Spintunes: And the Winner Is....

Kevin Savino-Riker

That's right. In the grand tradition of journalistic election coverage, I'm calling this one before the polls close.

Just as a reminder, here was the challenge for the final round of SpinTunes 1, expressed in full:

Musical Road Trip - Write a song using at least three different ethnic styles. The music from each of the three parts of the song should give the listeners a mental image of a place or group of people from a certain area. (at least 30 seconds each style) (3 minute minimum)

As difficult as would have liked this to have been (and Ross turned in a very good song), it wasn't. Not at all. Kevin's entry, "Lovers, Fighters, Survivors", was 3 minutes and 59 seconds long. It contained three styles -- Eastern European, Italian, and Irish -- each of which was at least 30 seconds long. It was held together with some very nice soft-rock "glue". It met the challenge.

Ross Durand's entry, "That Sweet Smile", contained 20 seconds of Bluegrass, 20 seconds of Zydeco, and 30 seconds of Mariachi, all held together with Ross' excellent folk style. The overall length of the song was 2 minutes, 57 seconds. It failed the challenge on three counts: overall length, and the length of 2 of the three segments.

Without even discussing the relative strengths of the songs themselves, I have to hand Ross the disqualification. If it was just the overall length, he might have squeaked by with the three-second deficit. But it was a clear failure to meet the challenge (even though I like the song a lot). So, Kevin Savino-Riker wins the first SpinTunes challenge in my book, regardless of how the actual voting turns out. It matters not, folks... I'm still a fan of both of these guys.

And as Baretta used to say, "Dat's da name o' dat tune."

Later I'll post reviews.

Review of SpinTunes1, Round 3

Here's my review of the first SpinTunes competition, round 3. The challenge was as follows:

Happy To Sad In 4 Seconds - Write a sad song about birth, a moment that is normally a happy moment, and make it a real tear jerker. You can't use the words "Happy" or "Birthday". (2 minute minimum)

In this review, as before, the entries are listed in the order of their appearance on Bandcamp. Since I'm not a judge I'm not posting my rankings, if any exist.
A few words about the challenge. You'll notice that it doesn't say "childbirth". Though it's pretty clear that any interpretation other than childbirth won't be particularly sad. You'll also notice that this isn't a challenge to write a sad song... it's a "tear jerker", which is a different thing altogether. A "sad song" can be written when you're sad, or about something that makes you sad, but "tear jerker" evokes sadness in other people. This may seem a subtle difference, but it's profound.

I thought it was pretty restrictive, and as a composer I didn't get much out of it. Here's why: when you're given a challenge to elicit a particular emotion, you are free to go where you will to do it. When you're given a particular situation, you are free to exploit it to whatever emotional ends you will. But to elicit "this" emotion from "this" situation really limits your options. The result would tend to be formulaic, because formulas do work. But there's nothing especially creative about writing formulaic material. To me as an artist, it feels less like an act of creation and more like a job. To me as a listener, I'm distracted by the marionette strings. Here are a few of the formulae I expected to see (and did):

1. Child dies at birth
2. Mother dies at birth (or, the father dies and the child is born fatherless).
3. Both mother and child die at birth
4. The child is given up for adoption. 
5. The child has a birth defect.

 William and I kicked around a few "out of the box" ideas, such as time-traveling to the birth of Hitler or Christ. Those didn't work. Needless to say, I'm not overly fond of the challenge. That said, I judged the entries by

1. Was it about birth?
2. Instant disqualification for using the restricted words.
3. How sad did it make me? Actually, I have an objective test for this one. I pulled my wife in here and had her listen with me. She's the mine canary I use for detecting emotional effectiveness. If you made her cry, you pass.

You'll be happy to hear that there were no disqualifications for reasons 1. or 2. The sadness scale, though.... hmm...

The Offhand Band - Will It

 There is a biography of this song here (click on the story tab).

