Just Another Day

Mike Lombardo wrote a kickars song. Then made a great collab with other members of Too Much Awesome. By the way, you'll see me in the video twice.

Spintown Christmas 2009 #10

Well this should finish up all the Christmas videos for this year. If any more are released late, you'll have to find them for yourself or wait until next year. Christmas starts Dec. 1st at Spintown, and ends Dec 30th. The first video is actually a cool video for New Years, but the other 4 are Christmas leftovers.

Top 25 Pop Songs of 2009 Mashup
This is a great idea for a video. I hope someone does this every year.

Grandma's Christmas Dinner - ASL
Stephen Torrence covers a great Paul & Storm Christmas song.

For Christmas
Meghan Tonjes wrote a new Christmas song.

Ringing Of The Bells
Here's another Muppet video, they've been making a lot of virals lately.

The Christmas Song
Pia Mia does a pretty good job with this song...especially when you consider she's only 13.

All I Want For Christmas Is A Job

YouTube description:

A new Recession/Depression-era song by "Penn & Teller: BULLSHIT!" composer, Gary Stockdale, and Spencer Green. They are the co-writers of the NY Fringe Festival hit musical "Bukowsical!"

I can related to this video, but at least this guy has kids he can sell for parts.

Song Fight Review: Frostbite

The last challenge over at Song Fight was titled "Cost Of Living", and I predicted that Torrentz would win. Well I was right this time and Torrentz did in fact get the victory. There's a whole new batch of songs over at Song Fight, so I suggest you go pick your favorite song for the current round. It was easy for me to pick my favorite this time, but a few songs battled it out for my other top spots. My picks are listed below:

1. Jeff DeSantis

2. Ross Durand

3. Paco del Stinko

4. Johnny Cashpoint

Not Too Bad: Tuners Union - Berkeley Social Scene - DuToVa

UPDATED:
This song by Chris Cogott missed the deadline by only...a little over a year.

Spintown Christmas 2009 #9

Chiron Beta Prime - ASL
Stephen Torrence covers my favorite Jonathan Coulton Christmas song.

Christmas Is Interesting - ASL
I don't really care for this Jonathan Coulton song, but Stephen Torrence makes it....interesting.

Sing Christmas
Here's another Christmas video featuring Tay Zonday.


Pretend That You Like It
I used to pretend that I liked gifts...I grew out of it.


O XMAS TXT
The Sap & Ponceman bring you another Christmas song.

Silent Night
David Choi's dad is a bit of a nerd, but he plays a mean autoharp.

Spintown Christmas 2009 #8

All I Want For Christmas
ijustine made a pretty cool fan collab for Christmas...just try to ignore the actual singing.


He Will Increase
If I was to rate my top 10 YouTubers of all time, Ysabella Brave would probably make the list. Enjoy this new song & video from her.

Dominos And Bells
I bet FlippyCat will be jealous he didn't think of this first.

Movie Clipmas
Poems are way cooler when read by celebrities.

The Christmas Song Song
I really enjoyed this Christmas tune from Rocky and Balls.

Christmas Piano Medley
Scott Bradlee tickles the ivories for us on Christmas.

Spintown Christmas 2009 #7

I've been talking about making some changes here for awhile. Today you can see 1 of those changes, even though it's a work in progress still. I'm guessing you noticed the 3 little buttons above titled "Songs Of The Day", "Dance" & "Music Videos". Well in an attempt to make this blog less cluster fucked & to make it easier for you to find the type of videos you like I started 3 new blogs that are a part of Spintown.

So if you come here for the dance videos; all you have to do is click the "Dance" button, and it'll take to the part of Spintown that only features dance related videos.

If you visit this site because you like the singers & musicians I feature; all you have to do is click the "Songs Of The Day" button, and it'll take you to the part of Spintown that only features people sitting in front of a web cam singing or playing their instrument of choice. VideoSongs will be included there as well.

The "Music Video" button takes you to the part of Spintown that features professional & amature music videos. This could include the type of quality you would see on MTV, or something as simple as a lip dub video by a YouTuber that made me laugh.

BUT SPIN! WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THIS PAGE! Don't worry, this will serve as the home page for all of Spintown, and I'll continue to post Song Fu & Song Fight Reviews here. As well as original material like the "Spintown Interviews..." & "Pain For Laughs" videos. Sometimes I might even post a special or themed blog here (like these Christmas blogs).

Your feedback is very much needed, because this is an effort to make things better for you. You can stay subscribed to Spintown just as you are, or you can subscribe to only a portion of Spintown. If you only want to follow the dance stuff, then go click the dance button, and subscribe to that blog only. Heck you can subscribe to all 4 if you want. It doesn't matter, you experience Spintown in whatever way suits you.

Last Christmas (Literal Version)
In case you haven't seen it yet, HERE's the interview I did with Dustin McLean. He's the guy who started this "Literal Music Video" trend.


Singing Christmas House
You just have to wonder how much free time some people have.

X-Mas Medley
Here's a nice medley from HughJaZZ.

Santa's Pants
Once again, here's the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppets.

Song Fu 5 Round 3 Results

Well the votes have been in for a couple days, and Joe "Covenant" Lamb won yet another round. Like the last round, I picked 3 of the 5 top vote getters. I wasn't too shocked with the results this round, but there was 2 people I thought deserved more votes. I think Jonathan Mann put together his best song of the tournament, and should have got a lot more votes. I also think Steve Chatterton deserved a little more. I didn't get all his lyrics, but the music was extremely catchy & had a great holiday feel. As usual the top 10 are listed below, with my picks in bold.

