52 Responses to “Masters Of Song Fu #6: Round 2 Voting Begins”

1. Denise Hudson Says:
   February 22nd, 2010 at 11:34 pm

   These are the Lyrics to ‘Something Very Horrible (Bluebeard’s Lament)’

   I have to thank Joe “Covenant” Lamb who sang on the track with me on Saturday/Sunday. He’s a champ. I’m very thankful and if I could fly to Dundee and give him a big fat hug I really would.

   Joe, you are the bomb.com and I am REALLY happy with you right now.

   ANYWAY …

   ‘Something Very Horrible (Bluebeard’s Lament)’

   They tied our hands together
   that time we met / It was maybe a little intense for a first date

   And I don’t have a homeland now
   No one’s really from anywhere I suppose
   I’ve heard the rumors, but I’m lying here undressed

   My love, you’ll be alright / You’ve reached a place of safety
   Be careful, good night -
   don’t look behind your fears
   For I have drawn a curtain right over the darkness
   Here - come claim your home,
   don’t look for hidden halls

   In the morning I’m not shy because you’re mine
   And you say these things are all for me
   And I don’t put no stock in and the suspicious storytellings
   when my mind is shocked by love
   Then you tell me not to walk on down the hall

   For anything (For anything) :||
   My love I thought I gave you all that you wanted
   So now we’ll go away into the darkness

   …and you know what curiosity did for that cat

   They tied our hands together, the first time we met
   It was almost too easy, It was almost too tragic
   (You say that I have all of your resources)
   I waited for the inevitable end of the line (and your love)
   Only one thing that I asked (you gave me the keys)
   You know what curiousity did for the cat
   My beautiful girl … (to everything, to everything)

   *(How can a man who can touch me like you can
   …be so violent so sad, with no regret?)**

   *I already know you will ignore my requests
   **And now the key will never wipe clean

2. Gorbzilla Says:
   February 22nd, 2010 at 11:34 pm

   Am I first with lyrics again?
   A Song About This Song
   I procrastinated again, only a couple of hours to do this
   I’m so lucky that we have a snow day today
   I had some ideas of what to write, like doing a song with my kids
   Where I’d take some nursery rhymes and change a few words

   And my kids would start laughing, and say “That’s not how it goes,”
   “You sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star wrong, you stupid old man!”

   So I wrote this song about this song, I wrote this song about this song,
   I wrote this song about this song, I wrote this song……this morning

   This morning we were watching Dinosaur Train on PBS
   And the dinosaurs were all talking about poop
   The big dinosaur was showing them big piles that he called stools
   Then he said “sometimes we call it feces” and dropped one

   And the little pterodactyl sang a song
   About how all dinosaurs poop and I thought that was really really funny

   Then I wrote this song about this song, I wrote this song about this song,
   I wrote this song about this song, I wrote this song……this morning

   I was gonna write a song about something serious
   something that causes angst in my life
   But I couldn’t think of anything that I liked so instead
   I wrote this song about this song

   Yeah I wrote this song about this song, I wrote this song about this song,
   I wrote this song about this song, I wrote this song about this song,
   I wrote this song about this song, I wrote this song about this song,
   I wrote this song about this song, I wrote this song……about this song….
   This morning

3. Denise Hudson Says:
   February 22nd, 2010 at 11:35 pm

   No, they alphabetical ordered us. We were the SAME minute! Wow! Uncanny!

4. Gorbzilla Says:
   February 22nd, 2010 at 11:37 pm

   Wow, posted at the same time as Denise. Jinx, you owe me a coke?

5. Boffo Yux Dudes Says:
   February 22nd, 2010 at 11:43 pm

   Lyrics for ‘Al’s Blues’ by the Boffo Yux Dudes

   Special thanks to ‘The Godfather of Podcasting’ Dan Klass for the dulcimer tones on the harmonica. This one we had tracks from LA, Chicago, and Boston involved.

   Al’s Blues

   I’m getting older, my memory’s startin’ to go
   Yes, I’m getting’ older, my memory’s startin’ to go
   Somebody please help me
   ‘Cause I can’t remember no….thing.
    
   The words are all mixed up, can’t make ‘em rhyme
   Yeah, those words are mixed up, can’t even make ‘em rhyme
   Don’t know what’s the problem
   I used to do it all the…way.
    
   So I went down to the crossroads, my guitar by my side
   I went on down to the crossroads, my guitar by my side
   I got nowhere to run, baby,
   I got no place to…sit down.

   You know my woman left me, you know she did me wrong.
   You know my woman left me, you know she done me wrong
   She left me all alone here
   That’s why I’m singing this…tune.
    
   Sometimes I forget that my baby just ain’t true
   I said sometimes I forget that mean old woman just ain’t true
   I got those memory-sapping
   Mean old Alzheimer’s…orange … fuchia or maybe some shade of red…

6. Travis Norris (ie. Governing Dynamics) Says:
   February 23rd, 2010 at 12:52 am

   RESTRICTIONS
   ————–

   restrictions
   now you can’t get what you want
   you hear the sounds of
   another party across the street

   the grass is greener
   the grass is greener when viewed from above
   but who needs flying
   when the shackles have become comfortable

   you hold on like you’re glad to be stuck
   you look down and you find you’re breathing easy
   you hold on till you’re glad to be stuck
   there’s a good boy…

   [vaguely blues-influenced solo]

   restrictions
   you’d best discard your storybooks
   you should start learning
   how to make handcuffs feel comfortable

   you hold on like you’re glad to be stuck
   you look down and you find you’re breathing easy
   you hold on till you’re glad to be stuck
   there’s a good girl…

   [various background vocals overlaying "restrictions" and "you'd best discard your storybooks" behind shoegazer-influenced solo]

   [fake ending]

   [solo where I try to hurt myself for a long time]

   [real ending]

7. Dave Leigh Says:
   February 23rd, 2010 at 12:58 am

   With “We Do what We Do” we simply went for a straight song that doesn’t rhyme (though we took full advantage of the “repeating line” exception).