I like it when people provide song bios so I don't have to explain what it's about. But Mark, I want to reach across the Internet, grab your shoulders, and shake you for this. HARD. The SONG itself is fine. But you went with "production" in the very challenge where it's decidedly detrimental! Here's the thing... if you were just to hear this song on the radio, as is, and weren't listening very carefully to the lyrics, you'd just think it were a bright and bouncy dance number. If you did listen very carefully to the lyrics, you'd shrug and say, "Boy, that's odd. Sad lyrics, bouncy tune," and go back to dancing. It's too busy, too rhythmic, and vocally, you're too on-rhythm. It sounds like you're more concerned with staying in sync with the click-track than trying to communicate an emotion. And that's a shame, because when I erase all of that from my mind, and read your lyrics, imagining a different, looser orchestration, it's really sad and could be a winner. It pains me that you hid it behind a bunch of 16th and 32nd notes.

P.S. It reminds me a bit of Barry Manilow's style. That's not a bad thing, I'm the guy who admits to liking Barry Manilow.

Caleb Hines - Will you Miss Me?

In an interesting choice of perspective, Caleb has written a song from the point-of-view of an unborn child, who is aborted. Shockingly and bravely, he depicts the actual abortion. I like the orchestration, and Caleb's subject makes good use of his unique vocal style. He pushes the right buttons. Good work. The downside is that it may be a little too shocking and brave. This mixed a bit of horror in with the sadness and kept the tears to a trickle.

Sara Parsons - Had To Be You

This is another that I think is just a bit too rhythmic and too... pleasant. If I didn't know in advance it was about a dead baby, just casually listening, I might conclude that it was just a really pleasant love song; the sort of thing you'd sing on a picnic. As I said, it's pleasant. I like it. But it's not sad.

Edric Haleen - The Star

If Edric wrote a bio of this song it would be here. Hint, hint.

When it comes to pulling emotional strings, Edric Haleen is Gepetto. In this song he has strings for religion, and love, and sacrifice, and the hopelessness of inevitable death, and hope for the future, and still manages to have it be about a birth. Completely acapella, he gives us Gregorian chanting behind a Jesuit story of the far-flung future. In so doing he maintains the tradition of the signature big reveal, and even throws in some space-geek fodder. It definitely meets the challenge. The story itself is basically Arthur C. Clarke's story, The Star, faithfully abridged and set to music. Best of all, Edric can in fact pull this off with his amazingly flawless vocals.

The downside: according to Lisa it's too intellectual, and the "big reveal" works against it on first listen. The gut-wrencher is the very last word, and the song is over by the time you realize what it's about. Prior to that the audience is simply confused as to what's going on. So the music doesn't have the right emotion to amplify. This is, in part, an artifact of the competition. We know it's supposed to be about birth. Someone listening to this without preconceptions won't have that problem, though they're still stuck with "why all the fuss" on a first listen. On subsequent listens, though, this is really, really effective.

Steve Durand - Her Mother's Eyes

Sorry, Steve. this is another one where the rhythm just kill the sadness for me. The drums just don't need to be there, and the horn bridge, while very well done, sounds like it belongs wrapped up in a different song. The subject is sad -- hell, it's the exact same subject I used myself --- but it's just too bouncy and too quick. It just doesn't make me sad. It also reminds me of something, though I can't for the life of me remember what.

Kevin Savino-Riker - My Daughter

 Kevin's written a bio of this song. Read it here.

An Irish ballad? From KSR? Yes, and 'tis sad, indeed. Lisa bawled like a baby. I teared up watching her cry. Like Steve and myself, Kevin has the mother die in childbirth. Unlike us, he had the father make that decision, and live, not only with single parenthood, but with the guilt. Gut-wrenching, and top marks. hint, hint.

Governing Dynamics - Revolving Door

Travis has written a bio of this song here.

Melancholy. That's the feeling I get from this. Not really tearing up sad. It flirts with sad, but it's got a little too much emo apathy in it to really take us all the way there. Then the bridge speeds up and jerks us away from that. I hope the competitors that used drums listen to this one carefully, because this is how to use them in a sad song without making it happy and bouncy.

Ross Durand - You'll Be Gone

Ross made my wife cry. Her lower lip was trembling on the second verse, then the line, "I gave you away" hit her like a logging truck and she broke down completely. It didn't hurt that you delivered it in that Bob Dylan style (she loves Dylan). And really, that's all this song needed to deliver. No production, no orchestration, just emotion. Good job.