(Right click "Save As" to download MP3's.)
1. Joe "Covenant Lamb" - "Ghoul Tide" (120 Votes)
2. Sara Parsons - "Dead Week (A Song About Failure)" (107 Votes)
3. Kylie Petto - "Snow Drift" (20.0%, 86 Votes) (86 Votes)
4. Chas Lilly - "Salvation Army" (48 Votes)
5. Josh Holober-Ward - "Snow Day" (41 Votes)
6. Gorbzilla - "Festivus! (For The Rest Of Us)" (39 Votes)
7. Craig Richie - "The Christmas Beers" (38 Votes)
8. Edric Haleen - "The Night Before" (37 Votes)
9. Godz Poodlz - "A Gift from Godz Poodlz" (33 Votes)
10. Denise Hudson - "Mistakes Were Made" (29 Votes)
16. Jonathan Mann - "Jesus Christ At Christmas Time" (21 Votes)

Song Fu 5 Total Vote Count:
Round 3 didn't effect the overall standings very much. The top 5 remained unchanged except for Jason Morris falling out of the 5th spot, and Kylie Petto stepping into it. Jason might have held onto the 5th spot, but he neglected to enter a song for this round. "Buckethat" Bobby Matheson dropped out of the top 10 because of the same reason, and Lex Vader filled his spot. People who benefitted the most from this round include Gorbzilla, Ian "2 Shades" Johnson & Denise Hudson who all moved up 5 spots in the overall standings. The biggest winner was Craig Richie who moved up 11 places, while the biggest drop came from Jeff Fardink who dropped 7 places. The final standings are listed below.

1. Joe Covenant Lamb - (517 Votes) **
2. Sara Parsons - (429 Votes)
3. Chas Lilly - (317 Votes) *
4. Josh Holober-Ward - (225 Votes) *
5. Kylie Petto - (203 Votes)
6. Edric Haleen - (164 Votes)
7. Jason Morris - (144 Votes) *
8. Godz Poodlz - (118 Votes) *
9. Lex Vader - (109 Votes)
10. Jubilee Jews - (105 Votes)
11. Gorbzilla - (96 Votes)
12. Zer0guy - (89 Votes)
13. "BucketHat" Bobby Matheson - (88 Votes) *
14. Manticess - (82 Votes)
15. Denise Hudson - (79 Votes)
16. Jonathan Mann - (75 Votes)
17. Gifted Gear - (72 Votes)
18. Ian "Two Shades" Johnson - (70 Votes)
19. Caleb Hines - (68 Votes)
20. Aaron Z - (63 Votes)
21. Jalapeno Habaneros - (62 Votes)
22. Craig Richie - (59 Votes)
23. Alex Taylor - (58 Votes)
24. Jeff Fardink - (57 Votes)
25. Peter Benedict - (57 Votes)
26. Simmbiosis - (50 Votes)
27. Timothy Rush - (42 Votes)
28. Steve Chatterton - (42 Votes)
29. Bram Tant - (37 Votes)
30. Governing Dynamics - (28 Votes)
31. Spencer Sokol - (28 Votes)
32. Bobby Westfall - (26 Votes)
33. AudioMohel - (23 Votes)
34. Justin Vega - (23 Votes)
35. Jarrett Heather - (17 Votes)
36. Tyler Massey - (10 Votes)
1,847 Total Votes
(How my votes were distributed: bold = got 1 vote, * = got 2 votes, ** = got 3 votes)

Spintown Christmas 2009 #6

The best kind of Christmas music is the free kind. I saw that Todd McHatton put up a free Christmas EP HERE. My favorite tune from the EP is below.

The Christmas Song
Amy Kuney covers Alvin And The Chipmunks.


Crush On Santa
This might be my favorite video I've seen from DxDutch.


Hello Mistletoe (Goodbye Cold Snow)
This is the official music video for this Brett Domino single.


Ho Ho Ho
The Sap & Ponceman made another Christmas music video. It's not bad, but last years was better.


Merry Squidmas
Short little video from rathergoodstuff.


Silent Monks
This is a viral video from last year, but it's one of my favorites.

Too Much Awesome NEWS

Joe "Covenant" Lamb got some great news recently. He just won the honor of facing the Song Fu #5 master. I still don't know who Ken Plume picked as the master, but you'll be able to find out more details HERE soon.

Chris Cogott is a new TMA member that I recruited from Song Fight. If you've read my reviews of Song Fight, you know you have to sift through a lot of crap to find a couple gems. Well Chris is definately a gem, and if you don't beleive me you can download some of his covers on BandCamp for free (through the holidays) to see for yourself. He's also a JoCo fan, so he should fit in nicely. HERE's a link to his website, he's @chriscogott on Twitter.

We're Having A Party
Aside from the JoCo forums you probably won't find a bigger group of JoCo fans on the web then at TMA. To celebrate Jonathan Coulton's birthday these fans (of which I count at least 4-5 TMA members) created a collaborative fan video.


Somewhere To Hide
Sara Parsons was Joe's biggest competition in Song Fu #5, coming in 2nd place. I think her new video is a good example of why people like her.


Change Your Life
James Jones made a video for a great original song he wrote. I'm glad I got James to sign up to TMA, but now I have to figure out a way to get him more active in the TMA community. *hint* :D

All I Know (Electric Version)
This is a great song from Jason Morris. Everyone needs to go leave comments telling him to make more videos.

Level With Me
Raven Zoë is a brand new TMA member. Matter of fact she joined the other day when we had 23 people in the chat room. 20% of TMA was in the chat room at the same time, that's pretty awesome.


Twenty-two
Dave Leigh is another person that I sort of recruited for TMA. Sammy Kablam showed me the cover Dave did of "Today's The Day". When I saw it I had to try getting him to sign up for TMA. Thankfully he didn't make me get rough, and he joined when I suggested he check it out.