   ========

   June is within me
   Yet June is without
   So what do I do
   So what do I do

   Capture the moment
   Or withdraw from the fight
   I do what I do
   I do what I do

   There are times… when I think I should have left here
   Took… to the road all alone
   Erased… the tracks my feet left here in the dirt
   And never look back
   And never look back

   A leaf in the Springtime
   A blossom in Summer
   They do what they do
   They do what they do

   In Autumn they die
   To be carried away in the wind…
   It do what it do…

   There are times… when I never should have left there
   Took… to the road all alone
   Erased… the tracks my feet left there in the dirt
   And never look back
   And never look back

   Winter provides
   The snow and the cold
   It do what it do
   It do what it do

   Along comes the Spring
   Then June is there waiting for me…
   She do what she do…

   There are times…. When I gently kiss her
   It seems to me… the seasons move to fast
   I know… someday June will up and leave me
   And never look back
   And never look back

   We do what we do
   We do what we do
   We do what we do
   We do what we do
   We do what we do

8. Spintown Says:
   February 23rd, 2010 at 1:10 am

   I just published a Round 1 review by Travis Norris on my blog. Round 2 had some great stuff in it, and I can’t wait to get a review up of it. Good work.

   http://spintown79.blogspot.com/2010/02/infuriatingly-balanced-review.html

9. Caleb Hines Says:
   February 23rd, 2010 at 1:21 am

   Lyrics to my song are on my bandcamp page. Just click my name.

10. Glen Raphael Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 1:32 am

    Lyrics for “Song that Doesn’t Rhyme” by Glen Raphael

    This is the song I wrote, a song that doesn’t rhyme
    Spent some effort on it and a lot of…hours
    I’d like to show the world this crazy song of..me
    It’s my song that doesn’t rhyme!

    So won’t you spread the word and listen to my song
    The ones i wrote it for are those who don’t…fit in
    It’s been a challenge, like not knowing right from…left
    This surprising rhyme-less song

    It’s nearly finished now so learn it note for note
    I’ve tried to set it down like other songs I’ve…scribed
    You might not like it much but you don’t get a..say
    In my new song, learned note for note

    So that’s the rhyme-less song; I finished it today
    I’ll sing it many times in oh so many…styles
    But try to sing it twice it might lead you..off course
    That rhyme-less song I wrote today
    (that song he sang in every…style)
    That rhyme-less song I wrote today

11. Denise Hudson Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 1:34 am

    Gorb, just cuz you said “Jinx you owe me a Coke” you get a coke

    If that could only be done somehow …

    hmmmm…

    If you come down to Texas I’ll get you whatever kinda coke you want

12. Kylie Petto Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 1:53 am

    Hi everyone. So, I know I took a really weird turn with this song. xDD I’ve always wanted to try something way darker (c’mon, being creepy is fun) and so you got that lovely freak fest right there. xD

    Anyways, here are the lyrics for anyone who’s interested.
    -x-x-x-x-
    All These Knives

    How can you see into my soul
    The darkness of oblivion
    Oh all the blood that calls to me
    And all these knives I’ve been armed with
    How did I ever believe in you
    All the lies that you have sold to me
    Now I will end your life with joy
    And all these knives I’ve been armed with

    (Show no mercy)

    Still
    Hold your breath and try to stop shaking
    You must never show any fear

    (They can’t touch us)

    No one must ever know
    (Keep the secret)
    Of your most bloody deeds
    (We’re invincible)
    No one must ever know
    (They deserve this)
    What’s been done here tonight
    (Just stay quiet)

    Softly, oh so softly,
    Fall asleep six feet below.
    The fires of hell make their cries
    For your blood.
    Copper
    Taste the crimson
    From the void that was your heart
    And know that you died from my HATE

    (Because we hate you…you deserve this)

    Now is my hatred justified
    All the hell I’ve been put through
    This is what they all deserve
    From all these knives I’ve been armed with
    And when they finally bury me
    Six feet underneath the ground
    This fire will rest with me
    And all these knives I’ve been armed with

    (Show no mercy…they deserve this)

13. Zer0guy Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 2:53 am

    Here’s the lyrics for “Guitar Tonite”:

    —————–

    Tonight I got a guitar in my heart,
    I got a dream inside my mind.
    I wanna get into your world and I think I can.

    And how I’m feelin’ is pretty good.
    And I hope you feel it too.
    I wanna get into your head and crawl around.

    Baby, If you ever see me again.
    I just need you to know that I’m in love with the chicka-chiggah and the doodly-doo comin’ from my Guitar Tonite!

    (ROCKET SAUCE SOLO)

    “Let’s go power chords!” x 16
    Yeah!

    (Bridge)
    *Rad Scream*
    Baby, if I never come back again.
    I just need ya to know that I’m in love with the roar of the crowd and the power chords comin’ from my Guitar Tonite!

    ———-

    Wow! So far, it seems like people like this one! Of course, it’s only been up for a few hours as I’m posting this. Thanks to everyone for the votes and great job Fuers!

14. Ian 'Two Shades' Johnson Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 3:02 am

    HEY LOOK I’M GONNA SAY STUFF ABOUT PEOPLES SONGS.

    Kylie - The intro is very hard rock, but the dissonance throughout the song only works sometimes - the guitar becomes distracting at times. The vocals are reminiscent of Evanescence or Paramore, but there’s just a little too much fuzz on it and I can’t make it out at points, which detracts from it for me. I would say that with a little work on your vocals it could be a great, creepy, almost Flyleaf-esque rock song.

    Inverse - Oh, Inverse. I think this is what people were expecting from you first round, and were surprised when you came up with a truly moving and sincere love song. This is the Inverse we know and love. Although I cannot say that I’m a HUGE fan of the spoken word, the backing music makes it fun and enjoyable, and I couldn’t help but be amused by the content.

    Godz Poodlz - Very nice lyrical footwork. There were a few points in the second verse especially that seemed complicated but worked well without becoming cluttered. Good music, and overall a solid song from the Poodlz.

    Jutze Shultz - Fantastic intro, very attention-grabbing. Excellent backing guitar, and the song had a good beat I could rock out too. The melody left somewhat to be desired, but wasn’t unenjoyable by any means, I was just hoping for a Zeppelin-esque war cry at some point.

    Zer0guy - I absolutely LOVE the guitar in this. The lyrics are nice, and you have a lot of fun with melody, and I love it. It’s just a fun, upbeat song that I will definitely be listening to again. Fantastic solo as well. Loved the ‘let’s go power chords’ bit as well.

    Mike - Fantastic work with the doo-woping. A fun, lighthearted song thats guaranteed to make you smile. The only quip I have with it is the ending. It’s not quite the classic barbershop ending I was expecting, and at least to me it felt like a bit of a let-down, despite still being good.

    Jeff - I will admit I liked this a lot because I actually had a similar idea for my song, but decided to go a different direction. You did it much more masterfully than I ever could have, and I thank you for that. All in all, it’s a fantastic song, exactly what you would come to expect from a J-Mac song. No risks are taken musically by any means, which isn’t a bad thing, but the lyrics are simply fun and delightful. Fantastic ending as well.

    Spencer - Fantastic guitar, if I do say so. The melody is good, but could use a little work. The words get a little muddled to me at times. I would ask for a little more variety, it seems like it’s mostly verse-chorus-verse- etc., etc (not that that’s necessarily BAD, mine’s structured similarly.)