Charlie McCarron - A Song For Sam Bell

A very odd song, this. Lisa didn't get it. I thought it was a bit surreal, and melancholy, but not tearfully sad. The problem may be that it's just a little difficult to relate to clones, especially when you haven't seen the movie. Too intellectual to be emotionally effective.

SHADOWS:

JoAnn Abbot - Lullabye

JoAnn has written a bio of this song. Read it here.

The rhythm is inconsistent and that's distracting. The recording is about what you'd expect from a 1936 Blues recording done in a barn, and that's distracting, too. Funny thing is that the song itself kind of works. I definitely have the picture of a medieval woman lamenting her lost child to this minstrel tune. I think it could probably use some minor tweaks to the lyric to help put it in that timeframe, but yeah, I like it. It didn't make us cry, but it could given the right performance.

Emperor Gum - 1983

Graham, you need to back off from the microphone, and this is a little below your range. Transposing it up one step would help greatly, and I have to imagine it with different orchestration. That said...

This song doesn't work for me, but it could with very little work. Normally I would say that being born into a world of woe wouldn't be personal enough to make a tear-jerker, but Emperor Gum has fixed that by relaying this as a man's address to his father. He doesn't really say, but I imagine it as him talking to his father's grave. In doing so, he gives us the very effective reminder that not all tears are sad. Sometimes they're happy, but sometimes they're a bit more complicated. Here, the fulcrum for the emotional lever really doesn't rest on the child, but on the budding respect and understanding that the singer has for his own father on the occasion of his own child's birth. It's a unique perspective among the entries. It still didn't make me cry, but that has more to do with the presentation. I think it needs a little bit more work on the last two verses, and a less tentative performance, and it could be very good.

Heather Miller - Promise To My Son

Heather wrote a bio of her song here.

Heather, I'm not sure you needed the minor chords in the verses. This is another one of yours that feels like an unfinished story. We get to the point where the midwife knows how to keep the child safe, but we don't learn how, and it's not really even implied. It needs the additional verse. Going from verse--chorus--verse--chorus... to verse--chorus--verse--verse--chorus... allow additional room for the verse without significantly lengthening the song. I didn't really get the tears from it either, but that's a risk you take when using a story that's sufficiently removed from the listeners' frame of reference, as when using kings (or starships or clones).

Brian Gray - Not Even Close

Brian wrote about his song here.

OK, This one would get an instant DQ for lack of sadness, but as a shadow, I'm really glad Brian submitted it. It's hilarious, and is much needed to break the tension of listening to a bunch of depressing, sad songs. If sadness were not a requirement it would easily earn the top spot for humor, quality of lyrics, and production value. A friend listened and said, "Well, it could be sad for the guy in the song...." Nice try. A tear-jerker is about the audience, not the protagonist. :)

Dr. Lindyke - A Special Day

Dave wrote about this song here.

I don't review our own songs. I do invite you to do that, though, and rake me over the coals for doing all the stuff that I said was disappointing in the other songs. Do it in the comments here, please.

Wrap-Up

Now, if you're keeping track of Lisa's tears, you'll find that Kevin, Edric, Ross, and Caleb managed to deliver. (I did too, but she may be humoring me.)

Who stuck to the formulae?

1. The Offhand Band (5)
2. Sara Parsons (1)
3. Steve Durand (2)
4. Kevin Savino-Riker (2)
5. Governing Dynamics (2)
6. Ross Durand (4)
7. JoAnn Abbot (1)
8. Heather Miller (4) (though with a decidedly Old Testament perspective)
9. Me (2)

Who didn't?

1. Caleb. Although the child dies at birth, Caleb rescues it from the formula by taking the p.o.v. of the unborn child, and casts you as the parent.
2. Edric. He had an entire civilization die to herald your salvation.
3. Charlie McCarron. The "birth" here is the decanting of clones.
4. Emperor Gum. Nobody dies, but the potential is there. It's a harsh world.
5. Brian Gray. Nobody dies, and I wouldn't call inheriting his father's alien complexion a birth defect.