TMA's Project 4 Awesome
Russ Rogers had the great idea for TMA to participate in this yearly YouTube event. This year we didn't really have much notice, but 2010 will be different. Multiple TMA members helped in making this video, but I'm not going to list them all because I don't want to forget someone. Besides, this is about charity anyways. So watch the video, learn a little about the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, enjoy the song and even if you can't contribute money to the cause; take a couple seconds to rate, comment, favorite & share the video to help spread the word. The song that TMA covers is "Sing" by Joe Raposo.
http://mhopus.org/

Old Movies I've Watched Recently

I watched a few musicals lately, and figured I'd give a brief review of them. Don't read any farther unless you like old musicals & TMC.

It's A Great Feeling (1949)
In this movie Doris Day plays a young country girl who moves to Hollywood to become a movie star. She then meets Jack Carson & Dennis Morgan who do their best to help her get a role in a movie. Basically the whole movie is about their bumbling efforts to get her noticed by a certain producer. Throughout the movie big stars drop in for cameos. For instance you'll see Cary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Errol Flynn, Danny Kaye, Ronald Reagan, Edward G. Robinson & Jane Wyman. Everyone in the movie plays themselves except for Doris, and despite the star power, this movie doesn't really shine. Any movie that Doris Day sings in however is bound to have a highlight or two though. For me the title song "It's A Great Feeling" & "That Was A Big Fat Lie" were the only things that really grabbed me about this movie. You can watch the original trailer HERE.

Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)
In this movie I think Mickey Rooney is a little over the top, even for an Andy Hardy movie. But if you like Andy Hardy movies you'll like this flick. Judy Garland has the most memorable moment in the film when she sings "In Between". Unfortunately I couldn't find a high quality clip of this scene, but I did find a zoomed in version of it....it's better then nothing. HERE's a link to the movie trailer. Something I found amazing about this film is that it took only 19 days to shoot, and was in theaters only 2 months after filming. They talk about the old days being run like a factory, but that's freaking amazing.

Holiday Inn (1942)
I've never been a huge fan of this movie even though it stars one of my favorite dancers Fred Astaire. There's even a number of good dance routines, yet as soon as the routines are done I'm bored again. Part of the problem is that even though I love Bing's singing, I've never cared for his acting. You can watch the movie trailor HERE, and a deleted scene in which Bing performs in black face HERE. Whenever he's not singing I'm always wanting someone else in the role. In this first clip from the film Fred Astaire takes Marjorie Reynolds on an inebriated tour of the dance floor.

Let's Say It With Firecrackers
Easily my favorite number from the film. Fred wasn't afraid to try new things, and often when he did excellence was achieved.

Be Careful It's My Heart
This number really brings all the assets of the film out at once. You have Bing singing & Fred Dancing with Marjorie Reynolds who is looking HOT.

You're Easy To Dance With
I'm not really a Virginia Dale fan, so I would much rather have seen Marjorie (better yet Ginger Rogers) in this number. Not bad though.

Damsel In Distress (1937)
This isn't one of my favorite Fred Astaire movies. I think my biggest problem with the movie is I don't feel the chemistry between Fred & his romantic interest Joan Fontaine. Another problem I had is the carnival musical number. There are all sorts of great props around that I'd love to see Fred dance all over, into, around and what not. Instead it turns into a simple comedic number that's not that funny, and is lacking in dance department. George Burns & Gracie Allen are funny most of the time, but in the end this film isn't what I like in a Fred Astaire movie. There is 1 saving grace that makes watching this movie worth while. Fred's tap dance with the drum set is amazing. I found THIS video of Tom Chamber recreating the number on YouTube.

Just Begun To Live
This is the only other part of the movie I feel is worth sharing. Again, it's not the greatest Fred Astaire number, but it's cool to see George, Gracie & Fred all dance together. If you take the time to watch the whole movie, see if you can spot Jack Carson's who is uncredited in this film.

Spintown Christmas 2009 #5

If you want to spend Christmas with Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis there's a new episode of "The Comedic Genius Of Martin & Lewis" posted HERE. Show notes can also be found HERE.

Always In The Season
Pomplamoose gives us a cool holiday VideoSong for Christmas.


All I Want For Christmas Is You
I can't think of anyone better then Nick Pitera to cover a Mariah Carey Christmas song.


Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Wade Johnston & Danielle Ate The Sandwich sing a classic Christmas song.

Carol Of The Ocarinas
Carol Of The Bells...but for ocarinas.

Christmas On The Farm
The sock puppets are at it again.


Lady Gaga's Christmas Album
I hope this video doesn't give her any ideas.

Spintown Christmas 2009 #4

I'm Santa Claus, Yo
I don't know why this guy doesn't have more subscribers.

Guerrilla Handbell Strikeforce
ImproEverywhere is at it again, but honestly I hear too many freaking bells this time of the year.

A Christmas Rap
This Matt Mulholland guy is quickly making himself known online.

Elfvis
Mark Dillon created another Christmas lawn show featuring Elfvis.

Socks Suck At Xmas
Another charming little diddy from the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre.

Honika Electronica
Not really a Christmas song, but it's still a holiday song.

Song Fu 5 Round 3 Review

Once again a lot of people didn't send in a song for this round, but there was still over 20 entries. I mentioned that I was disappointed not to see songs from Steve Chatterton & Ian "2 Shades" Johnson in the previous round. The good news is they're back for this round, the bad news is that 2 more favorites of mine "Buckethat" Bobby Matheson & Jason Morris had to sit this round out. This challenge really didn't excite me much, but it's definately better then the round 1 challenge. Here's the description posted by Ken Plume:

"Your song can reference the holidays, but must not be explicitly about them. However, it should incorporate instruments and/or a style that evokes the holidays. Your song must run no shorter than 1 minute 30 seconds."

