Songcrafters.org

Here's an idea for a sort of game or challenge to come up with new theme ideas for our Theme/Genre festivals.

Procedure:

1) Pick a song - any song. Listen to it and/or read the lyrics online, then decide what the theme of the song is. Sometimes the theme might not be clear. In that case, just move on to another song and try again. Or sometimes the song may suggest several themes. Either pick one of them or move on to another song.

2) Now that you've got a theme, find five more songs that clearly match that theme. If you can't think of six songs that match the theme, then it's probably not a very good theme (at least, not for this topic), so go back to step one and choose another song.

3) Post a message in this topic stating the theme (preferably, in the form of a short, catchy festival name), followed by your six example song titles and the names of the artists that recorded each song. Optionally, you can include a description of the theme to clarify it. But, hopefully, that won't be necessary if you've chosen good examples.

Example:

Song: "Crying in the Rain" by The Everly Brothers

Theme: Songs about crying. Or, better still, "TearFest".




The song title doesn't necessarily have to mention the theme. For example, I included "Sukiyaki" in my examples for TearFest because the lyrics are about a man who looks up while he is walking so that his tears will not fall. Having said that, you'll probably find it's easiest to think of example songs that mention the theme in the name, and that's perfectly fine as long as the lyrics are about the theme too. The song title alone is not enough -- the lyrics must be about the theme.

Tip: You can often find lists of example songs by Googling "songs about" followed by the theme. For example, I got several of my examples for TearFest by Googling "songs about crying".

My post in this topic would look like this:

---

TearFest

• "Crying in the Rain" by The Everly Brothers
• "Cry" by Godley & Creme
• "Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto. The original Japanese title was "Ue o Muite Arukō" which means "I Look Up As I Walk". The lyrics tell the story of a man who looks up while he is walking so that his tears will not fall.
• "Tears on My Pillow" by Little Anthony and the Imperials
• "Crying" by Roy Orbison
• "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" by Ultravox

---

I can't promise that we'll use any of your suggestions for the upcoming poll which I'll post on Saturday, April 25th because, by the time you read this, the admin team may have already made its choices for that poll. But we'll definitely consider your theme suggestions for future festival polls. And who knows, if we get some really good suggestions before Saturday, the admin team might just decide to change a few of their choices for Saturday's poll.

I should clarify that we always encourage original songs for the Theme/Genre festivals. However, for the purpose of this topic, we want you to give only well-known commercial songs as examples. That will give everyone a better idea of what the theme is about and help songwriters to decide what their lyrics should be about if they choose to write an original song. Of course, cover songs are welcome in Theme/Genre festivals too, and someone may choose to record one of your examples or cover another song that matches the theme.

So please listen to some songs and give this idea a try. The more suggestions we get, the easier it will be for the admin team to select good choices for future festival polls. And I think this topic could be a lot of fun if enough people get involved.

DreamFest

• "Dream Weaver" by Gary Wright
• "All I Have to Do Is Dream" by The Everly Brothers
• "Dream On" by Aerosmith
• "Dreamer" by Supertramp
• "#9 Dream" by John Lennon
• "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" by The Electric Prunes

CrimeFest - songs about crime, law, police, incarceration, etc.

• "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash
• "Indiana Wants Me" by R. Dean Taylor
• "Hey Joe" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
• "I Fought the Law" by The Bobby Fuller Four
• "I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley (also famously covered by Eric Clapton)
• "A Criminal Mind" by Lawrence Gowan (also by Styx)

HeartbreakFest

• "Love Hurts" by The Everly Brothers (also by Nazareth, Roy Orbison, etc.)
• "The End of the World" by Skeeter Davis (also by Herman's Hermits)
• "Can't Stand Losing You" by The Police
• "Long, Long Time" by Linda Ronstadt
• "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Ray Charles
• "Lost Without Your Love" by Bread

I like DREAMFEST but I never remember mine. A buddy of mine always kept a Dream Journal and I was always envious of his commitment to it. Great fodder for tunes I imagine.
Rock On!

BuildingFest

1. Walls come tumbling down - Style Council
2. Our House - Madness
3. Building on fire - Talking Heads
4. Empire State Human - Human League
5. No Matter What - Badfinger (knock down the old grey wall)
6. Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash

I'm not sure I have the hang of this yet.

Blooby

I.L.B.T.'s - Joe Walsh
Squeezebox - The Who
Little T & A - Rolling Stones
Titties and Beer - Frank Zappa
Pearl Necklace - ZZ Top

Quote from: Blooby on April 22, 2015, 08:36:55 AMI'm not sure I have the hang of this yet.

