Masters Of Song Fu #4: Round 2 Challenge Voting Begins!

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125 responses to “Masters Of Song Fu #4: Round 2 Challenge Voting Begins!”

1. 

   June 11, 2009

   Richard Clayton Spring

   lyrics —
   It was the month of March when he was born, a soldier, and he was told of his birthstones, bloodstone and aquamarine. Then, his mother leaned in closer and kissed him on the cheek and whispered into his ear. Darling darling dear you must never be weak.

   It was the month of March when he died, a soldier.
   It was the month of March when he fell, forever.
   Then, his mother leaned in closer and kissed him on the cheek and whispered into his ear. Darling darling dear you must never be weak.
2. 

   June 11, 2009

   Jutze Schult

   All my votes in this round go to Lex Vader. How the hell did you manage to produce this song in just one week? I peaked into all songs before I went to bed last night – and “Doomsday March” was the only song I listened to in its entirety (i.e., without skipping). And yet, the end is somewhat sudden. I haven’t figured out even half of the lyrics yet, but I’m sure I’m in for a skew ride.

   The other entries were a bit disappointing, at least in comparison. I will give the other entries another listen, but for now I miss the marching element in some songs; plus, as a non-native speaker I don’t get all the stories right the first time.

   Honorary mentions:

   Gödz Pöödlz get a vote, because they added something original and delivered the best self-centered Fu since the Paul and Storm Theme Song. Caleb Hines (dwarfish) and His Name Is Legs (traditional) get a vote each, too. My last vote goes to The Scribbles, because a) they’re the Pöödlz’ Nemesis and b) their song is like an innocent Tom Waits song. At least it sounds like this when I screen out the lyrics. (The march aspect could maybe have been incoporated in the lyrics, though.)
3. 

   June 11, 2009

   Caleb Hines

   @Lex: You’re buying in to popular racial stereotypes of dwarves as stoic, humorless beings. Of course they’re happy. They’re going to get to attack the elves. 🙂

   But… whistling??? Those are piccolos (sort of). I played the part on flute and transposed it up an octave in software.
4. 

   June 11, 2009

   Lex Vader

   Thanks, Jutze. Glad to please you. When I programmed the fade out, I thought that was long enough. And I admit I didn’t think of any kind of a big finish, like, zombies eating the singer. But the different pre-chorus and the twist in the lyrics are supposed to hint that the song is ending.

   As I always say, if I can touch just one person with my music, I can afford to keep them quiet. Two and I’m in trouble.
5. 

   June 11, 2009

   Berg

   Oh man the vote ends on sunday?…thats alot shorter time…at least we’ll find the new challenege faster tho!
6. 

   June 11, 2009

   Denise Hudson

   @Lex three and there might be a lawsuit. Okay. I’m finished.
7. 

   June 11, 2009

   sevinPackage

   For anyone who cares, or whatever:
   The strong demands from work are preventing me from completing my review for round 1, but I sincerely am planning to make episodes for each round of this edition. They’ll be a bit late, but hopefully they’ll all be done before MoSF5 starts.
8. 

   June 11, 2009

   Wilson Fowlie

   Darrell: do you mind posting your lyrics? I can’t make out the second verse. (Or maybe someone with better lyric-discerning skills than mine could do so?)

   Also, has anyone else noticed that Darrell needs a new website?
9. 

   June 11, 2009

   The Rogue Bohemian

   I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with the pasa doble, but if we are missing out on votes for not being march-y enough, it’s a *Spanish* march, people. Come on.

   In our original lyrics, replace question marks with accented vowels. For those of you who don’t speak Spanish, here are some alternative lyrics. Translated by a free online translator which was painstakingly coded by a third grader.

   “The March of the Stork”

   Nick Wagner is very trustworthy
   because his chickens can’t sing.

   Instead they sign contracts with him
   to tie up snow.

   He dresses up as brightly colored superheroes
   and blasts kindergarteners away to tropical islands when they make him angry.

   There his chickens tie them up with snow
   and deliver them to doorsteps. Nick is happy.

   Honest to goodness. Those are the actual lyrics. The song is definitely NOT about our lady troubles and our dreamed-up ways of solving them. Because we don’t have problems with ladies. Right? RIGHT?! The defense rests.
10. 

    June 11, 2009

    The Perfect Place (Bud)

    @lex: what kind of speechless? ;-D i’m very honored to have your vote, because i respect your opinion from reading your comments here on the board. as such, we’d love to hear some more pointed criticism from you or anyone else on this entry.

    @rhod: i’m serious about the rap battle. i’m actually quite a good rapper. ;-P also, middle-aged is relative, isn’t it? so just think of it as my little way of saying that you will most likely die in your age now times 2. <3 comforting, i know. i aim to please.

    @berg: that’s one day shorter, right? i don’t think that qualifies as ‘a lot’ shorter, hehe.
11. 

    June 11, 2009

    The Perfect Place (Bud)

    another thing… i think there may be something wrong with the code again for voting. i didn’t get a chance to vote this time. i put in my choices and it said i had already voted, which is impossible because it was within the 1st hour the songs were up.

    for the record, i voted [or tried to vote] for: jutze, godz poodlz, ian&melissa, caleb hines and lex.
12. 

