[NigeQ]

**** See post #3 for results ****

Welcome to The Musesmuse February song comp. This is the first open format competition of the year, so your first chance to qualify for Song Of The Year 2012.

Here is the timeline:

Feb: 6 - 10 (enter) 11 – 14 (scorecards)

This is an open format competition which means you can have as much instrumentation/production as you like.
If you are thinking of entering please check the Rules first
Full schedule for the year and 2012 results so far can be found here

Post:

• song title
  
• writer credits (If it’s a collab with another muser please make that clear by including their muser id)
  
• audio link

You may include lyrics, but any other text may be removed by the mod.

Note, if you have joined the Muse since 1st Jan 2012 you are ineligible to enter or vote in this particular competition

You have until Feb 10 to get your entry in

I will open this thread on or shortly before Feb 6th

[NigeQ]

Closed for entries - Scoring begins:

We have 10 entries this month

8 of the songs can be heard here at Musesmuse Feb 2012 Station - use links in the thread for any songs not on the station

To be eligible to score you must have been a member of Musesmuse prior to 1st Jan 2012 and have a minimum of 25 posts.

Please send your scores to me via PM and put ‘Song Comp Votes’ in the subject. You should receive confirmation within 24 hours or at least by the time scoring closes.

Please score each song from 1 to 10 (cut and paste the song list from below and use as a template for your scores – please do not change the order as this makes more work for me )

You rate each song from 1 - 10 (where 1 is low and 10 is high)
Note that only one 10 and one 9 score can be awarded per voter, or the scorecard will be invalid

Scoring guidelines:
You are encouraged to rate the songs against each other within the context of the contest. A score of 1 wouldn’t necessarily mean a poor song just the least best in that particular contest. Note that this method is just a guideline and not compulsory

Contestants do not score their own song, they will receive an average of the score they award other songs (see rule 13a)

The songs are:

(The Face That Launched A Thousand) Shovels - Thinman
Golden Pie - ScenesFromPalacio
An Old Fashioned Song - RickDieffenbach
Vinegar - starsinmyeyes
Aloha-O - Paddy O'Furniture
Just Like Love - FunkDaddy
We Are People - doinker
All By Myself - Ironknee
A Night Like That - kimberlyinnc/Big Jim
South Pacific Love - Jason Kalman

You have until Tue 14th Feb to get your scores in. I will post the results the next day

[NigeQ]

Here is the result of the February Comp:

1st - Golden Pie - ScenesFromPalacio

2nd - All By Myself - Ironknee

18 scorecards. 8 non-contestant voters were:
Randy P. Gendron, bernabby , Alistair S, graybeard, scubed, Salley Gardens, SoddyBottoms & NigeQ

Full result
Golden Pie - ScenesFromPalacio 8.44av
10 7 10 7 9 7 8 10 9 9 7 6 8 9 7 9 10 10
All By Myself - Ironknee 7.61av
7 9 9 6 5 9 6 7 10 10 6 6 10 7 10 5 8 7
South Pacific Love - Jason Kalman 6.50av
6 6 5 10 7 7 9 6 8 7 6 6 7 2 2 8 7 8
(The Face That Launched A Thousand) Shovels - Thinman 6.17av
4 5 8 2 3 8 6 5 8 2 8 7 8 10 6 6 8 7
A Night Like That - kimberlyinnc/Big Jim 6.11av
8 5 3 8 10 6 6 3 6 6 5 6 9 4 4 5 9 7
Vinegar - starsinmyeyes 6.06av
9 6 4 5 1 8 5 8 8 5 9 4 8 3 3 6 8 9
We Are People - doinker 6.06av
5 6 6 9 2 6 7 6 8 8 8 8 7 1 1 7 6 8
An Old Fashioned Song - RickDieffenbach 5.94av
1 4 6 3 8 7 6 9 8 3 5 4 6 8 8 5 8 8
Aloha-O - Paddy O'Furniture 5.61av
3 6 7 4 6 5 5 2 8 4 6 5 6 6 9 4 7 8
Just Like Love - FunkDaddy 5.28av
2 8 5 6 4 5 6 4 8 1 7 5 8 5 5 3 7 6

Golden Pie and All By Myself qualify for the year-end final. Congratulations!! Get ready to post in the 2012 - Song Competitions thread which is pinned on this board.

Thanks to all who took part either by entering or voting. Especially the non-contestants.