A Special Day

There's not much to say about this one. It was written as a shadow entry for the first SpinTunes competition, round 3. The challenge was as follows:

Happy To Sad In 4 Seconds - Write a sad song about birth, a moment that is normally a happy moment, and make it a real tear jerker. You can't use the words "Happy" or "Birthday". (2 minute minimum)

With a challenge this restrictive, preparing for it consisted mainly of thinking of the saddest things I could about childbirth. Note that the challenge doesn't say childbirth, just "birth", so technically it's possible to fudge in some other kind of birth ("birth of a nation", etc.), but none of those other things are particularly sad.

My inherently optimistic nature responds to such things as birth defects with, "well, at least he's alive," so the saddest possible scenarios (to me) are the death of a parent or the death of the child. Since I have no small bit of experience being a single parent, I decided to go with what I know... single parenthood. So this is a song written from the point of view of the father, addressed to his wife who has just died in childbirth. To make it a little more emotionally difficult, I made the child a girl so that he would be out of his comfort zone. And because the challenge says we couldn't use "Happy Birthday", I deliberately included birthdays without saying those specific words.

It's Country, because Country is made for sad songs.

A SPECIAL DAY
by Dr. Lindyke

She has angel eyes
You know, the kind that draw you in
Of the deepest ocean blue
And I realize
As I look at her face and her careless grin
She gets those things from you

A year from now
A year from then
A cake of bittersweet
I promise now, I will find a way
To make this day a special day
Just like the way I know you'd want it to be

In the years ahead
There will be things she's going to need to know
I don't know what I'm going to do
I always thought we'd see her
Grow and love and someday wed
I never thought it would be without you

A year from now
A year from then
A cake of bittersweet
I don't know how, but I will find a way
To make this day
A special day
Just like the way
I know you'd want it to be

This day …
A Special Day …
Just like we dreamed it would be.

Review of Round 2 Songs That Weren't Written

The SpinTown competition is hosted here: http://spintunes.blogspot.com. The Round 2 roundup is on this page.

In my review of SpinTunes 1, Round 2 songs, I noted that three of the competitors did not manage to submit a song by the deadline, and were therefore eliminated by the competition. In an effort to be completely fair, and taking advantage of of a freak crack in space and time (amplified with the aid of a common drinking glass held to my ear), I've decided to review the songs that these worthy competitors would have written, had they written entries. 

Ryan Welton - Beat Me Daddy, Nine to the Bar

Ryan Welton brings his smooth jazz stylings to this unique piece performed on electric piano, snare and upright bass. Ryan sounds for all the world like a young Mel Torme as he storms through the syncopated intro and through the 3/4 time verses. Not bad at all; I like Mel a lot. However, when I saw that the chorus was in 9/8 time, I was frankly concerned about how Ryan would pull this off. His solution is as technically brilliant as it is unique... write a song in 6/8, and stutter. Pell mell he melts from the melodious Mel Torme to mellifluous Mel Tillis. It's an eclectic mix, to be sure, but a mix that matches. I think this one's a real keeper, and it's a shame you're not going to hear it. 

Bram Tant - Hulalalalalalalalalalalalala

Controversy over "what is a song" aside, it's arguable that "Kebab Shop" is one of the most successful experiments in alternative styles in SpinTunes history. Bram capitalizes on that success by offering us another Arabic-themed number. Unfortunately, I'm not sure he's left the controversy behind. Without a doubt, the dig at judge Sammy Kablam in the bridge was absolutely inspired (if overly blunt), but even I'm not sure that an the titular ululation qualifies as a "lyric", especially when it composes the entirety of the verses. The repeated refrain of "Jihad!" is effective and meshes well with the previously mentioned bridge. Overall I'd say this song clearly demonstrates why it is the first and only example of 1/32 time I've ever heard. Props to Bram for the concept, but I'm not quite as thrilled with the execution. 

Jon Eric - I Really Am Superman Damn It

While I'd like to review Jon's unwritten entry, I can't. Sadly, Jon was taken from us just hours before he was not to write this submission. Apparently he woke to find that the world had indeed become kryptonite, and that he could not fly. Unfortunately he discovered this as he was beginning his morning commute from the roof of his house. RIP, Jon Eric. May your shade shadow future rounds.

May all of these fine musicians shadow future rounds.

So this completes the Round 2 Roundup. Many thanks to BoffoYuxDudes and Denise Hudson for their help in discerning the lyrics of these nonexistent tunes.

