SpinTunes 19 Round 2 Challenge

You've submitted your Round 1 entries, and now you're patiently waiting for the judging results. In the meantime, you get a head start on your Round 2 challenge. Here it is:

Anachronism: Retell all or part of an existing story (historical, fictional, mythological, etc.), setting it in a different time period (and, optionally, location) from the original. Identify your source material in your song bio.

Examples:  

• "Dalai Lama" by Rammstein
• "Mrs. Bluebeard" by They Might Be Giants
• "Once Upon a Time (In Space)" by The Mechanisms
• "Romeo and Juliet" by Dire Straits
• "Samson" by Regina Spektor
• "The Story of Isaac" by Leonard Cohen

Submitting Entries:

• Your entry must be received by Sunday, April 3, 2021 @ 11:59 PM EDT. Otherwise it'll be posted as a shadow. Received means that it has to appear in my e-mail inbox (spintunescontest@gmail.com) by the given deadline. I will be going by the time stamp on the e-mail. One minute late is too late.

• You are allowed and encouraged to submit a draft of your song early just in case something horrible happens and you miss the deadline. Then you can add polish to your song and send in a better version closer to the deadline. The last version received prior to the deadline is your official entry. 

• Lyrics are mandatory. No instrumentals. Having no lyrics will get you disqualified.

• SUBMITTING BY EMAIL: Send your file in a format that BandCamp accepts. (.wav or .flac) (at least 16-bit/44.1kHz) Do not send MP3s.
• Name your file the song's title + your band name, without punctuation.
• The subject line of the e-mail should identify the challenge and your band's name. Something like this would be fine: "ST19R2 - All the Robots".
• Include the song lyrics in the body of the e-mail.
• Include information on anyone that needs credited if you collaborated with someone.

• ALTERNATE FILE SHARING OPTIONS: If your file is too big for an email attachment, you may email me a link to where I can download the song. The email still needs to land in my inbox by the deadline.
• If you have a Bandcamp account you can just send me a link to your song if you include all the info I mentioned for emails. Info such as lyrics and song credits can be included in the email or on the song's Bandcamp page. 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.
• You may also use a file sharing service such as DropBox, WeTransfer, Google Drive, etc. Include in the email any required information (such as lyrics) that you couldn't include in the file. Make sure I have permission to download the file, and please follow directions so your file doesn't wind up in my spam or trash folder accidentally.

• SONG BIOS: In addition to lyrics and any necessary credits, you are welcome to include a "song bio", with any information you feel is useful. This could include your inspiration for the song, citations for any obscure references within the lyrics, an explanation of how your song met the challenge, etc. Some challenges may require you to supply certain info in your song bio. Since the judges are volunteers with lives outside of SpinTunes, song bios can help them zero in on aspects of the song you feel are important. However, if your song requires a multi-paragraph explanation in order to understand and appreciate it, this is probably a sign that it doesn't stand up well on its own, and its ranking may reflect that.

Side Notes:

• You can send in an entry to SpinTunes 19 without competing. Just tell me it's a "Shadow Song". It will be played at the listening party, but won't be ranked and you might not receive feedback from the judges. Check the FAQ if you don't know what that means. You can even complete past challenges from previous contests. It's a nice way of playing along if you can't commit to the schedule or you just want to get your feet wet.
• The only other way to get your music played at the LP is to cover "Today's The Day" by Inverse T. Clown or "Right Again" by Mandibles.

Feel free to leave any questions in the comments.

ST19.1 Listening Party and Deadline News

Congratulations to all contestants who made it into Round 1 by the deadline. We have 31 official entries* and, as of now, no shadows. Anyone who missed the deadline is welcome to submit a shadow entry but will be ineligible to officially compete, and it might not make it on the Listening Party, depending on when it is sent in - but all shadows will be included on the Bandcamp album.

What's that about a Listening Party? Tommy G will be playing all the songs on YouTube live tonight at 9 pm EDT. Drop in, join the live chat, hear some world premieres! The album will also be available to download on Bandcamp when the Listening Party begins.

Follow this link to the Listening Party, or use the YouTube player embedded below: https://youtu.be/iE-dAU5iGog

*For our purposes, 31 is a nice round number because, barring ties on the threshold, it means 9 acts will be eliminated in each of the first three rounds (but still subject to potential shadow reinstatement if an eligible entrant misses the deadline!). Our elimination schedule will be as follows:

Round 1: 9 acts eliminated, 22 move on

Round 2: 9 acts eliminated, 13 move on

Round 3: 9 acts eliminated, 4 move on

Round 4: 3 acts eliminated, 1 Champion crowned!