Our next comp will be the Mar 1+1

Nige

[Thinman]

Here goes !

http://thenastyangel...housand-shovels

(The Face That Launched A Thousand) Shovels

Do you believe in a fate ? - Everything comes to him who waits
Chance will bring you all you need - Ambition is a form of greed
The wind that takes the autumn leaves
The tides within the silent sea
These things decide your destiny

But you - are the one - with a childish - obsession
The future hasn't happened yet - and there’s a past you can’t forget
Do you know where you want to be ?
Do you believe what you can see ?
Or do you see what you believe ?

Shovels - in the hands of men
Makes a time machine - once again
Now it’s dusty - where there was dirt
The windy city - beneath the earth

So Turkey is out of bounds - Secret agents chase you around
They all want what you have found - Stolen secrets from the ground
A jewellery cache and a face from the past
Is Helen’s necklace and Hector’s mask
Fate displays it’s winning ways at last

Now where can that treasure be ? - Somewhere in Adolf’s legacy
But Sophie looked so fine - an image of the time - (was this?)
The face that launched 1000 ships
And caused the earth to move for you
And you to move the earth for it

Archaeology is somethin new - Homer laid a trail for you
A magic tale of golden days
Can seize your mind and change your ways...................

[ScenesFromPalacio]

Golden Pie

All music/lyrics Steve Ison



I'll feed my fire with love and joy to let it go up
I'll feed my fire with love and joy to let it go up
And when that flame is growing high
Will bake me a Golden Pie
I'll feed my fire with love and joy to let it go up....

I'll shift those stones that block my stream to let it flow on
I'll shift those stones that block my stream to let it flow on
And when the water meets the sea
then i'll be the real me
I'll shift those stones that block my stream to let it flow on...

I'll use my strength to mine the gold thats held in the rock
I'll use my strength to mine the gold thats held in the rock
And when i strike upon that seam
i'll set free a shining dream
I'll use my strength to mine the gold thats held in the rock....


I'll feed my fire with love and joy to let it go up
Yeh I'll feed my fire with love and joy to let it go up
And when that flame is growing high
Will bake me a Golden Pie
I'll feed my fire with love and joy to let it go up....

Love's gonna bake me a Golden Pie
Love's gonna bake me a Golden Pie
Love's gonna bake me a Golden Pie...Yeh

[RickDieffenbach]

An Old Fashioned Song
© 2012 Rick Dieffenbach

V1:
I want to sing an old fashioned song
So we can laugh and have a sing along
The kind of tune that is fun to do
Will have you humming all day long
I want to play an old fashioned, sing an old fashioned, write an old fashioned song

V2:
So I wrote me this simple tune
To make it sound like it's 1902
I don't much care if it gets on the air
Just want to have fun with me and you
I want to play an old fashioned, sing an old fashioned, write an old fashioned song


Interlude1:
Sing an old fashioned song
I hope you will hum along
Sing an old fashioned song for you...

INSTRUMENTAL

V3:
Now if the world has made you feel blue
There's only one thing you need to do
Just hum this song and it won't be long
Before a smile comes back to you
I want to play an old fashioned, sing an old fashioned, write an old fashioned, song that's old fashioned


Interlude 2:
Sing an old fashioned song
I hope you will hum along
Sing an old fashioned song with me….

[starsinmyeyes]

Vinegar

T Edridge/T Nybeek © 2012.

V1
Tonight I'll be as nice as pie
No matter how I feel inside
I'll wink and nod and babe I'll smile
'Cause no-one misses vinegar

V2
I'll serve you drinks and laugh at jokes
Transform into the perfect host
I'll even ask after your folks
'Cause no-one misses vinegar

Chorus
It's all an act and that's a fact
Smiling when my heart is cracked
But I won't ever tell you that
'Cause no-one misses vinegar

V3
An acid tongue would steer me wrong
Then you'd be glad when I am gone
Instead I'll pour the sugar on
'Cause no-one misses vinegar

Chorus
It's all an act and that's a fact
Smiling when my heart is cracked
But I won't ever tell you that
'Cause no-one misses vinegar

[Paddy O'Furniture]

Aloha-O

by Patrick Burke 2012

Hilo takes me to Kozmic Kones
A sunny girl laughs and smiles at me
I really dig her style
She gets her cone for free

I walk upon the black sand beach
Collect a little jar of sand
I slip and bump my head
Throw that sand right back again

Aloha-o, Aloha-oha-o-o-o-o, Aloha-oha-o-o-o-o, Aloha-oha-o

Rainbows smile from bluest skies
Stars glow in the purest night

Aloha-o, Aloha-oha-o-o-o-o, Aloha-oha-o-o-o-o, Aloha-oha-o

Mother Waipio welcomes me
Her Hibiscus still remains closed
She longs to see her people free
Our tax became the axe that destroyed their homes