    Governing Dynamics - If there’s one thing you can say about Travis Norris recent songs, they’ve shown that he has a mean set of lyrical and guitar chops on him. Fantastic guitar, good beat, everything fits into this song perfectly. A+ in my opinion.

    Denise - Joe Covenant makes his second appearance in Denise Hudson’s “Something Very Horrible”, and it’s fantastic. Denise and Joe work perfectly together, and the song in and of itself, independent of the excellent singers, is fantastic and moving. My only quip is that I felt the music overpowered the lyrics at times, not too much, but enough that I noticed at points.

    Gorbzilla - I enjoyed this song, as I’m sure many of the Fu-er’s did, because many of them have been in similar situations (I know I have). It has a nice, open sound, and the simplicity of it is good.

    Glen - Good backing sounds, very ‘head-bopping’. The melody is alright, but could use some work. I really don’t have a lot to say about it - I didn’t dislike this song, but it didn’t jump out at me. It’s a good song, but it didn’t stand out (to me at least).

    Edric - As soon as this song started, I knew it was an Edric song. Your large-budget-musical style is always appealing to me. I didn’t understand the bit with the reverb, but I didn’t dislike it. All in all, a classic, enjoyable, Edric Haleen song.

    Leigh & Hoover - A great follow-up to Summer Rain, very piano-poppy and ultimately enjoyable. Though it isn’t my favorite of the entries, it isn’t because of a lack of talent or anything, it just isn’t the type of music I’m particularly partial to.

    Boffo - I enjoyed the premise of this one, and it’s similar to Jeff’s and others in the whoel “oh hey it’s gonna rhyme OH WAIT NO IT DOESN’T SUPRISE” which doesn’t cease to amuse me. I’ve always loved the blues, and some of the dissonance in it really lends itself to the whole “old man forgetting” narrative. Overall it’s a great song that combines it’s lyrics and music together to create a fun and enjoyable piece.

    Caleb - I’ve always loved Caleb’s music. It has never ceased to put a smile on my face, and Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia doesn’t dissapoint. The playful melody and hilarious premise make for an overall delightful song.

    Bobby - This isn’t a bad song, but it’s probably the weakest song I’ve heard from Bobby. I’m guessing he was rushed, and it’s unfortunate because Bobby has a lot of talent. I’m anxious to see what he has next round.

    Common Lisp - I absolutley loved this song because it riffs on Dick Cheney, and that’s all I want to say (other than it has a good guitar and melody).

    Overall, it was an awesome round, and everyone’s entry was awesome. I can’t wait to see what everyone brings for round 3. My votes are as follows:
    -Zer0guy
    -Jeff MacDougall
    -Governing Dynamics
    -Boffo Yux Dudes
    -Caleb Hines

    Good job y’all!!

    -Two Shades

15. Jutze Schult Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 4:38 am

    Wow @ the extensive review by Travis! Here are the lyrics to my current entry - hopefully, the senselessness depicted makes some sense…

    COMMUNICATION REMOVAL

    I just shut down the weather
    Love doesn’t work anymore
    Communication removal is due tomorrow

    The shadows no longer obey the sun
    All seasons are in exile
    Communication removal is due tomorrow

    Yesterday I made silence a little bit louder
    And now I’ll turn off time
    Communication removal is due tomorrow

    Mike Lombardo is now a fan of Nickelback
    I successfully divided by zero
    Communication removal is due tomorrow

16. Joe Covenant Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 7:06 am

    Couple of things…
    Isn’t Denise’s song AMAZING !??!

    Secondly.
    HUGE Kudos to Buckethat Bobby Matheson for his way cheery accordian in my Shadow Master Song!
    Cheers Bobby!!

    GREAT SONGS this round!

    Lastly, 100 voters and only 256 votes?
    I think its getting time to put a tiny bit of code in to ‘force’ the 5 votes.

17. Lex Vader Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 9:46 am

    Forcing five votes isn’t a terrible idea, but if everybody coincidentally, or semi-nepotistically voted for the same five people, you’d have five people tied for first place. Plus, you might not like a whole five songs. Although ranking those five would help. I’m sure the code would be too much trouble.

18. Eva Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 9:57 am

    Why I can’t I vote in round 2? I can’t figure this out.

19. Spintown Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 10:01 am

    The type of person who votes for just 1 person, or is a “fan” of someone & just votes to help that person, isn’t going to listen to all the other songs just because they are forced to vote for 5 people. They will just randomly pick 4 people while still voting for the person they came for.

    If the point is to get people to listen to your music, and not just get pointless votes from people who aren’t listening to you, then that’s not a good solution. It may even out the vote count a little, but the voting would lose even more credibility since even more of the votes would be going to people not based on merit or personal taste even.

    There are multiple ways to fix or improve the voting system to be more fair, but that’s not really one of them. Besides…even though normally I enjoy half the songs or more…there have been times where I couldn’t find 5 I wanted to vote for.

20. MiLo Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 10:24 am

    Unfortunately you can’t ‘force’ 5 votes due to the way the wordpress plugin is laid out. It might be possible with a LOT of time and programming know-how, but not short of that.

21. Wilson Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 12:03 pm

    Here’s a good blog post for those who obsess about the votes in this enterprise:

    http://whatever.scalzi.com/2010/02/22/one-star-reviews-revisited/

    Author John Scalzi has 2 of his works nominated for the Nebulas (for those who don’t know: awards for science fiction/fantasy stories, nominated by fellow sf/fantasy writers). In this article, he highlights the 1-Star reviews those works have received on Amazon.
    Some of his comments on the subject:

    “I think it’s useful for all us writers to remember no one work pleases everyone, and you can’t make anyone like it if they don’t, and you can’t keep them from telling other people what they think of it, even if they hate it… and that’s fine. Learn to deal with it. Otherwise it doesn’t matter how much success or praise or satisfaction you earn through your writing, you’ll still obsess over those one-star reviews and it will eat away at your joy. That’s no way to live.”

22. TheMaskedStranger Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 12:52 pm

    I would first like to apologize for my absence, as I know it has been a great and emotional ictus to all here who have experienced me before. Secondly I would like to apologize for the criticisms I’ve made in private of Kylie Petto, not because they were inaccurate, but because her entry this round has (in my opinion) made her past abortions completely acceptable as some sort of balancing factor for the wonder that is “All These Knives”. Although I found it less stimulating on the lyrical end of things than I had hoped it would be when I heard it during the listening party, I still find it to be my favorite entry this round. As for all those comparing this piece to Evanescence or Paramore, although that may be the closest you’ve heard to what it is Kylie has produced, I would like to add that the bands Battle Of Mice, Made Out Of Babies and especially (ESPECIALLY) Daisy Chainsaw are far more appropraite comparisons.
    Now as for the rest of you, I was also very much impressed by:
    Inverse T. Clown’s entry (wonderful stuff, for a deist) as I repeatedly found myself knodding my head both to both the catchy tune and in agreement to its content.

