Here is the wrap video for Season 454. There were so many great originals that it was difficult for me to choose a winner. So, what I did was draw up a shortlist and then from that shortlist I whittled it down to three (process explained in the video).
Here is the shortlist and the honourable mention list. If your video is on neither, then watch the wrap video to learn why.
Shortlist
Flat Baroque John - "Jamestown" Has there ever been a season with a stronger opening original song? This knocked me sideways.
Ryan "Doomsday Prepping" Or how to get deep down and personal and yet remain universal
Rob (Wee Ginga Yin) "Wonder of Wonders" - Zen Philosophy given an unmistakable Rob setting .
Lynda (BEV) "Mirror" - self realisation with echoes of Burns.
Ylle "Whisker Fatigue" - Feline epiphany? Or philosophical meditation on domesication?
Steve Phillips "Through the Door" Wonderful personal/universal song that anyone who has seen their fledglings leave the nest can identify with. This one made me weep.
Jon Duncan "Icarus" weaving between personal and mythopoeia John produces another triumphant original. Arrangement to die for too!
Tracy "Scrabble" - So Joycean in that this little everyday incident sparked a massive realisation of reality for the narrator.
Christopher Fonda "Watermelon Falls" - a whole indie movie in just a few stanzas.
Honorable Mentions
Lynda (BEV)
Lynda's love song "Now I see" a fabulous celebration of how love can change us forever.
Greyghost's "I'm Alive" a celebration of him still being with us, which becomes a more public rant about the mess we're in!
Rob (Wee Ginger Yin) "Rottweiler's on speed". Hilarious celebration of Leeds Utd
Pabrizzer "We Love You" dissecting the current political scene in the USA.
Marc H. "Epiphany, where did you go?" A country waltz that functions as a simple country love song and also a desperate plea to be enlightened (again?).
Gina S. "I'm Burning up Xmas" a reflection on that most loved and despised of holidays.
Kimi and Kev "Answer" the universal questions given a sublime arrangement and vocal in this lovely song.
Forte 555 "Outside Looking In" A hymn to introspection with one of the catchiest choruses all week.
Liz Brinker " You Could Be Right" - a timely warning about "self enlightenment" in a timeless melody that sounds like its been around since the 1950s.
Ukulele Davy "Epiphany" an epic scale ukulele Prog-Rock masterpiece.
Jo Woodstock "What Remains" - a new song very firmly in the folk revival mold.
Joko "Starseed Transmissions on the Page" - Our beloved Joko at his manic best. This epic rock opera echoes Hawkwind at their most psychedelic.
Please give them all a listen....
Well, OK if you really haven't got time to watch my wrap video, let me tell you that the shortlist was reduced to THREE - John's "Jonestown", Steve Phillips's "Through the Door" and Christopher Fonda's "Watermelon Falls".... and the winner is .... Christopher! (Please PM me with your street address).
But to find out how he won you really will have to watch the video. To find out what he won too - or else
see my latest contribution to 455