    June 11, 2009

    Andrew Thomson

    to Lex, with all due respect, (and great work on your opus this time, love it!)

    There are many different musical cultures around the world and here in the USA.

    With many cultures come many variations on what is traditionally called a “march”
    The Celtic style march is slow and rolliing, the Souza style is bold and brash and has it’s specific musical requirements.

    The New Orleans March, aka 2nd line March, aka 2nd line funk, is a very specific and well established traditional rhythm, or related group of rhythms that is not necessarily synonymous with “Funk”.

    It originated as a marching music form and continues today to be used for that, despite the fact that many people are not aware of this.

    I have to repeat myself here, please look it up.

    The second line family of funk rhythms are explicitly and indisputably a group of traditional march beats which have been appropriated in modern times for use in popular recorded funk, blues and rock music, not as you indicate, the other way round.

    They are technically referred to as 2nd line march feel.

    And they are still used in New Orleans during traditional parades and funerals.

    Not all funk beats are marches, but those based on the New Orleans 2nd line march feel are. The best known and most popular of these 2nd line march rhythms is the so called “Bo Diddly rhythm”, more commonly heard in blues and rock, whereas the related form I used is best known to listeners outside of New Orleans as a “funky drummer” or “james Brown” beat, but these descriptors lack a knowledge of the many distinctions in different types of funk, and ignore the well documented history of these music styles.

    I must respectfully disagree with your characterization of why I call this a march. Technically, musicologically, this is a march beat, created for use in traditional parade forms and played in one form or another today at all New Orleans marching events.

    A widespread lack of knowledge of this does not change the facts. Ask any expert on funk drumming styles or on New Orleans music, history and culture and you will get the same answer.

    It may be known to you generically as a “funk beat” but I assure you, I asked the expert drummer to play a “funky New Orleans 2nd line March ”
    He knew exactly what I meant and this is what he played.

    If anyone is considering the musical style of this song not to technically be a march and is planning not to vote for it for that reason, I would only humbly ask once more, please look up the history and contemporary cultural role of this traditional march song form.

    If you don’t like the song, don’t vote for it. If you think it’s not a march, you are factually incorrect and I assure you, any research you do into this subject will return rich rewards to you in your appreciation and discovery of this wonderful and misunderstood music style and the fascinating culture that is still centered on parades, marches and their traditional funky beats.
13. 

    June 11, 2009

    Andrew Thomson

    Interesting historical footnote:

    Due to it’s close association with the multi-ethnic “Mardis Gras Indian” subculture of New Orleans which traces it’s history to the days of slavery,maesny have theorized that the origins of these 2nd line grooves comes from the blending of African and Native American Indian musical cultures.

    This has not been proven and is widely disputed, although the origins of the “Mardis Gras Indian” subculture itself did indeed originate in a culture and genetic lineage created when escaped slaves found refuge in Native American communities in the Louisiana Bayou, just as the “Indians” themselves have long insisted, despite much popular skepticism.

    Perhaps the musical origins of this type of groove will someday be similarly proven but for now, we have only the oral tradition that holds this story to be true.
14. 

    June 11, 2009

    Andrew Thomson

    and by “maesny” I mean to say “many” heh heh… now the teacher goes to the back of the class.
15. 

    June 11, 2009

    Ian & Melissa (Ian)

    @Andrew Thomson: Hear hear. I think at least a third to a half of the songs have been accused of not being marches 🙂

    These are all marches:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l27AvG9Z6Ks&feature=related

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyLjbMBpGDA

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55cabGJhp64

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0Xh-ZZFPZI&feature=related

    As the wikipedia gods said: “A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which **in origin** was expressly written for marching to….”

    i.e. you don’t have to be able to March to it any more than you can do a Jig to

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyJUnZmWFmM
16. 

    June 11, 2009

    Andrew Thomson

    And Lex, I note that you critique others for not being marchy enough. Really, if a European-American style march rhythm is played on bongos instead of snare, it is still a march rhythm. Though it is admittedly difficult to play bongos while marching, they could be harness mounted, like a snare.

    If we are to discount entries due to not using the “correct” instrument, then how are we to judge your fine entry, clearly a march, though I would say that compared to Souza you are “Marching to your own drummer” (Apologies) with your electronic sounding elements, and a melody and chords that remind me of neo-romantic new wave.

    Is this a double standard?

    Oh wait, I just remembered, you are composite of two of the twentieth century’s greatest Supervillians.

    Through that point of view, your apparent double standard is actually an ingenious plan. If I had only known we could use the force in this contest I would have busted out my Jedi Mind Tricks.

    This IS the songwriter you’re looking for. (Waves hand mysteriously and points at self)

    My mistake in taking you to task for your obvious (though Super Evil) genius, as expressed in your brilliant song this round. As Emily Litella would say, “Nevermind!”
17. 

