‘Tis The Season for Song Contests

 

I am always skeptical of song contests, especially smaller ones that promise all kinds of wonderful prizes if you pay the entry fee, and enter as often as you want!! Yeah, yeah, pull the other one 

However, I’ve come across a couple lately that have caught my attention, the first one being the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council competition for a new song. It looks like they’re interested in a video version of whatever song you do…but here’s a chance to win a whole bunch of free hot dogs!

National Hot Dog & Sausage Council Contest

Okay, let’s get more serious.  The USA Songwriting Competition is about 14 years old and seems to be one of the more legitimate of those that I have come across.  This high profile competition has a grand prize of $50,000 in cash and merchandise, so I suggest that if you’re going to try for one, it might as well be this one:

USA Songwriting Competition

And here’s another one that I found by the Eastside Folk & Blues Festival.  Thank goodness there are song contests in categories other than pop or rock!  The entry fee is very reasonable and if you’re a folk songwriter (or blues or bluegrass!), this might be the opportunity for you:

Eastside Folk & Blues Festival Song Contest

Write on!

IJ

Songs For The Flu

I’ve always had a bit of trouble with topical songs when they’re on the serious side, mostly because I find them cheesy and trite.  But that’s just me.  A lot of songwriters whom I’ve met over the years are inspired by world events (think 9/11, for instance) and immediately pull out the guitar and the writing pad and do their thing.

Now the recent Swine Flu outbreak is certainly a serious event, but I was amused to hear about the number of (mostly funny) songs that have popped up on YouTube as a result of it.  The above is just one example and I’m guessing as this outbreak continues, there will be more arriving.

Here’s another one that’s very cleverly written called “My Baby Gave Me The Pig Flu”:

I like that he used “pig” in his title…it’s just as funny, but it also sets his song apart. He’s a good writer and knows how to tickle the keys too 

And last, but not least, "I don't want to die, oh me, oh my...":

Of course, there are all kinds of liberties taken with the subject. Swine flu does not come from pigs and a lot of people don’t really have the facts right, but the idea of something called “Swine Flu” is just too tempting to avoid. We didn’t get the same response (if any, actually) in terms of songs written for the Avian Flu…the word Avian just doesn’t conjure up anything funny!

I’ve written a few funny songs and I appreciate people who can take a subject and find all kinds of great lyrical twists or word plays.

So, as an exercise, how about writing your own Swine Flu song? Sure, it’s already been done, but can you do better than the ones in these videos? Can you come up with something they haven’t? If you do, why not join the forum and post it there?

Go ahead, be a ham 

IJ