We here at FRED 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 your 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 your final Challenge – or perhaps it could be a brand new Master. Only the Challenger who garners the most cumulative votes in all of the Challenges will move on to the Final and face that Master, mano a mano.
So what was the 1st Challenge?
ROUND 1 CHALLENGE
This is a bit of a fun one. Your first task is based upon the work of Friend-of-the-Stop John Hodgman – specifically, the “700 MOLE MEN” listed in his second book, More Information Than You Require. You’ll find the full list of “700 Mole Men” – and their descriptions – HERE. Your task is to choose one (1) and write a song about that Mole Man, based on the description provided by Hodgman. The title of your song will be the name of the Mole Man you’ve chosen, and its corresponding number on the list. You are free to write your song in any style that you choose.
That’s it. The only other directive is that your song must run no shorter than 1 minute.
You’ll find the Round 1 songs from each of our Challengers below, as well as the results of the Round 1 voting (As some competitors did not make their Round 2 submission in time, you’ll find those missing songs in the ROUND 1 ZIP FILE, which you can download below).
So what was the 2nd Challenge?
ROUND 2 CHALLENGE
Write a song about a number.
That’s right – a song about a number. It can be any number, and it can be describing or representing anything. The number you choose will be the title of your song. The song can be in any style you’d like. Your song must run no shorter than 1 minute.
If you want some inspiration, here’s a number song from Harry Nilsson…
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/harry_nilsson-one.mp3]
So what was the 3rd Challenge?
ROUND 3 CHALLENGE
Write a winter holiday song that is not about the holidays.
Your song can reference the holidays, but must not be explicitly about them. However, it should incorporate instruments and/or a style that evokes the holidays. Your song must run no shorter than 1 minute 30 seconds.
If you want some inspiration, here’s a song from Jona Lewie, “Stop The Cavalry”…
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/jona_lewie-stop_the-cavalry.mp3]
And now, the big announcement. Due to holiday scheduling issues, the Master for this edition of Song Fu was not able to compete. Therefore, the Challenger with the most votes has been declared the winner, and has become a Master of Song Fu – joining past Challengers Molly Lewis and Berg & Jerry. Despite not getting a go at a Master, our winner decided to do a Final Round song anyway – and you’ll find that below, preceeded by some comments about the song in question, straight from the newly-minted Master, who has won not only the remarkable (and potentially off-putting) bragging rights and a clutch of fantastic mystery prizes, but has also become the proud owner of the magnificent, one-of-a-kind MASTER OF SONG FU TROPHY.
THE MASTER OF SONG FU #5
JOE “COVENANT” LAMB
I’m Joe Covenant. I’m Scottish. And never have enough time to do everything I wanna! Been singing and perfoming for over 40 years… (yes, I am 46.)… and I’ve nearly learned a 6th chord! Everything I do. I do for Song Fu. (If not for this ‘contest’ I would have never met and collaborated with so many talented people.)
When thinking of what to do as a final song, I thought back to my first real Song Fu challenge – “Write a Happy Song” – and, as this win had a hint of bittersweetnes about it, I thought I would flip that first challenge around and “Write a Sad Song”…
…this is it. Thanks to Ken for the Fu, and to all the regs at TooMuchAwesome for inspiration!
Official Website: joecovenant.bandcamp.com
Twitter: twitter.com/JoeCovenantROUND 1 SONG: “#297 Mr. Tom Furby”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/05song1/joe_covenant_lamb-297-mr_tom_furby.mp3]
ROUND 2 SONG: “2”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/05song2/joe_covenant_lamb-2.mp3]
ROUND 3 SONG: “Ghoul Tide”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/05song3/joe_covenant_lamb-ghoul_tide.mp3]
FINAL SONG: “Life is Hard (… then you die)”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/05song3/joe_covenant_lamb-life_is_hard_then_you_die.mp3]
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.