    June 11, 2009

    Rhod Durre

    @Perfect Place- I know that death is just around the corner, probably more than halfway there. . .but thanks for the reminder ; )

    Maybe the next challenge will be the “Rap Challenge”. . . we can all hope!

    Anyway, all in good fun- I enjoy the harmonies on your tunes and am looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with next round.
18. 

    June 11, 2009

    Caleb Hines

    Another interesting historical footnote re: The origin of New Orleans swing rhythms (which I am NOT an expert in by any means!!!) — I have heard somewhere (apparently from wikipedia) that they were also possibly influenced by the French Baroque practice of “notes inégales” (where notes written with equal durations were played unequally).

    Anyway, there were a lot of songs that weren’t *strictly* marches, and I think that’s fine. Some were partially marches. Some were merely evocative of marches. Some just were about marching. Some were about the month of march.

    This round was super awesome, because it was a difficult and seemingly-niche challenge (observe the attrition rate), and yet it has produced some *extremely* diverse entries. Probably the most diverse song fu round I’ve ever heard. Classical to techno to band to philosophy lecture… even some “songs” without lyrics.

    March or not, ultimately, each voter must decide whether they like a song enough to vote for it. Voters can’t be expected to be aware of every technical march form from around the world. Whether something is or is not technically a march is actually less important than whether it evokes a march feel in the voters mind, and that is only *one* small piece of the equation (in addition to style, lyrics, vocal audibility, production quality, instrumentation, melody, counter-melody, harmonies, rhythms, self-referential humor, cuteness, friendships…).
19. 

    June 12, 2009

    The Rogue Bohemian

    I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with the pasa doble, but if we are missing out on votes for not being march-y enough, it’s a *Spanish* march, people. Come on.

    In our original lyrics, replace question marks with accented vowels. For those of you who don’t speak Spanish, here are some alternative lyrics. Translated by an online translator which was painstakingly coded by a third grader.

    “The March of the Stork”

    Nick Wagner is very trustworthy
    because his chickens can’t sing.

    Instead they sign contracts with him
    to tie up snow.

    He dresses up as brightly colored superheroes
    and blasts kindergarteners away to tropical islands when they make him angry.

    There his chickens tie them up with snow
    and deliver them to doorsteps. Nick is happy.

    Honest to goodness. Those are the actual lyrics. The song is definitely NOT about our lady troubles and our dreamed-up ways of solving them. Because we don’t have problems with ladies. Right? RIGHT?! The defense rests.
20. 

    June 12, 2009

    Caleb Hines

    (Good point from Ian too, about derivative marches)
21. 

    June 12, 2009

    Berg

    @Bud: no it is more than a day…last time it was a full week, and the votes stared wednesday and end on sunday. So we lose mon. tues. and the second wed. It doesnt really effect much, i just didnt realize it.
22. 

    June 12, 2009

    The Perfect Place (Bud)

    @berg: but this post went up on tuesday, so…

    monday [pm] to sunday = 6 days. tuesday [pm] to sunday = 5 days. so that’s 24 hours less. ;-D
23. 

    June 12, 2009

    Lex Vader

    @PerfectPlace: Like I can’t think of anything much to say about your entry. The harmonies in the chorus are great. It’s funny at the end. I had trouble paying attention to the lyrics. I voted. That’s all.

    @Andrew, Ian and Melissa: There’s no point in the four of us having a debate. I&M, because you’re the third most popular. Andrew, because you’re the only one here knowledgable enough to recognize your song as a march. And me, because I also interpreted the challenge to fit the styles I was most comfortable with.

    @Berg, you’re right! SHENANIGANS!
24. 

    June 12, 2009

    Berg

    @Lex: thats not what i ment be this at all Lex, i just didnt realize, so i was pointing it out in case others didnt know.

    Sorry to make comments. Next time I’ll ok it with you first.
25. 

    June 12, 2009

    Berg

    @Lex. and like you making decisions on other peoples songs being marches or not isnt calling “SHENANIGANS”

    Lets try to keep this positive here…no reason for mudslinging and name calling, but what do I know? I’m the young teenager, maybe i should respect my elders.
26. 

    June 12, 2009

    riddle

    ok, so my less kind comment was stricken from the record. let me try anew: is it fair to say that i did not like Andrew’s song? that its political bent seems shallow and self-aggrandizing? that whether it’s a march or not matters little when the song itself lacks charm?
27. 

    June 12, 2009

    Travis Norris

    TRAVIS’ UNSOLICITED AND UNINFORMED COMMENTS (buckle up)
    ———————————————

    I’d like to preface everything by saying that any variation on “I don’t think it sounded like a march” is not really as big of a complaint from me as it might seem. After all, one of my favorite entries of the “10 unique words” round was Edric’s, which strictly speaking completely obliterated the rules of that round. This is music, folks. I realize it’s a competition and we should do our best to adhere to the rules, but when was rock n roll (or any truly expressive, memorable music) about playing it safe? That out of the way, here we go…

    @Andrew: Well, plenty has been said about this song already I think. I didn’t really say “march” to me. Also, not to sound like an old man, but I couldn’t really understand the lyrics this time around, which I guess you could fold into the already-mentioned production concerns. That said, it’s got a nice beat and the band is just as good as last time.

