they both sounded the same...they sucked...who are these judges?...are they on thorazine...what lousy choices...for the kick off of song search!

I just listened to the first two finalists; I was underwhelmed by both songs. Neither grabbed me enough to warrant a vote.

I thought you were looking for good SONGS, not pretentious, inexcessible sound experiments. Catchy? Um, no. Here's hoping next week there's something worth voting for.

But I completely agree with the previous comments. I thought both of these songs were utterly mediocre at best. Boring and unoriginal. I still have hope that some GOOD new bands will emerge from this search -- but on this round, I am withholding my vote. I cannot in good conscience vote when I have no preferance. I can't even decide which one I dislike more. They both suck...

I'm voting for Welcome To Confusion. That song was awesome.

Using the alleged Song Search judging criteria, 1 to 10 scale (10 = strong, 1 = weak):

Colorforms - Green and White Stripes

Originality ----- 4

Talent ---------- 6

Overall Sound --- 5

Themes ---------- 5

Lyrics ---------- 4

Musicianship ---- 6

Comment: Sounds like a Regina Spektor knock-off. A song about songs that offers little insight, just a few slight observations delivered in an overly precious manner.

The Caterpillars - Motorbike

Originality ----- 6

Talent ---------- 5

Overall Sound --- 4

Themes ---------- 5

Lyrics ---------- 7

Musicianship ---- 6

Comment: Intriguing idea but the production and performance do not sell the song. What is a professional production team doing in an amateur songwriting contest?

Overall:An unimpressive start to this contest. Agree with other posters, neither worth a vote.

Okay, this kind of gets to the heart of my issue with Audiofile: a preference for mushy, toothless sonic experiments instead of, y'know, actual songs. The second piece is marginally better than the first, but I'd skip past either if someone gave me a mix CD with them on it.

I just put "Motorbike" on my ipod. Lovely.

I can't vote for either of these first two entries. Audiofile's predilection for ethereal (at best) soundscapes, breathy vocals and slushy, musical opium has apparently infected all the judges. If these two choices are what we have to look forward to in Song Search, then hopefully, the contest will bring Audiofile's questionable musical choices to a head, and someone else can be chosen to bring new direction to the feature, away from the Ecstasy-driven blahscapes that others are apparently tired of, too.

I'm not sure why I should have been surprised, given Audiofile's tendency to pick the airy and sedentary over the crunchy and danceable. But both songs were disappointing. Uninspired, dull, and overly pretty, neither song amounts to much. That said, I marginally preferred Motorbike, though I'm not sure I can explain why. Perhaps it was because I listened to it second and perceived it shorter.

I couldn't stand for either one enough to vote either. I hate to just say "Me too!" but... Me too!

I suggest, mostly due to it's familiar 'Beach Boy' signatures, Motorbike is the stickiest of the two selections up for scrutany here. Let's hope the service at the bar raises at the next musical hurdle and doesn't plummet into the dust of psydo-intellectualistic cheeseless crackers like these. Tastier treats please.

-MB

Thorazine.... perfect. I was thinking heroin. Are these two audio sleeping pills actually the best songs out of 500? If so, I offer my sincere condolences to the judges. It's not that they're so bad... it's more that they're just so nothing.

I liked that "Wikipedia" song much better than either of these two.

And not just the songs. Why is Salon using Vizu.com to run their polls? Do they not have web developers who can write a simple poll script that gives one vote per registered user and prevents ballot-stuffing? I guess Audiofile doesn't take their own contest too seriously.

I don't like to hate on these artists, but I do have to agree with TomDavidson and YLlama. Hopefully there will be more variety in the other 8 songs. I ended up going with Motorbike, the sound was more interesting and listenable of the two.

Where can I purchase The Caterpillars CD?

i vote for the colorforms song, but i liked both.

as for audiophile's penchant for difficult songs, that's why i come back. also, if it's free, stop complaining. or blog about it. whatever puts you to sleep smiling.

I think it would be helpful if you posted the lyrics of the competing songs. That would help me make a better decision between the two.

It's a pretty song, though not a standout, and its lyrics are much more sophisticated than "Green and White Stripes," which does indeed suffer from the Overly Precious, Quirky-Girl-Voice Syndrome. (The song's title may get stuck in your head, but so do jingles for chewing gum. And I found myself waiting for it to end.)

That said, my REAL vote is for "Ass Dermatologist." Now that's a song I can get behind!

These songs were remarkably similar; I liked motorbike marginally better because the lyrics were more succinct. There were a few too many green and white stripes.

And Audiofile is cool. I keep reading it because in spite of the many songs that do nothing for me, every once in a while there's something I'd never have listened to or heard of on my own that I fall in love with. And because Thomas Bartlett can write about music without sounding like some horrible High Fidelity weiner, which is truly a gift.

Do the people who write such vitriolic things about these songs ever stop to consider that these were written and performed by human beings who shouldn't have to be shattered to read personal attacks? Their songs were chosen for a contest -- that doesn't mean they should serve as your personal punching bags. I didn't particularly love the song Motorbike, perhaps it's just not a style I am moved by, but that doesn't mean I think the band should be slammed and ridiculed. I went to their site and listened to other songs, which I liked more. Colorforms also had what I considered better, more fully formed, songs on their site -- and from the video you can see that the writer and singer is very young and shouldn't have to get pummeled by a crowd. Are you sure you guys aren't like the people sitting in the stands at sports events stuffing their mouths with hot dogs and shouting down that the players are "lousy"? Doesn't that always strike you as a bit absurd?