ROUND 3 VOTING
ROUND 3 VOTING – THE CHALLENGERS RESULTS
Which Song Fu Challengers brought the most fu to Round 3? (CHOOSE 5)
- Joe Covenant Lamb - "Ghoul Tide" (15%, 120 Votes)
- Sara Parsons - "Dead Week (A Song About Failure)" (13%, 107 Votes)
- Kylie Petto - "Snow Drift" (11%, 86 Votes)
- Chas Lilly - "Salvation Army" (6%, 48 Votes)
- Josh Holober-Ward - "Snow Day" (5%, 41 Votes)
- Gorbzilla - "Festivus! (For The Rest Of Us)" (5%, 39 Votes)
- Craig Richie - "The Christmas Beers" (5%, 38 Votes)
- Edric Haleen - "The Night Before" (5%, 37 Votes)
- Godz Poodlz - "A Gift from Godz Poodlz" (4%, 33 Votes)
- Denise Hudson - "Mistakes Were Made" (4%, 29 Votes)
- Lex Vader - "Ewoks" (3%, 28 Votes)
- Ian "Two Shades" Johnson - "Paulie the Black Nosed Reindeer" (3%, 26 Votes)
- Zer0guy - "Let It Snow, Like We Have a Choice" (3%, 26 Votes)
- Caleb Hines - "Finals Week" (3%, 23 Votes)
- Jonathan Mann - "Jesus Christ At Christmas Time" (3%, 21 Votes)
- Jubilee Jews - "(All Because I'm) Not With My Heart" (3%, 21 Votes)
- Manticess - "After I Have Gone" (2%, 19 Votes)
- Alex Taylor - "Dear Santa" (2%, 14 Votes)
- Peter Benedict - "Lament" (1%, 12 Votes)
- Steve Chatterton - "My Epic Battle With Gravity" (1%, 11 Votes)
- Spencer Sokol - "Unfinished" (1%, 10 Votes)
- Jalapeno Habaneros - "Rudolph The Red" (1%, 8 Votes)
- Simmbiosis - "Holy Daze" (1%, 7 Votes)
Total Voters: 424
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ROUND 2 VOTING – THE CHALLENGERS RESULTS
Which Song Fu Challengers brought the most fu to Round 2? (CHOOSE 5)
- Joe Covenant Lamb - "2" (15%, 206 Votes)
- Sara Parsons - "7.5" (13%, 177 Votes)
- Chas Lilly - "10 (Things That Made This The Worst Date Ever)" (10%, 138 Votes)
- Edric Haleen - "Zero Point Nine (Ad Infinitum)" (7%, 92 Votes)
- Josh Holober-Ward - "Five" (7%, 89 Votes)
- Jason Morris - "Natural 18" (5%, 74 Votes)
- Kylie Petto - "8" (4%, 58 Votes)
- Denise Hudson - "Four 5ths" (4%, 50 Votes)
- Godz Poodlz - "3455316008" (3%, 42 Votes)
- Lex Vader - "Six (I Am Not A Number)" (3%, 41 Votes)
- "BucketHat" Bobby Matheson - "300" (3%, 40 Votes)
- Jubilee Jews - "i: The Square Root Of -1 (The Imaginary Number)" (3%, 37 Votes)
- Manticess - "1998" (3%, 35 Votes)
- Jalapeno Habaneros - "Pi" (2%, 32 Votes)
- Aaron Z - "Five" (2%, 31 Votes)
- Zer0guy - "203012" (2%, 30 Votes)
- Gifted Gear - "Eight" (2%, 27 Votes)
- Timothy Rush - "Me & 23" (2%, 26 Votes)
- Jonathan Mann - "The Number Nine!" (2%, 25 Votes)
- Peter Benedict - "0" (2%, 25 Votes)
- Alex Taylor - "i" (2%, 23 Votes)
- Caleb Hines - "Flight 93 - Memorial to Courage" (2%, 21 Votes)
- Bram Tant - "Five" (2%, 21 Votes)
- Simmbiosis - "Sevenly - The Magnificent Seven" (1%, 20 Votes)
Total Voters: 669
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ROUND 1 VOTING – THE CHALLENGERS RESULTS
Which Song Fu Challengers brought the most fu to Round 1? (CHOOSE 5)
- Joe Covenant Lamb - "#297 Mr. Tom Furby" (12%, 191 Votes)
- Sara Parsons - "#573 Miss Miriam Poisonblisters" (9%, 145 Votes)
- Chas Lilly - "#567 Mr. Angelo Openjaw" (8%, 131 Votes)
- Josh Holober-Ward - "#422 Mokey" (6%, 95 Votes)
- Jason Morris - "#019 Thomas Ashley Innersun" (5%, 70 Votes)
- Kylie Petto - "#141 Devil Anse Doubledirt" (4%, 59 Votes)
