SpinTunes 25 is in the books. In a Final Round with five excellent competing entries, 14 participants cast their votes, and we can bestow the title of Champion on the winning competitor.
After making it to the Final Round in all three of their previous tournaments, The Alleviators have at last claimed the title of Champions with their song "Shadow Teeth". Congratulations!
Read on for the full anonymized voting breakdown, and for links to our judges' reviews!
Read on for your reviews from SpinTunes 24 Champion Vehicles of Beware (aka Phil)!
We had a great Listening Party last night, but if you missed it, never fear! The full Bonus Round album is now available to stream or download on Bandcamp or embedded below, with cover art by our very own Leonie Connellan aka Hot Pink Halo:
The following artists' songs got covered in the Bonus Round:
Did you miss last night's Listening Party? Never fear: you can download or stream the Round 4 album on Bandcamp or embedded below, with elegant cover art by Matt "Shoobs" Schubbe!
The deadline for the last competitive round of SpinTunes 25 has come and gone. All five finalists submitted songs by the deadline, and we've also received eight shadow entries.
Your first chance to hear all thirteen brand-new songs is at tonight's Listening Party, hosted by Tommy G at 9 pm EDT.
If you competed in SpinTunes 25 but you're not a finalist, you will be asked to vote for the SpinTunes 25 Champion! Stay tuned for specific information about how to vote later this week.
In the meantime, join us for tonight's Listening Party on YouTube or embedded below.
Here are your rankings from SpinTunes 24 Champion Vehicles of Beware (aka Phil):
Read on for Phil's reviews!
Here are your Round 3 rankings from Nancy Rost:
Read on for Nancy's reviews!
Here are your Round 3 rankings from Ben:
Read on for Ben's reviews!
Here are your rankings from Mike of the Dutch Widows:
Read on for Mike's reviews!
Hello, friends. We've reached the Final Round. Sometimes we go easy on you in the Final Round. After all, if you've made it this far you've already shown that you can do hard things, and do them well. But sometimes we give you something really hard, just for fun. That's exactly what we're going to do now.
When you write your Final Round song, you're going to have to take a good look at the words you use, because a lot of words won't be allowed. Most of them, in fact. You might think what we're asking you to do can't be done. But I'm doing it right now, and I've been doing it since you started reading. If I can do it, so can you.
Read on:
If you missed the Round 3 Listening Party on Monday night, never fear - all the songs are available to download or stream on Bandcamp or embedded below:
Additionally, the Jerks dropped a new episode of their beloved podcast Two Jerks One Vote, reviewing the Round 2 songs. Give it a listen!
The Round 3 deadline has passed. All 13 eligible contestants submitted songs, so there is no shadow reinstatement this round.
Your first chance to hear all 13 competing songs and 7 shadow entries is at tonight's Listening Party, hosted by Tommy G at 9 pm EDT. Join us on YouTube or embedded below!
SpinTunes 25 continues, and the Round 2 results are in. In Round 1, four of the five judges gave their Number 1 vote to the same artist. In Round 2, every judge gave their Number 1 vote to a different artist, and as you peruse the full rankings you'll see similar discrepancies up and down the board. What can account for this? One simple fact: these songs are all terrific.
You used the challenge as an opportunity to explore more complex harmonic writing; but you also, freed from any lyrical constraint, went in all sorts of conceptual directions that made comparing these songs to each other its own challenge. The judges rose to the challenge, and they've made their decisions.
Before we reveal the winner, a little SpinTunes history: Between SpinTunes 1 and SpinTunes 10, Edric Haleen won eight rounds, finally snagging the title of Champion in ST10. His record for individual round wins has stood uncontested, until now, when another SpinTunes legend also claims his eighth round victory.
Congratulations to Sober, whose country anthem "I Didn't Leave Texas" comes on top in the judges' rankings. Just a single point behind him is our second place finisher David Taro, and two tiny points behind him is Governing Dynamics in third.
Read on for the full rankings!
Here are your rankings from Mike of The Dutch Widows:
Read on for Mike's reviews!
Joy submitted these rankings and reviews early in the week before her death. While she intended to revisit and expand them, they already display her discerning taste, her respect for musical diversity, her fondness for this community, and her high standards for technical execution.
Read on for Joy's reviews!
Here are your rankings from Nancy Rost:
Read on for Nancy's reviews!
Here are your rankings from SpinTunes 25 Champion Vehicles of Beware (aka Phil):
Read on for Phil's reviews!
These songs were just altogether extremely good. Like, almost worryingly good. This round, you embraced the challenge in fun and surprising ways and the result was a batch of songs that was just a delight to listen to.
