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!

August's Winning Arena Rock Song!

Wow, this is late!  Anyways, after all the voting, Danny Imig came out as the most favored Arena Rock song for August!  Congratulations, Danny!

Danny Imig - Short Ride Home

Danny, please don't think that I am trying to take away from your win.  It's just been a very busy September for me, and I lost track of time.

Because of my terrible time management, I've decided to push back the songs for September.  The new deadline for the Gangsta Rap songs is the end of October.  Sorry about any confusion about this!

August's Arena Rock Songs!

Recently I heard a highschool cover band do a really terrible version of "The Final Countdown" and it got me thinking about that song a bit.  What makes a song like this particularly good to be played at sporting events to get the crowd all pumped up?  Is it the thundering drums, the cheesy keyboard?  I wanted to mess around a bit with writing a song like that and I knew there had to be a sub-genre of rock music to fit what I was trying to accomplish.  That sub-genre is Arena Rock.  Have a listen to the songs and vote for your favorite below!

Danny Imig - Short Ride Home

My comments - This song has a definite Led Zeppelin vibe to it, through the guitars, vocals and lyrics.  While how well it rocks works for the arena rock theme, the simple but good chorus is what makes it.  I can see a stadium of people rocking out, pumping fists and yelling "Short Ride Home" along with the song.

Brian Salapek - The Champion

My comments - I wanted to make a song that would be played during a sports event to get the crowd excited.  So I wrote sports themed lyrics, added some cheesy keyboard riffs and a few break downs with clapping and everything!  The song is missing any traditional chorus that could be anthemic for people to sing along to, but I almost feel like the whole song is a chorus.

Rene Zansman - Thunder Across the Planet

My comments - Holy Crap.  Rene has always been best with his choruses and this one is amazing.  This song has a huge 80's feel to it and I love it.  The "Whoa-Ooh" breakdown at about 2:30 is just perfect for the arena rock theme.

September Song Announcement!

I feel like there are a handful of genres that keep getting thrown out there for the song writing game.  It's inevitable that overtime we will run out and have to start doing them over.  But for September there is one that hasn't been officially done yet.  Oh, I just squirm at the thought of it.  It's...

GANGSTA RAP

That's right, Gangsta Rap!  What makes it "Gangsta" anyways?  Usually that comes from the subject matter which is usually controversial.  With the subject matter being integral to the genre, there is no assigned subject.  For more specifics, read here.

This....should be interesting.  Good luck everyone.  And don't forget about the songs for August!

July's Winning Cover Song!

With our first time submission from Egypt Hollow, we had a pretty good surge in voting and viewing of the blog.  Of course they were the winners, bringing in over 80% of the votes!  Congratulations to Kenny, Ciara, Addison and Ian!  Hopefully you will turn in songs again in the future as a group or individually!  Did you like the song?  Go 'like' their Facebook page here.

If you hadn't heard the song, listen to it here:

Also, don't forget about the songs for August.  We are doing Arena Rock songs!

July's Cover Songs!

This is the third July for the Song Writing Game and again we are doing cover songs.  Generally it works out better since it's a busy month.  Have a listen to the songs below and vote for your favorite!

Egypt Hollow - Pumped up Kicks (Foster the People cover)

The Original

My comments: This is the first (of hopefully many) songs turned in by the local band Egypt Hollow.  I work with Ciara, the female vocalist and talked to her into submitting a song.  I think the song lends itself really well to the folk-style that the band has.  I really enjoy having multiple singers in the song.  It's a great song from the first timers!

Danny Imig - Mr. Motto (The Bel-Airs cover)

The Original

My comments: This is a live recording of Danny's band, The Elektra Kings, featuring Gavin Paterniti on bass and Jim Sturdevant on drums, from last New Years' Eve.  It's a really cool cover of a surf rock classic by The Bel-Airs.  I especially appreciate that it is a live track knowing how many takes I generally have for my studio recordings.  Very well done Danny, Gavin and Jim!

