badlybent.ca

  I wanted to get these criteria out by last Friday, actually, but things around the Z Ranch right now are insane - the Realtor gave us a list of stuff she’d ‘like’ to see us do before we list the house for sale…but trust me, there’s enough fodder in that last sentence for about 4 blog posts and 2 podcasts, so I’ll deal with it there.  This is about the Sieve! Song Challenge criteria for October, 2008.  Fasten your seat belts…

Since the last couple of challenges were potentially “light-weight” with their subject matter (and face it, a punk rock song about Star Trek with the word ‘bowling’ in it pretty much rules out anyone writing the next “Blowin’ in the Wind“) I thought that we’d give people with a more serious bent to their writing a chance to show their stuff.  Also, now that people are pretty much finished with their summer vacations and are starting to settle down a little, it may be a chance to dig a little deeper into lyrical territory.

Bearing all that in mind, I present to you, The Sieve! Song Challenge Criteria for October, 2008:

1.  Genre -    Ballad
2.  Topic -    Grief and/or loss over a loved one
3.  Words -  Any 2 of the following elements - Earth, Fire, Air, Water

Details:

Ballad - I’ve tried to put a succinct definition of the word “ballad”, but I can’t really, which is one of the reasons that I chose it as a genre for a serious work.   Various online dictionaries and sources all seem to agree that they should be folk-ish or of folk origin, and be ‘romantic or sentimental’.  I don’t know if they include the Hair Metal Power Ballad in there or not, but it works for me.  I purposely left this category a little more open, because I don’t want to pin people down TOO much due to the potentially intimate nature of the subject.

Topic - Grief and/or loss over a loved one - Since August and September had the potential to be a little lighter, I’m curious to see what people will do with something that’s a little deeper and more meaningful.  I suppose that it could still be turned into something goofier, but that’s not necessarily what I’m aiming for here.  I’d personally prefer to see some entries that really tug at the emotions.  I have no doubt that you guys and gals will be able to do that.

Word(s) - Well, I didn’t want to pin anyone down to one particular word that they might have difficulty working in with their particular direction, so I thought that a selection of words might be easier, and at the same time, would provide a doorway for the song to take things to a different level, or include things that otherwise might be harder to work in.  Giving everyone the choice of any 2 of the 4 elements, I believe, works to that end, especially considering that they work either in pairs, or as opposites.

Well, there it is.  Sorry if I rambled a little this time - I’m still got a vicious migraine that I’ve had for the last 3 days, on top of everything else.  Oh well, could be worse!   You can check out a refresher of the rules here.

Good Luck again,  and I am really looking forward once again to hearing some incredible tunes!

Stevie Z