Due to unforeseen circumstances, there was a delay in putting up the final challenge songs and shadow entries. They will be going up this evening.

We here at Quick Stop Entertainment are true lovers of music, in all its forms. We’re also quite keen on the spirit of competition, and of spurring creativity through said competition.

To that end, we launched a unique form of creative combat here at the Stop.

In this age of manufactured and painfully earnest talent contests, we’ve decided to instead shine a light on the quirky, quixotic underworld of musicians that don’t get nearly the attention they deserve.

Ah, but I did mention that there was a competition involved…

Like a songwriting version of Iron Chef, the competitors will be presented with a very specific songwriting challenge. They’ll be given one week to complete their songs – however they see fit, within the parameters set forth – after which time the entries will be uploaded to Quick Stop to be voted on by you, the audience.

Oh, and what do we call this competition?

MASTERS OF SONG FU

Let us not forget the very special Masters of MASTERS OF SONG FU. Think of them as the iron chefs of Song Fu – one of which will be revealed as the ultimate challenger in THE FINAL CHALLENGE. Past Masters have included Jonathan Coulton, Paul & Storm, Neil Innes, The RiffTones, and Garfunkel & Oates. Any one of them could be the Master in the final Challenge – or perhaps it could be a brand new Master. Only the Challenger who garners the most cumulative votes in all 3 Challenges will move on to the Final and face that Master, mano a mano.

As with the last edition of Song Fu, all of the Challengers will be able to compete in every Challenge, and the Challenger with the most cumulative votes after the 3 Challenges will be the one that takes on the Master in the Final Round. So what was the first Challenge?

ROUND 1 CHALLENGE

Write a song from the perspective of an inanimate object. This inanimate object must have no moving parts. Also no computers, no objects that look like living things, either human or animal (i.e. a statue, an action figure, etc.), and no celestial objects (i.e. the sun or the moon). Your song can be in any style you choose.

That’s it. The only other directive is that your song must run no shorter than 1 minute 45 seconds.

You’ll find the Round 1 songs from each of our Challengers below (for those Challengers that did not progress to Round 2, you’ll find those songs HERE), as well as the results of the Round 1 voting. The Challengers were then issued their Round 2 Challenge…

ROUND 2 CHALLENGE

Write a march.

A march is “a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to” – and that is your challenge. You can write on any topic. Your song must run no shorter than 1 minute 15 seconds.

You’ll find the Round 2 songs from each of our Challengers below (for those Challengers that did not progress to Round 3, you’ll find those songs HERE), as well as the results of the Round 2 voting. The Challengers were then issued their Round 3 Challenge…

ROUND 3 CHALLENGE

For your third challenge, you are to write a standard song. I am defining a “standard song” as one with a definite melody and a chorus that repeats at least once (to clarify: the chorus should appear at least twice in the song). However, your song must run EXACTLY 1 minute in length – no shorter, and no longer. You can write on any topic.

You’ll find the Round 3 songs from each of our Challengers HERE. After all of the votes were tallied from the 3 rounds, there was but one winner, who has earned the right to go head-to-head with a Master. Below, not only will you find the winning Challenger, but also the identity of the Master and THE FINAL CHALLENGE…

THE CHALLENGER

BERG AND JERRY

Berg and Jerry are a small suburban acoustic group comprised of Andrew Berg (Lead Vocals, Melodica and, maybe, eventually the Ukulele) and Jerry Geleff (Guitar and Backup Vocals). Mid-summer ’08, Berg and Jerry began writing songs together and since then… well, basically nothing. As rookies to this competition, these guys hope to at least make one good song, and entertain at least one person (*fingers crossed*). Berg and Jerry have a fun ska/indie/punk acoustic sound and often try to write clever witty lyrics. So listen, laugh, and something else that starts with an “L”, because Berg and Jerry are ready to slightly attempt to be THE MASTERS OF SONG FU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Official Website: www.myspace.com/bergandjerry
ROUND 3 SONG: “Inside Jokes”
ROUND 2 SONG: “This Day Shall Be Mine”
ROUND 1 SONG: “The Green Potato Chip Song“

THE MASTER

MOLLY LEWIS

When she’s not bluffing her way through college courses or looking passably attractive from a distance, Molly Lewis enjoys playing ukulele, microwaving marshmallow Peeps, talking to cats, and Twittering. Early last year, she wrote two original songs, “MyHope” and “Road Trip”. “MyHope” is about the inevitable day when our children will learn how to navigate the interweb and how they will LOL at our old internet presences, namely MySpace; of “Road Trip”, Molly says it’s about “that astronaut lady who went crazy and wore the diapers, you remember that?” She has not written any songs since. Hopefully this competition will remedy that. When Molly was in middle school, she took up the guitar. That sank into the swamp. So she took up the mandolin. That sank into the swamp. So she took up the banjo. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the ukulele has stayed. And that’s what you’re going to get, Quick Stop Entertainment: the strongest ukulele in all of Tacoma, Washington. Molly defeated Masters Paul & Storm in Masters of Song Fu #3.

Official Website: www.sweetafton23.com/primer/
Twitter: twitter.com/Molly23

To download a ZIP FILE containing all of the ROUND 3 songs, CLICK HERE.