    @Audiomohel: I thought this was pretty amusing. If there was ever an aspect of GI Joe that bothered me it’s the way it makes kids think that war is fun and nobody is seriously injured in it. 😉 The guitar starting at about 1:20 is awesome, although it stops sound like a march to me at that point. But, turns out I really like guitar solos, so it’s cool.

    @BergAndJerry: Ah, zombie marches. Jonathan Coulton and roughly 40-70% of the internet would approve (the rest of them would want the song to be about monkeys, pirates, robots, or green potato chips). I think zombies might find the pace grueling. The ending is a nice touch.

    @Caleb: I agree this is exactly the kind of mood I see Dwarves being in when they’re marching out to attack elves (or orcs, or anything else they have reasonable confidence they will beat, which is almost anything). The only thing I would have suggested was multi-tracking the vocals a few more times. I can’t tell if it’s multi-tracked now or not but it sounds like “guy with chorus” more than “dwarven choir”.

    @DarrelMaclaine: I agree with Lex, I am terrified that this was a pre-existing song. 😀 Maybe the most aggressively catchy tune this time around, and a great parody of the whole brainless-sport-song genre. As mentioned, we have something very much like this in the States for our own particular “football”, so the humor translated just fine. Extremely near miss for voting.

    @Denise: I love the quirky oddness of this tune. I feel pretty safe saying you’ve demonstrated the most range as far as style and genre between round one and round two. As in, I have no idea whatsoever to expect for Round Three. Another near miss vote… I unfortunately voted before the extremely amusing “plot outline” (which oddly enough DOES make the song make more sense to me) which might have clinched it. Feels like this would work well for a sci-fi short film. Or a light show.

    @Edric: I pretty much said everything I intended to at the listening party, so I’ll just add that this is a really striking tune. The minimalistic production was bold and the exact right choice for the song. No trouble understanding the lyrics on this one.

    @GodzPoodlz: You sort of stole this song idea from Lex, so negative one million points for that (just kidding). But yes, excellent use of faux ukeleles, extremely white rapping, aggressively adorable children, AutoTuner (I can identify that part now after some research), self referential lyrics. Didn’t quite catch me well enough for a vote, but if it makes you feel better I’ll probably actually be a fan -after- the competition is over. Unless you break up the band. 🙁

    @Gorbzilla: Awesome. Just awesome. I wish I could be this nerdy and still be.. cool. +1 for real brass! +1 for all the references (Avenue Q in particular). +1 for embarassing parental posts! (I’m surprised mine haven’t chimed in; maybe they will now).

    @Gremlins: Reminds me of one of those grooving blues rock songs from the late 60s-mid 70s. Ultimately just a little too slow for my tastes, it never quite grabbed me.

    @HisNameisLegs: This is the kind of thing I was originally going to try to write, but was not clever enough and/or couldn’t get the percussion element together. Great job making the traditional 4-piece rock band (with occasional quest appearances from other instruments) sound as much like a marching band as it’s ever likely to. Nearest miss for a vote.

    @Ian&Melissa: This is awesome but just didn’t say “march” to me. The tempo is just a little too free for me to see anybody marching to it. Which was actually good for the song itself; it would have removed considerable feeling and emotion from the song to play it to a strict metronome. Kind of wish it was a bit longer; it’s been since college that I’ve heard good classical piano.

    @Jalapeno Haberneros: Plenty of people have already mentioned the problems with production. Still definitely better than last round. Are you guys recording this live? If you have any way of multitracking I think it would solve the problem. the translated lyrics are fantastic.

    @Jutze: Fighting tooth and nail with Steve and Darrell’s entry for “Most Catchy” of round. Does a good job of expressing some of the emotions that were being felt by many of us in March 2003 without getting heavy-handed about it. Nice bridge, too.

    @Lex: Hey, your song is pretty long, did anybody mention that? What, oh, everybody? Right. Well, “your song is long” is bordering on objective fact BUT I agree with Jason, the song deserved/needed to be as long as it was. I’ve listened to it all the way through probably more than any other entry (other than my own, for obvious reasons) and while -long- it’s never been -boring-. Probably the least silly zombie song I’ve heard.

    @MilesFromNashville: I really like it, but didn’t say “march” to me. Still, it’s gone into “general population” on my iPod so that’s something, right? The vocals could stand to come up in the mix a little, although from the sound of it I’m guessing they were near clipping and had to be taken down a bit. I like.. whatever it is exactly that’s going on around 2:00 as far as instrumentation.

    @PerfectPlace: Satisfying at least some of the 30-60% of the internet who were not on board with the zombie/robot songs is always a good idea. Very pretty chorus, makes me wish I had someone to harmonize with. Nice, clear, easily understood lyrics so good work there. Call and response section was great (surprising more people didn’t do it). Very special award for rhyming “God” with “umlauts”.

    @Richard: I realize mixing the vocals with the ambient background was probably a nightmare. I actually really like the lyrics (somewhat similar in theme to another entry this round, ahem ahem), but the vocals are so reverb’d and AutoTune’d that it was hard to make them out without having the sheet in front of me. All of that said, enjoying it more on subsequent listens.

