The Song Fight Bulletin Board

The judging from Round Zero is running a little late. But since everyone passes into Round one, you can have the title and challenge and get to work.

Title: Colourblind
Non Optional Challenge: Song cannot have a chorus.
Songs are Due on: Monday, April 25th @ 12:01 AM EDT
Send your MP3 to nurein.sidefight@gmail.com

Oh, how European.

This is more up my alley than the previous round's challenge. Hopefully I can crank out a good song this time.

Roymond -

That took me a while to figure out what was in the circle. I must need glasses. Wait a minute - I DO have glasses....

roymond wrote:

The colorblind (or should I say colourblind?) guy across the row from me got really mad as soon as he saw that image on my screen. Guess he thought I was making fun of him?

This challenge was built for me, babyyyyy.

Race to the bottom. Go!

What is that, like, two hot dogs or something? I can't see it at all.

dantes wrote: Hopefully I can crank out a good song this time.

That goes for those 19 other clowns too.

frankie big face wrote:What is that, like, two hot dogs or something? I can't see it at all.

Then perhaps your song will be autobiographical?

Lots of ideas. Started this one from the Outro back.

Deny me my catchy hooks, will you? No worries, I'll just write a 14 line sonnet about Rocky III

Caravan Ray wrote:

dantes wrote: Hopefully I can crank out a good song this time.

That goes for those 19 other clowns too.

Shoot, we're clowns, now? I'm not gonna have to go get my big shoes on and cram into a Smart Car with the rest of you, am I?

Caravan Ray wrote:

dantes wrote: Hopefully I can crank out a good song this time.

That goes for those 19 other clowns too.

blessed be.

this challenge is in the pocket (famous last words...). I have to create a MAP to get a chorus to "happen," normally.

roymond wrote:

frankie big face wrote:What is that, like, two hot dogs or something? I can't see it at all.

Then perhaps your song will be autobiographical?

Hardy har har. I don't think I'm colorblind. It's a faulty test! I can now see it, but I must admit it was difficult.

You know what was kind of neat? Round zero came and went without anyone trying to deconstruct the challenge or ask silly questions.

So here's some silly questions about the Round 1 challenge.

What working definition are the judges using for "chorus?"

Typically, I know, the chorus is the repeated section of a song. This is not always the case, though.

For instance, it's possible to have a musical section that never actually repeats, but serves the function of a chorus in a song. See MC Frontalot's "Gonna Be Your Man," for instance, which opens on a section that most listeners refer to as the chorus, even though it never comes back. Also, my own "Back to the Well" has a section that I identify as a chorus, even though it never repeats - it's the one that starts with the harmonized voices repeating the word "Back."

Meanwhile, there can be a section that is functionally a chorus even if it's different every time it comes up. Frankie Big Face's "Bullets and Lovers" is a perfect example of this one, because the challenge that week specifically demanded a chorus that repeats at least once, but he chose a chorus that only repeats musically, using different lyrics for each of the two iterations.

And now, to make up for my annoying perfectionism, here's a few examples that other competitors might find useful.

I've thought of the different ways a standard pop/rock/folk song can go about not having a chorus, and realized there's a lot of different ways to get away with it.

Some chorus-less songs are just too short to develop into a standard song structure. Some examples: Billy Joel - "Souvenir". Ben Folds Five - Cigarette.

Some chorus-less songs are just one verse after another until the songwriter has finished saying what he set out to say. It sounds tiring, but I can think of many great examples, mostly from folk music. Often (but not always) aided by shifting the arrangement throughout the song's run. Examples: The Weakerthans - "Sounds Familiar." Gordon Lightfoot - "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." Iron and Wine - "Rabbit Will Run."

If the judges count songs like this, one way to avoid a chorus would simply be to make sure the lyrics change every time the chorus comes up. Melodically, it can serve the structural purpose of a chorus, but the words never repeat. Examples: Frankie Big Face - "Bullets and Lovers." Cat Stevens - [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4-IZTZkTY8]"The Wind". Steve Forbert - "Steve Forbert's Midsummer Night's Toast." The Beatles - "Norwegian Wood."

Some chorus-less songs just keep changing it up instead of settling down. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KngiJUNdsu0]Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road" sounds contiguous enough, but he never settles into a chorus, and just throws in a new bridge every time it sounds like it's about to settle in. Better yet, you can cram multiple songs into your one - don't just add a new part, but completely change the structure. See also Queen - "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Some songs, instead of a chorus, just end every verse with the same line. It's a great time-saving trick, actually, because you can get the continuity of a chorus without having to mark off time between your verses by repeating thirty seconds' worth of lyrics over and over again. Examples: Bob Dylan - "The Times They Are A-Changin'" (it's pretty sad that I couldn't find a decent version of that on Youtube and had to go with the one ripped from the intro to Watchmen... sheesh). The Beatles - "When I'm Sixty-Four."

Any other approaches I've forgotten?

Dude, I totally see Roymond's ball! I'm writing a song about green and kidney coloured dots that make up a ball. I'm calling the song "Colourblind". I hope that title is not taken.

.....oh, and the Mrs needs to be pissed off by me, so I hope ya'll won't mind me screaming out the vocals. ...I won't be screaming anything too important, but I'll mean it!....I'll mean it!

Generic wrote:You know what was kind of neat? Round zero came and went without anyone trying to deconstruct the challenge or ask silly questions.

So here's some silly questions about the Round 1 challenge.

What working definition are the judges using for "chorus?"

Typically, I know, the chorus is the repeated section of a song. This is not always the case, though.

