A D&D Song Competition
I know none of this counts as an entry...BUT I DON'T CARE!!!
PCs who Died
(Jim Carroll "People Who Died")
Teddy getting drunk in a dungeon crawl
Fell in a pit full of Green Slime
Cathy was out scouting when she pulled the plug
Found 26 orcs raging out of their minds
Bobby got lycanthropy, bit by a rat
He took a silver bolt when he died
They were PCs of mine
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died
G-berg and Georgie went to harlots so rotten
They died of diseases that left them blood sodden
Sly in Darkenwood took an arrow in the head
Bobby mixed his potions on the night that he was wed
They were two PCs of mine
Two more friends that died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died
Mary took a dry dive from a castle wall
Bobby was ambushed by a wight in the tombs
Judy jumped in front of a Floating Brain
Eddie got et jumpin' past a cave fisher
And Eddie, I miss you more than all the others
And I salute you brother
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died
Herbie blew Tony from the starship lock
Tony thought his rage was just some crock
But Herbie sure gave Tony a real big shock
"Hey," Herbie said, "Tony, can you fly?"
But Tony couldn't fly, Tony died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died
Brian got busted on a smuggling rap
He beat the rap by rattin' out assassins
He said, "Hey, I know it's dangerous, but is sure beats prison."
But the next day he got offed by the same assassins
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died
PCs who Died
(Jim Carroll "People Who Died")
Teddy getting drunk in a dungeon crawl
Fell in a pit full of Green Slime
Cathy was out scouting when she pulled the plug
Found 26 orcs raging out of their minds
Bobby got lycanthropy, bit by a rat
He took a silver bolt when he died
They were PCs of mine
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died
G-berg and Georgie went to harlots so rotten
They died of diseases that left them blood sodden
Sly in Darkenwood took an arrow in the head
Bobby mixed his potions on the night that he was wed
They were two PCs of mine
Two more friends that died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died
Mary took a dry dive from a castle wall
Bobby was ambushed by a wight in the tombs
Judy jumped in front of a Floating Brain
Eddie got et jumpin' past a cave fisher
And Eddie, I miss you more than all the others
And I salute you brother
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died
Herbie blew Tony from the starship lock
Tony thought his rage was just some crock
But Herbie sure gave Tony a real big shock
"Hey," Herbie said, "Tony, can you fly?"
But Tony couldn't fly, Tony died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died
Brian got busted on a smuggling rap
He beat the rap by rattin' out assassins
He said, "Hey, I know it's dangerous, but is sure beats prison."
But the next day he got offed by the same assassins
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
Those are PCs who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died
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Sialia
First Post
All of the above logistics are ok with me. I have just one more request: when you are really ready with all the details worked out, open a fresh new thread for entries (and a few administrative what this is all about and how it works) posts only. Folks can comment with "likes" but other than that, no posting other than the entries, to make it simple for folks to find the candidates and not have to slog through all the discussion. Also, that will signal the "opening" of the time period, so we're not all wondering "as of when". If you want critique/discussion, have a companion thread somewhere else, so voters aren't swayed by the discussion, at least not as much.
I like the idea of a 4 post limit--people should put up their very best, not everything in their inventory. But also have the opportunity to try more than one approach.
I'd avoid the word "filk" in the title, because I think it limits the competition to "old songs with new lyrics." I really think if we're going to get something wonderful beyond just a chuckle, we're gong to need some genuinely new things no one has ever heard before. It will take our creativity new places. Which is why I like the two categories--filks are fun and easy and many can play. Orgininal songwriting is a lot harder to do well, but has the potential to take us somewhere new we had no idea we wanted to go.
In that vein, I suggest something like "Ceramic Bard," building on our own original content franchise, which we've always given freely to ENWorld for the joy of having someplace to share the odd insides of our brains, and the rewarding feedback folks give freely for a job well done.
I like the idea of a 4 post limit--people should put up their very best, not everything in their inventory. But also have the opportunity to try more than one approach.
I'd avoid the word "filk" in the title, because I think it limits the competition to "old songs with new lyrics." I really think if we're going to get something wonderful beyond just a chuckle, we're gong to need some genuinely new things no one has ever heard before. It will take our creativity new places. Which is why I like the two categories--filks are fun and easy and many can play. Orgininal songwriting is a lot harder to do well, but has the potential to take us somewhere new we had no idea we wanted to go.