    @Sara: I like quirky melodic indiepop with unconvential percussion (see also: California Song by Mountain Goats). I have no criticism to offer of this song. Excellent job. (Subscribed to Youtube) 🙂

    @Scribbles: Ummmm… Uhhhhhh…. yeahhhh. Might not want to let your school district admin hear this one. I checked; I am just barely the nearest Song Fu competitor, geographically. And it makes me nervous. That said you pretty much wrote the song I always -wanted- to write about school but never quite managed. I hope your parents are proud of your courage. Right, Pat? 😀

    @Steve: Best production of the round (since GP overproduced on purpose, hehe). As mentioned previously, probably one of the top three most catchy, without being catchy in an aggravating way. Sounds like the Beatles while also sound like Steve Chatterton, and I can’t think of a much higher comment so I’ll leave it there. (I enjoy your website and the page for this song, by the way)

    @TomM: My girlfriend voted for this song instead of mine. I hate you. No, just kidding. I do have a good many friends with a minor Alice obsession though and they all love this tune. Like your entry last round this is growing on me with each listen. I kind of want another 30 seconds or so. The main reason it didn’t make a huge impression on me the first few listens was because it was over before I could decide whether I liked it or not.

    @Travis Norris: 3/4, 120 beats per minute, minor modulating to major key… yep, it’s a march alright! BECAUSE I SAID SO. Seriously though, in retrospect I wish that’d I’d had somebody to play a big church organ (to supplement/replace my rhythm guitar) and a real drummer. As it was I just tried to make the best of the equipment I had. Which, as previously mentioned in the bio, is a guitar, and three more guitars, and one of the cheapest DAWs money can buy.

    So, there are my comments. Feel free to call me stupid and ill informed!
28. 

    June 12, 2009

    AudioMohel – Jon

    The inspiration behind our march a cross between the 80’s GI Joe cartoon (where no one ever dies) and the war movies where you get the sappy voice over just prior to the credits rolling. I’ll admit (before I get yelled at for it) that the last half of the tune is not a march, but we fulfilled the 1:15 march requirement up front with the first minute twenty and change that was. So, here are the lyrics for your ripping apart pleasure:

    Sargent Slaughter let out a yell
    Wild Bill let loose hell
    They fought bravely and no one got hurt
    At the Battle of Cobra Island

    Rockets Flew and copters crashed
    Throwing pilots safe in the grass
    Ejecting safely without an injury
    At the Battle of Cobra Island

    No one get killed by a gun
    The bombs are made only to stun
    And cobra has an endless infantry
    At the Battle of Cobra Island

    At the Battle of Cobra Island

    (Cue Eric’s Whistling)
    And Cobra Commander? Well, he got away that day.
    Some say we won that battle. I prefer to think of it as a draw.
    I still remember the look on Lady Jay’s face as she looked down at her hands and saw that she broke a fingernail.
    And Alpine… Alpine, how I will miss you… as you go on your well deserved vacation to Hawaii
    You always made the best brownies. You know the special kind, with that ingredient you bought off of Snowjob.
    Flint… Flint, your a dick. Yo Joe!
29. 

    June 12, 2009

    Lex Vader

    @Berg, I remember being a teen, but I must have missed the part where you argue with people who agree with you. Rest assured, I will not hold you responsible for the secret ninja dingos I have sent to Ken’s house, but they are not the ONLY ones I possess.
30. 

    June 12, 2009

    Darrell Maclaine

    Lyrics on request. Fair enough really, as it’s a cartoonish version of a northern-English accent quadruple-tracked and chorused/reverbed to all hell. Might as well be in Icelandic.

    It’s time for some football
    So pack up your football things
    We’re off to watch some football
    And all that football brings
    Could you not like football
    I don’t think you could
    ‘Cause there’s one (footballing) reason
    And that’s “football is good”

    CHORUS
    Football is good
    Football is good
    Football is better than something not as good
    Football is good
    Football is good
    If I could watch some football
    I certainly would

    Oh we do love our football
    To football we are attached
    Our favourite thing in football
    Is to watch a football match
    Football sends us crazy
    It really does the biz
    You can’t say football isn’t good
    ‘Cause good’s what football is

    CHORUS x3054
31. 

    June 12, 2009

    Andrew Thomson

    @riddle, Your critique is a matter of opinion, and I won’t argue against it.

    I don’t know what you mean when you say my song’s “political bent is shallow and self-aggrandizing”. If that’s true, then it’s not just this song, but rather most of my songs and for that matter, most of my life’s work of any kind that is subject to this criticism, as my music has primarily served my activism.

    Would you potentially approve of a politically inspired song if the politics were of a different stripe? Or do you feel this way about political songs in general? Or perhaps you just dislike my song.

    As I said before, if you don’t like the song, don’t vote for it.
    The question of march as a genre is a question of qualification for the contest. If you don’t like that sort of thing, then surely all you have to do is vote for other songs instead!
32. 