Aloha-o, Aloha-oha-o-o-o-o, Aloha-oha-o-o-o-o, Aloha-oha-o

[FunkDaddy]

Just Like Love
by Mark Smith

Patiently drowning, as thoughts of you cross my mind
Harbored feelings of hate, escaping from inside
Hold back your tears, in favor of holding on
To the desecration that hides, the shame before the calm

Because life just like love can end in an instant
And you can't take either with you when you go

So much for dying in each other's arms
You can count on me to show you what went wrong
Nothing seemed to go right
Nothing left but wounds from a battle bravely fought
Inside of ancient ruins

And life just like love can end in an instant
Life just like love you can hope you're forgiven

Days, months and years how long has it been
I've all but forgot
Nothing left to revive, how long can I keep holding on

Now I'm living a lie in a world I couldn't dream
But we both seemed to find peace in the spaces in between
Patiently drowning, as you escape my lungs
Looking down upon myself, to see what we've become

©2012 Sleepy McGee Music

[doinker]

We Are People

by Brian Hayter

Chorus 1
We are people and we know that people make mistakes. I think that we should cut ourselves some slack. We are people can we show that people can be great? Let's all remember that we share in the same fate.

Verse 1
We only wanted to be what's right. We only wanted to do things right. Why's it always end in fighting wars around the world?

Chorus 2
We are people and we know that people make mistakes. I know that I have made a few myself.

Bridge
Hey, no one's giving up on you. Hey, no one's runnin' out on you.

Chorus 3
We are people and we know that people make mistakes. Come show that you can make a few yourself. We are people can we show that people can be great? I know that we can work together now.

Verse 2
We only wanted to be what's right. We only wanted do what's right. Why's it always end in fighting wars around the world?

[Ironknee]

“All By Myself”
by Tom Tognaci

http://soundclick.co...cfm?id=10203714

I deal with the loneliness
Like combing fresh cut hair
I convince myself that I’m alright
I can deal with the solitude
And the echo from upstairs
Now that the ghost is gone, I’m alright

I’d rather be alone and by myself
Than to be alone, while being with someone else
All by myself
Stowed way up high on some dusty shelf
All by myself
Just me, an island, unto itself

Some nights I reminisce
Back and forth in this old chair
Is it worth the lament?….is it really fair?
Black and blue is the emptiness
With a woman who can’t care
One thing that stands out, now, completely clear

I’d rather be alone and by myself
Than to be alone, while being with someone else
All by myself
Stowed way up high on some dusty shelf
All by myself
Just me, an island, unto itself

Some nights I reminisce
Back and forth in this old chair
Is it worth the lament?….is it really fair?
All I need is my poetry
And the music that I play
To stretch these untamed wings and fly away

[kimberlyinnc]

A collaboration between myself and Jim Merrilees- Thanks!


A Night Like That




A fog swirled ‘round the lamp posts
on the streets of Manhattan
a lone saxophone seduced us
With Coltrane, and Braxton
My baby wore a red carnation
In her black satin hair
stirring something in me
with her Mona Lisa stare

Have you ever had a night like that?
Have you ever had a night like that?


We moved like any couple would
Consumed by the heat of love
We danced so close there was barely room
For the air between us
and then I worked up the courage
to ask for a proper kiss
And my life from that night on
was magical like this

Have you ever had a night to linger on?
One you wanted to go on, and on and on
into forever and forever after that,
Have you ever had a night like that?

When my hourglass runs down
to its final grain of sand
I can say with certainty
That I'll die a happy man
I am wise enough to know
That heaven already exists
‘cause few hearts that beat
have had nights like this

Have you ever had a night to linger on?
One you wanted to go on, and on and on
into forever and forever after that,
Have you ever had a night like that?

© Kimberly Kime/Jim Merrilees BMI
All Rights Reserved

[Jason Kalman]

South Pacific Love
Words/Music/Performance by Jason Kalman (2012)

Intro
You and me and me with you
And love will be all we need

Verse I
Every day I wake up
I’m so lucky I am here
Every day I pinch myself
Cause love is love is
There’s no reason to leave
There’s no reason to go
Cause everything I’ll ever need
Is right here right here

Chorus
You and me and me with you
And love will be all we need and
You and me and me with you
And love will be all we need and
South Pacific love
That’s what I need is some
South Pacific love

Verse II
There’s no time to be sad
There’s no time to cry
Dry your little eyes now child
And smile, smile, smile
Life is oh so precious
Life is oh so grand
And though our time is short here
Love is Love is

Chorus

Bridge
Pictures of you
Pictures of me
On this island fantasy
Dancing by the shore
Swimming in the shallows
On this island fantasy
She runs towards the motion
She runs towards the ocean
I run with arms wide open
I run with love’s emotion

Verse III
As we watch the sun go down
The light is fading fast
And though it’s time to say goodnight
You say you say
Life is oh so precious
Life is oh so grand
And though our time is short here
Love is Love is

Chorus

[NigeQ]

Closed for entries - see post #2 for scoring details. Please note the new guidelines which are not compulsory but something you may wish to consider when grading the songs.