- Gorbzilla - "#414 Nick Nolte" (4%, 57 Votes)
- Jeff Fardink - "#623 Jenna Frogtalker" (4%, 57 Votes)
- "BucketHat" Bobby Matheson - "#139 Mr. Genuine Hissfurther" (3%, 48 Votes)
- Jubilee Jews - "#487 Lady Antonia Oddpolyps" (3%, 47 Votes)
- Gifted Gear - "#580 Old Man Hades" (3%, 45 Votes)
- Ian "Two Shades" Johnson - "#145 Mandibular-Jaw Johnny" (3%, 44 Votes)
- Godz Poodlz - "#381 Captain Dane Frostline" (3%, 43 Votes)
- Lex Vader - "#153 Permanent Unsex" (3%, 40 Votes)
- Edric Haleen - "#138 Sir Isaac Quickmud" (2%, 35 Votes)
- Zer0guy - "#237 Dirtbag Dan" (2%, 33 Votes)
- Aaron Z - "#590 Harvey Rupert Elder" (2%, 32 Votes)
- Steve Chatterton - "#042 Miss Claudia Inward Burrowdown" (2%, 31 Votes)
- Jonathan Mann - "#612 Mr. Barry Screwskull" (2%, 29 Votes)
- Manticess - "#423 Red" (2%, 28 Votes)
- Governing Dynamics - "#288 Polly The Exhumer" (2%, 28 Votes)
- Bobby Westfall - "#023 Miss Annabelle Tunnelsmell" (2%, 26 Votes)
- Caleb Hines - "#490 Mr. Nehemiah Bloodwormer" (2%, 24 Votes)
- Justin Vega - "#077 Dr. Hieronymous Sandpuppy" (1%, 23 Votes)
- Simmbiosis - "#646 Hydrostatic Charlie" (1%, 23 Votes)
- AudioMohel - "#471 Mr. Armskin" (1%, 23 Votes)
- Jalapeno Habaneros - "#604 Suction-Cupped Jonny" (1%, 22 Votes)
- Craig Richie - "#275 Mr. Owen Daylight" (1%, 21 Votes)
- Alex Taylor - "#604 Suction-Cupped Jonny" (1%, 21 Votes)
- Peter Benedict - "#315 Mr. Dennimore Evercrouch" (1%, 20 Votes)
- Spencer Sokol - "#298 Mr. Deadend" (1%, 18 Votes)
- Jarrett Heather - "#042 Miss Claudia Inward Burrowdown" (1%, 17 Votes)
- Timothy Rush - "#006 Sir Stinson Maggotwrangle" (1%, 16 Votes)
- Bram Tant - "#666 Tommy Dickfish" (1%, 16 Votes)
- Tyler Massey - "#429 Mr Roughfingers and his 'Louse'-estra" (1%, 10 Votes)
Total Voters: 754
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SIGN-UPS FOR MASTERS OF SONG FU #6 WILL COMMENCE ON MONDAY, JANUARY 25th
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Comments: 17 Comments
17 Responses to “Masters Of Song Fu #5: The Winner Revealed!”Leave a Reply |
January 18th, 2010 at 10:42 am
Congratulations to Joe! He pwned the vote in each of the three preliminary rounds. He’s a good songwriter, able to craft memorable tunes with clever lyrics. I’m proud to have him represent the Fu.
Godz Poodlz is looking forward to Song Fu #6. Any clue when that might begin?
What do people think of a ONE Song, Annual Battle of the Champions Song Fu Challenge? Make it a Showcase, rather than a vote, like the Holiday Song Fu Showcase from about a year ago.
Send the challenge out to all the Winning Masters and Challengers. Right now, that would be Jonathan Coulton, Jeff MacDougall, The RiffTones, Jason Morris, Paul and Storm, Molly Lewis, Berg and Jerry and Joe Covenant. A Clash of Titans!
Since it’s a Showcase and not a Competition, Ken Plume could give the challenge some extra time, say two weeks or a month. Publish the challenge and maybe even publish shadow (unofficial) entries from the masses along with whatever came back from the League of Champions.
Ken could use the event to promote Song Fu in general or to promote some charitable event like Red Nose Day. This could even bridge an interim gap between Song Fu competitions, maybe between Song Fu #6 and #7?
