I ‘ve been working on a new project with Allan Morgan and Pat Montello for Niveous’s Gift of Music 2011 benefit, and I was getting a little frustrated. We actually made a deadline for once, but it was extended out a week, so I couldn’t share it quite yet with the public. We had a lot of fun with it, and I was excited to do something with Pat again after many years. But I didn’t have any outside people to bounce it off of.
Yesterday I was in the Artifiction chatroom, and saw Dr. Lindyke working on his new song - so I tossed him a link to check it out to get an opinion. I didn’t have the audio feed at first, but could see him contemplating, then snickering, then rolling in conniptions back and forth in his chair. Made me feel good that it hit the mark.
I think we nailed it.
I’ll post the links to Gift of Music 2011 when it goes live – hopefully later this week. Here’s where you can check out the previous year’s entries - there are a lot of ‘Song Fight’ alumni involved who we’ve met through the SpinTunes and Masters of Song Fu contests.
[E, A, Gbm, A]
We all know that Life Day is a special day for celebration
You can go and show the Wookiees how much you appreciate them
[B, A, Dbm, B]
[Abm, A, Abm, B]
But there is another creature that you really shouldn’t visit
Don’t go to the forest moon of Endor if you’re fond of living
[E, A, B, A]
[E, A, Abm, B]
Ewoks will eat you even if it is the holidays
Ewoks will eat you, they don’t really care at all
(They’re crazy and hungry)
If you go out looking for a little of that cheerful spirit
And you’re walking past an Ewok village, trust me, don’t go near it
The only spirits that you’ll find are… your dead loved ones stood behind you
Watching from an awkward line as teddy bear cooks tenderize you
Ewoks will eat you even if it is the holidays
Ewoks will eat you, they don’t really care at all
(They’re crazy and hungry)
Should the forest tempt you
Charter a flight up to see Chewbacca
May the Force be with you
If you end up on an Ewok’s wok, yeah
You can tell them you’re a god, but you will likely be rejected
Unless you’ve got a golden body or a skirt, you’ll be ingested
There’s a possibility that… you will end up slowly turning
Tied to a rotisserie as fuzzy short freaks watch you burning
Ewoks will eat you even if it is the holidays
Ewoks will eat you, they don’t really care at all
(They’re crazy)
Ewoks will eat you even if it is the holidays
Ewoks will eat you, they don’t really care at all
(They’re crazy and hungry)
I’ve noticed a bunch of songs about the holidays my friends have accumulated over the years, and thought it might be the time to start sharing the wealth. So I’m going to try and blog a bunch of them until Christmas, in the hope you get a chuckle, snicker, or feel good about yourself in the holiday spirit.
If you also want to purchase the (where available) spreading the cheer to the original artist, which is a bonus.
It’s an upbeat ditty about a cephalopod that brings toys to kids where Santa can’t quite reach. The chorus keeps bouncing around in my brain, and makes me happy. Enjoy!
Did you know there was an LP cover contest as well? (Thanks Dave)
I’m writing this review before coordinating my vote with Allan Morgan – since we together only get one vote, I’m only 50% of the official tally. But here goes my quick impressions of the 4th Round songs. The first 4 are in the running to win, the rest are shadows by previous contestants. Boffo Yux Dudes did three shadows this round – I’ll post them up later.
Zarni De Wet – The Bleeding Effect ( Assassin’s Creed)
Zarni takes this piano ballad about a schizophrenic killer and shoots out a mood of death and destruction. It’s not quite clear if the song is from the unstable Desmond’s point of view or Subject 16′s – perhaps both – but it’s still powerful stuff.
Mitchell Adam Johnson – In Another Castle (Super Mario Bros)
Mitchell writes from the view of a princess that keeps putting herself in danger, so she’ll feel the thrill of being rescued. Good use of video sound fx and samples of the game. Nice touch with ‘If you didn’t show, I’d die’ literally and figuratively.
Rebecca Brickley – Where I Am (Carmen SanDiego)
Rebecca turned this jazzy number into a humorous tweak on the game ‘Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego’. I can almost see Rockapella doing backup for her on this one. Witty lyrics make this one a winner. Enjoyed the Get/Silhouette rhymes and the baiting of the Chief to find her. Teasing or a challenge there? Actually, Both.
Chris Cogott – In Bright Falls (Alan Wake)
Chris brings a Surf guitar and 60′s beat to the tale of A. Wake and his quest to find sanity and his lost wife in Bright Falls. I had to research the game – he did a great job with the details. Enjoyed the musical tags and Beatles hooks to the song, including the Paperback Writer homage at the end.
Charlie McCarron – The Pac-Man Duet A fun romp where Pac and Ms. Pac Man sing about meeting together. I like how Charlie and Nicole’s voices work well together in this one. Wish it was a little longer, but the ghosts had other plans.
Mark Humble – I’m Q*Bert, Babe Mark slipped into a soulful vibe with his one. I expected Barry White to sneak up on the speakers. Loved the SFX mixed in to the storyline, as well as rhyming Pizza with Nietzsche. Total win.