Brian Salapek - Lowrider (War cover)

The Original

My comments: I used to be half of a kazoo based band in high school called Cock-A-Doodle Kazoo and Lowrider was the only song we did.  Toby Anderson sang and interestingly enough is not using that as part of his platform as he is currently running for public office.  We played in front of people, sometimes a lot of people.  It was a lot of fun in a riduculous way and I wanted to tribute those days with this song.  There is no kazoo but I still had fun making the song.

Rene Zansman - I'm Not the One (Teen Idols cover)

The Original

My comments:  Rene did what he does best and did a pop punk song, this time from the (very cool) band Teen Idols.  He spiced up the song with some harmonica and I thought it worked really well.  It had some sloppy moments but by the time it ended, he had really hit his stride and it was great; I had to listen to it again!

Vote for your favorite!

August Song Announcement!

It's a little later than expected so I'll keep things short and sweet.  The genre for August's songs is...

ARENA ROCK!

Yes, arena/stadium rock!  The kind of (generally) hard rock song that is triumphant in it's rocking and rolling and would get a crowd at a sporting event into the game.  I want you to summon your inner Gary Glitter!

SUMMON HIM!

Good luck!

June's winning R&B Song!

When the judging came to a close for June's R&B Songs, the winner went to the collaboration I did with new-comer, Jen Robinson.  Jen was a great spirit in singing such a ridiculous song and I am happy she agreed to!  If you haven't already, have a listen to the song...

Also, how are your cover songs coming for July?  Send them in via Facebook or Email when you finish!

June's R&B Songs!

Sometimes I feel like I am going full force Weird Al mode with having songs that are written about food.  Last year we did Pizza Party Songs, Turkey Songs, and I did songs about snacks and McDonald's.  To add to this long lasting theme, we had R&B Songs about Fruits and Vegetables!

Have a listen to the songs and vote for your favorite below!

Danny Imig - Sad Words {insert here}

My comments:  Danny's song starts off and right away there is a weird almost "dangerous" sound to it.  The combination of the bass line and the keyboard come together and really drive the mood of the song, which is great.  I feel like it is a little redundant and would be just as effective if half the length but still enjoy it as a whole.

Jen Robinson and Brian Salapek -
My Love is Growing in your Garden

My comments: I wrote all of the music for this song pretty quickly but was struggling with lyrics.  Jen had agreed to sing for me so one day I just buckled down and wrote them pretty quickly.  It's a pretty silly song and I appreciate Jen humoring me and singing it.  With her help it came out 100 times better than if I tried to sing it myself.

Rene Zansman - My Life as a Carrot

My comments:  Rene's beat is back on this one!  He described it as a 60's pop song accompanied with 80's synth pop and I think he nailed it.  This song would have fit perfect in with the New Wave songs we did earlier in the year, but there is a lot of overlay with synth pop and RnB, I think.  I especially love around the 3:15 when it drops down to just vocals and the music slowly picks back up.  Very cool!

July Song Announcement!

It's become a tradition that for July we do cover songs.  The reason is that July is usually a very busy month for every one and it will (ideally) take less time to just rework an existing song than write a new one.  The only stipulation is that you make some sort of change to the song.  Sing it in French, meld it together with another song so it is a medley, whatever.  So there you have it, the song announcement for July...

May's Winning Song!

Squeaking in and winning by a single vote was Danny Imig with his awesome song "Teenbeat Heartbeat Backbeat."  Danny really achieved what I wanted from everyone in May with singing and smacking his stomach and a box.  It came out to be a great recording.  Congratulations Danny!

If you hadn't heard the song, here it is!

Don't forget about your songs for June!  The month is winding down!

May's "No Real Instruments" Songs!

I think my inspiration for May's "no real instruments" stemmed from those Jimmy Fallon videos where they use toy instruments and cover popular songs.  Only in the instance of toy instruments, a lot of those could be made at home, so that was the idea.  After getting it in my head, I started hearing sounds I wanted to use everywhere.  From the texture on the side of a red solo cup to the sound floss makes when pulled out from between your teeth (seriously).