My picks are below: along with some honorable mentions & brief notes. Just remember my opinion means little, and I'm not a musician. If I criticize your work, I'm just trying to give you an idea of what 1 fan is thinking while contemplating his votes. I suggest you go vote for your favorites HERE, but only after listening to all the songs for yourself.

Song Fu #5: Round #3:

(Right click "Save As" to download MP3's.)
1. Chas Lilly - Salvation Army - Another great performance from Chas, and I loved the whole idea for the song.
2. Joe "Covenant" Lamb - Ghoul Tide - Honestly I getting tired of Joe hogging all my votes. I've voted for him in each round of Song Fu 5. Christmas is coming Joe, try sharing or I'm telling Santa about all the dead Furbies in your closet.
3. Jonathan Mann - Jesus Christ At Christmas Time - I asked Jonathan to participate in Song Fu, so I was starting to feel bad about not voting for him. I loved his song this round, and I'm extremely pleased I'm able to vote for him this round. This is why I wanted him in Song Fu.
4. Godz Poodlz - A Gift From Godz Poodlz - Maybe it's because I'm always shamelessly self promoting my blog, but I enjoyed this song. The song references were really cool, and I don't think I've ever heard a better commercial in my life. Jingle Fu or Commercial Fu better look out for this duo.
5. Josh Holober-Ward - Snow Day - I struggled (which is normal) with this last pick. A few songs were being considered, but I think Josh captured the utter joy I used to feel on snow days. Those memories got him my last vote.

Honorable Mentions:

Caleb Hines - Finals Week - I liked the idea, liked the music, but the vocals just weren't good enough to knock Josh out of the #5 spot. Mad props to Caleb for a good song though.
Kylie Petto - Snow Drift - Honestly I thought she was getting too many votes the first couple rounds. But I relistened to all 3 of her songs and she's definitely better with each passing round. This time I think she earned any votes that she gets. Considering that she's only 17, I'm even more impressed. I like the idea for the song, but I think she would have been better served to cut all the phone chatter once the song actually started, and maybe close with a cute little monologue at the end. I love the girls voice, but she seems to be afraid of using instruments?
Jubilee Jews - All Because I'm Not With My Heart - Aside from reaching for a few notes they probably shouldn't have, I enjoyed this song. It made me a little sad though, and I can't vote for everyone.
Denise Hudson - Mistakes Were Made - I loved the piano throughout this song, and I thought the performance from Denise was great. What ultimately dropped this song from my top 5 was the topic. Denise told me what the song was about as I started listening to the song for the first time. Here's the problem I had; I thought to myself later on..."What if Denise wouldn't have told me about the song first, would I have got what the song was about?" I relistening to the song again a few times I came to the conclusion probably not. It's a good song, but not one the average joe is going to "get" without CliffsNotes.
Gorbzilla - Festivus For The Rest Of Us - Made me think of "Seinfeld"...not a bad thing. I considered voting for this song for awhile.
Lex Vader - Ewoks - It's about as jolly as you could ever expect Lex to be. If I was more of a Star Wars nerd maybe I would have voted for it.
Steve Chatterton - My Epic Battle With Gravity - I really liked the tune that Steve came up with, and thought it might be the most catchy of the round. However I didn't get the lyrics, maybe that's just me, but the battle with gravity threw me.
Edric Haleen - The Night Before - I'm not going to lie, I'm a big fan of Edric. I've enjoyed a number of his Song Fu entries in the past, and even this one. However this song didn't stand a chance in hell of getting my vote. Just last week I did a Song Fight review in which I ranted about certain things that I look for in picking songs I will vote for. This song reminded of something I neglected to mention. To put it simply, I want something I can sing to. I loved Edric's song, it was a good idea, done well, and it was so darn sweet I might have shed a tear (but don't tell anyone). All that being said, you can't freakin' sing to it.

Shadow Entries

You wanna know why TMA is Too Much Awesome? Well this Song Fu round is a good example. Besides all the regular competitors who are TMA members, the only 2 shadow entries have ties to TMA. Mike Lombardo (The Elfs Lament) & Boffo Yux Dudes (Our Winter Love) both provided good songs. Since they're shadow entries you can't vote for them, but they're both worth a listen.

Props to everyone who participated, I look forward to more Song Fu'ness in the future. Please listen to all the songs, and support these great artists. You can find links to their various sites with their profiles HERE.

Jesus Christ at Christmas Time
Here's the video Jonathan Mann posted with his song.


PS: Joe "Covenant" Lamb won Song Fu by default because Ken failed to get a "Master". Joe was still kind enough to write a final song for Song Fu #5. Right click, "Save As" --> HERE to download & listen to "Life Is Hard (… Then You Die)”. I didn't officially review the final round, but I did make a blog about it's ending HERE.

Song Fu Five: What The Hell Happened?

Normally people seem to put the disclaimers at the bottom, but I want mine at the top...and in bold. I've tossed around the idea of having guest bloggers contribute to Spintown for awhile. Sammy is the first person I asked to write a guest blog, and I'm hoping he doesn't cause this to be the last guest blog as well. Keep in mind that the opinions in this blog are those of Sammy Kablam, NOT Spintown.

A review by Sammy Kablam

O.k., here's the deal. I got introduced to Song Fu 2 and enjoyed it. I had a great time keeping up with 3. 4 became a little uninteresting, and now 5 is a giant swamp of frustration. It's like someone said "Hey! There are six or seven gold coins at the bottom of a boiling tar pit -- they're yours if you have the guts to find them!" Not exactly an enticing bargain, is it? Now, first of all, the challenges have been, as I see them, sub-par. I realize there's only so much you can do with obscure references and having titles forced upon your entries and stifling what creative elbow room you have. But let's be serious: the songs of Song Fu 5 are mostly crap, and it's not because of the challenges. So, without further ado, I present a one-sided and entirely unfair review of everyone who signed up for Song Fu 5.