[NigeQ]

Results are in - see post #3

[doinker]

Congrats Steve and Ironknee! Two great songs that you both should be proud of.

Everyone else had very nice compositions this month as well. Stoked to be a part of this group of talent.

[kimberlyinnc]

Hey, Congrats to another win Scenes!! It was an awesome song...but that is somewhat what I expect when I hear one of yours I have not heard a dud yet.

IronKnee- Congrats ..I loved the harmonies on this. It reminded me of the great groups from back in my day, Kansas, Little River Band, etc. Nice!

My top choices, though it was hard to pick on a few were
South Pacific Love - Jason Kalman
and
Golden Pie - ScenesFromPalacio

an Honorable mention goes to
We Are People - doinker


I found things to like about every song. And who ever scored the 10 or a high score, on mine and Jim's song, A Night Like This..Thank you so very much!!


Thanks Nige for running this!!


Kim

[bernabby]

I'm a bit confused by the scoring. I thought these were supposed to be ranked. I gave a 10 to A Night Like That thinking that reflected my first place choice. I also gave out a 1 not as how I felt about the song but purely for ranking. I hope this did not impact the scores and hope those with my lower ranking will not take it personally. It appears not everyone has scored the same way.

[Salley Gardens]

Congratulations, Scenes and Ironknee! ("All by Myself was my top pick)

Bernabby, we are "encouraged" to rank, but we don't have to. I followed that encouragement, too. I don't think either way of scoring would have an effect on the winners... the best songs always rise to the top. It just means, people shouldn't get their noses bent out of shape when they see the lower scores. More 1s, 2s, & 3s are to be expected, without it being reflective of "bad" songs.

[SoddyBottoms]

Congrats to the Winners ! Steve got my 10 and Kim got my 9 after that it was a tight pack ... Great bunch of songs !

[Alistair S]

Well done, guys.

A good (and diverse) set of songs. My top 3 were Ironknee followed by a tie between Starsinmyeyes and Thinman this month.

[FunkDaddy]

Wow I got toasted in this one And it's one of my favorite songs I've written in a long while. I shall take my 3 8's and cry myself to sleep.

Congrats to the winners! The results are pretty close to how I had them ranked...and yes, that's what I did. I found it forced me to listen a lot more critically to try and differentiate between my placings. I think I'll stick with it for the contests.

Thanks to Nige for putting the time in.

[Paddy O'Furniture]

Congrats to Steve and Tom (Deja Vu?). Just so many great songs this month. Golden Pie was such a visceral song, it was an automatic 10. Vinegar got my 9 - so honest about being dishonest. Pretty cool.

I scored the songs high this month, but the scores were well-deserved.

Thanks to all!

[Ironknee]

Thank you all sooo very much....and congrats to Steve
I've got to thank everyone and all for favoring my song so highly. There were so many songs with such beautiful instrumentation and production! I'm grateful that my song was able to somehow float
Thanks again! -Tom

[Jason Kalman]

Thanks Nige for always running such a great contest. Congrats to Steve and Tom. Amazing group of songs this month....the bar is continuing to rise. I had Steve's song first and Rick's tune second...but all the songs were awesome in my opinion. Can't wait till next month's 1+1. Thanks Kim for your support! Loved your's and Jim's song...very, very good!!!
Cheers,
jason

[NigeQ]

Salley Gardens, on 15 February 2012 - 06:32 PM, said:

Bernabby, we are "encouraged" to rank, but we don't have to.

7 of the 18 scorers used the ranking system

[ScenesFromPalacio]

Thanx very much for voting Golden Pie the winner here-and kind words-very much appreciated !

Congrats to Tom too-That was a cool song with excellent harmonies and a sweet chorus..
My top pick this time was Starsinmyeyes Vinegar - Really strong lyric n intuitive sad eyed tune...
So many good songs here to choose from..A great melting pot of styles n vibes..Always a pleasure to be involved
Cheers again to Nige for running it and all the non-contestant voters too

[bernabby]

NigeQ, on 16 February 2012 - 01:10 AM, said:

Salley Gardens, on 15 February 2012 - 06:32 PM, said:

Bernabby, we are "encouraged" to rank, but we don't have to.