Tom Waits was talking about the "organic" sound of his album Rain Dogs once and said:

If I want a sound, I usually feel better if I've chased it and killed it, skinned it and cooked it. Most things you can get with a button nowadays. So if I was trying for a certain drum sound, my engineer would say: "Oh, for Christ's sake, why are we wasting our time? Let's just hit this little cup with a stick here,sample something (take a drum sound from another record) and make it bigger in the mix, don't worry about it." I'd say, "No, I would rather go in the bathroom and hit the door with a piece of two-by-four very hard."

I wanted to include technology in the scheme as well since I planned on using some looping in mine.  So I included sequencers, drum machines and just for the hell of it, kazoos would be allowed.

Anyways, enough of the explanation.  Here are the songs that were submitted.  I hope you enjoy them and make sure you vote for your favorite.

Danny Imig - Teenbeat Backbeat Heartbeat

My comments:  Danny made a cool call and response, megaphone cheer type song.  Using a box, his stomach and vocals only (and all recorded at once in a single track) it definitely is what I envisioned with the songs.  It may be a simple song but it's very effective.  I like it!

Eric Peabody - The End of Depression

My comments: This song does have the sound of real instruments but Eric created the entire thing on a sequencer, which I allowed.  With a more focused ear, those "guitars" really just are some sort of a crunchy sounding keyboard.  Either way, Eric did a great job as usual with his songs.  It is catchy, fun and short but to the point.

Brian Salapek - Ketchup Covered Kids

My comments:  I think the most fun I had with this song was making the "instruments."  I built a tongue drum, filled 7 glasses with water and "tuned" them, and just had fun finding sounds I wanted to use.  I think it gets a little chaotic but wanted it that way.  In the end, some elements are a little sloppy but I am happy with the whole.

Rene Zansman - Self Realization (a capella)

My comments:  Rene took the original a capella idea behind this month's song and ran with it.  I was very happy to see that he took that route and ended up with a pretty successful song.  Rene has always done well with backup vocals so this was a natural progression and I really like the end result.  Great job!

June's Song Announcement!

The last few days I had been on a kick where I listened to nothing but Prince.  It got me thinking that it would be a lot of fun to write a cool and funky contemporary R&B song.  So there it is, that's what we're doing!

Genre: Contemporary R&B

Optional Subject: Fruits and Vegetables

So what makes the genre "contemporary" rather than traditional?  That's simple, contemporary draws influence from funk, hip hop and dance while traditional is more soul and jazz.  The most important aspect of either genre is to be suave, be cool.  There is a certain refinement to R&B's calm and cool, which is worth trying to capture.  Good luck everyone!  Here's a funky carrot for inspiration.

April's Winning Song!

First and foremost I want to thank everyone who took the time to listen to the songs for April.  The songs all had 50% more "views" than the songs for March and February had.  Hopefully that means there will be a continued interest in the song writing game from now on!  Also, I would like to thank Danny and Rene for their dedication each month and writing.  Without them, this wouldn't be a game at all.

After the voting was all said and done, the winning song was Farmer Brown by Kayce Kelly, Trever Wilkins and I.

I have been writing one song a month for the last 2 1/2 years and I am certain that this one was my favorite that I have worked on.  Even my mom and wife liked it!  Wowza!

Don't forget about your songs for May.  The month is dwindling down!

April's Bluegrass Songs!

In December, Kayce and I started writing a song together and never had a chance for it to come to formation.  Everything was written but nothing was recorded.  A few months later, this song popped into my head and I decided to build the song stipulations for April around this song so it would see the light of day.  The genre was bluegrass (at least once a year we do some version of country) and the subject was "the unintended consequences of alcohol."  They kinda go hand in hand, right?  Right.

Anyways!  Have a listen to the songs and vote for your favorite below!

Danny Imig - Whiskey Dick

My comments: As always, Danny has a great lyrical pun in this song.  I wouldn't want to drink with Richard either, from the sounds of it.  It has a great authentic sound and keeping with the style, goes into solos for banjo, mandolin ("Yeah, I suck a mandolin too!" lol) and guitar for a large chunk of the song.  All in all, it is a well done, funny and true to style song.  Well done as always!