Brian Gray – Hard To Get (Shadow) (Donkey Kong)
Upbeat, bouncy and fun. I liked the swing feel and harmonies, along with the witty wordplay. Having the large simian use the princess as bait to catch the Mario of his dreams was a clever hook. Turning it into a homoerotic Shakespeare themed love story was a level above the rest.
JoAnn Abbott – Go For The Eyes (Boo from Baldur’s Gate)
Joann (and Caleb) waltz into this song about Baldur’s Gate and Minsc’s Miniature Giant Space Hampster (™), Boo. The title refers to the favorite attack of said rodent. I liked the witty storyline and baroque feel.
David Ritter – Pitfall! (Shadow) (Pitfall)
David brings up the original Atari 2600 game Pitfall and runs with it through dangers and swinging vines. Turning it into a slow ballad with guitar and piano was an interesting choice for an action game.
Caleb Hines – The Writing On The Wall (Portal)
Caleb’s take on Portal with Joann singing lead . Interesting take on the game, with lots of insider hints and a nod to JoCo. I’d have my cake and eat it too… if it wasn’t a lie to begin with. Nice job on this one.
Governing Dynamics – One Four One (Roach) (Shadow) Gary “Roach” Sanderson from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Travis sets a mood for this song with droning grunge guitar and drums about a black ops team that deals with the struggle of war, and relentless killing all around him. He hit the right notes in getting the tone of the game across. War is hell, but this is magic.
Inverse T. Clown – I’m Tops (Shadow) (TopMan from MegaMan)
ITC takes the wimpiest boss from the classic game and imbues him with an ego the size of New Jersey. Bouncy synth and 8 Bit Drums keep the tune rolling until it’s inevitable demise. I liked the fact he refuses to admit ‘Top Man’ is for his weapons instead of an elite status in his own mind.
I saw a lot of thought and planning in this round of songs – didn’t expect the depth and levels in such simple games, but people found them and brought them out. I’ll post the BYD songs here later this week, but you can listen to them and vote at the Spintunes site. Enjoy!
Getting a hoodie autographed for Abby with The Blanks
Caught the boys and their acapella show on Friday. Fun time.
Hadn’t seen George in 25 years, but did see Sam and Paul a few years ago at their Butties concert. I’m hoping to shoot The Butties 2010 concert (27 years of continuous annual concerts!) in VT this July. More after the break. (more…)
The last part of the BYD & Friends show from 1989. Mark and Bill show us the high cost of revenge after 10 years of medical school.
I thought Mark did a great job on this one – using the German Accent to sound more threatening, and singing the German national anthem while plugging his ears gets me every time. We never did get to do a bit with the Ernie and Bert puppets on stage, but the behind the scenes stuff with them were so unPC it was hilarious. If I can edit a version, I’ll have to post that as well.
Logo for Masters of Song Fu #5. It's right up there. No, Really, it is.
I know you’re thinking… What is this Masters of Song Fu, and why do I need to judge it?
Short answer – Cool people wrote some songs to compete in a fun contest. No cash prizes, just to further their craft as artists. You can check it out here, and vote for the top 5 you like. There are 34 entries this round.
Longer answer: Song Fu is a contest for songwriters and musicians, challenging them to create a song within certain rules and guidelines. Some are more free form, and some are much more constricted. The latest contest is one of the more constricting. You have a week to write, produce and uploaded an MP3 of your song to go with all the other groups, then be judged on originality, content, and how well you fit the spirit of the theme. Quite a challenge.
I stumbled upon this when Mike Lombardo randomly followed the BYD on Twitter. He had entered a song for Contest #4, and it looked like a fun project to join in on. Due to a mix up, I’m not in the competition for #5, but I’ll try and work on one for the non voting ‘shadow’ contest.
More after the break, and my long list on impressions of all the songs this round. - but go and check it out now – the voting ends this weekend, and there’s almost 2 hours worth of original music to listen to – all at no cost.
Bill and Kat did this bit on the nobility of starving to death and filicide. Yes, upbeat, fun stuff! At least in their deft comedy hands.
But I digress, Here’s what fellow thespian and troubadour, Mark Haskins noted as his favorites when reviewing this fine video after 20 years…
“1) Bill covering the ears of the statue when he thinks there’s blasphemy about.
2) Bill’s delivery of the line “It’s all I’ve got, you know.” I don’t know why it always makes me laugh, but it does.
3) Kathy McKitty. She’s a friggin’ genius, and I wish we’d started working with her at some point before we were about to graduate.
I also love the bumper at the end of the sketch. What are Ernie and Bert saying to Bill in the hallways of Newhouse II? We are denied an answer, but I bet it was filthy…”
Our song for Nur Ein VIII Round 2. Title: I Don't Want An Answer To That Non Optional Challenge: Incorporate a Songfight title meaningfully in the lyrics. We chose "Happy to Be Here".
BYD and Chris Cogott with our entry for Edric's Songwriting Cycle #3 The Offhand Band challenged the BoffoYuxDudes to write a song whose lyric utilizes only incomplete sentences. This is what we came up with.
This song is for round 2 of SpinTunes 5 'Pump You Up: Write a song that is motivational to workout to. Something that is meant to pump up the listener.'