Governing Dynamics

You may have forgotten about him, because he did something very irritating: his first entry -- a song that was supposed to be about something -- and very specific and obscure something, at that -- was a damn instrumental. Why? What's the point? I've heard this guy's music -- with words -- and his songs are pretty good. But his presence in Song Fu 5 seemed completely void of purpose.

Jason "Aria" Morris

I really can't dig into Jason at all, which is kind of unfortunate for this rant. His production value is fantastic -- especially for an online competition. He may not like hearing it much, but he's very good at writing his songs, and it's a shame he had to pull out of Round 3. (See what I did there, Jason?) He's one of the few people in this contest that I can safely look forward to hearing, so his absence makes things that much more miserable.

Edric Haleen

Edric has a very theatrical style. His songs always sound drastically different, and sure, there are some that aren't my bag. He also tends to go the serious/emotional route when he can take it, and I'm not usually up for that particular ride. But by the same token, he's an artist with versatility and honest creativity, and is, therefor, someone I look forward to every round. I may not jump for joy at every song Edric offers, but I expect good things, and I'm generally surprised when he gives me something I don't enjoy -- which, around here, is rare.

"BucketHat" Bobby Matheson

I don't believe I've heard a bad song from Bobby. He could certainly use some more production time, to iron things out before he records them, but that's not exclusive to him. Judging by his entries, the tickets to the next BucketHat show won't be selling out anytime soon, but with polished tunes, I may just have to...well...eat my hat. I want Bobby in ong Fu 6, and I want him to really kick his production into high gear. You're on notice, son.

Tyler Massey

Hi. Reverb much? Yes. In fact, too much. Also, please make sure your song is as drawn out and boring as possible. I wouldn't want to think that the reverb is blurring your lyrics and that it was making me miss something interesting. I'm not going to go so far as to say I'm happy that he disappeared after one round, but I can't say I feel like I'm really missing anything.

Godz Poodlz

When I first heard them, The Pood were not exactly an instant favorite of mine. But they are stomping you people like crazy in making good, enjoyable songs. It is mind blowing that they're not in the top 5 ranks. Simply mind blowing. I could shoot myself in the head and eject brain matter onto a nearby wall, and my mind would not be as blown as it is over this particular subject. I mean, I realize a portion of Song Fu is popularity, and these guys aren't internet famous -- I mean, sure they're not Molly Lewis. But the upside to not being Molly Lewis, is that they can write really good songs. Yeah, I said it. What?

Bram Tant

A lot of people liked his first song; I didn't. And his second entry was, in my opinion, a bad idea. If you don't have an entry ready -- and this goes for anyone, not just Bram -- but if you don't have an entry ready, don't enter anything. There's no shame in missing a deadline for Song Fu; things do come up in real life. But to throw out unfinished, last minute drivel just to "enter something" makes it kinda look like you spent a week working on unfinished, last minute drivel. Not the best strategy. I expect better things from focused competitors. And I think if he knuckles down, Bram can make some vastly better things than he has.

Steve Chatterton

Steve is not my go-to guy. His two entries thus far have been unique -- in a good way. There's really nothing wrong with anything I've heard from him. I just also haven't heard anything from him yet that made me say "I like this guy!" I don't recall even smiling at any of his songs. But again, there's been nothing bad about them. Take it how you want, but...I have pretty much no opinion at all about this guy.

Manticess

For fuck's sake. I'm curious: do you write your lyrics directly ON cheese, or do you have a special cheese PEN? Your songs are like daytime television; hokey, feigning depth, and nobody really wants to tune in. I would throw you out of a coffee shop. I cannot express just how very bland your music is, except that it's so bland it makes me angry. You understand that? That means there is so much NOTHING going in your product, that the actual VOID in your works draws forth a NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE. I hope the magnitude of that fact is as inconvenient for you as it is for me.

Jarrett Heather

Another One Entry Wonder, I kinda wish he'd stuck around. His lyrics were only slightly dodgy, and his music was pretty nice. His voice was kinda goofy, but that can be a good thing. I dunno, the jerk didn't stick around, so what am I supposed to say?

AudioMohel

I have never heard a song from these guys that I wanted to finish. I'm kinda glad they didn't make it thru SF5.

Jalapeno Habaneros

You know that feeling you get when you're at a club or a show or what have you, and there's a guy on stage doing "comedy"...but he's not funny? And you know that he knows he's bombing, but he's trying to fight thru it and win over the audience...and making it worse? That's the feeling I get about ten seconds into every song from these guys. They've got great intentions, and their ideas aren't TERRIBLE, but their execution is horrendous. There are times I hesitate to even listen to their entry because I know I won't be able to finish it. From what I can tell they've got plenty of potential -- I just wish they'd use it.

Timothy Rush

Timothy has a bad habit of being redundant as hell. Just how many times CAN you fit the title of a song into the song itself? Maybe he's just not big on lyrics, I dunno. But that's kind of, like, 50% of entering a song writing competition. I actually started to like his second entry because of how simply weird it was, but then he started the 2nd verse and it all went to blandsville. Again. I think if he applies himself, he might be interesting, but as long as he continues to sign up and not care, it's going to continue shining thru. Which begs the question...why sign up?

Jubilee Jews

You know what's neither cute nor original? Ukuleles. You know what's not funny or interesting? Jubilee Jews. Their entries were as follows: Dull, Embarrassingly irritating, Missed the point. (PROTIP: Shaking bells doesn't make a song "holiday style".) Maybe it's because of the tendency to be minimalist Vocals/stupid little guitar combination, or maybe it's that plus their strong desire to be boring, but I roll my eyes every time I click for their songs. Maybe an album of lullabies geared toward infants is the best way to kick off their music career. I just wouldn't suggest driving while listening to their stuff.

