January 2015's Song Annoucement!

A new year is right around the corner and I just realized that I haven't made a decision on what sort of song we should start out 2015 with.  Just off the top of my head, there are many genres that we've done multiple times.  At the same time, there are some pretty accessible genres that have only been done once.  Focusing on those, the choice was an easy one....

PUNK ROCK

I'll be reaching back to my musical roots, my teen angst, my safety pins and (really) green hair.  Yes, punk rock is the way to go.  Good luck everyone!

So, in honor, here is the punkest picture of me I know of...

November's Winning Tribal Song!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to listen to the songs from November and for voting!  Once the voting period had ended, the winning Tribal song was....

Tribal Chaos by Brian Salapek

It must have been because of the didgeridoo!  Or maybe not.  ANYWAYS!  Don't forget about the songs for December!  I am looking forward to hearing what everyone comes up with!

November's Tribal Songs!

I don't really remember what struck me to make me want to make a tribal/African/Aboriginal type song.  I hadn't been listening to any music like that before making the decision.  I can remember one time about 10 years ago trying to play a didgeridoo around a campfire.  I couldn't get it to make ANY noise, let alone the right noise.  Everyone else thought it was pretty hilarious.  Maybe subconsciously I wanted to prove myself in the didgeridoo department.  Because right after making the genre decision, I said to myself "I'm making a goddamn didgeridoo."  I did, too.

Anyways, a month later we have our songs.  I hope you take the time to enjoy each of them and vote for your favorite below.

Danny Imig - Cherokee Removal

My comments: Very much with the tribal definition, Danny focused on more of a native American sound in this song.  The results are soothing pipes over a windswept prairie.  You can hear light wind chime-like sounds and the sparse drum is a great touch in minimalism.  My only constructive criticism is that the pipes have too much of a keyboard/artificial sound.  Obviously with all these crazy genres, I expect synthesized instruments, so this is very minor.

Brian Salapek - Tribal Chaos

My comments: I TOLD YOU I WAS GOING TO MAKE A DIDGERIDOO!  Believe it or not, I even shaved my beard of ~6 years to be able to play the damn thing.  Anyways!  I got this little guitar riff in my head and thought it was a little African/Paul Simon-y sounding and just went from there.  In the end, it just kept getting bigger and bigger and thus the name, chaotic.  After the Gangsta Rap song where all the instruments were digital and recorded on a drum machine, I thought it was important to have this song be 100% acoustic, which it is!

Rene Zansman - Everyday is a God Damn Mess

My comments:  The moment that Rene hit his first chord in this song, I knew exactly what it was going to be, an acoustic pop punk song.  That isn't a bad thing, it's what he does well.  All in all for the song, I enjoy it a lot.  A few times in the background you can hear this cool drum/chant thing that almost sounds like a skipping sample from an old TV show.  It kinda reminds me of Panda Bear and some of his sampling from Person Pitch.  I wish this was in the foreground and the focus of the song to give it a little more of a tribal feel though.

Vote for your favorite!

December Song Announcement!

I realize December can be a super busy month for everyone, with all the holiday crap going on, and that is why we will be having no guidelines for this month.  That should make it easier on us to get a song done.  For the last two Decembers (here and here) we had the same  "do whatever you want" theme and it worked out really well.

So, just to recap, for December,

DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!
YES, EVEN THAT...

Have fun and tune in later this weekend to hear November's Tribal songs!

October's Winning Gangsta Rap Song!

Congratulations are in way to Eric Peabody for his winning Gangsta Rap song "Crack Feet."  It seems that the quality of his song really outweighed the disgustingness of his video!  Crack feet will stay etched in my memory...for...ever.

If you hadn't listened to the song, check it out!

Also, don't forget about the Tribal/African/Aboriginal songs for November!

September/October's Gangsta Rap Songs!

Originally September was the month specified for our Gangsta Rap songs.  Just as with last year, September was a ridiculously busy month for me so I ended up delaying the genre to run as a 2 month song session.  I would have just opted out of my own song, but I had started it already and didn't want to miss out on having an excuse to write a rap song!

In the end, we had four songs and they are all worth listening to.  More and more I am happy with everyone being willing to participate in this ridiculous game.  Thank you to everyone who participates and everyone who takes the time to listen to the songs and vote on their favorite!  Without further ado, here are the songs!

Danny Imig - Day of the Rope

My comments:  Danny took an interesting route with this song.  It lands more in the "post-gangsta rap" genre, emulating rock bands like Faith No More and RATM.  There is a great Primus feel to it with the bass line, too.  The lyrics really fit well with the controversial standard of gangsta rap.  I mean, I'd be mad too if there was no free lunch.

Eric Peabody - Crack Feet

My comments:  Bonus points go to Eric for creating the accompanying video.  But the bonus points get taken away since the video is so disgusting.  I was unaware that crack feet are a thing.  Now I will surely.....never.......forget.  But about the song, Eric hit the nail on the head with this one.  I love the keyboard part in it, very authentic.

Brian Salapek and Aimee Loree - I've Got Good Credit

My comments:  This is our "white people problems" rap song.  I have high cholesterol and Aimee has bad credit.  But I have good credit, so it's only appropriate to brag about that too.  I had a lot of fun collaborating with Aimee on this song.  Although the subject isn't traditional, I feel really great about the feel of the song.

Rene Zansman - Grandma's Cookies

My comments:  I just love the mood of Rene's song.  The pianos give it this great spooky, or dangerous sound, which totally works for the genre.  Juxtaposed with the hilarious lyrics, Rene made something truly special here.  My new favorite lyric in all music history is now: "Yo, Grandma.  Every day is a cookie-a-rama!"

November's Song Announcement!

Man, it's been awhile since I've announced a song.  The game isn't dead, it just ended up having a 2-month song for the Gangsta Rap songs.  You can expect those on November 1st.  Anyways!  I think I've made a decision that should be a lot of fun for the November songs.

TRIBAL

Think African, or Aboriginal music to get my meaning.  You could even just take a slight influence from tribal music, a la some Paul Simon.  The big focus for your song should be the rhythm.  In many cases, the song could just be drums and vocals if you wanted it to be.  Don't think that you need specialized instruments for this challenge, but it would be a good excuse to make a Didgeridoo (for about $10)

Good luck everyone!