SOMESONGS - ROUND ONE

[Mr. Blonde]

SOMESONGS - ROUND ONE

Title: View From the Bottom
Oblique Strategy/Challenge: Turn it upside down

• Send completed songs no later than 5 October at 23:59 EDT.
• Send songs by email to somesongs2024@gmail.com.
• Use "View From the Bottom" as your subject.
• In the body of the email, write your band name and paste the lyrics to your song.

Results will be posted no later than 8 October at 23:59 EDT. Fingers crossed.

Now go write SOME SONGS!

[Mr. White]

Please either include your lyrics in your email with your song, or post them to the lyrics archive on the boards, or both.

Lyrics archive thread: viewtopic.php?t=12733

[Caravan Ray]

SOMESONGS - ROUND ONE
Title: View From the Bottom

I got Leviticus 18:22 and a rhyming dictionary. Let’s go.

[Mr. Pink]

I got Leviticus 18:22 and a rhyming dictionary. Let’s go.

LET'S GO!

[BoffoYux]

If I can time it out, I'll do a Listening Party for round 1 or at least the following rounds.

Last week, work blew up the LP minutes before I started, and next week has 4 evening meeting scheduled, so it might be threading a needle.
After that things ease up a bit.

I was able to at least get the playlist started but couldn't do much other than drop in a title card here and there while the show progressed. Frustrating to say the least for everyone involved.

[Mr. Blonde]

If I can time it out, I'll to a Listening Party for round 1 or at least the following rounds.

Last week, work blew up the LP minutes before I started, and next week has 4 evening meeting scheduled, so it might be threading a needle.
After that things ease up a bit.

I was able to at least get the playlist started but couldn't do much other than drop in a title card here and there while the show progressed. Frustrating to say the least for everyone involved.

That would be great if you can make it work. Thank you!

[frankie big face]

Songs are due by tomorrow at 11:59pm EDT!

[MicahSommer]

Given the oblique, open-ended challenge, is it acceptable/useful to include a statement in the submission email about how we fulfilled the challenge, or should we let the songs speak for themselves?

[frankie big face]

Given the oblique, open-ended challenge, is it acceptable/useful to include a statement in the submission email about how we fulfilled the challenge, or should we let the songs speak for themselves?

Unless it's very obvious, I think it's fine to include a statement in the submission email. I would probably post it on the boards too.

[gizo]

Round 1 isn't/didn't happen for me, because of reasons.

I'll be here later though. I'm sure of it.

[frankie big face]

Songs are due in 12 hours!

[Jefff]

Statement: well, the idea was that rather than do my usual build-up, I would tear the song down as it went. Did it come through in the end? You (the judges) be the judge(s)!

[Mr. Blonde]

The songs are posted!

viewtopic.php?t=12739

[frankie big face]

Just as a reminder, the songs will be evaluated by five judges using the following criteria and there are no eliminations.

Songs will be evaluated as “good,” “okay,” or “bad” using a common rubric with six equally weighted categories:

• Lyrics - We assume your song will have words and they will be related to the given title.

• Songcraft - Is your song crafted in a way that is aesthetically pleasing?

• Performance - How good was your performance?

• Production/Arrangement - How good is the production and/or arrangement?

• Execution of the Challenge - How well did you execute the challenge?

• Overall Impression - This is where the judges can let their genre bias flag fly freely.

[mo]

Everyone is extremely themselves in these songs hahaha

[Mr. Blonde]

The judges are requesting clarification on interpretation of the challenge by all participants. We want to give credit where credit is due! But they're not all super-obvious. Here is what we have from the participants:

• ADD - well, the idea was that rather than do my usual build-up, I would tear the song down as it went.
• Caravan Ray - none
• Hoblit - While songs are typically written on higher pitched instruments with wider notational range such as a piano or in my case, guitar; I wrote this song on bass. Additionally, my songs almost always contain a guitar, this song does not. Also, turning a song upside down in the bass-heavy mix.
• Idiot Kings - I interpreted “Turning it upside down” as a complete stylistic shift midsong, going from a fairly color by numbers rock riff into a weirdo electronic rap.
• Glenn Case - I did a couple of things but they're subtle.
  • Left guitar and right guitar switch places in the mix during the bridge section, slowly panning from one side to the other until they have completely changed places.
  • The pick slide part includes 3 pick slides happening at once. Some moving down, others moving up.
  • Guitar solo during the last chorus starts in left speaker, moves to right speaker, and back to the left speaker over the course of the final chorus.
• Micah Sommersmith - Musically, I was inspired by Baroque-era chorale preludes, in which a slow chorale is used as a cantus firmus, with a more elaborate, rhythmically dense melody above it. To meet the "turn it upside down" challenge, I placed the more elaborate melody underneath the chorale, played by the electric bass.
• Tomorrow - about a life turned upside down, also the bridge uses a negative harmony of the chorus and the main guitar melody
• Vom Vorton - I let the challenge inform my lyrics. Rumours that I forgot about the challenge entirely until after I'd recorded all of the music are completely unsubstantiated.

I'll send an email as well to solicit this info and update as it comes in. Thank you!!

[frankie big face]

A late entry from The Idiot Kings has been added.

[Hoblit]

The judges are requesting clarification on interpretation of the challenge by all participants. We want to give credit where credit is due! But they're not all super-obvious. Here is what we have from the participants:

• Hoblit - While songs are typically written on higher pitched instruments with wider notational range such as a piano or in my case, guitar; I wrote this song on bass. Additionally, my songs almost always contain a guitar, this song does not. Also, turning a song upside down in the bass-heavy mix. (Although I realize I may have overdone it. I recorded, mixed, and mastered it all in one day.)

[Jefff]

Judging how someone used an oblique strategy-type challenge is going to be a ... challenge.

[frankie big face]

Judging how someone used an oblique strategy-type challenge is going to be a ... challenge.

Maybe. Depends on the card. Some will be easier than others. But remember, it's just one of six categories, so it's not a huge detriment to the scores.

[mo]

Tomorrow Challenge concept:

We tried to address the challenge in the lyrical theme of the song, and also in the compositional approach of the instrumental music.

Lyrics/Theme: the song is about the end of a romantic relationship, and how the narrator feels his life has been turned upside down from the happy days of the past to the misery of the present as he's dealing with the breakup in the moment. As an extra turn, the chorus suggests that the future could be brighter, i.e. another upside-down flip of emotions. The narrator was on the top looking down, now he is on the bottom looking up.

Composition: The song is in Am, with a chorus of Asus Csus F Dsus, Asus Csus Dsus F G. For the bridge, creating a change in feel and to be subtly in the world of the "Upside Down" as it were, we chose to use the concept of negative harmony (on the b3/3 pitch axis for Am) to transform the chorus progression into something that is based on the original progression but moves differently and hopefully slightly uncannily, compared to the original: Dsus Bsus C#m Asus, Dsus Bsus Asus C#m Bm. Additionally the guitar melody that plays in the instrumental breaks before verses start was transformed via the same negative harmony construct and plays over the bridge, the "right side up" version then gets played fully over the final chorus.
Here's an article on negative harmony if that helps, it's basically IMO just like a music theory trick for making music not only change keys but also invert the direction of the intervals so the new progression is still related in a mirror universe way to the original:
https://dantepfer.com/blog/?p=368

I'm sure there's YouTube videos on it, like a bunch of Collier videos or whatever, but I mostly referenced this article, any misunderstandings of the idea or bad execution are my fault alone.

[BoffoYux]

Listening Party for SomeSongs Round 1
Tuesday 10/8 - 8pm EST
'View From the Bottom'


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w22OVL8ZN0