SpinTunes 19 - Meet the Contestants

Forty artists and bands have put their names in by the sign-up deadline, and now they're hard at work on their first round entries. But who are these talented folks who will be vying for the title of SpinTunes 19 Champion? Let's meet them!

Also In Blue
Also in Blue is the nom de guerre of an overeducated, under-stimulated songwriter without a serious direction, who writes at the expense of doing the dishes or getting reasonable amounts of sleep. Winner of SpinTunes 17; judge of SpinTunes 18; optimistic participant in SpinTunes 19 - and grateful to a great community of songwriters for the opportunity to part of this.
Bandcamp | YouTube

bake
Soundcloud

Boffo Yux Dudes
We're still alive! I'm sure a Miracle Ear and hip replacements are coming soon, but until then, we're cranking out the hits over the last 5 decades!
Blog | YouTube | Twitter | Bandcamp | Facebook | Myspace

The Brewhouse Sessions
A few guys brewing up some songs.

"BucketHat" Bobby Matheson
"BucketHat" Bobby Matheson is a former television professional who has been doing this music-competition thing for over a decade.
Influenced by artists like They Might Be Giants, Jonathan Coulton and The Mountain Goats, Matheson is a solo musician who takes an unconventional but folksy approach to home-made song-making.
Lately, he has been writing performing and producing music live on Twitch as a delivery method for his craft.
After nearly 15 years of practice, does he finally have what it takes to win a SpinTunes contest? Only time will tell!"
Website

chewmeupspitmeout
Hey, I'm Dan. I live in Kent in the UK. I've played in many (usually terrible) bands since I was a teenager. I've been FAWMing since 2011 under the name @sailingmagpie, participated in the last couple of Nur Eins and I release stuff under name The Serviettes. This will be the first outing for my new side project. How exciting!
Website | Instagram | Facebook

Dented Bento
Always trying something different.

The Dutch Widows

The Dutch Widows just want to make music. It doesn't need to be perfect (it won't be) and it doesn't even need to be good (it won't be). It just needs to be finished. Not finished is also OK, though probably not for SpinTunes. Mostly just here for the covers round this time, so expect some half-arsed guff just to get in the covers end game...
Soundcloud

FireBear
Just some guy from St. Pete, FL trying his best to record some music when he can. 
Soundcloud

Firefly
Three friends who met at Altered Stage in Chicago and were inspired to make music together when work was over.

Fluke Wilson
Twitter

Governing Dynamics
I recently acquired an electric mandolin.  More on this story as it develops.
Bandcamp

Hanky Code
Hanky Code is Ryan from Jerkatorium, Matchy Matchy and All The Robots.
YouTube

Hot Pink Halo
Hot Pink Halo enjoys pushing buttons.
Bandcamp | Website

Jeannette Joseph
I have just started writing. I play keyboard. I write as therapy which sounds like I am crazy but helps with life in general. Life is short as it is. I mainly run open mics and DJ and Karaoke. I am just trying to boost my confidence in writing as I am shy. 
Facebook

Jordan Carroll
Here we go again
Twitter

L.J.P
Bandcamp | Twitch

Mandibles
A group of wagging jawbones vie to see who can sing the best. It always ends in a four way draw. Are they singing folk? Metal? Broadway? The world may never know. 
Soundcloud

marlon.
Marlon. is a dessert loving, desert dwelling songwriter from sweet, sunny, southern California who has a fascination with myths, monsters, and musicals. Mostly, he's just happy to be here.
Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud

Melody Klein
36 year old lesbian music chick from Israel. She writes downtempo acid music, is into BDSM, and enjoys playing board games and riding roller-coasters.
Bandcamp

Ménage A Tune
I like to sing, I like to create songs, and generally prefer writing lyrics over the songwriting part.  No partner yet, Who knows what will happen by the time we get rolling though. Time to figure out how to work that Band In A Box again...I'll manage to get a tune or four out, even if eliminated early.  The fun is creating. 
Bandcamp | Website

New Fangled Trolley
acoustic folk punk from the heart of Brooklyn 
Spotify

Night Sky
Night Sky is Sally on lyrics, Steve on drums, and Matt on the other stuff. We are a genre-bending collective made up of poetry, sick grooves, and saxophones. We first competed in SpinTunes 17, bailed from 18, and are due for a comeback.
Soundcloud