    June 12, 2009

    Lex Vader

    I think his point is you need to sell out already! For example, my next song is going to be all about how awesome riddle is!
33. 

    June 12, 2009

    Andrew Thomson

    Yes Lex…. I feel the pull of the dark side even now… I should get a job writing jingles for Halliburton and stop writing songs about the history and future of the Civil Rights Movement… yes… then I could pay rent! Perhaps even buy new guitar strings!

    And here I thought marching was inherently political, and a civil rights march was the most authentic expression of myself that could exist in the genre, Perhaps I was wrong…

    (Sings:)”We are marching apolitically, because marches and politics don’t mix, not for civil rights, not off to war to fight, Marching’s not political, we just do it all for kicks (Goose-Step now!)”
34. 

    June 12, 2009

    Russ Rogers (of GöDZ PööDLZ)

    Beyond the constraints of time with the challenges (you have approximately one week to deliver your recorded song), and Ken has occasionally been generous with those, there are NO RULES for Song Fu. We are allowed to attack each challenge with whatever musicians we can cajole to play on them, using whatever means, instruments, equipment, favors or musical styles we choose. Then it’s up to the voters to decide what got turned in best fits the challenge or just what they LIKE the best, whether it fits the definition of the challenge or not!

    Is His Name Is Legs’ – “The Ocoee Shopper” a march? Definitely! Probably the closest thing to a classic Sousa-march in this Round, despite it’s unique instrumentation for a march! Is “The Ocoee Shopper” a song? It’s peppy tune begs for lyrics! I sincerely wish it had some. (if His Name Is Legs don’t get around to writing lyrics for”The Ocoee Shopper,” I might have to! I consider it a song, even without lyrics.

    OK, what about Denise Hudson’s – “Anna’s Gerbil & The Singularity”? Now, I don’t think this is a song or a march. I look at this more as a “tone poem.” This is the soundtrack to a non-existent animated movie. That doesn’t mean that I think it’s bad. I like “Anna’s Gerbil” a lot! I’ve listened to it several times. I think it would make a great childrens book or a YouTube video. The bizarre plot reminds me of Neil Gaiman-type story, but then again so did “a wormhole where the reject song ideas go.” Denise, are you also a Gaiman fan?

    Now, there has been a lot of commentary around Andrew Thompson’s – “March Of The Martyrs.” Certainly the song is about marching. To my ears it doesn’t sound like “a march.” It reminded me of “Schoolhouse Rock.” (That’s supposed to be a compliment. I really like “Schoolhouse Rock!”) But it’s also apparent to me that Andrew Thompson knows butt loads more about music than I do. The song is soulful and funky and has a cool horn part and back-up vocals. And I don’t see the political bent as shallow or self-aggrandizing at all. If we’re looking for truly shallow and self-aggrandizing, look no further than Godz Poodlz’s – “Godz Poodlz On Parade!” That’s self aggrandizement on steroids!

    @riddle, I can’t tell you how good it made me feel to have somebody I don’t know get it and say that “Godz Poodlz On Parade” is one of their favorite songs! Thank you.

    I will mention that Tom Milsom’s – “March As A Mad Hare” is also not a march by my reckoning, but it’s also one of my favorite songs of this round. I’ve become a true fan of Messrs Milsom.

    My point (if I can find one) is that there is no sense in crying “Foul” or “Shenanigans!” Everything and anything is fair game in Song Fu as far as the song writing and recording goes. Ask the Masked Stranger, if you can find him. We can only do our best and then bug all our friends, family and fans to come listen and vote. And just PRAY that somebody we don’t even know listens and likes our songs too!

    That said, I really do enjoy both constructive criticism and healthy debate. And I’ve learned a lot about New Orleans style 2nd line Marches! I think it’s fine and fair when we question and comment on each other’s work, especially if the goal is to ultimately be encouraging.

    We all found different ways to attack the task of writing a march. And you know what, collectively, we ROCK! May the Fu be with you.
35. 

    June 12, 2009

    riddle

    @Andrew: music that wears its politics on its sleeve convinces no-one but those who already subscribe to whatever ideology it’s pushing. on the other hand, a song like lennon’s “imagine” manages to be revolutionary and conversionary because its politics are created by the listener’s heart in response.
    it’s the difference between practicing politics as a “lifestyle choice” and practicing politics as an inevitable side effect of living a considered, ethical life.

    @Lex: i look forward to voting for your song about me.
36. 

    June 12, 2009

    Caleb Hines

    Inherently political marches… To avoid potentially offending listeners, you must choose a political subject that can’t offend anyone… you know, like zombies, robots, ninjas, poodles, or dwarves. 😉

    My song, for example, would be terribly offensive if it were about real-life people marching off to war!

    @riddle: My last song mentioned you. “That riddle’s better left a mystery.” 🙂
37. 