For instance, it's possible to have a musical section that never actually repeats, but serves the function of a chorus in a song. See MC Frontalot's "Gonna Be Your Man," for instance, which opens on a section that most listeners refer to as the chorus, even though it never comes back. Also, my own "Back to the Well" has a section that I identify as a chorus, even though it never repeats - it's the one that starts with the harmonized voices repeating the word "Back."

Meanwhile, there can be a section that is functionally a chorus even if it's different every time it comes up. Frankie Big Face's "Bullets and Lovers" is a perfect example of this one, because the challenge that week specifically demanded a chorus that repeats at least once, but he chose a chorus that only repeats musically, using different lyrics for each of the two iterations.

And now, to make up for my annoying perfectionism, here's a few examples that other competitors might find useful.

I've thought of the different ways a standard pop/rock/folk song can go about not having a chorus, and realized there's a lot of different ways to get away with it.

Some chorus-less songs are just too short to develop into a standard song structure. Some examples: Billy Joel - "Souvenir". Ben Folds Five - Cigarette.

Some chorus-less songs are just one verse after another until the songwriter has finished saying what he set out to say. It sounds tiring, but I can think of many great examples, mostly from folk music. Often (but not always) aided by shifting the arrangement throughout the song's run. Examples: The Weakerthans - "Sounds Familiar." Gordon Lightfoot - "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." Iron and Wine - "Rabbit Will Run."

If the judges count songs like this, one way to avoid a chorus would simply be to make sure the lyrics change every time the chorus comes up. Melodically, it can serve the structural purpose of a chorus, but the words never repeat. Examples: Frankie Big Face - "Bullets and Lovers." Cat Stevens - [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4-IZTZkTY8]"The Wind". Steve Forbert - "Steve Forbert's Midsummer Night's Toast." The Beatles - "Norwegian Wood."

Some chorus-less songs just keep changing it up instead of settling down. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KngiJUNdsu0]Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road" sounds contiguous enough, but he never settles into a chorus, and just throws in a new bridge every time it sounds like it's about to settle in. Better yet, you can cram multiple songs into your one - don't just add a new part, but completely change the structure. See also Queen - "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Some songs, instead of a chorus, just end every verse with the same line. It's a great time-saving trick, actually, because you can get the continuity of a chorus without having to mark off time between your verses by repeating thirty seconds' worth of lyrics over and over again. Examples: Bob Dylan - "The Times They Are A-Changin'" (it's pretty sad that I couldn't find a decent version of that on Youtube and had to go with the one ripped from the intro to Watchmen... sheesh). The Beatles - "When I'm Sixty-Four."

Any other approaches I've forgotten?

Could you be less Jewish?

Generic wrote:You know what was kind of neat? Round zero came and went without anyone trying to deconstruct the challenge or ask silly questions.

So here's some silly questions about the Round 1 challenge.

What working definition are the judges using for "chorus?"

Typically, I know, the chorus is the repeated section of a song. This is not always the case, though.

For instance, it's possible to have a musical section that never actually repeats, but serves the function of a chorus in a song. See MC Frontalot's "Gonna Be Your Man," for instance, which opens on a section that most listeners refer to as the chorus, even though it never comes back. Also, my own "Back to the Well" has a section that I identify as a chorus, even though it never repeats - it's the one that starts with the harmonized voices repeating the word "Back."

Meanwhile, there can be a section that is functionally a chorus even if it's different every time it comes up. Frankie Big Face's "Bullets and Lovers" is a perfect example of this one, because the challenge that week specifically demanded a chorus that repeats at least once, but he chose a chorus that only repeats musically, using different lyrics for each of the two iterations.

And now, to make up for my annoying perfectionism, here's a few examples that other competitors might find useful.

I've thought of the different ways a standard pop/rock/folk song can go about not having a chorus, and realized there's a lot of different ways to get away with it.

Some chorus-less songs are just too short to develop into a standard song structure. Some examples: Billy Joel - "Souvenir". Ben Folds Five - Cigarette.

Some chorus-less songs are just one verse after another until the songwriter has finished saying what he set out to say. It sounds tiring, but I can think of many great examples, mostly from folk music. Often (but not always) aided by shifting the arrangement throughout the song's run. Examples: The Weakerthans - "Sounds Familiar." Gordon Lightfoot - "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." Iron and Wine - "Rabbit Will Run."

If the judges count songs like this, one way to avoid a chorus would simply be to make sure the lyrics change every time the chorus comes up. Melodically, it can serve the structural purpose of a chorus, but the words never repeat. Examples: Frankie Big Face - "Bullets and Lovers." Cat Stevens - [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4-IZTZkTY8]"The Wind". Steve Forbert - "Steve Forbert's Midsummer Night's Toast." The Beatles - "Norwegian Wood."

Some chorus-less songs just keep changing it up instead of settling down. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KngiJUNdsu0]Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road" sounds contiguous enough, but he never settles into a chorus, and just throws in a new bridge every time it sounds like it's about to settle in. Better yet, you can cram multiple songs into your one - don't just add a new part, but completely change the structure. See also Queen - "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Some songs, instead of a chorus, just end every verse with the same line. It's a great time-saving trick, actually, because you can get the continuity of a chorus without having to mark off time between your verses by repeating thirty seconds' worth of lyrics over and over again. Examples: Bob Dylan - "The Times They Are A-Changin'" (it's pretty sad that I couldn't find a decent version of that on Youtube and had to go with the one ripped from the intro to Watchmen... sheesh). The Beatles - "When I'm Sixty-Four."

Any other approaches I've forgotten?

Yes

A reprise line is not a chorus, yes? (Now that generic's opened pandora's box )

Would a repetative theme during an outro be considered a chorus if it doesn't appear anywhere else in the song?