Survival Of The Fittest

As written on the tin there. Potential song themes you're interested in for future contests. Figured it'd be a good idea for a place where people could put them and bring out eventually.

I'm sitting on Sadtest for when I eventually win Songest #104

I've been kicking around the idea of a Second Chances round should I win again. Not married to the idea but I'm considering it.

re: Second Chances round, how would it work? I see a few options, each with pros and cons.

Option 1: Second Chances (for themes)

You pick a theme that has been done before (maybe excluding some of the really open-ended ones like free choice or alphabet)and submit a song that fits it--maybe limit it to one theme per handler, first come first served, or maybe assign the old themes randomly. This has the advantage of bringing lots of diversity but may also either be effectively free-choice (if you let people choose their theme) or else potentially randomly difficult for some people (if you roll them a theme).

Option 2: Second Chances (for artists)

You make everyone submit an artist who has been submitted before, but who has never won. This gives a broad range and there are tons and tons of artists who have been submitted, though there's a chance some participants may struggle anyways. The advantage here is that there's still a lot of new stuff/a different spin to it.

Option 3: Second Chances (for songs)

Everyone must submit a song that has been submitted before but lost. Optionally, they could have to submit a different version (a cover, demo, live version, etc.) of a previously submitted song. Or, that could be allowed but not required, or it could be forbidden. The biggest downsides here are that some folks may not love anything in the back catalog enough to want to stand behind it, or that the game may skew towards really recent stuff as it's freshest in memory. The advantage is that songtest has been going for like two years or something now and there is a lot of older stuff people have probably forgotten but aren't allowed to resubmit.

So, yeah, basically my musings on the matter!

I was thinking something around option 3. Basically what I was thinking is that people will have to submit a song that they submitted previously but for whatever reason didn't make it pass the semis.

I dunno if I'd ever run a songtest again, but I have ideas.

-Vampires: pick a song that has something to do with vampires. Simple.
-Astrology: sign up, get assigned a zodiac sign. Pick your song based off what you feel best exemplifies the sign.
-What Could Have Been: similar to Second Chances, but you pick songs based off what you almost submitted for previous themes.
-Fansongs/Homage: Songs not specifically made for a medium, but were directly inspired by, say, a movie, video game, story, or similar.
-MURDER: submit murder ballads or other songs that have to do with killing.

Might have more. Feel free to steal.

You know, I've thought about What Could Have Been and Fansongs as a potential theme in the past as well. It is some strong stuff and I would happily join.

All good stuff I'd be thrilled to play!

A few of mine, that anyone is welcome to take if they speak to 'em:

• A Capella: For when you want that good ol' eight-person songtest.
• Synths: Basically the opposite of acoustic. Everything must have a synth of some sort!
• 1960s: A decade we haven't done yet, and one that has a really vast array of stuff that's still in passably common rotation and the public consciousness (unlike, say, the 50s, 40s, 30s, etc.)
• Science Fiction: Sci fi theme! Lyrics, sound, whatever--if it belongs in space, it fits.
• Folk round: Like country, folk is a somewhat less known/represented genre that still has a good range of stuff that counts.
• Metal round: Ditto folk, but maybe even moreso.
• Love songs: What? Someone has to eventually do this.

I had some more but I forgot 'em.

SOTF V7 - Character Themes

This one would be a bit like the Secret Songtest. Everyone would submit a song along with the SOTF character they feel it would make a good theme song for; it could be dead or living characters, but might be restricted to V7. The list of characters would be displayed, but not next to the corresponding songs. In addition to votes, people would be able to guess which character went with which theme - each correct guess would be worth an additional bonus point or two.

SOTF V7 - End Credits

Same as the intro songtest, but for the outro. Would be interesting to see the difference in thematic choices after the game is over/ending.

The 2010s
The decade's over, so this would be one of those low-effort, wide-open songtests that would let people submit stuff they just really want people to hear.

Travelling Music
Bit of a niche theme, but songs that are good to walk/drive/travel to would be pretty neat. I've found most people tend to have playlists dedicated to this sort of thing, so it'd be easy to get suggestions for it.

Rainbow Songtest
LGBTQ+ Music and/or songs that make people think of the gays. Widely open to interpretation.

Dad-Rock to Dad-Dance with a Dad-Bod to
Self explanatory.

I really like the ideas for those SOTF-based contests. I relaly liked the SOTF Intro song contest a whole bunch, so an end credits one would be rad.

Another idea I had for a songtest, posted here so I don't forget it.

Songs from a Hat

I dunno if we've done this one before.

Basically like scenes from a hat, the improv game. First everyone submits a scene, so like "Car Chase" or "Cooking Montage" and then it gets shuffled like the secret songtest. You get a scene, then you submit a fitting song for it. I imagine it could get really wacky.