Kayce Kelly and Brian Salapek - Farmer Brown (ft. Trever Wilkins)

My comments: I wrote above how the whole month was worked around this song in particular.  Kayce and I weren't able to get together during the month so we worked things out through e-mail and texting.  I recorded all the music, minus the guitar solo which was done by my cousin Trever Wilkins (Thanks Trever!) and Kayce did the vocals and the harmonica.  We went for a Johnny Cash sound, which isn't bluegrass at all, but works great with how Kayce sings.  I am very happy with the song.

Rene Zansman - Lottery Ticket

My comments: Rene really dives into the "unintended consequences" with this tale of his.  First there is a butt tattoo but soon the lottery is won and all is well.  But that begs the question, is having a butt tattoo worth winning $100?  That is the question of the century.  ANYWAYS!  Like my (our) song, Rene doesn't really hit the bluegrass style.  It's not a bad thing, Rene does his version of pop punk songs well.  This one has a mix of folk in there and a plucky keyboard (banjo setting?).  I would have liked to have the keyboard playing something a little more intricate.  Either way, Rene did a good job.

May's Song Annoucement!

Okay, this is a good one.  Well, good is a relative term here.  I am excited about it though, so I'll call it a "good one."  I am not sure how anyone else will handle the news though.  Might as well stop dicking around and just spit it out.  Here it is:

NO INSTRUMENTS.

Yep, that's right.  This is a spin on an idea to go a capella.  You are allowed to use anything that is not an instrument.  Your voice, rubber bands, paper towel tubes, smack your belly.  Whatever!  Just don't you dare touch that guitar or keyboard!

And don't forget about your April Blue Grass songs!

March's Winning Songs!

EVERYONE'S A WINNER!  It's true!  When the voting came to a close, there was a tie with both Rene and I receiving 4 votes making everyone a winner!  Woohoo!  Congrats to Rene and thank you everyone who took the time to listen to the songs and vote last month.  Have another listen to the songs here.

Brian Salapek - Hush Little Baby

Rene Zansman - Sleep Sleep (NU Rap-a-Bye)

And don't forget about April's songs.  There is just over a week left in the month!

March's Nu Metal Lullaby Songs!

So, it's a few days later than normal, but here are the songs from March.  The genre was Nu-Metal and the subject was a lullaby.  I know it's a pretty ridiculous combination but the songs usually are.  Anyways, there only ended up being two songs this month.  BUT there is a silver lining here, we hit our 100th song in the song writing game!  The honor goes to Rene who turned his song in before me, so that's pretty awesome!  Anyways, here are the songs.  Have a listen and vote for your favorite below!

Brian Salapek - Hush Little Baby

My comments:  I tuned my guitar down to BEADGB to get a slinky sound with the loose strings.  The structure of the song was all planned out and the music recorded and I didn't have any lyrics written.  In the end I decided to rap for all the vocals, to make it more nu metal.  In the end it just wasn't enough so I growled a little in the break down.  Oh yeah, you have to have a break down.

Rene Zansman - Sleep Sleep (NU Rap-a-bye)

My comments:  I think this is the first song Rene used a real beat in and it added to the song a lot.  Right from the start there is a great hip-hop feel to it mixing with some rocking guitars.  I also really appreciate the multiple vocal tracks bouncing off each other in each speaker.  There are still enough woah-oh's to make this a Rene song.  All in all, I really enjoy this weird and hilarious song.

Vote for your favorite song!

April's Song Announcement!

March is winding down and when the songs are turned in we will have had two consecutive months of hard-rocking tunes.  First there were the alternative rock/dancing babies songs from February and then the upcoming nu-metal/lullaby songs for March.  I've enjoyed making these songs but part of the song writing game is to be diverse.  We will (maybe) slow things down a bit for April and it's song.

