Hi there,
This is not the Season 250 thread. This is just a note to tell you what the theme for 250 will be. I have cleared the publishing of this early with the current season host, Rick. (And tested the waters about the idea first on an open thread in the Seasons discussion forum).
For 250 I shall be asking you to write songs (or record a new version of a song you have written) that are highly personal, but which manage to somehow become universal. Many of Dylan or Joni Mitchell's songs have that quality. They are songs in which the performer describes incidents from their own life, but couches them in such a way that their full meaning is only truly apparent to the writer, but at the same time the experience described is universal enough that we don't really need to understand the detail in every line.
For those who don't write songs I shall be asking you to listen to and then play a song (or songs) by my favourite contemporary singer-songwriter: the unjustly obscure Antje Duvekot. She only has about five albums out, but her song writing is among the best I have heard in years. Many of her songs certainly fit the main theme of "Highly Personal but Universal" She also sings wonderfully and is drop dead gorgeous to boot
I thought you might need extra time this week for two reasons.
One: the original songs I am challenging you to submit might take a lot longer to work on than themes of a lighter nature.
Two: There is very little in the way of resources for my alternative to an original song: Antjke Duvekot
However, there are lots of videos of her on you tube. This link will be a good start, and there are also lots of videos of whole concerts she has played.
Researching a songwriter you have never heard of can take time. You may have to listen to a lot of songs before one really grabs you enough to want to cover it. You will also almost certainly have to figure out the chords yourselves (or ask for help on the forum) because resources for Antje's songs are few and far between. Although they are a lot better than when I first discovered her. This is a lyrics site with unofficial lyrics. However, I would check them out against the originals before using them.
I hope you will all feel my reasons do justify breaking with convention and disappointing those who like to speculate in the anticipation thread on the nature of the next season. I promise not to do this again.
I will post the official 250 thread with an opening video mentioning the prizes and with a sample of one of my own more obscure "personal songs striving for universality" next Saturday night as per our usual convention.
Cheers,
Berni
This is not the Season 250 thread. This is just a note to tell you what the theme for 250 will be. I have cleared the publishing of this early with the current season host, Rick. (And tested the waters about the idea first on an open thread in the Seasons discussion forum).
For 250 I shall be asking you to write songs (or record a new version of a song you have written) that are highly personal, but which manage to somehow become universal. Many of Dylan or Joni Mitchell's songs have that quality. They are songs in which the performer describes incidents from their own life, but couches them in such a way that their full meaning is only truly apparent to the writer, but at the same time the experience described is universal enough that we don't really need to understand the detail in every line.
For those who don't write songs I shall be asking you to listen to and then play a song (or songs) by my favourite contemporary singer-songwriter: the unjustly obscure Antje Duvekot. She only has about five albums out, but her song writing is among the best I have heard in years. Many of her songs certainly fit the main theme of "Highly Personal but Universal" She also sings wonderfully and is drop dead gorgeous to boot
I thought you might need extra time this week for two reasons.
One: the original songs I am challenging you to submit might take a lot longer to work on than themes of a lighter nature.
Two: There is very little in the way of resources for my alternative to an original song: Antjke Duvekot
However, there are lots of videos of her on you tube. This link will be a good start, and there are also lots of videos of whole concerts she has played.
Researching a songwriter you have never heard of can take time. You may have to listen to a lot of songs before one really grabs you enough to want to cover it. You will also almost certainly have to figure out the chords yourselves (or ask for help on the forum) because resources for Antje's songs are few and far between. Although they are a lot better than when I first discovered her. This is a lyrics site with unofficial lyrics. However, I would check them out against the originals before using them.
I hope you will all feel my reasons do justify breaking with convention and disappointing those who like to speculate in the anticipation thread on the nature of the next season. I promise not to do this again.
I will post the official 250 thread with an opening video mentioning the prizes and with a sample of one of my own more obscure "personal songs striving for universality" next Saturday night as per our usual convention.
Cheers,
Berni