Gorbzilla

The Tom Waits reference was astounding, and the Festivus concept was unique, if nothing else. I wish he'd been able to contribute to Round 2, because whereas he's not a favorite of mine out of the box, he's definitely someone to keep an eye on.

Peter Benedict

I would ask you to be interesting, but that would imply I want you to continue into Song Fu 6. And I'd rather have competitors that make it hard to choose who to vote for because there are so many GOOD ones, as opposed to continue having to bob for apples in a barrel of cold fish heads. I mean...if you're going to sign up, the least you could do is sing. Well.

Craig Ritchie

Here's another guy that I think has the potential but not the kinetic. If Craig REALLY forced himself to bust out some top quality stuff, he could do it. But for some reason, his entries just seem...incomplete. Very unpolished, at least. I hope he continues on, because I see him improving as he goes. I hope he proves me right.

Josh Holober-Ward

This guy, too, could be alright. In fact, unlike most of the drainage around here, I think Josh may be trying too HARD. "Mokey" was alright, but "Five" and "Snow Day" felt either forced or rushed, if not both. I think there is some pretty good stuff in this guy's musical future, and I hope to see him stick around.

Aaron Z

This guy's entries make him out to be nothing special whatsoever. I wish I could say something more positive, but nothing springs to mind. I mean...he's not Manticess, so that's a plus. If he shows up in SF6, I hope he does something that doesn't fade into the background.

Spencer Sokol

Spencer strikes me as a dark horse. He has yet to really impress me, but I get the feeling that he's going to, and soon. Maybe it's the fact that his Round Three song actually made me laugh. I look forward to seeing where he goes.

Joe Covenant

In the same way that Eddie Murphy saved Saturday Night Live those many years ago, Joe Covenant has taken the reigns of Song Fu and is kicking its ass. Some might argue that Joe's song quality comes from his decades of experience in song writing and performing, but that's kind of the point. You enter a competition because you're good, not as practice. If everyone was as talented as Joe, this contest would be much more fun and exciting -- and I wouldn't be here, bitching my heart out. Thank you, Joe Covenant, for rising to the top of the hack pile. (But doing it because you're good, and not just because you're the best hack.)

Lex Vader

Excellent music, all the time; Disappointing lyrics, just as often. Lex really does have some of the best produced music in all of Song Fu (which is nice, but doesn't say TOO much in a room full of vocalists without...well...music). But his lyrics either lose me or just feel apathetic. I think teaming with a lyricist would make him a real threat in this competition.

Caleb Hines

Caleb is another culprit of entering an instrumental when the song is supposed to be ABOUT something. He even had the brass to suggest that said instrumental was somehow a memorial! That makes NO SENSE, ladies and gentlemen. I tend to roll my eyes at a lot of his contributions, but he actually surprised me with his "Finals Week". Because of this, I'd like to see him in SF6, and REALLY sock it to the challenges. Show me that this song wasn't a fluke, and that he can keep up the good work. A partner might be a good idea for him, as well.

Ian "Two Shades" Johnson

Ian's #1 setback is his lyrical ability. His ideas are fine, his music, though sometimes rough, is generally effective. But his lyrics are a hindrance. The upside, is that Ian knows this, so I don't think I'll be pissing him off. I just think if he took more time on his words, they'd be much better and more rounded songs.

Zer0Guy

Music: Check. Lyrics: Come again? Part of succeeding in a song writing competition is making sure PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND YOU. I swear, your vocals are like Ortega doing a Sly Stallone monologue. And yes, I'm sure you'll have to look up Ortega. The point is, your words are really hard to make out. The upside is that your music tends to be pretty sweet, so if you can figure out how to be vocally audible, you'll be a threat to contend with. (That is, if your lyrics are any good; I wouldn't know yet, because I haven't heard any.)

Jonathan Mann

Heard a lot of praise for this guy from a lot of folks before SF started; once it started, I didn't see what the hub-bub was all about. His production value is very nice, but the productions, themselves, are nothing all that special. There's room for improvement, and if it happens, great, but as is...meh.

Sara Parsons

See above, so I don't have to rephrase it.

Chas Lilly

This guy is going to be the next big thing in Song Fu. I cannot stress this enough. And he won't need to milk pre-existing YouTube fame to do it. He's genuinely clever and funny and musically inclined, and he manages to fulfill the challenges properly. I don't see many people coming close to him in SF6, unless all of the talented guys from 3 and 4 return or if he suffers a sudden death. I wouldn't mind the resurgence of talent; not so kean on the death.

Kylie Petto

Sometimes, having a passion for something doesn't mean you should do it. Being Kylie Petto is one of those times. Her three entries were, apparently, testing the elasticity of the collective Song Fu patience. "Just how a irritating can I get," she may have asked herself, "Before someone asks me to stop?" Thus, her entries got progressively more annoying, and now I'm just going to go ahead and ask: Kylie...please stop.

Jeff Fardink

This guy only put forth one song for SF5, but it was one of the few Moleman songs that didn't bore me into a coma. But, hey...at least Kylie stuck it out. (That's heavy sarcasm, I'd actually trade her out to get him back.)

Alex Taylor

You are just terrible. You sound like Grimace, but without the dignity.

Gifted Gear

I guess that since you're not literally a gear, you don't expect me to believe you're literally gifted, either. To be completely blunt, I don't know why you signed up for Song Fu at all. And that's not meant to be a dig, I really just don't get it.

Bob Westfall

The one song he did was very dull. It gives me no reason to even pretend to be interested in what might have been, had he stuck around. I only wish the vast of the dullards would follow his example and make room for talent.

