Tuesday, August 2, 2016

June / July's Zydeco Songs!

Brian Salapek - Zydeco Music, I Gar-ron-tee

My comments: Even though the genre of Zydeco was my decision, I still had a really hard time getting into it.  I am not sure why, but I had a really hard time starting my song.  It got to the point where I had to force myself to do it during the last two weeks of July.  Thank god I found an accordion plug in for Fruity Loops!

Rene Zansman - Little Laura (The Sad Turtle)
My comments: This an instance where I feel bad for throwing such a weird distinctly American genre at Rene.  I imagine Zydeco isn't very popular in Norway, but I could be wrong.  Either way, Rene took the challenge and did what he does best with a pop song.  I hear where he was going with it in terms of the keyboard parts, and it may not be zydeco but it's definitely cool.  I love the piano throughout, and think Rene did a great job.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

August/September 2016 Song Announcement!

As the game winds down, it's hard to find genres that havent been done before.  But we did it this time, with POWER POP!  Yep, Power Pop.  Think simple, rhythmic pop music with a strong melody and rocking guitar part, and you've got power pop.

Genre: Power Pop

You can read up more on the genre here and here.  Also, be sure to send in your Zydeco Songs for June/July!

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Announcements / Update on the Song Writing Game

When I started the Song Writing Game in December, 2011 I had no real idea of what to expect.  There was no thought of how long it would last, or how the turn out and response would be.  In fact, it's never been a hindrance to me to have periods of very little music submitted.  The game was more for me; it was an excuse to write and record music for myself.

Well, come December, the game will be hitting five years old.  I feel like that is a logical conclusion to the whole thing.  I still have an interest in writing and recording, but time is the problem.  As my kids are getting older and taking up more time, we have a puppy now, and I have been pursuing a few other hobbies, making music in a timely fashion slowly gets pushed further and further back.  In fact, today is the last day of June and I have only written a bass line for my current song.

So, between now and December, each song will be on a two-month time limit.  With that, the June songs are not due until the end of July.  There will be three more, August/September, October/November and a "Whatever" song for December as usual.  After that we will have one final "Song of the Year" elected and the five winning songs of the year will be put head to head against one another.  The winner will be declared "Song of the Game" and that lucky person will be able to keep the trophy forever.

I may still use this blog in the future to post random songs I have written and recorded, but there should be no expectation and they could be once every six months or so.  I think that about covers it.  Thanks everyone!

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

May's Prince Cover Songs!



Lauren Hughes and Brian Salapek - When You Were Mine
My comments:  The day that Prince died, this was the song I wanted to share on FB but as we all know, Prince never allowed his music on streaming sites.  Lauren was the one to suggest we cover Prince for May so I took her suggestion with the stipulation that she sang the song.  I think it turned out pretty good even though I didn't have time to do the proper keyboard solo and just made something up.

Rene Zansman - Manic Monday
My comments:  Rene's choice of a song brings up a really good point about Prince writing music for a lot of other musicians.  This song was released by The Bangles and was a big hit for them but was written by Prince.  Rene took an interesting approach to the song by stripping it down to just guitar, harmonica and vocals.  He even added an improvised bridge to the song.  Great job, Rene!


Vote for your favorite!

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

June's Song Announcement!

On our fifth year of doing the song writing game, it's hard to believe there are genres that haven't been visited yet.  Well, there are a LOT of them, and this is one!  We will be doing...

ZYDECO!

That's right, Zydeco!  Fun, dance-y, upbeat Cajun music!  Get out a washboard and an accordion for this one, everyone!  It should be pretty interesting to hear everyone's songs!

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Winning Game Show Theme Song!

Thank you to everyone to took the time to listen to the Game Show Theme Songs from March and April!  The songs were fun to write and I hope they were fun to listen to as well!  When the voting finished up, we had a winner...

Brian Salapek - Game Show

Thanks again everyone!  Also, be sure to turn in your Prince covers before the end of May!

Monday, May 2, 2016

March/April's Game Show Theme Songs!

To add a strange twist to the song writing game, we wrote Game Show Theme Songs for March and April.  To be honest, I had a hard time wrapping my head around this theme.  I couldn't bring myself to listen to existing theme songs to get a feel for them.  It ended up just being a mental block that I put on myself, because when I forced myself to sit down and work on it, it flowed out pretty quickly.

We have three submissions this month, from our three most consistent players of the game.  Check them out and vote for your favorite below!

Rene Zansman - Alive or Dead
My comments:  From Rene, "I got this idea watching a Norwegian game show where they guess what illness a patient suffer from and I decided to take it further and in this game show they guess if the person is alive or dead."  That sounds like a wild game show and I can't believe that it is real!  Either way, Rene worked out a nice poppy, catchy theme for his game show.  I also love that Pabst Blue Ribbon and Pushing Daisy's Funeral Home are sponsors of the show.  Great job Rene!

Danny Imig - Insipidnostic
My comments:  From Danny, "My contest entry song is a theme for a futuristic game show which melds interstellar space travel with TV evangelism and the Dating Game. It's called: "Insipidnostic".  Fun for everyone..."  Danny definitely captured his futuristic theme with this funky, jazzy theme song.  I love the combination of ideas behind his game show as well.

Brian Salapek - Game Show
My comments:  Game show game show game show.  Game show game show game show game show game show.  Game show game show game show game show game show.  Game show?  Game show game show.

Vote for your favorite!

Polls close on May 15th at midnight!