Imaginational Anthem - Write a new anthem for a fictional country. (examples: Gondor, Utopia, Narnia, Val Verde, Freedonia) (2 minute minimum length) (your submission is due Sunday, July 13th 11:59PM)
Submitting Entries:- Entries must be received by the given deadline. Otherwise it'll be posted as a shadow. Received means that it has to appear in my e-mail inbox by the given deadline. I will be going by the time stamp on the e-mail in my inbox. PLEASE do not wait until the last hour to send me something. If there is a blackout in your area, your computer crashes, or your dog actually eats your thumb drive...I will not care. You are allowed to send in a draft of your song early just in case something horrible happens & you miss the deadline. Then you can add polish to your song & send in a better version closer to the deadline. 1 minute late is still late, people.
- Send your file in a format that Bandcamp accepts. (.aiff, .wav or .flac) (at least 16-bit/44.1kHz) You can find the specific requirements for Bandcamp files HERE.
- Name your file the song's title, but without spaces & punctuation.
- Title of the e-mail should be the title of the Challenge & your band's name.
- Include the song lyrics in the body of the e-mail. (If your song doesn't have lyrics...consider yourself eliminated. Instrumentals can be pretty, but SpinTunes does require lyrics.)
- Include information on anyone that needs credited if you collabed with someone.
- If you have a BandCamp account, you can just send me a link to your song on BandCamp if you include all the info I mentioned above. Make sure you have it set as a free download, and have it set so that I don't have to put in an e-mail to download it if you pick this option. THIS IS THE BEST FILE SHARING OPTION!
- Other file sharing options if you need them: Sound Cloud & Drop Box. Please send an e-mail as I already stated, but with the download link if you need one of these services. Please follow directions so your file doesn't wind up in my spam or trash folder accidentally.
Side Notes:
- Remember that you are allowed to send in a little background about your song. Some people don't like to do that, and you don't have to, but if you want to write a couple sentences about your song I'll post it on the BandCamp page for people to see. Some judges will look at the lyrics & this extra info, but they aren't required to.
- If you didn't sign-up in time to compete in SpinTunes #9, you can still complete the challenge & send in a song. It'll be uploaded with the other entries as a "Shadow Song". Check the FAQ if you don't know what that means. You can even complete past challenges from previous contests.
- The only other way to get your music played at the LP is to cover "Today's The Day" by Inverse T. Clown.
- Feel free to leave any questions in the comments.
Does it have to be a *real* fictional country? By which I mean, all of your examples are pre-existing fictional countries that were already invented by other creators. Can we "discover" our own fictional countries, or should we be using somewhere that has already been charted?
ReplyDeleteYou are free to create your own fictional country. All the judges have already agreed that it's fair game.
DeleteWhat do you define as a "country"? In your examples, Gondor is a kingdom, Narnia is a world, and Val Verde can be a city. What are our parameters?
ReplyDeleteBased on the judges responses...they feel the challenge isn't all that complicated. Anthem, country, fictional...do it. If you think your current idea is questionable in terms of meeting the challenge...chances are the judges will as well. I think they're overall going to be lenient, but if you take a risk, make sure it's worth it, and be ready to argue your case by sending some background on your choices...and of course making it a kick ass song. The song isn't supposed to be about a city, planet or universe...it should be about a fictional country.
DeleteHow close to existing national anthems does it have to sound (instrumentation, etc)? For example, could a metal song about a nation count as a national anthem?
ReplyDeleteWe did not say the anthem had to be in any sort of style or genre, so that's totally up to you. The music just has to be original.
DeleteGood to know, thanks!
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