    Nextly Governing Dynamics’s Restrictions found its way into my top five list, this song is expertly crafted and I found it reminiscent of acts such as The Deftones, Jesu, and Placebo, and although the last of which is usually quite far from my definition of enjoyable, it has worked out quite well here. The acidic solo and delightful lyrical drone into green oblivion left me with a smile on my face, this is definitely a gem.

    Now my next favorite was almost as surprising to me as my new found admiration of Kylie Petto- Boffo Yux Dudes’s Al’s Blues. This song is deceptively guised as an act of pure comedy, but I found it to be a piece of great deliberance and intention, especially in subtle detail and timbre. A completely charming and chuckle inducing trip from its first dissonant, bluesy cough to the last, which was a delightful death rattle.

    Jeff, you’re getting my last vote simply because you managed to make me laugh uncontrollably while listening to guitar often found in a genre and style that usually leaves me bored out of my mind (mind you, you played it well, very well, and my problems with your riffage are those purely of personal taste and not with the quality of its production or with its compositional merit).

    Now as for those deserving of special mention: Gorbzilla, Denise Hudson, Caleb Hines and Edric Haleen. I was incredibly tempted to give you my votes and I wish I could.

    Taryn Miller, I’m glad you’re not in this round. Really glad. You are a blemish on this competition. Your noisey and messy production lacked the intention behind it to make it acceptable as (respectable) art. However I am most humbled at your attempt of emulating my lovely self, and I’m very appreciative of your efforts to fill the hole I’ve left. But because I intend on participating in the next song fu, you’re presence will no longer be needed.

    Yes, I the genius and the messiah, the antichrist and the saint, the sexy thing and the ghoul, the demon and the man, the prophet and the progidy, shall indeed return.

    P.S. for those of you unfamiliar with my work, please take a look at my Myspace and find yourself in understanding of my critique of Taryn Miller, and if you enjoy what you hear, fan me on facebook, follow me on the Twitter account I don’t have and add me on Myspace, your support will be much appreciated.

23. Denise Hudson Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 2:23 pm

    I think a good way that we can get more people to listen to the songs is to educate our fan bases. I’ve seen a few of us doing that in our Twitter postings and on Facebook. If we reminded our fans that there are 4 other songs to vote for besides ours and that we’ve got some high caliber artists in here. If we said there’s FREE music to be downloaded … you know, that kind of thing. There are different little things you can do to promote this whole contest in its entirety.

    Russ I know has been tireless in promoting all of us. But I know that we all do things in our own way. I’m really thankful for SongFu and I’m thankful for MiLo and Jeff starting the TMA. So I’m with Wilson on the votes thing.

    Of course, this could just be because I’ve never been 3rd in a song contest with such groovy people in my natural born life!

24. Darrell Maclaine Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 2:26 pm

    Another load of brilliant entries. I am humbled and ashamed by all the various things all you managed to pull out the bag.

    I have plenty of favourites, and want to remain ‘impartial’, but the one I’ll single out in comments this time is Mike Lombardo’s - it’s my favourite of all his entries to date.

25. Denise Hudson Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 2:28 pm

    And thanks for the nice comments above as well. And Joe THANKS again! You’ve been helpful in 2 rounds of competition now. You’re being a good collaborator to and with a lot of people, I think.

    And you really did make my song really effective and super creepy!

    Oh, and shadowing the rounds everytime is super classy.

26. Jutze Schult Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 6:06 pm

    First, thanks to Ian “Two Shades” for the extensive comment above. It’s appreciated!

    Now here’s my feedback! Again 100% subjective!

    Boffo Yux Dudes: Impressive, professional performance. The vocals give the whole thing a “smoky” atmosphere. Bonus points for the implied rhymes - I had hoped more people would play with the challenge like this.

    Bobby Buckethat Matheson: I like that the vocals are more passionate than they used to be. The walking bass line might have stayed throughout the song to keep everything a bit tighter, more fluent. The whole thing has a 50s feel - a time when lyrics were rarely more intense than those here. Still, a bit more drama/emotion next time? Good tune, anyway.

    Caleb Hines: The title reminds me of Mick Bordet’s ten-word-song. Love the chorus of this one. It takes several listens (and a flexible tongue) for it to become singalongable. But it appeals instantly. The bridge is the icing on this already tasty musical cake. Vote.

    Common Lisp: The tune suffers from the somewhat unbalanced production. The guitar melody is beautiful, but the vocals have a life/volume of their own. More powerful singing lower in the mix could have enhanced this one. The mix of happy harmonies and the repetitious Dick Cheneys are enjoyable, though.

    Denise Hudson: Creepy musical fu strikes back. The duet with Joe adds to the impression that this belongs onto a broadway stage. Or in an abandoned attic with screeching doors and no cell network coverage.

    Edric Haleen: Constantly on the edge of violating the challenge restriction, this is typical Edric stuff.

    Glen Raphael: Very similar to Mike’s song, a bit less polished, yet more in line with the challenge (see Boffo Yux Dudes). If it wasn’t for Jeff’s superb effort I’d have voted for this one.

    Godz Poodlz: Can I give votes simply based on how much I like the lead synth sound? Well, I vote for this one. I sense there are plenty of word plays in the lyrics. Still, the second thing (after the synth-sound) that strikes me is the chorus melody - excellent hookline! The whole recording seems a bit hurried, that is too fast. A bit more Pink Floyd might have helped to develop the atmosphere a bit more. Also the intro could have been a bar or two longer I think. Still: vote.

    Gorbzilla: This song is a pleasant surprise. I always felt that the programmed drums harmed your previous songs (well, those I recall right now, anyway); Nick Nolte was very good, anyway. But the guitar/vocal setting along with the simple, yet catchy chorus wins me over. I also like how the vocals don’t try to be operatic or in any way extravagant. It’s all very down to earth and as a song fu-person it’s all too easy to relate. With this in mind, I appreciate that the latent optimism in the melody/chorus/overall song. Maybe I’m imagining it, but hey, it gets you my vote.

    Governing Dynamics: An interesting contrast coming right after Gorbzilla’s song in my playlist. Once again, charismatic vocals and signature guitar sound. A few transitions are a bit rough, but the song is pretty close to album material I think. I also like how the overall mood interacts with the lyrical content. Lines like “You hold on like you’re glad to be stuck” help you getting my vote.

    Ian Two Shades Johnson: The song has a 60s-ness similar to Bobby’s 50s-ness; it’s not very spectacular. Solid in every respect, but in no way outstanding. The lead guitar parts breaks the monotony a bit; but otherwise this one comes and goes without causing much commotion.

