The Song Fight Bulletin Board

The Jury has selected the title:

Title: "Brain Trust"
Due Date: June 20th at 1PM EST
Challenge: Song must include a phrase in a language other than English, Spanish, Italian, French or German
Send a copy of your completed song to nurein.sidefight@gmail.com

Ken Mahru
Paco del Stinko
Ross Durand
The Worldly Self Assurance

STREAM ALL

WE ARE DOWN TO THE FINAL FOUR. WHO WILL BE THE NUR EIN?!!!!

Notice the similarities between the eliminations of the "No Guitar" challenge of yesteryear and the final four of this year?

I don't understand your question, glennny, but I will say it again: these challenges are pretty ridiculous. If the challenge was "use a phrase in a language other than English," fine. But to eliminate the five most common languages is a bit much, imo. I'm out, so feel free to tell me to get bent, but the challenges were not fun for me this year and I know there are other (eliminated) contestants who felt similarly.

I mean, it's hard enough to write a song called "Brain Trust" in less than five days.

EDIT: I see now, glennny, that your post doesn't really have anything to do with the challenges at all, but with the eliminated contestants.

glennny wrote:Notice the similarities between the eliminations of the "No Guitar" challenge of yesteryear and the final four of this year?

Just been and checked it out... spooky!

frankie big face wrote:these challenges are pretty ridiculous. If the challenge was "use a phrase in a language other than English," fine. But to eliminate the five most common languages is a bit much, imo. I'm out, so feel free to tell me to get bent, but the challenges were not fun for me this year and I know there are other (eliminated) contestants who felt similarly.

We deliberately excluded the most common non-English languages to make the challenge more of a challenge. Maybe it's too challenging now? I don't know. The challenges are funky things, and hard to negotiate on both sides, it seems like. If you'd like to have some input on the challenges, you could communicate with Niveous about being a judge next time, or barring that, you could submit some suggestions for challenges to Niveous for next time. Or petition to have them removed from the contest even maybe.

Just fo the record - I think eliminating the most common languages is just fine - in fact it helps keep it a little more even for those of us who are not bilingual, just in case one of the four is.

Besides a challenge is supposed to be a ...um....er...challenge.

SO will it be tough for me, sure, but that's the point, right?

I assume the language does not have to be in common use.

frankie big face wrote:But to eliminate the five most common languages is a bit much, imo.

Oh, I hope it's okay to give away advice pro bono, but I could go on ad nauseum listing phrases in languages other than the ones listed that I bet most people not only use, but understand. If I can use a couple few, then anyone should be able to. QED

I understand the challenges are supposed to be "challenging" and that each challenge is going to more or less challenging to a given participant. (For example, Sam, I know the "no guitars" thing killed you last year, but it wasn't really a big deal for me.) I'm only speaking from my personal experience as a two-year-in-a-row contestant when I say that none of the the challenges made me groan last year, whereas 5 of the 7 did this year. I don't think I've changed so much in a year. Based on the awesome experience I had last year, I convinced a few old-timers to come out of the woodwork for this year's competition and, while I won't speak for them, I get the sense that the challenges were a big turn-off. I don't want to turn this into another thread complaining about the challenges, but I think it's important for whomever's making up the challenges to remember that there's already a fairly substantial challenge inherent in writing the songs. When the challenges supersede the songwriting (which I believe they have this year), then it's no longer about writing songs and that's unfortunate. Maybe someone else who's done two or more of these (like Glenn, for example) can lend a different perspective--I may be the only one who feels this way.

I have thought about being a judge next year, but I think I'll probably be a contestant again. I may take your advice and send a list of challenges I think would work well to Niveous. I actually have a few remaining from an abandoned project JB, ADD and I were doing last year.

erik wrote:

frankie big face wrote:But to eliminate the five most common languages is a bit much, imo.

Oh, I hope it's okay to give away advice pro bono, but I could go on ad nauseum listing phrases in languages other than the ones listed that I bet most people not only use, but understand. If I can use a couple few, then anyone should be able to. QED

Yes, Latin sprang to my mind as well. I still think you can be less restrictive with the challenge and get good, maybe better, results.

I like the challenges! One of my jobs is for a Japanese company, there's lots of Chinese around these parts too, I work with Russians, and I have Polish friends, I have every Uz Jsme Doma album (most awesome Czech band ever). Maybe it's the Bay area, but this isn't a big deal. I find it interesting that basically the Latin based languages were eliminated (except Portuguese), and only English and German of the Germanic languages are gone.

I'm bitter about the no guitar challenge, but only in a joking way. Someday I'll make Niveous write lyrics for me without the use of any verbs, and he'll know the feeling

glennny wrote:Someday I'll make Niveous write lyrics for me without the use of any verbs, and he'll know the feeling

HA! Good example. I made out ok last year in that challenge.

when life gives you no guitars, hire Steve Durand.
~BLT 2008

glennny wrote: Someday I'll make Niveous write lyrics for me without the use of any verbs, and he'll know the feeling

I would just be very imagery heavy because I couldn't even use words like "is" which is a copular verb. So it would have to tell the tale through nouns and adjectives. I could be done. The hardest part is avoiding using verbs as adjective. The only thing you would have to clarify is the use of participles. Would a phrase like "fallen comrade" be against the rules because it's using a verb as an adjective?

Nope not against the rules, past participles are fine.

(this is fun making rules)

frankie big face wrote:

erik wrote:

frankie big face wrote:But to eliminate the five most common languages is a bit much, imo.

Oh, I hope it's okay to give away advice pro bono, but I could go on ad nauseum listing phrases in languages other than the ones listed that I bet most people not only use, but understand. If I can use a couple few, then anyone should be able to. QED

Yes, Latin sprang to my mind as well. I still think you can be less restrictive with the challenge and get good, maybe better, results.

Oh, my mistake, I thought you meant the challenge was too hard. If your beef is that the challenges are stifling creativity rather than fostering it, then I think you have a point.

Damn - that challenge is piss easy. I've already done a few songs in the past that have used Kiribati lyrics. Also dabbled in Maori and Hungarian. "Bonjour Mon Ami" alone featured, Thai, Bahasa Indonesia and Japanese as well as French. It's good to be a cunning linguist (...hello ladies )

I'm totally gonna do the 'no verbs' thing. I'd do it for the current SF if there wasn't a verb in the title.

And you wise guys can keep the wisecracks about there already not being enough action in my songs to yourself, thanks. Heh.

Real-life visit.
Phone call.

Foggy five.
Cloud nine.

Yellow lever.
Red switch.

Water point.
Sky line.

Fun fact: There are 6 people other than myself in the final 4 bands. I've met 3 of them in person. The 3 people I've met in person (Ken, Ross, Paco) are not in my band.

glennny wrote:Fun fact: There are 6 people other than myself in the final 4 bands. I've met 3 of them in person. The 3 people I've met in person (Ken, Ross, Paco) are not in my band.

Holy crap...23!
6 people not including you?
multiplied by 3 you've met in person
that's 18!
Add 4 for total of bands, then add you, 1
6 x 3 = 18 + 4 = 22 + 1 =23 I'm freaking out here!

People! Do I have to spell it out for you? Niveous is the devil!

I thought he was a devilchild.

See, he tried to warn us, but we just laughed.

*whispers* Nur Ein isn't a contest to see who's the best musician, it's a COOK BOOK! We're DOOMED!

Billy's Little Trip wrote:*whispers* Nur Ein isn't a contest to see who's the best musician, it's a COOK BOOK! We're DOOMED!

Yep, the title in the last round is Soylent Green.