Ominous Ride
I don’t always write songs, but when I do it’s for SpinTunes. 
Bandcamp

Phlub
Normal tunings are boring.
Bandcamp

Pigfarmer Jr
Someday I hope to be a senior pigfarmer. 
Bandcamp

Quazimodo's Balls

rackwagon
we are the isles of different size
we are the north
we are the south
we are the sunburn and the peat
we are the men of dancing feet
heartstrings pulled tight to never slacken, we are more than we could ever imagine
we are rackwagon
Bandcamp

Regis
Regis likes building guitars, hanging out at (and off of) big dams, and singing stupid songs to his dog.
Soundcloud

Richard Shakespeare
I’ve been writing songs for more than 30 years - I feel I’m now starting to understand how little I know. I’m am avid FAWMer and this year undertook a roadtrip around the US to farm inspiration. 

Roman Numeral Orange
Self-taught musician and producer. I don't know what I'm doing most of the time but I have fun doing it anyway.
Bandcamp

See-Man-Ski
I can see (with glasses), I am a man (just about) but I cannot ski!
Bandcamp

Sober
Sober has been foisting his twangy drivel upon the ears of the Songfight community for nearly 20 years. He wasted his GI Bill money on an expensive dumb business degree. Now he narrates audiobooks, so way to go with that expensive dumb degree, Sober.
This will be his third time losing the SpinTunes competition.
Soundcloud

Star Bear
The musical hobby project of computer science professor Bert Huang. 
Bandcamp | Twitter

Stephen Weigel
Stephen Weigel is a composer and performer in Indianapolis, IN, and got both his Master’s in Music Composition and Bachelor’s of Music Media Production at Ball State University. His past teachers include Jody Nagel, Michael Pounds, Derek Johnson, Amelia Kaplan, Daniel Swilley, Eleanor Trawick, and Keith Kothman. Stephen’s contributions have been featured at UnTwelve, Electronic Music Midwest, Charlotte New Music Festival, Electroacoustic Barn Dance, Classical Connect, Edition Zalzal, MU Global, Thirsty Ear, SEAMUS, Microtonal Adventures Festival, Pärnu Nüüdismuusika Päevade, and Hindemith & Copland International Festival. His music is melodic, intelligible, and purpose-driven, though conceptual premises vary wildly - compositional goals may include finding new-sounding chord progressions and melodies, evoking unfamiliar or diverse emotions, poking fun at social ideas, or making sense of uncharted territory. His specialties are electronics and xenharmonic music, which he often plays live using DIY keyboard interfaces, guitars, and the voice. In graduate school, he wrote about all-scalar-set theory, which is the mathematical link between Forte’s post-tonal set theory and Wilson’s Moment of Symmetry theories. Other endeavors include the microtonal podcast featuring Sevish (Now&Xen), appearances on online albums/microtonal cover songs/transcriptions, and keyboard arrangements of Easley Blackwood’s microtonal etudes.
Website | Bandcamp | Soundcloud

Sumner Wynne
I have feet for hands

SunLite
SunLite is a teacher with a vast array of side projects

thanks, brain
thanks, brain is a band with a very, very good and clever bio. unfortunately, we've misplaced it and have had to give you this one instead. sorry about that.
Bandcamp

tippy teapot

With Joe
With Joe is a British electropop artist and songwriter who has a goal; to create shared, emotional experiences between other people through music. You know the feeling where you are right in the middle of the crowd and everyone is screaming along with the artist and moving as one? Yeah, that one.
Originally a classically trained-pianist and inspired by; Lorde, twenty one pilots, Charli XCX, and Troye Sivan. He’s leaning into his self-doubts as a musician by live-streaming his solo songwriting sessions for a growing audience on Twitch and learning more every day as a songwriter, musician, and artist."
Linktree

ST19 Round 1 Challenge

Psst! You over there: I have the first challenge of SpinTunes 19 right here for you. Come closer, just in case anyone's watching. Alright, here it is:

Shh!: Write a song about a secret.