    Inverse T Clown: Ukulele-bashing in this place - that’s bold! But hey, the track offers a plethora of observations/opinions, delivered in a sincere fashion that makes it hard to believe that the Mike Lombardo-line isn’t meant ironic. But then world would be a sad place. I mean, we all love Mike, right? The performance is close to being flawless and misses a vote only by an inch or so.

    Jeff MacDougall: “He’s a big teddy bear with control issues.” Hahaha! Hooray for self-referential lyrics and the best approach to the challenge this round. I also like the minor-chords in this one more than Jeff’s usual happy-go-lucky pop rock. There’s some Let it be-Beatles in there I think. Or something like this. The ending is a bit sudden, but otherwise this might just be my favourite song this round. Vote.

    Jutze Schult: I hit the guitar strings with a chopstick for the intro. The creshendo at the end contains the Wilhem scream - no Led Zep, but still… ehm; the very end was inspired by the Dollhouse theme song “What You Don’t Know” - I had just listened to a live recording by co-writer Eric Bazilian and harpist Erin Hill, who played this outro that I’m imitating by a randomly punched music box here. Oh, you don’t care - sorry!

    Kylie Petto: The semi-distorted (?) vocals work well in the background vocals, but there’s little to lead the song as a whole, since the melodies tend to get lost in the noise. Without the heaviness and drums it might have become a spooky track - the ending hints at another story, a sort of craziness.

    Leigh and Hoover: I like this one better than your previous entry; the upbeat feel works wonders. (Wait, I did complain about to few minor chords last time around - ah, screw that.) “We Do What We Do” is this round’s contender for use in a movie. The main vocal melody is charming, but not

    Mike Lombardo: Weren’t you the guy with the piano keys tattoo? Hats off for pulling of the a capella setting. I can imagine that the challenge constraint made you suffer more than the rest, having had courses about how rhyme in songwriting. All in all, a good song if a bit harmless.

    Joe Covenant Lamb: Polka = good.

    Spencer Sokol: The lyrics are intriguing, but honestly I have no clue what they’re about. (Gambling, that I get, but who, why, when?) The vocals seem a bit unrehearsed/insecure. I’m not sure if they were meant to be fragile or if it’s a result of the time constraint. I miss some stand out moments like a clear chorus, a dramatic middle-eight.

    Zer0guy: The powerchords-part is repeated too often. Otherwise “Guitar Tonite” is a splendid tune. The chord progression is nice and the shortness prevents things from becoming worn-out. Side note: Leave out the crash cymbals in between (or turn them down) - programmed drums are often inevitable in Do-it-yourself music production, but then less is quite often more.

27. Russ Rogers (of Godz Poodlz) Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 6:41 pm

    Blue Sky Thinking (a Managerial Double-Speak Love Song)
    by Godz Poodlz
    written by Rhod Durre and Russ Rogers

    I just wanted to touch base
    indicate that we’re on the same page
    You’re a dynamic partner
    and we’re team-building
    using our skills and abilities
    in unique exciting positions
    take the helicopter view. . .
    you’re my best practice. . .

    When we have face time
    Blue Sky Thinking
    When we have face time
    Blue Sky Thinking
    When we have face time
    Blue Sky Thinking

    Committed to transparency
    no more full disclosure issues
    a mission critical venture
    as we push it envelope-wise
    this framework’s a paradigm shift
    we are the hot action item
    time to run it up the flagpole. . .
    it’s time to make it pop. . .

    When we have face time
    Blue Sky Thinking
    When we have face time
    Blue Sky Thinking
    When we have face time
    Blue Sky Thinking

    You’ve told me that it’s just budgetary
    and overreaching Outlook schedules
    diverging managerial core competencies
    we’re leveraged beyond our means
    but this is more than rightsizing a mentorship
    or value-added solutions to the next level
    this is love; this is love; this is love. . .
    can’t we think outside the box?

    When we have face time
    Blue Sky Thinking
    When we have face time
    Blue Sky Thinking
    When we have face time
    Blue Sky Thinking

    You can get Godz Poodlz Tunez at http://godzpoodlz.bandcamp.come

    On twitter: http://twitter.com/GodzPoodlz

    MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/godzpoodlz

    facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Godz-Poodlz/151736822018

28. GFreezy Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 10:06 pm

    Gorbzilla, your the man. You are the king of rock and roll. Had it not been for you, I would have never memorized When the saints go marching in on guitar. Your the man!

    KKKKKKAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!
    -Birdman

29. Spencer Says:
    February 23rd, 2010 at 11:51 pm

    Here’s the lyrics for my entry, -. (Minus)

    
    I couldn’t help but think I had all the time
    all the time
    it’s not enough to realize the enormity of your mistakes
    looking down upon it
    looking down

    there were shades of him I couldn’t see
    until the black jack shot high

    it’s too late now
    this I know
    I wasn’t young, but
    decidedly ignorant, teenage arrogance shows
    there is no story, no moral, no guidelines…

    there were shades of him I couldn’t see
    until the black jack shot high

    I wish I could recall your words
    I’m glad you took the time to write
    because the overall impression still remains

    You wanted me to be more than I was

    Jutze, Ian: I agree, the vocal were unrehearsed and insecure. It was mostly a time constraint. I wrote and recorded this Sunday evening in about a 6-8 hour span. Please accept my apologies.

    As for what it’s about, I tend to write abstractly, so it’s tough to really know. But it’s me trying to come to terms with the death of my grandpa and my failings as, well, a human. He had a military funeral, so somehow I translated the 21 gun salute to black jack, probably in an attempt at obfuscation.

    We found out so much about him going through his house after he was gone. Had I taken the time to explain the internet to him, he would have been a blogger. He wrote essays back and forth to a little club he started. Essays! And he was a geek! He was the one who introduced me to Star Wars, but it didn’t go much farther than that with me. Now I have an essay he wrote about the fucking Enterprise. I had no clue.

30. Lex Vader Says:
    February 24th, 2010 at 12:02 pm

    Wilson, that article is about being successful and accepting criticism. That’s completely different than people obsessing over not having any votes.