Review of SpinTunes 1, Round 2

UPDATE: I managed to post a big ol' review without ever linking to to the competition itself! Here it is: http://spintunes.blogspot.com.

The Round 2 roundup and VOTING is done on this page.

Unlike my review of Round 1, in this one I'm touching on every competitor.

The challenge here was wide open... Write a song where the choruses are a different time signature than the verses. (2 minute minimum). Other than that, anything goes, except that all entries must have lyrics. The competitors had 12 days to complete the challenge. I'm firmly convinced that it doesn't matter how much time you give people... some will crunch at the end. I'd be firmly in favor of a shorter period, such as the one-week Song Fu period. Even with the liberal schedule, three competitors didn't make the deadline and will be eliminated.

Of the remainder, every song meets the challenge, so there are no technical disqualifications. I therefore judged the songs on how well they transitioned the time signatures, how well the time signatures supported the story and/or mood of the song, and basically how much I subjectively like it. Since the challenge was all about the time signatures, I weighted just a little in favor of songs that used signatures somewhat more exotic than the usual 3/4 and 4/4. I did not judge based on performance unless it was just really close, as this is a songwriting competition. These are not bands, they're composers.

Overall, this was a really strong round. I was a bit surprised that the additional time and wide-open challenge apparently made things more difficult for the challengers this round rather than less. But the entries were strong.Here are my comments in the order the songs appear on http://spintown.bandcamp.com

The Offhand Band - Another Universe.

(Mark wrote a bio of his song! Click to read it!)

This is simply awesome. The transitions are great, and the use of 2/4 time to represent a ticking clock is inspired (tick-tock-tick-tock), and continues through in later verses to underscore the binary choices of this universe. The change of time signature to represent the other universe is superbly done. I love everything about the song; especially the way the chorus opens up at 2:50. From a performance standpoint, the vocals aren't stellar, but as a pianist, I'm really blown away by this arrangement. There are no flaws in the riffs, and it leaves you with a genuine smile. This is just an exceptionally good song. Kudos.

Jenny Katz - Miss You

Another great song. I really like Jenny's voice. The theme is simple enough... "I miss you". The time signatures neither help nor hinder it, and lend a sort of carnival flavor, bolstered by the choice of calliope for instrumentation. OK, so maybe it's not a calliope, but that's the effect. Did I mention that it's pretty? Well it is.

JoAnn Abbot - Life

I'm really proud of JoAnn for having produced this song. She's not a musician, nevertheless managed to squarely meet the challenge, on time.  The song spans an entire life. So the arrangement could use some work, and there's a bit of difficulty in the rhythm. but damn it, she's never played these instruments before. JoAnn may not survive this round, but if not she can retire from the competition with her head held high.

Edric Haleen - Love

(There's a mini-biography of this song here)

The intro screams "Mike Lombardo piano-rock" from the perennial show-tune factory. It's surprising, and great, and to be sure, Edric brings his own theatrical style to the rock genre. Using 5/4 where you might expect 6/4 makes the verses seem to rush headlong, which is only to be expected when one is falling in love. It's a great effect, and Edric's time transitions are not only flawless, they're seamless. This earned my vote.

Sara Parsons - A Little Time

Sara's Parsons' voice is a mink blanket, and I love her guitar arrangement. I'm a little confused by the lyrics. "Spend a little time with... me, but don't waste your time... on me". It's definitely a "mood" song, but I'm not sure what mood it puts me in. But it's smooth and pleasant, and I could listen to it repeatedly.

Caleb Hines - Insomniac Lullaby

Caleb wrote a bio of this song. Read it here.

Caleb's use of 5/4 time effectively communicates the distress of insomnia, as does the ever-so-slightly harsh violin (that's not a bad thing). The promise of sleep in 3/4 time is soothing and likewise effective. The music and instrumentation all work to support the lyrics. A solid entry.

Governing Dynamics - Eleyna Dreams

(there is a biography of this song here)

This has a really nice, dreamy quality, as well as it should with that title. Eleyna is paranoid. GD says the time signature of the verses is 3/4, and I suppose it is, but with that drum line I think I'd rather call it 6/4. It's that drum line that cements the dreamy quality of the song, and keeps us just a little off our toes. When it moves back to 4/4 it feels as if it opens up quite a bit. I quite like the imagery of the lyrics.