Read on for my thoughts on your songs!
Our friend Joy Sitler passed away on September 27, 2025 at the age of 30. Her obituary is online.
Joy was serving as a judge for SpinTunes 25, which has been paused for a week in light of her death.
Joy competed in six SpinTunes tournaments under her own name and as a member of Brain Weasels and My Broken Demo Tape. She was a two-time finalist, and her songs The Front Bottoms and Die Happy were round winners. "The Front Bottoms" was later re-recorded and released as part of a split EP from Beautiful Rat Records.
Joy had an active presence on the SpinTunes Discord server, celebrating her fellow contestants' songs, offering critiques and advice, and digging into the finer points of songwriting, recording, and any other topic that arose. In addition to enjoying her music, many of us valued her as a dear friend.
Outside of SpinTunes, Joy performed and recorded regularly, and was a fixture of the Bowling Green, Ohio, music scene. She invited friends from that scene into SpinTunes and also included her SpinTunes entries in live performances.
At the time of her death, she had written, was regularly performing, and intended to record a concept album about her experience of gender transition. It is an exciting, compelling, and beautiful collection of songs, and friends are discerning how to make it available in a way that approaches her vision for it.
After the SpinTunes 25 tournament concludes, we will host a tribute album and listening party in her honor. All are invited to submit cover versions of Joy's songs and/or new songs written in Joy's memory.
Joy's passing leaves a hole in the world that will be felt for a very long time.
Donations in Joy's memory may be made to the Sitler Family Fine Arts Scholarship Fund or To Write Love On Her Arms.
The judges are currently undergoing the difficult and unenviable task of reviewing and ranking your terrific Round 2 entries. While they finish up their work, you get a head start on Round 3. Don't worry, this time we're not asking you to learn any new music theory techniques - unless you want to, of course!
Read on for your Round 3 challenge.
We had a great time on Tuesday night hearing all the terrific Round 2 entries for the first time. If you missed the Listening Party, you can download or stream the full Round 2 album on Bandcamp or embedded below. As always, our faithful graphic designer Matt Schubbe provides brand-new album artwork. Happy listening!
Hello all!
The Round 2 deadline has passed. Congratulations to everyone who submitted. We received 20 out of 21 eligible submissions, leaving one spot open for shadow reinstatement. The contestant closest to the elimination cutoff in Round 1 has been reinstated. Welcome back to the competition, Möbius Strip Club!
Your first chance to hear all 21 competing entries and five shadows is at tomorrow night's Round 2 Listening Party hosted by Tommy G. He'll start spinning the Round 2 entries at 9 pm EDT tomorrow (Tuesday, September 23). Join us on YouTube or embedded below.
In the meantime, be sure to check out the latest episode of Two Jerks One Vote, where SpinTunes 13 Champions Ryan and Chumpy of Jerkatorium are joined by our own ST25 judge Joy Sitler to review and discuss the Round 1 entries. It's a great listen, full of insight, pleasant conversation, and humor - be sure to check it out!
Tonight at 8 pm EDT, Tommy G is hosting an All-Request Listening Party! He'll be spinning SpinTunes classics from past competitions and wants to play your requests!
Leave a comment here on the blog or email me at SpinTunes Contest@gmail.com and I'll pass your requests on to Tommy G!
Join us tonight on YouTube or embedded below:
SpinTunes 25 Round 1 is officially in the books. And what a round it's been! The quality and variety on display have already resulted in some intriguing differences in judging. It stands to reason - when the batch of songs as a whole is this good, technical details, personal preference, prior experience, and simple gut feeling may guide one judge one way and another judge another way.
However, even in a round this good, there are usually a few entries that rise to the top, and this round is no exception. One song in particular made a big impact, receiving the first place spot from four out of the five judges and earning its artist their first SpinTunes round victory. Congratulations to Hot Pink Halo, whose plaintive, affecting song "Move Mountains" wins SpinTunes 25 Round 1!
Showcasing the stylistic diversity within SpinTunes, two very different entries fill out the podium: The Alleviators' "Right By You", a tender tale of a family supporting each other the best they can, takes second place; and Wendy Wiseman Fisher's tale of a grisly road trip, "Where the Pumpkins Lie" comes in third.
Read on for the full results!
Here are your Round 1 rankings from Joy Sitler:
Read on for Joy's reviews, and be sure to check out her appearance on the Two Jerks, One Vote podcast as well!
Here are your rankings from Mike of the Dutch Widows:
Read on for Mike's reviews!