31. Paul R. Potts Says:
    February 24th, 2010 at 6:16 pm

    My lyrics:

    Dick Cheney is a loving husband (war criminal)
    The government is on your side
    Dick Cheney is a wonderful dad (war criminal)
    Washington is your best friend
    Dick Cheney is a man of his word (criminal)
    And you’re good looking and oh so well informed

    CHORUS:

    Dick Cheney, Dick Cheney
    Shot his friend right in the face
    Dick Cheney, Dick Cheney
    Bloody hands and a rotting heart
    Dick Cheney, Dick Cheney
    Your next undisclosed location will be in hell

    Dick Cheney is a loving husband (war criminal)
    The terrorists just hate our freedoms
    Dick Cheney is a wonderful dad (war criminal)
    Abu Ghraib was just a few bad apples
    Dick Cheney is a man of his word (war criminal)
    The Founding Fathers would surely have agreed

    REPEAT CHORUS

    BRIDGE

    Waterboarding is harmless
    And Guantanamo is a playground
    The Geneva Conventions*
    Simply don’t apply
    Extraordinary Rendition**
    Is a tropical vacation**
    Cheney’s a man of convictions*
    So let’s give him a few more
    This song is filled with beautiful rhymes
    And you can’t fool all the people… every goddamn day

    SOLO

    Dick Cheney is a loving husband (war criminal)
    America can do no wrong
    Dick Cheney is a wonderful dad (war criminal)
    Jesus Christ approves of torture
    Dick Cheney is a man of his word (war criminal)
    And there will never be a Dick like him

    REPEAT CHORUS

    *Conventions, convictions… don’t that rhyme? The final syllables have the same sound, making this an imperfect “syllabic” rhyme, but to be a perfect rhyme the stressed vowels before the final syllables, and all the rest of the syllables, have to sound the same.

    **Rendition, vacation… same issue. If nothing else, this was a good excuse to study the Wikipedia article on rhyming!

32. BucketHatBobby Says:
    February 24th, 2010 at 10:42 pm

    Jutze, I must let you know that I AM a robot, and it’s very difficult to get emotion out of this voice-synthesizer.

    I completely agree with you, Jutze. I’ve been trying consistantly to sound more… well, emotional in these songs. If I get any emotion in my voice, I start hitting sour notes. It’s something I’ve not yet learned to master, but I will work on it.

    Your comments always give me something to work on, and I really appreciate it. I like being given a direction in which to improve.

33. 12 years later, I STILL can’t play guitar… « Boffoyuxdudes’s Weblog Says:
    February 24th, 2010 at 11:54 pm

    [...] appreciate it if you’d go and check out the song after you’ve had some fun here, and vote for 5 deserving candidates. If one of your votes happens to be The Boffo Yux Dudes, we won’t complain. But do check out [...]

34. Wilson Says:
    February 25th, 2010 at 12:56 pm

    LexVader: Getting few votes is a form of criticism. Similarly, the number of stars in an Amazon review is a form of voting. The two are very related, though not necessarily interchangeable.

    The real point I wanted people to take away was in the part I quoted, anyway.

    There have been people in previous Fu’s who have written some really good songs, gotten some good (as in useful, not just positive) feedback, but then were unhappy because they were low in the voting. As Scalzi said, “…it will eat away at your joy. That’s no way to live.”

    I’m not naive or a Pollyanna. I know that there are plenty of reasons in this crazy, mixed-up world to be unhappy. Vice Presidents who are war criminals, Managerial DoubleSpeak and irrational fear of words that are really long, just to name three. I just don’t think that the number of votes you get in an Internet song contest is one of them.

    I also know that there are plenty of legitimate reasons for choosing not to continue to participate in Song Fu - time pressure, family commitments, work commitments, ad infinitum. I don’t think that a low vote count is all that compelling a reason.

35. Wilson Says:
    February 25th, 2010 at 1:48 pm

    Scattered comments on a few of the songs, some of which I voted for and some I didn’t.

    Spencer, I really liked hearing the story behind your song. Thank you for sharing.

    If there were an award for it, Edric would get my vote for ‘Best Use of Assonance’. (I’ve enjoyed knowing that there was a word for what assonance describes ever since having learned it as a kid in C. S. Lewis’s The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.) I was hoping someone would do an almost-rhyming song and Edric pulled it off. I particularly liked the pairing of “Berkeley” with “working” and “bought us” with “Thesaurus”. The only thing that would have made it better was if he’d slipped the word ‘assonance’ itself in there.

    For me, Caleb brought the most fu-nny this time. I liked the music hall feel of the music, the early placement of substituted words for expected rhymes, and the fact that he stopped doing that for the rest of the song and let other things be amusing instead (”If you have it, you are probably screaming in TERROR!”).

    Denise’s song feels to me like it’s akin to German lieder from the Romantic era: mostly through-sung, dramatic, using the intertwining vocal lines and instrumental backdrop to convey a mood as much as (or even more than) a story. I have a feeling that I would have appreciated it a lot more if I were more - or even at all - familiar with any historical details of Bluebeard’s life.

    I really appreciated “Blue Sky Thinking” by Godz Poodlz, for being, in a way, the song that Jonathan Coulton’s “Re: Your Brains” could have been. Don’t get me wrong: I love “Re: Your Brains”, but always felt that it didn’t go quite far enough with the managerial doublespeak. “Blue Sky Thinking” goes far enough, and beyond.

36. Mike Says:
    February 25th, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    @Wilson - here’s the background on Bluebeard: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluebeard

37. Wilson Says:
    February 25th, 2010 at 5:56 pm

    Thanks, Mike, that explains a lot!

38. Luke Gerrick Says:
    February 25th, 2010 at 6:58 pm

    I have read most of the comments here. Never heard of this site til my brother-in-law asked me to check it out. I like this! I really like the arrogant worms type songs by Caleb Hines. I have noticed the whole force 5 votes… Wordpress is nice, but if you want more control might look at Joomla! I agree that people are usually going to vote for whoever asked them to vote. Some people, though, actually like and appreciate music. Especially original music! When I have time to listen to more songs I will but I also like reading people’s comments before listening…

39. HelenMirrensMerkin Says:
    February 25th, 2010 at 7:37 pm

    First I wish to thank all MoSF participants, past and present. I applaud and appreciate the effort everyone puts forth. I do understand that it must be terrifying at times to expose one’s art to potential ridicule and negative feedback. I hope that, in the end, the fun and benefit of experience outweigh any negatives encountered along the way.
    I want all musicians to know that in the spirit of the competition:
    I do give each song a listen because all have earned it by nature of participating.
    I do vote for 5 songs each round based on how the songs appeal to me regardless of author.

    Yes there are some artists I prefer over others, some I look forward to their contributions before others, but I feel obligated to give each a fair shake on their song’s merit.
    I realize I’m just one listener of many, I’m generally a silent lurker, and I don’t know how many more listeners approach these rounds as I do. I just want to thank you all, whether I’ve voted for you or not, or whether I even happen to like a particular song or not, for participating.
    And I hope this competition continues for many more rounds to come.