Emperor Gum - Smoulder (Yaoya Oshichi)

I kind of wish Emperor Gum had a koto (or even a uke) instead of a guitar, but I get the idea. This is a telling of a 17th century Japanese tale in which a girl falls in love with a boy and then attempts to commit arson. The time signatures and rhythms do work to the advantage of the story, but perhaps too well. And that's the failing of this song for me... the first line is "I'm bored" and by the end of the first verse I was. I can't say that this is bad, because that's certainly what the song was communicating. The transitions to fire were likewise effective. However, as much as I'd like to like it for artistic reasons, this song's just not my cup of tea.

Gorbzilla (featuring the Godzookies) - Than Infinity

OK, no fair. Gorbzilla filled this song with kiddie cuteness. The 5/4 verses don't sound rushed here because of the staggered voices. I have to admit I had to play this through a few times to ensure that the time signatures actually changed, and sure enough the one-line chorus is in 3/4 time. You just have to love this one. Do it for the kids.

Ross Durand - Waltz With The Devil

Bob Dylan meets Jed Clampett. A good, old-fashioned political protest song lamenting the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Extra points to Durand for a topical topic.. And, true to the title, the chorus puts us in 3/4 time to waltz with the devil. The only beef I have with it is that the transitions are just a little jarring. I might have liked to see it turned around so 3/4 was the prevalent rhythm, but that would have been a ground-up re-write. Nevertheless, it works well enough as it is, and I like the song.

Steve Durand - Rara Avis

"Rare Bird". This is one of those songs that are musically well-performed, but I'd really like to hear it with someone else singing. The lyrics get lost in the chorus, which is a bit of a shame. It's got a nice jazzclub sound to it. The choice of signature neither aids nor impedes the lyrics, which aren't bad, but neither do they stand out from the competition. Steve seems to have been on the same page as Jenny Katz when it comes to the "dabba-dabba" vocalization. That must have been fun to record.

Charlie McCarron - Sleep On It

I'm sorry, Charlie. This is that song. I tried, I did, but I can't bring myself to like this. I know the lyrics are supposed to be ironic and clever, but they just sound like rambling to me, even on the third listening when I know where it's going.

Kevin Savino-Riker - Here At The Door

(KSR's biography of his song is here)

This song has enough ambiguity that it has the most intriguing lyrics of the lot. If I were forced to guess what it's about, I'd say it's about illegal immigration. This is either disguised by the style, or I'm wrong. But that's not the point. The point is, it's intriguing as a puzzle box, and it easily has the most complex, crafted tune of the bunch. The polyrhythmic track gives it that sense of weirdness you'd find in a 1971 LSD fantasy. Those were my wonder years, so I'm really diggin' this tune. I'm also digging Kevin's vocal stylings.

Heather Miller - Bullseye

(Heather Miller has a bio of this song starting here)

(part 2) (part 3)"

The transitions are just a little too abrupt here. The time signatures don't help or hinder the song as a whole. But it's not bad. Performance-wise, it's top-heavy... needs bass. I think I'd like to hear it with acoustic guitar in place of the electrics. Embrace the country. It's also a little short. The song's aching to tell a story, girl-meets-boy, but it's never allowed to really do that. Well, it does, but it seems under-developed. 4:30 would be about the right length for this song, which would get you at least another verse and a bridge in there.

Gödz Pöödlz - Identities Assumed

I couldn't vote for GP last round, but I'll be damned if I can't vote for them this round, especially after they offered this entry. Some cold-war Poodlz action complete with Ray-bans, trenchcoats. I don't know if it's the recently-busted spy ring that inspired this song or not, but it's timely nonetheless. The transitions are smooth, smooth, smooth with nary a stutter or mis-step in the synth bass. It has that ineffable "Poodlnezz" about it that takes a subject that might be pompous in someone else's hands and renders it lighthearted and cool. Yup. Cool just about sums it up.