Examples:  

• "Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other" by Willie Nelson
  
• "Dirty Little Secret" by The All-American Rejects
• "Luka" by Suzanne Vega
• "Mr. Roboto" by Styx
• "Murder in the Red Barn" by Tom Waits
• "No One Knows My Plan" by They Might Be Giants
• "Ode to Billie Joe (Tallahatchie Bridge)" by Bobbie Gentry 

Submitting Entries:

• Your entry must be received by Sunday, March 20, 2021 @ 11:59 PM EDT. Otherwise it'll be posted as a shadow. Received means that it has to appear in my e-mail inbox (spintunescontest@gmail.com) by the given deadline. I will be going by the time stamp on the e-mail. One minute late is too late.

• You are allowed and encouraged to submit a draft of your song early just in case something horrible happens and you miss the deadline. Then you can add polish to your song and send in a better version closer to the deadline. The last version received prior to the deadline is your official entry. 

• Lyrics are mandatory. No instrumentals. Having no lyrics will get you disqualified.

• SUBMITTING BY EMAIL: Send your file in a format that BandCamp accepts. (.wav or .flac) (at least 16-bit/44.1kHz) Do not send MP3s.
• Name your file the song's title + your band name, without punctuation.
• The subject line of the e-mail should identify the challenge and your band's name. Something like this would be fine: "ST19R1 - All the Robots".
• Include the song lyrics in the body of the e-mail.
• Include information on anyone that needs credited if you collaborated with someone.

• ALTERNATE FILE SHARING OPTIONS: If your file is too big for an email attachment, you may email me a link to where I can download the song. The email still needs to land in my inbox by the deadline.
• If you have a Bandcamp account you can just send me a link to your song if you include all the info I mentioned for emails. Info such as lyrics and song credits can be included in the email or on the song's Bandcamp page. 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.
• You may also use a file sharing service such as DropBox, WeTransfer, Google Drive, etc. Include in the email any required information (such as lyrics) that you couldn't include in the file. Make sure I have permission to download the file, and please follow directions so your file doesn't wind up in my spam or trash folder accidentally.

• SONG BIOS: In addition to lyrics and any necessary credits, you are welcome to include a "song bio", with any information you feel is useful. This could include your inspiration for the song, citations for any obscure references within the lyrics, an explanation of how your song met the challenge, etc. Some challenges may require you to supply certain info in your song bio. Since the judges are volunteers with lives outside of SpinTunes, song bios can help them zero in on aspects of the song you feel are important. However, if your song requires a multi-paragraph explanation in order to understand and appreciate it, this is probably a sign that it doesn't stand up well on its own, and its ranking may reflect that.

Side Notes:

• You can send in an entry to SpinTunes 19 without competing. Just tell me it's a "Shadow Song". It will be played at the listening party, but won't be ranked and you might not receive feedback from the judges. Check the FAQ if you don't know what that means. You can even complete past challenges from previous contests. It's a nice way of playing along if you can't commit to the schedule or you just want to get your feet wet.
• The only other way to get your music played at the LP is to cover "Today's The Day" by Inverse T. Clown or "Right Again" by Mandibles.

Feel free to leave any questions in the comments.

SpinTunes 19 - Meet the Judges

I am pleased to introduce you to your judging panel for SpinTunes 19, five talented and thoughtful musicians who will be giving feedback on each round of the tournament. If you are ready to compete, head over to the sign up page to throw your hat in the ring!

Brian Gray - SpinTunes 18 Champion

Brian got an early start in music, being selected to sing “You Are My Sunshine” for his pre-school graduation. Since then, he hasn’t looked back, studying violin, piano, percussion, voice, theory, composition, orchestration, guitar, and ukulele.

Brian progressed from musical theatre in high school to contemporary a cappella in college, and finally tried his hand at songwriting. We’ll let you know how that turns out. Or you can judge for yourself by listening at his website.

Matthew Keeler

With an educational background in music history and ethnomusicology, Matthew Keeler has performed music from the British Isles and rural America at festivals and reenactments for over a decade. 

His songwriting is largely influenced by the traditional music he studies, particularly pre-WWII acoustic blues and old-time American ballads. For a better understanding of this, check out his YouTube channel or his website. 

Alongside his musical interests, he keeps busy backpacking, raising five children with his wife, Jennifer, in Ottawa, Ohio, and working full-time as a high-pressure boiler operator at a nearby ethanol plant.

Since Covid, he mainly focuses on presenting his music on YouTube, but if you would like him to perform in person feel free to contact him via his website or on Facebook. He'll talk your ear off about old music and unusual instruments!