40. Zer0guy Says:
    February 25th, 2010 at 9:06 pm

    About the whole voting thing: If I’m being honest, this competition is not very balanced. To put it bluntly, it isn’t fair. But we aren’t in this competition for the votes and certainly not to win. We know we aren’t gonna win and we didn’t expect to. The fact that we aren’t doing well is because we don’t know as many people on the internet as some other competitors and that’s fine! We’re in this to write songs and to be challenged! And we love it, so we’ll probably keep doing it. For us, it’s all about the music. But vote for us anyway ;9

41. Paul R. Potts Says:
    February 25th, 2010 at 9:19 pm

    Hmmm. Tied for 15th place is not really a fun place to be, is it?

    It does make me scratch my head and wonder just why I gave up so many hours of sleep and time with my family to hole myself up in my too-small, too-hot office/studio in order to work on this song. I feel like, politics aside, I did put some real effort into it. I was quite pleased with the result, although there are a few technical issues I wish I had gotten enough time to correct.

    Am I being down-voted for the craft of my song, such as it is, or for partisan reasons?

    It’s not _my_ fault Cheney had yet another heart attack the day after I uploaded my song to Bandcamp and mailed it off to Ken Plume. Or IS it?

    Perhaps I’m experiencing the result of a little “sympathy for the devil?”

42. Glen Raphael Says:
    February 26th, 2010 at 3:48 am

    Paul: You didn’t get downvoted per se, you just failed to get upvoted much. A big part of that is because you haven’t written songs before so you don’t already - coming into this - have a “fanbase” such that with a single tweet, facebook status update or mass-mail to your “list” you can get many dozens of people who already like your stuff to come over here and check it out and vote for a group that includes you. Some people in this group do actually have that. For me, realizing that was actually just the kick I needed to *get* organized in that way - to spend some time and effort thinking about how I can get the word out, what options I have in that regard and how I can improve them in the future so that *next time* I need to let all my fans know to do something I can do that more efficiently than I did this time.

    I agree with the sentiment of your song and the style is pretty cool. I’ve actually been impressed with the musicianship and production skills of everyone across the board. Some of the best songs this round did a little more with the idea of a “song that doesn’t rhyme” than merely failing to rhyme - they played around with the structure.

    In my case, I tried to write a song where the expected rhyme is *so obvious* that I don’t need to sing it or even start to sing it - the audience hears the rhyme anyway. Which was a fun challenge since normally I try *not* to use dumb, obvious, predictable rhymes. I was pretty proud of my effort but then it turned out several other people had the same idea. Jeff did the same thing as me but added more funny. Caleb did the fake-out move but as a passing moment along the way to basing his song on a word one couldn’t possibly imagine using in a song that *did* rhyme. _Song About This Song_ tried to make use of a loophole - rhyming a word with itself doesn’t count, so let’s see if we can base a whole song on that principle.

    I suspect most of us who did this sort of thing were inspired by the provided Muppet song.

    Zer0guy: One problem with voting here is that with 20 contestants it takes 40 minutes to listen to all the songs. Who is going to invest that much time in listening to a bunch of weird songs from people they’ve never heard of? If there were thousands of people voting it wouldn’t matter so much but as it is, most of the people who are likely to go to the trouble of voting know one or more of the contestants already. I don’t see that there’s a way around that.

43. Mark sorensen Says:
    February 27th, 2010 at 10:13 pm

    Vote for Denise Hudson

44. Denise Hudson Says:
    February 28th, 2010 at 4:07 am

    Thank you Mark Represent! Habana House!!!

45. Russ Rogers (of Godz Poodlz) Says:
    February 28th, 2010 at 5:41 pm

    @Paul, we don’t do Song Fu for the votes nor the title, the trophy, the exposure nor the money.

    There are several good reasons to compete in Song Fu. The first is the challenge. Having an interesting challenge that forces you to write outside your comfort zone can actually be inspiring, it can make writing a song easier than trying to come up with everything from scratch.

    The second is the deadline. I have had LOTS of ideas for songs that never get committed to paper, let alone recorded. The fact is, to compete in Song Fu, you have to turn in SOMETHING, anything before the end of the week. It might not be as perfect and polished as you would want, but at least it’s there.

    Song Fu is a learning experience. I’ve learned a lot about recording technique and song craft. I’ve learned about cowriting and getting things done on time. Beyond that, I’ve learned that to get the votes in Song Fu you need a fan base. And to have a fan base, you can’t just sit around and wait for one to come to you. It’s not an “If you write it, they will come” situation. Godz Poodlz are actively working at gathering fans. Some of that comes from networking, like having a MySpace Page, a facebook fan page, a twitter account for the band or a bandcamp page where folks can download all our songs. Some of the networking comes from interacting on TMA. And it’s helped! Godz Poodlz are having our best showing in Song Fu so far! It’s easier to get fans on board if you are willing to ask in many ways, “Will you be my fan?”

    Finally, the big bonus from Song Fu is the cameraderie and friendships that have been built with the other competitors. I think it’s partly the team spirit fostered by facing the same challenge. It’s partly because there is NO money on the line, there doesn’t have to be any over-riding jealousy or bitterness from the vote. It’s also nice to have the respect of people who are trying to do the same thing. Godz Poodlz have never been at the top of the Song Fu vote, but we feel like we’ve gained the respect of folks that we admire. We feel like Godz Poodlz is developing a reputation for bringing creative quality to the Song Fu table. It’s also nice that Godz Poodlz numbers among our fans many of our Song Fu competitors, including a lot of the folks who regularly pwn us in the vote!

    One thing that has set Song Fu 6 apart from previous seasons of the Fu has been the amount of collaboration! This is in large part due to our resident Song Fu Master, Joe Covenant Lamb! Joe worked on your song. He sang on Denise’s. He had Buckethat Bobby play accordian on his tune. I think this is marvelous. It’s made some of the songs of Song Fu 6 some of the best of Song Fu! (And yeah, I’m talking about “Polly Loves the Rain.”)

    I’d just like to thank Mike Lombardo and Jeff MacDougall again for creating the web community, “Too Much Awesome.” http://toomuchawesome.org I think it’s very cool that nearly every Song Fu competitor in Song Fu 6 is also member of TMA! This has only added to the spirit of friendship, comraderie and collaboration that the Fu should be about.

    Paul, think about the reaction that “Polly Loves the Rain” got from Jules Sherred. That ONE person’s reaction was a greater prize than winning any vote in any round. She said she played that song over and over again, she couldn’t get enough of it. She made you Artist of the Week on her blog. She told all her friends to vote for you, said that it would be a travesty if you didn’t win the vote. I’d pay money to figure out how to get more sincere and enthusiastic fans like that.

    The Song Fu vote is never a direct reflection on the quality of the songs. But it’s too easy to fool yourself into thinking that it is. There are lots of quality songs that don’t get the numbers of votes that they deserve.