Denise Hudson - Flex Time

(Denise posted some notes about this song here)

On her most "normal" of days Denise will fit 12 beats into a 4-beat measure, so this one's probably got some heads scratching. Conga? You'll either get it or not, and that leaves me wondering if the judges will let her through to the next round. The time signatures are exactly as she has noted in the lyrics, though the conga doesn't really help you to pick them out. I imagine this one being played with an upright bass and some changes to the conga part to better support the signature. The thing is, I'm not exactly sure what this song is about. With a title like "Flex Time" you might expect it to be about working conditions, but looking at the lyrics I'm pretty thoroughly puzzled. But it's a sort of stream-of-consciousness piece that would be right at home in a beatnik poetry bar, and I really want to hear the re-mix.

"Buckethat" Bobby Matheson - Space Pirates

Bobby's managed to take a sea chanty, complete with accordion, and translate it into space travel. And -- move over Paul and Storm -- it's funny! The transitions from 3/4 to 2/4 are appropriate and spotlight the humor, and the lyrics are really, really clever. The story is consistent, and gives a few opportunities to toss in a few "Arr"s. Bobby's was the last entry submitted, and he was rushing to get it in at that, so I'm not 100% surprised at what happens at 2:51. It still gets my vote.

DID NOT SUBMIT (eliminated)
Jon Eric
Ryan Welton
Bram Tant
(Update: these non-submissions are reviewed here)

SHADOWS:
Boffo Yux Dudes - How Low Will You Go

I think it's a crying shame that a technical glitch kept it from getting played at the Listening Party. A bitter nerd gets revenge on his ex-girlfriend on the day of her wedding.

Dr. Lindyke - Minutes and Hours

Nice try. I won't be reviewing our own entry.

TechDirt on RIAA Accounting

As a follow-up to their explanation of Hollywood Accounting, TechDirt.com has dished up the dirt on RIAA Accounting: Why Even Major Label Musicians Rarely Make Money From Album Sales. For those who have read Courtney Love's famous rant on the subject, the only surprising thing is that it still goes on today, and it's not illegal. Immoral, yes. Despicable, yes. Illegal, no. Goodie for the RIAA.

Follow the links, read the articles, and never shed another tear for the poor RIAA and their quest to operate in the artists' best interests. As near as I can determine from anyone who's opinion matters, the RIAA do not now, nor have they ever worked in the artists' best interests.

Support independent musicians who use the new model to get their music directly to you without the need for the redundant leeches at the RIAA. Support Creative Commons.

Edric Haleen's "All For This Moment"

 This is in response to a discussion of songwriting started by Edric Haleen on the TMA forums, which is now ongoing at our new artistic "home", Artifiction. I'm simply moving some of what I wrote there onto this blog for safe-keeping.
 

 This is a response I posted in the TMA forum to Edric's bio of his song "All For This Moment". Click on the song title to read the lyrics, hear the song, and link to the biography. Edric doesn't have a mechanism for comments on his website, so I'm posting the reply here. 

FYI, "All for This Moment" was written for Song Fu #4, Round 1. The challenge was to write a song from the point of view of an inanimate object.

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One of the things I like about reading a Song Bio is learning what was important to the songwriter during the creative process. Edric, I think it's fantastic that you left the chords unresolved, because an engagement is, of course, the beginning of anticipation for the marriage to come. (And of course, marriage itself doesn't resolve anything either... often that weightless sensation we mistake for love just indicates that the ground is approaching fast! (I'm twice divorced, but am I bitter? Nooooo...))

When I first listened to "All For This Moment", what impressed me was what you managed to do with this pig of a challenge. It's very easy to fall into the "I'm a lump and nothing ever happens" mentality and try to squeeze out as many variations on "to be" as are conceivable. One would expect a lot of "I am"s in this kind of challenge coupled with a number of fairly useless adjectives and adverbs.

But YOU managed to pack a lot of action verbs in those lyrics!* "I hear"... "I feel"... "I see"... "And we would SHINE!" An inanimate object, yes, but one that exerts a great deal of influence over the emotions of the humans both in the song and listening to it. To me, that emotional impact makes the whole of the lyrics greater than the sum of the words (that probably makes sense if you're into gematria). Couple that with the fact that the song is eminently listenable and kudos to you! Great job!

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* in honesty, I was surprised at the number of people who managed to avoid the "I'm a lump" mentality. Not everybody, but enough to engender hope for the future of the creative spirit.