Genre: Bluegrass

Optional Subject: Unintended consequences of drinking

That subject sure is a mouthful but I think it's pretty damn appropriate.  We had done Bluegrass as the very first genre for the song writing game way back in December 2011, but it's time to bring it back.  Here is a good article on the genre with some good information on where to get started on getting that good authentic sound.  Good luck everyone!

February's Winning Alt-Rock Song!

I really enjoyed re-living some of my teen days through writing and recording a mid-90's alternative rock song.  When the end of the month rolled around and all the songs were in, I was very happy with the work everyone did.  The votes were tallied and at the end of the day, the winning song was...

Brian Salapek - Dancing Babies

Holy moly!  I don't think I've won two songs in a row.  This will surely mean that I put out three or four terrible songs in the near future just to balance it out.  Thank you everyone for voting and listening to the songs.  I hope you are enjoying writing a Nu-Metal Lullaby!  This should be very strange.  IN A GOOD WAY!

February's Alternative Rock Songs!

Alternative rock in the early 90's was the first genre of music that really clicked with me.  Bands like Nirvana, Blind Mellon and the Smashing Pumpkins were the first albums I had ever bought (other than a Jeff Foxworthy CD and the Jurassic Park soundtrack, true story) with my own money.  After a few years, The Smashing Pumpkins took center stage with their album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and I was a fan for a very long time after.  So in honor of some of my favorite music in my early teen years, we did Alternative Rock.  Specifically it was mid-90's but that's just because I was looking to do a SP style song.

Another throw back to the mid-90's was the optional subject of "Dancing Babies."  Anyone with the internet in the 90's will remember this gem:

Danny Imig - Baby on Board

My comments: Danny's track is a rocking instrumental and a guitar vanity project.  He's got the talent and really shows it off here.  The song definitely is fast, fun and really rocks but it feels more like an 80's hair metal song to me.  Not to say I don't like it, I do.  Also, where do you get those stickers?  That's awesome!

Brian Salapek - Dancing Babies

My comments:  I originally wanted to do a Smashing Pumpkins style song but realized I'm not very good at guitar.  I opted for the formula Nirvana used in so many of their songs: clean-ish verse, rocking chorus.  When it's all said and done, I am very happy with the song, especially the chorus.  Normally I am very self conscious about singing but am happy to share this one!

Rene Zansman - On the Floor

My comments:  Don't let anyone ever say Rene isn't a trooper.  He wrote and recorded this song with a broken right hand.  He definitely worked the babies into the song with lyrics about missing being a kid and a baby dancing on the floor.  It has a sad feel to it, which I like about it.  Like Danny's, I don't think it's right for the genre but I still like it.


Vote for your favorite!

March's Song Announcement!

Sometimes I get hung up trying to think of something new to do for the song writing game.  It feels like I've used up all the genres I can think of (hardly, actually) and then ask someone for input.  This input comes from Matt McCray who you may remember won the 2012 Song of the Year with his song Walter Sobchak.  When he mentioned it, I instantly loved the idea.  My problem is only thinking about genres that I enjoy, that's not fair.  We need to sometimes write music that EVERYONE hates!  So here it is, ladies and gentlemen...

Genre: Nu-Metal

Optional Subject: A Lulliby

You know the stuff, nu-metal.  That weird genre brought out in the late 1990's by bands like KoRn and Limp Bizkit.  Clunky down tuned guitars play crunchy chords over growling vocals or EVEN BETTER, over rapping vocals!  BONUS POINTS TO ANYONE WHO INFUSES RAP, which very well may be the direction I take.  Believe it or not, I actually really enjoy writing raps.  Braided hair and lip piercings are entirely optional for this month.

So there it is, everyone.  Have fun and dont forget about your songs for February.  

January's Winning New Wave Song!

Thanks to everyone who took the time to listen to January's songs and vote on their favorite.  Even though I felt my song was in-complete, it seemed to have a favorite and won for the month.  Hopefully this is a sign for a good year with the song writing game.  I honestly enjoyed all three entries and am glad that people liked my song.  If you didnt have a chance, you can listen to it here:

Also, don't forget about the songs for February.  We are doing 1990's Alternative Rock songs with the optional subject of Dancing Babies!  I hope we get some pretty ridiculous songs out of this.