    June 12, 2009

    Caleb Hines

    @Travis: Thanks for the comments. Yes, I hear what you mean about the thin voice (though I didn’t realize it until recently). It is currently *triple-tracked*, but they do tend to blend more than I had originally thought they would (the “HUZZAH”‘s are 4-tracked, but were done with more variation). Some of the blending may be from an excessive correction of rhythm and pitch defects (side note: pitch corrections made using copy-paste from another take, not an auto-tuner). And maybe some might be from poor balancing (I’ll have to check that)…

    It might also be caused by frequently fading out various small sections of tracks where there was clipping. So in some sections, the voice count might briefly be down to 2, or even 1. Yeah… I had trouble recording good vocals this time around, and had to do so under less-than-ideal circumstances. If a too-thin vocal sound is the only indication, then I did a good job hiding it! 🙂
38. 

    June 12, 2009

    Andrew Thomson

    What ideology do you think this song is pushing? The ideology that civil rights are a good idea and that it takes a long time to achieve meaningful change? I thought most folks were converted to that viewpoint long ago. I didn’t realize Martin Luther King was still so controversial!

    This song is not trying to convince anyone of anything, other than to be patient and persistent when struggling for social change.

    It is clearly a song preaching to the choir. I’m sorry that offends your taste.

    I agree that I am inferior to John Lennon. But “Imagine” is overtly political, while many ignore the lyrics specific anti-capitalist, anti-religious, anti-statist, and anti war message, but Lennon did not in any way leave it up to the “listener’s heart” to find that song’s political content. In fact it is full of specific ideological points, while my song speaks generally about MLK and “the movement” without naming any specific political agenda points.

    However John Lennon’s song is more original, artful and moving than mine, I agree to that.

    May I suggest you carefully avoid many of Lennon’s other more direct and literal political movement songs so as not to be further bothered by explicit political agendas?

    Such as: Give Peace a Chance, Sunday Bloody Sunday (not to be confused with U2’s song), John Sinclair aka Got to set him free, Working Class Hero, The Luck of the Irish (feating the lyrics “Blame it all on the kids and the IRA while the English commit Genocide, genocide, aye aye”), “Woman is the N***** of the world (think about it, do something about it)”, Revolution, Attica State , Just Gimme Some Truth, God, I found out, I don’t want to be a soldier I don’t want to die, Angela (a tribute to Angela Davis)

    and many more.

    For more information on Lennon’s political life and the US governments long campaign against him because of his extensive political activism, please see the excellent and popular documentary “the U.S. vs John Lennon” at

    http://www.theusversusjohnlennon.com
39. 

    June 12, 2009

    Andrew Thomson

    And with apologies to those who couldn’t hear the now controversial lyrics to my entry, here they are so folks can decide for themselves whether they are the good kind of political lyrics or the bad kind.

    March of the Martyrs

    The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice.
    that’s what Martin Luther King said.
    The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice.
    that’s what Martin Luther King said.
    The road that we’ve got to keep marching on is long but if we’re strong then it ends with justice.

    Many have fallen, but the movement marches on.
    Hear the children calling, singing a freedom song.
    We couldn’t have come this far without the ones who came before
    And we’re going to keep on pushing, till we bust down the door,
    and we won’t need any martyrs anymore, we won’t need any martyrs anymore.
    Never anymore.
40. 

    June 12, 2009

    Andrew Thomson

    Imagine
    by John Lennon (who was a better songwriter and activist than I, but who did literally wear his politics on his sleeve, wearing and promoting white armbands for peace and against the Vietnam War)

    Imagine there’s no heaven
    It’s easy if you try
    No hell below us
    Above us only sky
    Imagine all the people
    Living for today…

    Imagine there’s no countries
    It isn’t hard to do
    Nothing to kill or die for
    And no religion too
    Imagine all the people
    Living life in peace…

    You may say I’m a dreamer
    But I’m not the only one
    I hope someday you’ll join us
    And the world will be as one

    Imagine no possessions
    I wonder if you can
    No need for greed or hunger
    A brotherhood of man
    Imagine all the people
    Sharing all the world…

    You may say I’m a dreamer
    But I’m not the only one
    I hope someday you’ll join us
    And the world will live as one
41. 

    June 12, 2009

    Travis Norris

    @Andrew: Yeah, not much controversial about those lyrics. To be honest I expected something with… shall we say a stronger central opinion after your round one song. This mostly reinforces my comment above that I wish the lyrics had been clearer in the mix.

    re: Lennon: The way people have edited out the bits of Imagine that they don’t like/agree with has always been amusing and confounding to me (but it fulfills by daily Irony Requirement when I hear a church choir sing it).

    Let me submit a formal request that you post the lyrics a little sooner next round, eh? 🙂
42. 

    June 12, 2009

    Denise Hudson

    I just have to say I’m really stoked that I’m doing so well. I guess the good advice and the reading of manuals has paid off. There’s songs that I’m really proud to be around in this fu contest, more than happy to be bested by and (frankly) a bit appalled to be beating (but not really … no … yeah … no, okay, yeah 🙂 ). This has been a great experience for me as I’m usually a real hermit crab. I’m working on my reviews. They are more than one sentence long and I’ve had family dinner-type things and also lost my cell phone at a bar.
    DH
43. 

