can't lose the original signal without also losing the "treated" one. The DAW has a phase reverse facility that I've used, but I still get at least a touch of that horrible metallic thinned-out sound. What the fuck is going on? And any ideas about a cure? posted by MajorDundee at 12:10 PM PST - 7 comments

The first time ever I saw your face

The Roberta Flack version of this song was #1 when I was born, but I decided instead to follow the lead of the Chi-Lites, a Chicago group that rivaled Philadelphia's Delphonics.

posted by umbú at 9:29 AM PST - 16 comments

Gotta Get Past These Ideas

Back in January 2010, when the odious Pat Robertson made his inane/insane comments about the Haitian earthquake being caused by Haiti's "pact with the devil", I penned this little number, and quickly recorded a demo version, to send to a musician I was going to be playing the tune with at a Haiti disaster relief fundraiser event we were part of, here in Tokyo. Just came across the demo today, while organizing some files, and thought I'd post it here. Instrumentation is very bare bones: pitch pipe, Peruvian bass drum, handclap and voice. [more inside]

posted by flapjax at midnite at 2:08 AM PST - 8 comments

May 5

Remixing?

Anybody want to try their hand at some remixing? [more inside] posted by Astro Zombie at 3:15 AM PST - 6 comments

May 3

i remember you

frank ifield's version of this was number one on the day i was born. i have decided not to yodel on mine. [more inside]

posted by peterkins at 3:00 AM PST - 9 comments

May 2

Meteor Shower

This came tugging on my pants leg this week, almost fully formed. Thanks, muse! It's about, well, a meteor shower. Warning: non-zero James Taylor quotient.

posted by doubtfulpalace at 5:18 PM PST - 8 comments

Apple Juice

Apple juice-related idiocy [more inside]

posted by Jinkeez at 3:15 PM PST - 3 comments

Unabomber

Cytochrome C - producer, MC. A lo-fi raptastrophe. [more inside]

posted by swellingitchingbrain at 2:17 PM PST - 2 comments

Minnesota Porn

Courtney McClean & The Dirty Curls present a decidedly not-safe-for-work ode to porn stars and filmmakers from Minnesota. [more inside]

posted by Astro Zombie at 7:42 AM PST - 1 comments

May 1

trio no 6

a free improvisation - trumpet, double bass and percussion. slightly groovy near the end. sort of. [more inside]

posted by peterkins at 5:41 PM PST - 5 comments

MAY MEFI MUSIC CHALLENGE

Cover the song that was #1 on the charts the day you were born. In addition to the usual mefimusicchallenge tag, please tag your submission with numberonehit. Suggested by minifigs. posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:57 PM PST - 153 comments

Eight of January

(Jackson's Victory). Played on my fretless bowlback banjo, in double A.

posted by tmcw at 2:47 PM PST - 12 comments

Kylie vs. The Ex

A heart-breaking tale of love, loss and relatively famous Antipodean sirens. [more inside]

posted by Jofus at 9:12 AM PST - 9 comments