Jack asked for Electro-Pop to be the style because it is one that he can compose completely on his phone while on break at work. Kayce asked for "Your Mom" because he's Kayce and "Your Mom" jokes never get old to Kayce.
Okay, so let's specify some things here:
What is Electo-Pop? It's basically what it sounds like, Electronic Pop Music. Traditionally a synthesizer is the predominant instrument. Call it Synth Pop, Electro Pop, Techno Pop, whatever, it's all the same. A lot of 80's music falls into this category but it isn't limited to that. There are many modern bands that are considered electo-pop as well. Think along the lines of The Postal Service or The Killers.
What do you mean "Your Mom"? If you're not aware of "Your Mom" jokes then click here.
Simple enough! Also, send in your songs for December, there is a little less than a week left!
With such great songs for November, I had a hard time deciding which one I liked the best. I think other people did too since the voting was pretty close. In the end, the winner was Kayce Kelly with his song Keelhaul'n! Good Job, Kayce! Have a listen to each version of his song below!
And of course, all of our winners get an AMAZING PRIZE! To keep with the sea theme, Kayce wins a flock of Sea Gulls! Here is a picture of him enjoying the nice breeze they give when flying around your head! And there was only one glob of bird shit that landed on him. Not too bad, all things considered!
I hope everyone is doing well with their December songs. It should be a very diverse month!
November is a wonderful month to sing a sea shanty, don't you agree? Maybe not. It doesn't matter. I am just filling up text here to make it look like there is a meaningful heading and introduction to these songs. Anyways! There are songs! Want to hear them? Okay!
Esban - Bound Offshore
My comments: Esban did a great job capturing the calm, melancholy feel a lot of traditional shanties have. Add that to his lyrics about, well, being bound offshore, makes this the most fitting to the style this month. Great job, Esban!
Kayce Kelly - Keelhaul'n
My comments: Kayce sent in two versions of his song and we decided to use the "gruff" vocals (Click here to hear the clean version) This song may be very simple in structure, but it is very fitting and a good example of how a song doesn't need to be complex to be good.
Brian Salapek - The Goonies
My comments: When I was a kid, I watched The Goonies every weekend! It was my favorite movie and with it's great pirate theme, it was fitting to write a shanty about. This song was a great nostalgic experience for me! I also want to thank my friends Greg and Evie for singing backup vocals for me!
Rene Zansman - Left Home for the Sea
My comments: I think this is the best song Rene has done for the song writing game. Although it doesn't fit the style, I still think it is awesome. I love how poppy and catchy all his songs are. This one is no different. And throw in song lyrics about the sea and true love, it makes for a great song!
November is a week from being over so it's time to announce what the songs for December will be. Last December was the first month of the Song Writing Game. With it being the one year anniversary, as well as the month of Christmas, I've decided to make the song be...
ANYTHING YOU WANT!
That's right! Do whatever you want. I don't care what it is. You can do a cover. You can write that noise-pop anthem dedicated to Mitt Romney. I don't care. To reflect "doing whatever you want," I've decided to draw whatever I want. A scene from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood!
Things will hopefully be interesting. I know that I've got a really great(ish) song planned!
Also, send in those Sea Shanties when you finish them. I will be posting them a week from tomorrow!
October was an awesome month for the song writing game. There were more submissions than any other month so far (6 total), the blog post had the second most number of hits of any of the other months (the number one post was March for the Punk Rock Lebowski Songs), and the total number of hits on the blog has exceeded 2,000! Quite a bit of awesome happened!
And to top it off, the winner for October is probably one of the best songs submitted for ANY month so far! It was Josh Nieto with his song Losin' Da Faith!
Like any month, there is a prize, and here is a picture of Josh enjoying it!
That's right! The prize was a trophy with a motorcycle on top and flames shooting out of the sides! That's just how awesome his song was! Good job, Josh!
I hope everyone is doing well with the Sea Shanties for November. Mine is coming along nicely. I will soon post the details for December's song, too!
Okay, now that I've got that out of my system, it's time to post the Reggae songs from October! As you may remember, there was an optional subject of Cthulhu, H.P. Lovecraft's malevolent tentacle faced elder God. The majority of the songs do take on this subject, which I really appreciated. Also, reggae must have been a huge draw because I have more songs this month than any other month!
Bridge Under Water - Rule Your World
My comments: Bridge Under Water consists of Krissy Kelly and Jon Baker, who have worked together on a song before. They did one of the few songs that didn't take on the subject, but instead decided to write some uplifting and redemptive lyrics. Freakin' hippies... Anyways, I think they did a great job!
Esban - Please Go Away
My comments: This was an unexpected submission from first-timer, Esban. What a pleasant surprise it was to get this song in my e-mail this morning. I love the lyrics, especially the spoken breakdown toward the end. "Forgotten about that...dragon face... God, I'm sick of that creature, man."
Kayce Kelly - Cthulhu Who?
My comments: Kayce did the best Jamaican voice of all the songs, I thought. His guitar work doesn't scream reggae but the way he sang more than make up for it. It's a great example of how a good song can be really simple. He does lose points for calling H.P. Lovecraft's writings crap. Bad, Kayce! BAD!
Josh Nieto - Losin' Da Faith
My comments: Normally I get a mass of songs sent in at the last minute. Josh sent in his song before October even started! That's some dedication! Even though he avoided the subject of tentacles and looming terror, Josh did a great job with his song. This is a song that I could hear on an actual album and not question it being there.
Brian Salapek - I Can See Forever (When I look in your eyes)
My comments: After a couple months of auto-tune and pitch shifting, I went back to my normal vocals. Well, I added a reverb. Anyways, I had fun writing such a ridiculous song. I referenced The Call of Cthulhu and At The Mountains of Madness with the Shoggoth and Tekeli-li! lyrics.
Rene Zansman - Cthulhu is a Wimp
My comments: Rene always gets me with a super catchy chorus in his songs, and this one is no different. The song itself has pretty bad rhythm but in a weird charming way. I think this is one of his best songs, next to the Sucklin' Pigs song from back in May.
I had asked for suggestions of what kind of song to do next. There were a lot of genres thrown out that I would really enjoy, but I doubt I could get many people into writing a Gansta Rap (sorry, Eric). But in those ideas, I found one that I think will be a lot of fun.
Genre: Sea Shanty!
Subject(s): The Sea, or Drinking!
Traditionally, Sea Shanties are maritime work songs, sung with no musical accompaniment. It would be cool to have some a capella songs, but I am definitely not going to go in that direction. I think this genre really strives in simplicity, and an acoustic guitar is enough to make a great sounding song. A few other instruments to consider, a fiddle, mandolin or accordion. With the instruments, it is really more of a "Sea Song" but that doesn't sound as cool. WE'RE CALLING THEN SHANTIES! The lyrics are what really shines here. You could think of your song as a story, or a simple "call and response" song full of nonsense. Just make sure it has to do with drinking or the sea, or drinking the sea or whatever.
This picture is definitely a Pirate Jug Band, but you get the idea.
Here are a few resources for the style of music and some traditional examples.
With the subjects being as broad as "the sea" or "drinking" it leaves a lot of room for creativity. I definitely expect at least one person to write a song about being swallowed by a whale, though.