To download a ZIP FILE containing all of the ROUND 2 songs, CLICK HERE.
To download a ZIP FILE containing all of the ROUND 1 songs, CLICK HERE.

THE FINAL CHALLENGE

Write a song about a journey. This journey must include 3 main characters. Your song can be in any style you choose.

That’s it. The only other directive is that your song must run no shorter than 1 minute 45 seconds. Your song must be submitted in mp3 form (128-192kbps) either via e-mail (to songfu @ asitecalledfred.com – remember to remove the spaces) or a file upload service (like RapidShare or YouSendIt). Deadline for submission is 11:59pm EST on Friday, July 17th, 2009.

Voting on the Final Challenge will commence on Monday, July 20th, 2009.

Here’s an example of a song about a journey, featuring 3 main character, that may provide some inspiration…

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******This Challenge is also open to all Song Fu Challengers from any previous edition of Song Fu who would like to do an out-of-competition shadow entry. ALL SUBMITTED ENTRIES WILL BE FEATURED.*****

ROUND 3 VOTING RESULTS – THE CHALLENGERS

View Results

ROUND 2 VOTING RESULTS – THE CHALLENGERS

View Results

ROUND 1 VOTING RESULTS – THE CHALLENGERS

View Results

If you triumph, not only will you win remarkable (and potentially off-putting) bragging rights and a clutch of fantastic mystery prizes, you will also become the proud owner of the magnificent, one-of-a-kind MASTER OF SONG FU TROPHY.

Good luck, and bring on the Fu.

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Comments: 17 Comments

17 Responses to “Masters Of Song Fu #4: Final Challenge Revealed!” Caleb Lee Says: July 9th, 2009 at 2:39 am Is it that time already? The Final! Didn’t even see it coming hah. Good luck everyone! Lex Vader Says: July 9th, 2009 at 2:47 am So will Berg & Jerry win by default when Molly doesn’t finish her song? Can’t wait to hear how incredibly effed up Jutze’s entry will be. *fingers crossed* Lex Vader Says: July 9th, 2009 at 2:50 am That 1st comment was meant to be snarky. *waves* Berg Says: July 9th, 2009 at 5:21 am I am honored to go against Molly! She’s the reason why I joined this competition. I’m a big fan. Well looks like I’ve got a song to write! Travis Norris Says: July 9th, 2009 at 5:43 am @Lex: You don’t really need to say you’re trying to be snarky. You might need to say if you’re -not- trying to be snarky. Just kidding. Well, not really, but it’s all in good fun. Well, we know Molly can write songs about journeys and songs with multiple characters. I predict “My Road Trip with My American Cousin and Mr. T”. Best of luck to the Master/Challengers and happy writing to the shadows! Mark Gordon Says: July 9th, 2009 at 8:37 am Oh, don’t worry, Lex. The snarky came across loud and clear. Steve Chatterton Says: July 9th, 2009 at 9:10 am Russ started a Facebook group for Song Fu so we can have proper discussion boards & all of that. Please join us over there: http://is.gd/1seH2 Russ Rogers (of GöDZ PööDLZ) Says: July 9th, 2009 at 9:45 am There is a new Group on facebook for any one interested in Masters of Song Fu. So get on facebook and come join the fun! http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=99943309099 Lex Vader Says: July 9th, 2009 at 2:46 pm My song is done. 😛 JTricks Says: July 9th, 2009 at 3:53 pm MOLLY?!?! THE MASTER?!?! *grovel grovel* I am not worthy… Seriously though, this is going to be an epic round. I noticed in the bio for Berg and Jerry it says “maybe, eventually the ukulele”, now would be an excellent time to pull out the uke, who wouldn’t want to hear an awesome ukulele battle… And Travis Norris, you may have just come up with the best song idea the world has ever known, Lisa Nowak, Mr. T and Abraham Lincoln, ON A ROAD TRIP… Travis Norris Says: July 10th, 2009 at 10:04 am @JTricks; Sadly the world has yet to reconginze my genius (I hear there’s a cool supervillain video game with that name in the works), but thanks nonetheless. 😀 R. Z. Rogers Says: July 11th, 2009 at 1:41 am Uh oh. Molly made a video. She’s gotten serious! (Good luck to all you guys!) JTricks Says: July 11th, 2009 at 7:11 am @Travis Norris – So, I heard u leik ZeroPunctuation… Caleb Lee Says: July 12th, 2009 at 3:28 pm Good luck Berg! I saw the video, she had competition in her eyes. 😐 <- which looks like that. Mark Gordon Says: July 15th, 2009 at 8:03 am @Caleb Lee: Yes, the eyes are more or less right, but it needs a lot more hair. Caleb Hines Says: July 16th, 2009 at 2:18 pm @Mark Gordon: Like this? ////T_T\\\\ How’s everyone’s shadow entries coming? I’m real excited about mine. I hoping to record the vocals tonight. It might even end up being my favorite entry so far. Michelle Says: July 16th, 2009 at 10:41 pm Are the shadow ones due at the same time as the challenger’s songs? Leave a Reply Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website Δ