SOMESONGS 2024 Round 3: "Side Show"

[Evermind]

Tomorrow - Side Show

You don't ever let it matter what I say or do
You're so psychically in tune you'll always dig up a truth
Go ahead and tell me what kind of man I am
Cuz the version of me that I know myself is a sham

There's no compromise
Just what you decide
But I am not the man of your dreams
Do you care to know
Or just let it go
No I am not the man of your dreams

If I'll be punished either way should I have done the deed?
If I'll be punished either way should I just pack up and leave?
There will always be a length of distance in-between
The reality of who I am and what you believe

There's no compromise
Just what you decide
But I am not the man of your dreams
Do you care to know
Or just let it go
No I am not the man of your dreams

There's no compromise
Just what you decide
But I am not the man of your dreams
Do you care to know
Or just let it go
No I am not the man of your dreams

You said I'd always headline
Now I'm on the outside
And the side show
Is the whole show
What a joke

Liner notes / Challenge approach explanation:
We interpreted "unqualified" to mean "lacking experience", especially musical experience. We found and sampled youtube videos of amateur musical performances and turned them into the organ-like synths heard in the choruses, and the various pitch-and-time-shifted vocal chops found throughout the song such as the "oh oh oh" in the intro.

For those interested, these are the source videos:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PddBRdAEduM
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/R6dXWzTbd2s

[Mr. Blonde]

Add - Side Show

We've been sleeping, we've been walking
Honey, watch your step, you're gonna drop in

There be dragons our in the night
I don't know if home is to the left or right

I wait for the smoke to clear but there's more of it through the mirror

You think it's a sign but it's just a side show

These shadow puppets, stars in a field
I don't think they're showing anything real

Cold comfort or false hope
Wake when it's over, I don't wanna cope

You think it's a sign but it's just a side show

Tell me a story and make it smart
Bowl me over with some numbers and a chart

Point a finger or shine a light
Is this the end or is it just another fight

Wake up, breathe in, freak out

Challenge: I asked my "unqualified" 8-year-old to help me write a song called "Side Show". They sighed and sat down with a marker. They wrote, "I was walking down the street. Then I saw a sign, and it looked like a side show." I nodded and told them I could work with that. As I pressed them for more thoughts, it was clear that I had gotten all I was going to get. The phrase did rattle around my brain over the next day and helped me land on the organ riff that's the basis of the song. The line also inspired the chorus about signs and side shows.

[Mr. Brown]

Hoblit - Side Show

They have shoved me aside
deflating my pride

Quarter decisioning
and finance reasoning

But I swear that I don't care

I feel unqualified
and guilty inside

I think I'm inferior
and insecure

But I still swear that I don't care

We gamble our retirement while they reap what we sow
So place your bets with a corporate CFO
It ain't survival of the fittest so much as a fight to the finish
the executives blood sport side show

But somehow I still haven't gone
only still hanging on

They don't see any mistakes
I might have what it takes

But I'm still swearing that I stopped caring

We gamble our retirement while they reap what we sow
So place your bets with a corporate CFO
It ain't survival of the fittest so much as a fight to the finish
The executives blood sport side show

Challenge:
My wife did the intro to the intro and does not play any instrument at all. She can't even sing.
It's worth noting that the challenge showed up in the lyrics too.

[Mr. White]

Caravan Ray - Side Show

Roll up roll up
Come step aside
The sideshow’s here
Let's take a ride
Lights are flashing in the sky
Roll up roll up
And come inside
The laughing clowns could love you but I’m not qualified
The laughing clowns could love you but I’m not qualified

The fortune teller didn’t lie
Your aspirations were too high
The gulf between us is too wide
You want something I can’t provide
The laughing clowns could love you but I’m not qualified
The laughing clowns could love you but I’m not qualified

You wanted love
And you saw through my disguise
Sometimes it's true
Not every child wins a prize
You wanted love
But I let you down
You’d be better off
With a laughing clown

I’m not qualified to give you what you need
You don’t need my sideshow - I set you free
I’m not qualified to give you what you need
A laughing clown would show more empathy

You wanted love
And you saw through my disguise
Sometimes it's true
Not every child wins a prize

Oblique Strategy / Challenge: Use 'unqualified' people:
A bloke at the pub said he could fix the hole in my roof where the possums are getting in. But he just made it worse and the possums were still there, so I had to eventually call a licensed tradesman.

[Mr. Pink]

Glenn Case - Side Show

Take it in, not a glimpse
It's intense, when your eyes connect
You may be unconvinced
But still try not to rubberneck

It's good for business
If you can't look away

And the choice that draws near should be clear
With the truths exposed
Neck and neck it appears and that's weird
It should not be close

It's good for business
If you watch all day

This is the side show
Not the main event
Repeats the cycle
In a lame attempt
To reel you in

[Solo]

This is the side show
Not the main event
It came and went
Repeats the cycle
In a lame attempt
To reel you in

This is the side show
Not the main event
It came and went
Acts like a psycho
In a lame attempt
To reel you in
He's not your friend
He's never been

Oblique Strategy/Challenge: Use 'unqualified' people
Drums - Adrian (Adrian has never played drums)
Bass - Dawn (Dawn has never played bass)
Rhythm guitar - Dawn (Dawn has never played guitar)
Lead guitar - Rachael (Rachael has never played guitar)
Guitar solo - Rachael (Rachael has never played guitar)

I didn't play any of the music on this recording. I wrote the lyrics, and sang the vocals. I did write their musical parts, and I worked with them to play the parts well enough so they could be looped and stitched together.