Nancy Rost

I'm a piano teacher, songwriter and performer based in Madison, Wisconsin. A long-time participant in February Album Writing Month and 50 Songs in 90 Days, I appreciate the power of collaboration and online musical communities. I'm also a band coach and keyboard instructor with Girls Rock Camp, an Ashbory bass aficionado and a cat lover.

Eric Agner and Nancy Rost | Two Johns & A Nancy

Red Watcher 

Red Watcher is the musical alias of Ted Kiper. Invited by JoAnn Abbott of Menage a Tune, he has been participating on and off since ST4, as a competitor or as a judge. And he would like to apologize for co-creating the Viagra song in ST7R3. No one likes hearing about their inadequacies. Or maybe no one likes hearing the sounds of a floppy trumpet and a zipper. Maybe that.

Bandcamp

Sara Parsons

As a competition veteran back to the Song Fu days of the late 2000s, I'm no stranger to low-stakes songwriting contests. While I can't claim to have ever won the grand prize, I've very much enjoyed following along and getting my brain gears buzzing when each new round is announced.

I'm a multi-instrumentalist and enjoy creating music with just about anything that makes a noise, though I am probably best known in this community for my voice - I am a classically trained singer and when I'm not doing my boring day job in HR, I can usually be found at choir rehearsal or learning a new mezzo aria with my voice teacher.

Each time SpinTunes comes around I always find myself getting excited about songwriting all over again, and I look forward to sitting down with all of the entries in the coming weeks to hear what everyone comes up with.

Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

SpinTunes 19 Sign-Up Form

SpinTunes 19 sign-ups are closed!

SpinTunes 19 Schedule

ALL DATES/TIMES ARE US EASTERN TIME

The SpinTunes Google calendar, with all times listed in your local time zone, is available here.

February 19th (Saturday)

• Sign ups open.

March 11th (Friday)

• 11:59pm - Sign ups end.

March 12th (Saturday)

• 12:01am - Round 1 challenge is announced.

March 20th (Sunday)

• 11:59pm - Round 1 song deadline.

March 21st (Monday)

• 9pm - Listening party hosted by Tommy G. Link TBA

Immediately afterward, the songs will be made available for free download on BandCamp at https://spintunes.bandcamp.com.

During this gap:

• judges will rank the songs
• judges will review the songs

March 26th (Saturday)

• 12:01am - Round 2 challenge is announced.

March 27th (Sunday)

• 4pm - Judges' Round 1 reviews are due.
• 8pm - Round 1 reviews & scores are posted.

April 3rd (Sunday)

• 11:59pm - Round 2 song deadline.

April 4th (Monday)

• 9pm - Listening party hosted by Tommy G. Link TBA

Immediately afterward, the songs will be made available for free download on BandCamp at https://spintunes.bandcamp.com.

During this gap:

• judges will rank the songs
• judges will review the songs

April 9th (Saturday)

• 12:01am - Round 3 challenge is announced.

April 10th (Sunday)

• 4pm - Judges' Round 2 reviews are due.
• 8pm - Round 2 reviews & scores are posted.

April 17th (Sunday)

• 11:59pm - Round 3 song deadline.

April 18th (Monday)

• 9pm - Listening party hosted by Tommy G. Link TBA

Immediately afterward, the songs will be made available for free download on BandCamp at https://spintunes.bandcamp.com.

During this gap:

• judges will rank the songs
• judges will review the songs

April 23rd (Saturday)

• 12:01am - Final Round challenge is announced.

April 24th (Sunday)

• 4pm - Judges' Round 3 reviews are due.
• 8pm - Round 3 reviews & scores are posted.

May 1st (Sunday)

• 11:59pm - FINAL ROUND SONG DEADLINE.

May 2nd (Monday)

• 9pm - Listening party hosted by Tommy G. Link TBA

Immediately afterward, the songs will be made available for free download on BandCamp at https://spintunes.bandcamp.com.

During this gap:

• competitors will rank the songs
• any competitor who wishes to may submit reviews
• judges will rank the songs
• judges will review the songs
• bonus round: competitors may record and submit cover versions of any song(s) from any previous round

May 8th (Sunday)

• 11:59pm - Judges' Final Round reviews are due.
• 11:59pm - Competitors' Final Round rankings are due.
• 11:59pm - Bonus Round cover songs are due.

May 9th (Monday)

• 9pm - Bonus Round listening party hosted by Tommy G. Link TBA
• Winner announced and winning song replayed at the listening party
• After listening party: Judges' and competitors' reviews and rankings posted.