Justin Vega

This was the last One Entry Wonder. His song was o.k., but the challenge was so lame it's hard to call it a "good song" regardless of quality. I'll take this moment, though, to say this: It's true, things happens in life, and you have to pull out of contests and obligations due to unforeseen events. But if you know you won't be able to make the deadlines, is it really worth it to waste everyone's time in signing up? It really is a major waste to see unimpressive entrants do one song and then disappear back into obscurity, when their spot could have been taken, from the start, by someone with charisma and skill. Frustrating, indeed.

Simmbiosis

The drug party, house music stuff might be great for background noise in a warehouse full of black lights and mohawks, but it's not exactly the right fit for a songwriting competition, is it? I mean, I'm not one to discriminate, but pontoon boats are not exactly fit for the highway; they, like everything, have their place. In fact, a big portion of this competition is -- get this, now -- lyrics. And when your vocals sound like you recorded in a fish tank full of LSD, it doesn't help your position. Your music isn't bad, or anything, I just have no idea why you signed up for Song Fu with that particular style. It seems a bit like attending a costume party dressed as a wrench: it meets the requirements, but you look like a tool.

Denise Hudson

Your first song, from what I could hear, was all over the place. There seemed to be no focus whatsoever -- but your piano was overpowering, so it wasn't a great presentation to begin with. And your second song sounded like there was a kitten on the keys -- except "Kitten on the Keys" is good music. And there's really not much more to say.

So. That's a short, over-simplified summary of my take on everyone that was involved in Song Fu 5. I think this whole contest kinda sucked, save for five or six contestants. And I really hope Song Fu 6 retains the talented few from 5, drops the dead weight, and gains some new (or old) talent to bring things back up to an entertaining level.

And intriguing challenges would be suggested, as well.

Spintown Interviews...Mike "Spiff" Booth

I can't remember the first video I saw of Mike's. I just know that I discovered him about the same time I discovered Jonathan Coulton, as I'm sure the case is with many. Often when you think of a musician you may remember various moments from a music video. For instance if you think of Michael Jackson numerous images could come to mind. Whether it's dancing zombies or sidewalks that light up, I'm sure everyone has a certain video that pops into their head when they hear his music. Jonathan Coulton is different. Whenever I hear his music I think of "World Of Warcraft" machinima. Recently I was lucky enough to interview the man that is responsible for this strange association.

Do to YouTube having a 10 minute time limit for uploaded videos, I had to split the interview into 2 halves. If you want to watch the entire interview as a whole, you can watch it HERE at DailyMotion. The only problem with DailyMotion is the ads are a bit annoying, and there's no annotations.

Music By: Sammy Kablam
Opening Animation By: "Buckethat" Bobby Matheson
Len Peralta Will Flip Your Face At: Flip Face

Mike's Profile:
Main Website: http://www.spiffworld.com/
YouTube Channel: spiffworld
Joined YouTube: March 07, 2006
Channel Views: 532,290
Subscribers: 17,853
Twitter Account: @spiffworld

Since all his current work has been inspired by these men, I thought it would be appropriate to provide links to their main sites as well.
www.jonathancoulton.com
www.paulandstorm.com

Blue Sunny Day
This is Mike's most recent video. I actually uploaded his interview 2 weeks earlier then I had planned so I could make the YouTube version a video response to this. There will be a little bit longer wait until the next episode because of this. I plan on uploading another altered & humerous version of the Jeff MacDougall interview sometimes next week to tide people over until the next episode gets posted.

The Captain's Wife's Lament
This is the only non-JoCo video Mike has done so far. I'd love to see him do something from Jeff MacDougall or Joe Lamb.

Chiron Beta Prime
Well I had to feature one of the Christmas videos since it's December, and this is a favorite of mine.

First Of May
This is the video that YouTube removed from Mike's channel. I've had problems with YouTube doing that to some of my videos as well.

The Big Boom
I always liked this song. Especially the part about Michigan being gone...

Spintown Interviews...Jeff MacDougall

I became a fan of Jeff MacDougall when I started following SONG FU. Later on when he started the social networking site Too Much Awesome with Mike Lombardo, I joined.

Music By: Sammy Kablam
Opening Animation By: "Buckethat" Bobby Matheson
Len Peralta Will Flip Your Face At: Flip Face
Sponsored by Sunkist

Jeff's Profile:
Main Website: http://jeffmacdougall.com/
YouTube Channel: JeffMacDougall
Joined YouTube: February 21, 2007
Channel Views: 1,262
Subscribers: 38
Twitter Account: @jeffmacdougall
Bandcamp Page: jeffmacdougall
Too Much Awesome: TMA

Thank You
This is the song Jeff wrote for his wife & women who face the risk of genetic breast cancer. If you go buy this track on his Bandcamp page before Jan. 1st 2010, all proceeds will go to FacingOurRisk.org. So go kick cancer in the balls while enjoying a great song.


Hey Mister Christmas
This is a cool original Christmas song Jeff recently posted.

Your Birthday's Over
Jeff's latest cover was a Jon Brion song.

Spintown Christmas 2009 #3

HERE's another Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis holiday radio show. The show notes are HERE.

Deck The Lawn 2009
Mark Dillon created this ELFVIS Christmas lights show.

The Christmas Light Song
Staying with the Christmas lights theme, I give you the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre.

Ringing Of The Bells
Animal, Beaker & the Swedish Chef from The Muppets get into the Christmas spirit.

He's The Most Unfaithful Guy Of The Year
I expect to be seeing videos like this for most of 2010.

Christmas Is Creepy
Why am I posting a Fred video when I hate Fred? Well it's a Christmas music video, and it's very popular. I still hate it, but I'm trying to be nice...I mean Santa is watching.