In that vein, I suggest something like "Ceramic Bard," building on our own original content franchise, which we've always given freely to ENWorld for the joy of having someplace to share the odd insides of our brains, and the rewarding feedback folks give freely for a job well done.
Lanefan
Victoria Rules
Those would all work for the rewording side but what about the original-song side?
And for an entry do we just post in said thread a link to where the song may be found?Sialia said:
Much more useful would be an announcement on the site's front page a bit ahead of time promoting the contest and clearly stating what its opening and closing dates will be - were such an announcement to be put up next week, for example, I'd say decent timing might be to have the month of October for entries (thus, a few weeks lead time so people have a chance to see it and get on with putting their entries together) and the month of November for voting.Sialia said:
Thoughts?
Lanefan
just a clarification, per this and Sialla's comments.
rewordings are called Song parodies or Parodies for short.
Filk is not just Parodies, though a majority of it is, because more folks can write new lyrics to old songs than write new songs.
Filk covers the genre of Science Fiction/fantasy, and usually includes Gaming since that covers those two genres.
Filk music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to get pedantic, which I just did (sorry). or to bolster my title suggestions. I'd use a different word for the song category than Filk, but from what I can tell, that's word used for nerdy music.
The Great LukeSki's a fairly well known name in the Filk business (he hits DragonCon and others). The FUnny Music Project (FUMP) is something he and others contribute to.
Gulla
Adventurer
I assume we would write in English to get the meaning through? At least in the Parody-division?
And how closely gaming related would it need to be? I have some original songs for LARPs around and think I have some parodies as well. Now, recording is another issue, but I guess that could be done.
When do we start? I just got something more to do this fall, it seems.
And how closely gaming related would it need to be? I have some original songs for LARPs around and think I have some parodies as well. Now, recording is another issue, but I guess that could be done.
When do we start? I just got something more to do this fall, it seems.
It looks like we have enough interest to give this a shot, so yes - we'll do this. I'll draft up some rules this week (the short version is that you can submit until the end of Oct, and we'll start voting in November). The submission will need to be an audio file in MP3 format.
What we'll then do is put them on YouTube with a card as the video giving the details of the entry. We *might* ask for a photo of the entrant to put there too, just to personalise the entries a little.
Make sure you have the right to grant EN World a license to use the work (that's fine for parody stuff, but if you're borrowing your friend's lyrics make sure he's said it's OK - part of the entry form will require that you indemnify me against angry lawsuits from third parties I've never heard of!)
Your recording and performance do not have to be perfect. If you win, we can always re-record with an actual singer if you're not happy with your own abilities. Just get something presentable on tape.
What we'll then do is put them on YouTube with a card as the video giving the details of the entry. We *might* ask for a photo of the entrant to put there too, just to personalise the entries a little.
Make sure you have the right to grant EN World a license to use the work (that's fine for parody stuff, but if you're borrowing your friend's lyrics make sure he's said it's OK - part of the entry form will require that you indemnify me against angry lawsuits from third parties I've never heard of!)
Your recording and performance do not have to be perfect. If you win, we can always re-record with an actual singer if you're not happy with your own abilities. Just get something presentable on tape.
Don't forget to include protection from people you've heard of, as well. And Friendly lawsuits, not just angry ones. and protection from parties, especially the Adventuring kind.
maybe you could run it by Danny in a non-lawyerly legal way of making sure it covers your bases, without crossing the needs a lawyer-line. I'd hate to volunteer him for that, but he probably has some knowledge on what the right words to use are. Music rights can be tricky. I think your basic concept of giving EnWorld the right to play it, but not own it is spot on.
This should be fun and I'm looking forward to participating if my workload allows.
No problem!
However, assuming ENWorld is based in the UK, S'mon might be even more precise about the nuances of the law, since, as I recall, he's a law lecturer at Cambridge. There are a lot of similarities in Western copyright law, yes, but details matter.
However, assuming ENWorld is based in the UK, S'mon might be even more precise about the nuances of the law, since, as I recall, he's a law lecturer at Cambridge. There are a lot of similarities in Western copyright law, yes, but details matter.