Danny and his Song of the Year prize!

Winning 2013's song of the year, Danny Imig received a 6-pack of beer brewed by me!  I was happy to find that he was a fan of beer and had made his own before.  That's a good sign to know that my gift would be appreciated.

For his 6-pack, I gave him 2 bottles of each, an Imperial IPA that is about 9.3% ABV, an American Pale Ale that is about 5.5% ABV and a Belgian Wit that is about 6% ABV.  Danny was happy to get the prize and has already begun to enjoy the spoils.

Congratulations again to Danny for winning with his song, "I think I'm married to a Zombie."  Have a listen to it if you haven't!

January's New Wave song!

With January done and over, it's time to review the songs that were turned in for the month.  So far I think we're off to a good start for 2014.  The genre chosen was New Wave, which is very vague but all the songs qualify in my opinion.  Have a listen to them all and vote for your favorite below!

Esban and Rene Zansman - Gary Bugs (fly, Gary, fly)

My comments: Esban and Rene have teamed up again and it's good to hear their work together.  The song really gets great for me on the second verse with the little plucky keyboard and the dual vocals.  It even has an amazing fly buzzing solo!

Danny Imig - Same Old Pain

My comments: As Danny told me, "I had a blast this month channeling my 'New Wave' roots, 'cause after all I LIVED that."  This is a song of Danny's dug up from a 1982 cassette and reworked with some added Cars like guitar.  Who can deny the authenticity of the song then?  I think it works great.

Brian Salapek - Drugs on Bugs

My comments: I felt like I was making good progress on my song and then my computer died.  It took a week out of the month to order a new power supply and really crippled my time working on the song.  I am very happy with the music, enough to turn it in as an instrumental track, but I just ran out of ideas and came up with nothing vocal wise.  Oh well!

Vote for your favorite song!

2013 SONG OF THE YEAR AND YEAR REVIEW!

It's hard to believe that the song writing game has been going on for over two years.  With what simply started out as an excuse to make me write a few songs, it's gone further than anticipated and hopefully will continue on for many more years!

With that being said, the voting has concluded and the crown has been decided.  The 2013 song of the year is none other than Danny Imig's folk classic "I think I'm married to a Zombie" from August.

Congratulations Danny!  As with last year's winner, you get A REAL PRIZE!  The prize is a 6-pack of some of my homebrewed beer.  Danny and I are planning on meeting up next week to get him his prize.  Photos to follow!

So I'd like to take this opportunity to spit out some random information about 2013's Song Writing Game in case anyone cares.  It won't be as in depth as last year's statistical rundown, but will give some of the same info.

Total Number of Songs for 2013: 46 (-1 from 2012)

Total Number of Individual Song Writers: 17 (+4 from 2012) (for groups of people, each individual person was counted)

Top 5 Number of Songs from a Single Songwriter:

 1 - Brian Salapek - 12 Songs

 2 - Rene Zansman - 11 Songs

 3 - Danny Imig - 8 Songs

 4 - Jack Eggleston - 6 Songs

 5 - Kayce Kelly - 3 Songs

Average Number of Songs per Songwriter: 2.71 (-0.65 from 2012)

Top Number of Winning Songs from an Individual Songwriter:

 1 - Danny Imig - 5 Wins

 Every other winner only one one month

Percentage of Winning Songs vs Number of Songs Written:

 1 & 2 & 3 (TIE) - Jared Griffin, Mark Maze and Jon Baker - 100% (1 song written & 1 winning song)

 4 - Danny Imig - 62.5% (8 songs written & 5 winning songs)

 5 - Jack Eggleston - 16.67% (6 songs written & 1 winning song)

Top Number of Songs in a Single Month:

 1 & 2 (TIE) - February, All Acoustic "Craziness is Heaven" songs and July Cover songs - 6 Songs Each