    All that said, I still worry about the vote. I’m constanly thinking, “ARGH! If we could just scrape together 8 more votes, we’d move up from…” and “This song should be getting more votes than THIS!” I twitter and blog and facebook in some attempt to get more people to the page to vote. Part of that is vanity. But part of that is knowing that Song Fu deserves a larger following than it has. This round had less than 500 voters in a week. There are YouTube videos that get more hits in an hour. Somehow, some way, Song Fu has got to “Go Viral,” “catch fire,” “become a hit,” and gather a greater following. It’s just too much fun to have such a tiny, cult following.

    For me, I was worried that “Blue Sky Thinking” wasn’t doing as well in the vote as “Rain is Pouring Down.” Then, I read Wilson’s comment comparing our song to “Re: Your Brains,” and I did a little happy dance. Somebody got it! Somebody understood what we were shooting for and LIKED it! Somebody compared us to Coulton! Yahoo! Seriously, that one comment made up a LOT for not getting as many votes. Hey, Wilson! If you’re on facebook, please join our fan page! And thanks!

    And thanks to FRED and the Grand Fu-bah, Unca Ken Plume for creating and hosting Masters of Song Fu!

46. Inverse T. Clown Says:
    March 1st, 2010 at 1:46 am

    Votes are nice, though.

47. Spintown Says:
    March 1st, 2010 at 2:09 am

    The timing really hurt you Paul. That aside I don’t think I would have voted for the song anyways. I mean I’m definately leaning to the right in most of my views, and found the song to go over the line a little.

    Putting the timing & my views aside…I just didn’t find it catchy enough to get a vote. Not that the music is bad, but it was just an uphill battle to start with all things considered.

48. BoffoYux Says:
    March 1st, 2010 at 3:21 am

    I agree with most of what Russ is saying… there’s a lot of emotions involved in the voting, but in the end it doesn’t really matter. That’s not to say people don’t check on the vote, and try to nudge it up a few pegs… but I think we’ve all been trying to expand the amount of people who visit and listen to the songs.

    I haven’t seen one post that has said just ‘Vote for me’. It’s been a focus on - come, listen, and vote for 5 - and we’d appreciate if you give us one of them if you’re a fan.

    Personally, I think it’s the deadline and having to get something in that you can deal with on quality, as opposed to spending weeks tweaking it and not releasing it is what I take away from Song Fu. Unless its due, it doesn’t get totally finished because other projects seem to take priority.

    I also like that many of the voters and contestants give positive critiques and reviews. There have been a few that haven’t been kind, but those have been the exception. That helps inspire when you work on the next project. I have seen many people here grow as artists just between the last 2 Song Fus.

    Mike surprised me by stretching out of his comfort zone with an acapella tune, and did a good job with it. Zeroguy made me laugh by repeating Power Chords so many times. Caleb hit out out of the park with a mix of almost rhymes and a tongue twister of a word and a bouncy track. Everyone is trying to mix it up, which makes for an interesting challenge to choose just 5 to vote for.

    I’m very excited to see what people come up with for the next challenge. I think I know where people are headed, but I’m expecting to be surprised with the results. We still haven’t locked down an idea yet, but I’m confident we’ll have something by Sunday night. Because we have to. We’re in the Fu. And that’s why it’s fun.

    BoffoYux

49. Wilson Says:
    March 2nd, 2010 at 1:25 pm

    Russ: I just fanned you.

    Paul: I did put some real effort into it. I was quite pleased with the result …

    That’s what matters.

    Some songs are going to be popular, some aren’t.

    Votes will never do anything for you, they will only do things to you. (With the glaring exception of the one artist who gets the most votes.)

    The experience, however will do things for you.

    …wonder just why I gave up so many hours of sleep and time with my family to hole myself up in my too-small, too-hot office/studio in order to work on this song…

    Did you enjoy the process? Did you have moments of despair followed by triumph?

    Did you learn something? Did you discover something about yourself? About songwriting? About how to ventilate your office better?

    Not only that, but by my count, you got two bonus comments above, which you wouldn’t have gotten if you’d just written this song for yourself (”I think I’ll go write a song that doesn’t rhyme. In a week. Just for fun.”).

    Don’t let a low vote count eat away at your joy. That’s no way to live.

50. Glen Raphael Says:
    March 2nd, 2010 at 2:05 pm

    > The Song Fu vote is never a direct reflection on the quality of the songs.

    That bears repeating. Actually this is true in a much larger sense: the song that is going to be the most popular in *any* setting depends a lot on the setting. You have to know your audience, or find it, or create it. In this case, a lot of the audience is made up of songwriters and the kind of songs that appeal to songwriters might be different than the kind that appeals to your intended audience. So figure out who you’re writing for. You might write to please yourself or to please some ideal fan in your head or some specific fan or set of fans in the real world.

    If *you* are happy with a song, it might still bomb with some particular audience because they weren’t in the mood for that song at that time.

    So let’s see what the list of skills are that this contest works on. They include:

    (1) songwriting chops - be able to write a decent song on about any topic or given various restrictions
    (2) music recording/production chops - be able to make your song sound good
    (3) judging your audience - be able to meet or exceed expectations in some context
    (4) motivating your fan base - publicize yourself in a way that you can get out the vote quickly when you need to

    …and do all that under time pressure. Yow!

    All four of those are important skills to real-world success - getting people to hear and enjoy your music - so I’m glad to have the chance to think about and improve them.

    Plus: however many songs you’ve written before, you’ll have written *more* after this contest, and that’s worth something all by itself. Pat yourself on the back, everyone!

    *applause*

51. Paul R. Potts Says:
    March 2nd, 2010 at 8:15 pm

    Thanks for all the insight and suggestions and support, folks.

    This has been a difficult week… I was sick with a fever this past weekend, all 3 of the younger kids have been sick, and our youngest has had a high fever (104+). We took him to the doctor today, and he has pneumonia. He’s on a round of antibiotics. I expect he’ll be fine. But… my wife hasn’t been able to do much other than nurse him, which means I haven’t been able to do much other than the things mom has been too busy to do, and no one has been sleeping well. Will do what I can for round 3, and I am grateful to Ken for giving us an extra weekend, but it isn’t looking too promising at the moment.

52. Paul R. Potts Says:
    March 6th, 2010 at 12:49 am

    My apologies to everyone who has been so supportive, but as I suspected might happen, I’m going to have to drop out for round 3. The youngest baby is better, but the other kids have been taking turns with their own illnesses, and they’ve passed all the viruses back to me. I’ve got a fever and sore throat again. The plans we made to get the kids out of the house this weekend have thus fallen through, so there just isn’t going to be any quiet time for Dad. Again, my apologies and I hope to be able to enter another Song Fu in the future.

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