7 of the 18 scorers used the ranking system

Just out of curiousity, how did you manage to combine the 2 different scoring methods to determine the scores? Would any of the placings been different with just one or the other scoring method?

[FunkDaddy]

I'm pretty sure the votes are still tabulated the same way.

[scubed]

I’m one of those who used the ranking system (more on that below). If I’d just been scoring instead of ranking, I’d have had nothing lower than a 5. These were all good songs.

Congratulations to Scenes and Ironknee –two great songs! Tom, I love the harmonies on “All By Myself”– I had you in my upper ranks. Steve, you were my 9 – I was listening to “Golden Pie” and pondering the lyric when I found myself singing along to the chorus in gospel-style harmony.

My 10 went to Thinman. I first listened to “The Face that Launched a Thousand Shovels” while puttering in the kitchen and remembering my mother’s account of Heinrich Schliemann’s exploits. (After hearing the tale of the Trojan Horse, I had asked , “Was there really a Troy?”) As the song progressed, I found myself bopping around in time to the infectious music as I made Boeuf Bourguignon. A song that makes me dance while recalling a warm childhood memory gets a 10 from me!

I’ll post comments over the weekend on any of the entries that are up on the Song board – and, like Kim, I found something about each that I liked - but I wanted to mention a few things from other entries that stood out for me. Rick, I really enjoyed the authentic sound of “An Old Fashioned Song” – reminded me of the old 78s my parents had. Mark, I love the lines “Life just like love can end in an instant And you can’t take either with you when you go.” Kim, your lyrics painted a delightfully vivid picture.

About the scoring: It was hard for me to rank the songs in order of preference, and it certainly took longer than just assigning scores, but it was a worthwhile exercise. It not only forced me to consider exactly what I liked best and least about each entry, but also how strongly I felt about each song relative to the others. Very interesting process – made me a better listener.

For those who haven’t tried ranking the songs instead of scoring them, I’d encourage you to give it a whirl and see what you think.

[NigeQ]

bernabby, on 16 February 2012 - 06:53 PM, said:

NigeQ, on 16 February 2012 - 01:10 AM, said:

Salley Gardens, on 15 February 2012 - 06:32 PM, said:

Bernabby, we are "encouraged" to rank, but we don't have to.

7 of the 18 scorers used the ranking system

Just out of curiousity, how did you manage to combine the 2 different scoring methods to determine the scores? Would any of the placings been different with just one or the other scoring method?

For the non-contestants it makes no difference but for the contestants their average score will always be around the middle (6 probably). If we had run this comp where no one took on the ranking method the outcome would have been the same with possibly 1 or 2 of the minor placings swapping but the top 3 would be unaffected.

[Thinman]

Hey Scubed

Thanks for that - I was gonna ask who gave me a 10 - you have great taste !
Old Schliemann was a bit of a character eh ? Well he's immortalised now !







Dancers at gigs are worth their weight in precious metals and to get one in the kitchen is a real buzz - I bet your Boeuf Buourgignon was good too !

I would've given my song a 10 too but the authorities wouldn't let me !!! Just something I liked about the Bass and Drums too (John Wesley Harding-esque ! Given some scope of imagination)

Anyways - thank you so much

As for the rest - that ScenesFromPalacio is gettin' right on my 'kin nerves !!! Thought he was dead meat when I heard the first two lines of Golden Pie (it's gospel T Rex !) but by the end of the 3rd line I knew he'd won (it only takes one really nice change brought into focus by musicality and production to do it) - and the song continued to build nicely - I went straight round to my bookmakers and put £50 on it - if yer can't beat 'em make money out of them (my old Daddy used to say !)

KOFR

Robby

[ScenesFromPalacio]

LOL Robby...Glad you enjoyed it in the end tho..
Btw..I actually thought Shovels was a really cool song-Easily one of the best i've heard from you-Good chords n neat,interesting musical movement...Definitely worth its 8 from me..

[Thinman]

ScenesFromPalacio, on 22 February 2012 - 06:33 PM, said:

LOL Robby...Glad you enjoyed it in the end tho..
Btw..I actually thought Shovels was a really cool song-Easily one of the best i've heard from you-Good chords n neat,interesting musical movement...Definitely worth its 8 from me..

You owe me a point Steve ! I gave you a 9 - and I don't generally do 9s and 10s cos you are limited to 1 of each !
I did think Golden Pie was class

I'm coming for you next month - I got a couple of "contenders" and I finished my Zombie song
1+1 eh - Might get the old fingerpickin going ? - that always curries favour with the voters ?

HaHa

Keep On Rockin

Robby