    June 12, 2009

    Rhod Durre

    @Travis- Thanks for the comments. You’re right, though, we blatantly ripped off Lex’s idea for the ultimate Fu song. . . I can’t help but wonder whether REAL ukuleles would have made a difference in your vote. . .

    I’m glad though that you’ll be a fan after the competition. . . but ONLY if we break up : )
44. 

    June 13, 2009

    Caleb Hines

    New blog post is up, describing my song. Click my name, or just go to
45. 

    June 13, 2009

    The Perfect Place (Bud)

    oh andrew, andrew, andrew. didn’t your mother tell you never to feed trolls. ;-P

    @travis norris: thanks for the kind words! we wanted to throw in the ‘sound off! one two!’ but ran out of drum track and audacity suxxx with three x’s for copy/pasting, which i had done enough of already.
46. 

    June 13, 2009

    Lex Vader

    @Travis: Please, sir! It’s not a zombie song. It’s a HUMANITY song. You are stupid and ill informed!

    @Andrew: I would recommend avoiding those John Lennon songs anyway, as most people don’t like political songs. Music is supposed to be an artistic statement, but a political song is just a political statement using the medium as propaganda, provided the song is blatant enough that it isn’t seen as song first, and politics second. If you want to send a message, it’s best to be less obvious, have people get into the music first and realize the message second. If it’s just something you have to express, then you don’t have to be blatant either. Self expression is like screaming. As long as you get it out, it doesn’t matter if anyone understands. But as far as making a viable form of entertainment, it’s better people not understand the subtext than not understand why someone’s doing an overtly political song whose preaching taints the enjoyment. For example, nobody knew my song “Just A Rock” was really about Afghanistan.

    But I say keep doing whatever you want. I wouldn’t tell you to stop writing political songs. I enjoy the discussion of what works in music, but I would never want someone to, say, convince Garth Brooks that country music is stupid, or else he might have stuck with that Chris Gaines thing. And then we’d all lose.

    And remember: Please don’t kill the babies. The babies deserve to live. They’re round and soft and full of life, with so much love to give! La la la la don’t kill the baaabies.

    (Just kidding.)
47. 

    June 13, 2009

    Travis Norris

    @Lex: Walked into that one, didn’t I…. sheesh. That’s what I get for inviting a gestalt supervillain to pwn me.

    Hey! Everybody! I’m on twitter and Myspace now.
    Twitter: travisnorris (creative!)
    Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/govdynamics

    I’ve been using the name Governing Dynamics since high school but did not use it to enter this competition for some reason I myself do not fully grasp. Anyway. The site layout is very ugly at the moment, BUT there are songs in addition to the two you all have hopefully heard. Friend me, follow me. eStalk me! Do it. Do it now.
48. 

    June 13, 2009

    Caleb Hines

    Hehe… Whoops. Let’s try that URL again.

    http://refactoringmybrain.blogspot.com/2009/06/song-fu-challenge-2.html
49. 

    June 13, 2009

    riddle

    @ImperfectPlace: just because i give honest commentary that doesn’t pretend that everybody who competes in this is “great,” does not make me a troll. in fact, your indirect insult is more trollish, as it is a solely incendiary comment, without other merit. i stand by all my previous comments as legitimate discourse. and, geez, at least i don’t go on AT LENGTH trying to sway people, as some do.
50. 

    June 13, 2009

    Andrew Thomson

    I really enjoy a good debate, it reveals much about the writers.
    What have we learned? Different strokes for different folks.

    Many overtly political songwriters have many fans.
    While many others decry and dislike clearly stated politics in music.

    Is this a paradox? No. What some hear as annoying self righteous propaganda, others hear as a rousing expression of passionate feelings and ideas they enjoy hearing.

    It’s a matter of taste. Many folks find novelty songs annoying, but most audiences love them. Hip Hop and Country are two of the most widely hated and criticized musical genres, but they are also the two most popular styles, with the biggest audiences.

    Opera is even more despised, ranking above the other styles in it’s high number of non-fans who hate it passionately, studies have found it to be the least popular musical style of all, yet many undeniably expert musicologists and other educated, cultured folks consider it not only the greatest music but in fact the greatest art form of all.

    I personally love Bob Dylan, Victor Jara, Phil Ochs, Spearhead, The Coup, Country Joe and the Fish, CSNY, Peter Gabriel, System of a Down, The Clash, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Woody Guthrie, Joe HIll, Paul Simon, Neil Young, John Denver, Jackson Browne, John Prine, Bruce Cockburn, Pete Seeger, Leadbelly, Billy Bragg, Bruce Springsteen, Tracy Chapman, John Lennon and many other popular political songwriters, though I know not everyone likes them. If you like the fact that these songwriters write explicit unambiguous political lyrics, that’s your personal taste.

    But to say that’s not what music is for, sorry but one’s personal distaste for a particular style or subject matter doesn’t make it a misuse of music itself!

    As far as feeding the alleged under-bridge creatures goes, this debate has brought more votes to my song and a lot of web traffic to my sites, so I’d like to keep the arguments going as long as possible! ( Controversy sells, thanks for the free promotion, critics! Bwah ha ha ha! )

    ; – )