Flash Mob
YT video description - "Nonprofit group Nefesh B'Nefesh got into the spirit a little early this year, organizing a secret flash mob in Jerusalem, set to the sweet sounds of Smooth E's "Hanukkah Hey Ya," I know this isn't the greatest flash mob, or even a Christmas video. It is a holiday video that references an old viral video though. CLICK HERE to watch an old Hanukkah viral video from 2004.

Song Fight Review: Cost Of Living

The last challenge over at Song Fight was titled "Your New Dress", and I predicted that MENBAH! would win. Or at least that was my favorite entry. Well I was wrong, and Don't Tell Betsy got the win. I had them ranked 4th, and I suspect they have a lot of friends voting for them based on their recent vote history. There's a whole new batch of songs over at Song Fight, so I suggest you go pick your favorite song for the current round. My picks are listed below:

Voted For:
(Right Click "Save As" on the artist's name for a MP3 of their entry.)

1. Torrentz

2. Jeff Robertson And The Neo-Candylanders

3. The Hinsdale Patent

4. Tyler Heath

Not Too Bad: Adam Adamant - Kapitano - Berkeley Social Scene - Kasper

It seems like the last 3 rounds or so I had to listen to about 10 songs that were just crap before I found something decent. Turns out the first good track was from Sheail. However there was a problem...NO LYRICS! I don't know if they just didn't have time to finish the song, or if they just didn't plan on adding lyrics. But how in the world does the song have a theme of "Cost Of Living" if it doesn't even have lyrics? I don't know how many people actually listen to ALL the entries before voting in competitions like this, but I listen. It takes a lot of time as well, so when people enter a song without lyrics it sort of bothers me. I mean I wasted time downloading & listening to a song I didn't need to hear since I'm not voting for a song that doesn't follow the theme. It's still a great song, but I wish people wouldn't post instrumentals in Song Fight unless it's a requirement of the current challenge. I've got another pet peeve to mention as well. I actually like to hear the lyrics when you record them. I know some people have better recording set ups then others, but for goodness sake if I can't understand your lyrics you're wasting my time.

Tips for getting my vote in Song Fight:
- I want to hear the lyrics.
- The more you use the phrase or stay true to the current theme...the more I like it. For instance Frank Bertsch entered a good song, but I didn't get how it stayed with the "Cost Of Living" theme. If I just totally missed it please let me know, but I didn't get it.
- I want to hear the lyrics.
- THIS SONG is a perfect example of what NOT to do. Honestly I couldn't find 1 good thing to say about it if I tried....but I won't even try, because it's garbage.
- I want to hear the lyrics.
- Unless the challenge states it should be an instrumental...DON'T POST AN INSTRUMENTAL!
- I want to hear the lyrics.
- The lyrics need to make sense. Tell a story or make a statement that the average joe will actually understand.
- I want to hear the lyrics.

Spintown Interviews... (Season One)

This is a new series for Spintown in which various dancers & singer/songwriters get interviewed. The people selected are people who use the internet as a tool to share their creativity. The other requirement is simple, but very subjective....I have to be a fan.

Music By: Sammy Kablam
Opening Animation By: "Buckethat" Bobby Matheson
Len Peralta Will Flip Your Face At: http://flipface.me/

Dustin McLean
You can find links to all things Dustin at his main website HERE. If you would like to watch the YouTube version with the annotations included --> Part 1 & Part 2.

HERE's a link to the blog post that accompanies this interview.

Frank Bell
Frank's Main Site: http://www.frankbell.net/
Frank's YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/Faure45
Frank's Twitter: @frankbellmusic
Frank's MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/frankbell
HERE's a link to the blog post that accompanies this interview.

Sasha Young
Sasha's YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/kyaaakya
Sasha's Blog: http://chocovoyage.blogspot.com/
HERE's a link to the blog post that accompanies this interview.

Jeff MacDougall
Main Website: http://jeffmacdougall.com/
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/JeffMacDougall
Twitter Account: @jeffmacdougall
Bandcamp Page: http://jeffmacdougall.bandcamp.com/
Too Much Awesome: http://toomuchawesome.ning.com/
Sponsored by Sunkist
HERE's a link to the blog post that accompanies this interview.

Mike "Spiff" Booth
Main Website: http://www.spiffworld.com/
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/spiffworld
Twitter Account: @spiffworld
If you would like to watch the YouTube version with the annotations included --> Part 1 & Part 2.
HERE's a link to the blog post that accompanies this interview.

Sophie Merry
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/BandyToaster
Sophie's MySpace:: http://myspace.com/BandyToaster
HERE's a link to the blog post that accompanies this interview.

Kris Mark
Kris on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/KrisMarkMusic
Kris on Twitter: @kris_mark
Kris on MySpace: http://myspace.com/krismarkmusic
Kris on i-Tunes: http://itunes.com/krismark
If you would like to watch the YouTube version with the annotations included --> Part 1 & Part 2.
HERE's a link to the blog post that accompanies this interview.

Nathan Wills
Main Website: http://www.nathanwillsmusic.com
Nathan on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/paradigma
Nathan on Twitter: @nathanwills
Nathan on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/nathanwillsmusic
HERE's a link to the blog post that accompanies this interview.

Sarah LaMantia
Main Website: http://www.sarahlamantia.com/
Sarah on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/SarEliz0131
Sarah on Twitter: @SarahLaMantia
Sarah on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/SarahLaMantia
If you would like to watch the YouTube version with the annotations included --> Part 1 & Part 2.
HERE's a link to the blog post that accompanies this interview.

Joe "Covenant" Lamb
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/JoeCovenantLamb
Twitter Account: @JoeCovenant
Bandcamp Page: http://joecovenant.bandcamp.com/
Too Much Awesome: http://toomuchawesome.ning.com/profile/JoeCovenantLamb
This interview was broken into 3 parts. --> Part 2 & Part 3.
HERE's a link to the blog post that accompanies this interview.

Season Two