Back from a quesadilla and picking up one package. That package contained the Yearbook CD, so I've finally heard Three Friends in its entirety - I'd pretty much remembered all of it save for the music to the third girl's verse, but as soon as that began I remembered it. One wishes the vocals were better and actually singing the written notes (mostly they do, but not always), but it's sweet. The band is almost together but there are things in the arrangement that I would not have allowed had I heard what they were doing. There should be a nice build into the final chorus of the song (there's a key change and it's all set up for it), but instead it actually accelerates a little, which wasn't the intention. And the final little rideout figure is just odd to me, but I can't really judge until the actual score arrives and I see how it's notated. But it was fun to hear and I'll include it in tomorrow's notes.
Nerd is okay - the boy who sings it has been "directed" to be too serious - you can't go there and have the song work as it's designed to. He sings okay but you just kind of have to let the song do its job and not put too much stuff on it - there's too much stuff. And they've put a kind of odd monologue into it, between the bridge and the final verse. Again, fun to hear, but I kind of wish all the composers had at least been consulted on the arrangements.