 3 - January, Electro-Pop "Your Mom" songs - 5 songs

 4 & 5 & 6 (TIE) - April, Robot Country songs and August, Zombie Folk Love songs  and October, TV Show Theme songs - 4 Songs Each

Top 5 Number of Listens for Individual Songs: (as of 1/31/14)

 1 - Jared Griffin - Mom Bush (from January) - 371 Listens

 2 - Kayce Kelly - Squirrel World (from February) - 75 Listens 

 3 - Mark Maze and Friends - Swamp Grass (from February) - 70 Listens

 4 - Jack Eggleston - Tomorrow / Christina de mi Alma (from January) - 55 Listens

 5 - Esban and Rene Zansman - Things are getting harder (from January) - 53 Listens

Top Number of Views for Individual Blog Posts: (as of 1/31/14)

 1 - January, Electro Pop "Your Mom" Songs - 1535 views

 2 - 2013 Song of the Year Voting - 225 views

 3 - February All Acoustic "Craziness is Heaven" Songs - 146 views

 4 - April Robot Country Songs - 116 views

 5 - July Cover Songs - 100 views

So there you have it, the 2013 year in review.  Here's to another great year of the song writing game!

February's Song Announcement!

For February we will be unleashing the expired rock Gods.  I'm talking about the rock Gods of my youth that very rarely aged well with me.  I'm talking about MID-90'S ALTERNATIVE ROCK!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I was one of those guys.  I wore my ZERO shirt once a week and liked the shirt even more when the screen printing was terrible cracked and faded.  Yep, that was me.  So in honor of my youth and the first musical personality I took on, we will go with these song stipulations:

GENRE: 1990's Alternative Rock

OPTIONAL SUBJECT: Dancing Babies

The subject, always optional, is another throwback to the 90's.  So these should be interesting.  90's Alternative is pretty vague (as the genres seem to be more often than not) so there is a lot of different directions you can take.

Here are a few interesting links:
An article about the 90's brand of alternative rock and it's growth in popularity.
A timeline of alternative rock in the 90's.

2013's SONG OF THE YEAR VOTING!

If it wasn't enough of a pain to vote on a song every month, I have to ask you to do it again when the year is done to determine the GRAND CHAMPION!  As with last year, the winner will receive a REAL, PHYSICAL PRIZE!  Wowee!  So to those of you nominated, get your friends to vote and you can win a 6-pack of some of my homebrewed beer!

Jack Eggleston - Tomorrow / Christina de mi Alma (From January)

My comments: Jack wrote this epic song and although it didn't win that month, it was always a favorite of mine.  It really is two songs that stand up fantastic on their own, but they work really well together.  They are very catchy and fun songs.  I can listen to them again and again.

Mark Maze and Friends - Swamp Grass (February's Winner)

My comments:  Mark wrote and recorded this song with friends of his who were together as a metal band, which makes it that much more awesome.  It's a really great blue grass song and the winner during what I would consider the strongest month of the song writing game.

Brian Salapek - Ballad of the Trashcan Man (From February)

My comments:  I was really proud of this song of mine.  I took the direction of spoken word and incorporated the book I was reading at the time, The Stand by Stephen King.  It was fun to have everything be acoustic but I think the song suffers from having a bad microphone at the time.  Either way, I was very happy with this song.

Kayce Kelly - Squirrel World (From February)

My comments:  Remember when I said that I thought February was the strongest month from last year?  Well, here is the third song from that month nominated.  It's a super simple but really sweet and great song written by Kayce, embodying a special time in his life perfectly.  It's not exactly poetry, but I think it is just plain beautiful.

Danny Imig - I think I'm married to a Zombie (From August)

My comments:  I had a hard time picking my favorite song of Danny's to include as a choice.  I ended up favoring his Zombie Love song from August.  It has a really great giddy-up feel to it during the chorus that just gets me every time.  He really does an awesome job every month nailing the genres, but this folk song was just perfect for me.

Vote for your favorite!