There is a Masters of Song Fu Group on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=99943309099
Quite a few Song Fu regulars, including our new Master of Song Fu, Joe Covenant, are members of the Online Web Community, “Too Much Awesome.” If you are a songwriter or just a Fan of the Fu, check out http://toomuchawesome.org
As always, thanks to our Grand Fu-bah, Ken Plume, and A Site Called Fred for hosting the Song Fu fun!
January 18th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Thanks Ken!
Onwards and Upwards!
Excelsior!
Many, MANY thanks to all those wonderfully groovy people of indeterminate tastes who voted for me!
January 18th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Congratulations, Joe. You’ve earned all the praise you’ve received.
January 18th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
All hail his Royal Fu-ness, most excellent Master of Song Fu, Joe “Covenant” Lamb! Long may he reign, until next time!
January 18th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Joe even though this is the 2nd Fu in a row to end badly, you’re a deserving champ. I can’t think of anyone who has more Fu than you, and you’re the type of person this competition is about. Props on the victory, and bravo on the final song of SF5.
January 18th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
Congrats to Joe!
January 19th, 2010 at 2:38 am
Congrats Joe!!!
Sorry your few didn’t have a clear ending ether.
January 19th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Congrats Joe! You definitely earned the win!
January 19th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
Way to go, Joe! (hey, I made a rhyme! :))
January 20th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Yay Joe! You know I’m your fan 🙂
January 21st, 2010 at 2:20 am
Riddle – Your concerns and criticisms *have been* noted. The tone is unfortunate.
January 21st, 2010 at 8:49 am
the way this website is run is “unfortunate.”
January 21st, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Riddle- You have NO idea of the problems Ken went through for this- not one!
And as you have also never participated IN the contest, but felt compelled to lambast others efforts from the sidelines, well…
You don’t like it? YOU make it better.
Its easy for anyone to attack something, it takes a lot more naus to improve them.
January 21st, 2010 at 8:03 pm
sorry to tarnish your medal, Joe. i do think the characterization of me ‘lambasting’ anyone is an overstatement. i’ve only ever tried to give constructive, if honest, criticism here.
btw, i’d LOVE to make it better, but every one of my suggestions has been responded to in the same way by the ‘martyr’ Ken: not at all. and if i have ‘no idea’ of his sacrifices, it’s because he constantly leaves the meager fan base completely in the dark as to what the f is going on.
January 21st, 2010 at 8:36 pm
riddle… (Your half informed comments aside…)
Tarnish my medal?
Meagre fan base?
Now you’re insulting the actual visitors and voters too?
Classy.
I think I’m done with this conversation.
If you don’t like the way things are done, or run, here… Well, we can’t force you to stay.
Shame- Cos most of the people in here are truly amazing people. Im proud to call them friends.
January 22nd, 2010 at 6:25 pm
@riddle
Hmmmm…
Don’t really know what exactly to post to you. So perhaps I’ll simply share one particular thought, and leave it at that.
For a number of reasons, I sincerely hope that you do join us for Song Fu Six. No one’s saying that there aren’t aspects of the experience that are frustrating at times. But as someone who’s now been a part of four iterations of Song Fu, I can tell you that the positive aspects of participating in this little Internet jewel FAR outweigh any relatively minor annoyances. In particular — the support and camaraderie of the community of artists and music-lovers that is growing around this “competition” makes “taking the plunge” well worth while.
Frankly, I would feel disappointed — and, in a strange way, even slightly “let down” — if Song Fu Six began and we all came to learn that you had decided not to sign on as a Challenger. You are, of course, free to make your own choices. But I’ve been interested in hearing what you have to offer for a good long time, now — I was sad that you didn’t “tune back in” to QSE in time to get signed up for Song Fu FIVE! And while I know that you’ve composed “shadow” entries on your own for the various rounds of MoSF #5 — as far as I know, no one here has HEARD them! (Although you did post lyrics for one of them.)
Song Fu becomes a whole new experience when you’re one of the Challengers. I fervently hope that you do choose to “have a go at it” when Ken posts the sign-up page. I can understand you harboring feelings of frustration — we all can. But — and this may be unfair — I feel I’d lose a lot of respect for you if you let such feelings keep you from finally joining in on the fun…
‘Nuff said. You’ll do what you choose to do. (As you should.)
🙂
Edric
May 6th, 2019 at 6:40 pm
[…] competition, called Master of Song Fu, of which he was a participant. Joe would later go on to win Song Fu #5. Legend also has it that he began to harangue me even more to become part of the Too Much Awesome […]