Blooby

I.L.B.T.'s - Joe Walsh
Squeezebox - The Who
Little T & A - Rolling Stones
Titties and Beer - Frank Zappa
Pearl Necklace - ZZ Top

You forgot to name it.  SmutFest?  NaughtyFest?  PornFest?  FilthFest?

Quote from: 64Guitars on April 22, 2015, 01:03:24 PM

Quote from: Blooby on April 22, 2015, 08:36:55 AMI'm not sure I have the hang of this yet.

Blooby

I.L.B.T.'s - Joe Walsh
Squeezebox - The Who
Little T & A - Rolling Stones
Titties and Beer - Frank Zappa
Pearl Necklace - ZZ Top

You forgot to name it.  SmutFest?  NaughtyFest?  PornFest?  FilthFest?

Not too liberate anything from The Lilith Fairs of yore, but Breastfest seems to ring true.

mysoginistfest

The monks – nice legs shame about her face
squeeze - cool for cats
james brown – it's a man's world
the rolling stones - under my thumb
The Crystals - He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)




i'll get my coat
(http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lfJAHASV8k8/hqdefault.jpg)

I'm glad Bruce is here.

Quote from: Flash Harry on April 22, 2015, 05:06:53 PMI'm glad Bruce is here.

Because I say the things others are thinking or because people here call me stupid and laugh at me when I'm naked?

DopeFest

• "Don't Bogart Me" (http://grooveshark.com/s/Don+t+Bogart+Me+aka+Don+t+Bogart+That+Joint/2PKGsK) (from the film "Easy Rider") by Fraternity of Man
• "A Passage to Bangkok" (http://grooveshark.com/s/A+Passage+To+Bangkok/37SNUE) by Rush
• "30 Days in the Hole" (http://grooveshark.com/s/30+Days+In+The+Hole/2fEiJE) by Humble Pie
• "Don't Step on the Grass Sam" (http://grooveshark.com/s/Don+t+Step+On+The+Grass+Sam/3Rjnzu) by Steppenwolf
• "The Pusher" (http://grooveshark.com/s/The+Pusher/2V2rgf) by Hoyt Axton / Steppenwolf
• "Sweet Leaf" (http://grooveshark.com/s/Sweet+Leaf/3Ia8q0) by Black Sabbath

Weekday Fest

I Don't Like Mondays - The Boomtown Rats
Tuesday Afternoon - The Moody Blues
(April) Spring, Summer & Wednesdays - Status Quo
Thursday (Here's Why I Did Not Go to Work Today) - Harry Nilsson
Friday I'm In Love - The Cure
Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting) - Elton John
Sunday Girl - Blondie

Quote from: Flash Harry on April 22, 2015, 05:06:53 PMI'm glad Bruce is here.

ditto that

WannaFest

(The Angels Wanna Wear my) Red Shoes - Elvis Costello
Do Anything you Wanna Do - Eddie & The Hotrods
Do You Wanna? - The Stranglers
Do You Wanna Dance - the Ramones
I don't Wanna Walk Around with You - the Ramones
I just Wanna Get Along - the Breeders
I Wanna be Adored - the Stone Roses
I Wanna Be Free - the Monkees
I Wanna Be Rich - Manfred Mann
I Wanne Be [Sedated, Well, Your Boyfriend] - the Ramones
I Wanna Drive you Home - ZZ Top
I Wanna Get High - Cyprus Hill
I Wanna Live - the Ramones
I Wanna Sleep in your Arms - the Modern Lovers
Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue - the Ramones
Wannabe Gangstar - Wheatus

Which is pretty much a Ramones fest

The Feminist Fest

Dickhead - Kate Nash
I'd do anything for love (but I won't do that) - Meatloaf
Sisters are doin it for themselves - Eurythmics
Little Willy - The Sweet

Quote from: Blooby on April 22, 2015, 05:15:52 PM

Quote from: Flash Harry on April 22, 2015, 05:06:53 PMI'm glad Bruce is here.

Because I say the things others are thinking or because people here call me stupid and laugh at me when I'm naked?

Both. And neither.

Dyingfest

"I Don't Live Today" - Jimi Hendrix
"Don't Fear The Reaper" - Blue Oyster Cult
"Fiddler's Green" - The Tragically Hip
"Down By The River" - Neil Young
"Last Kiss" - J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers (And later, Pearl Jam)
"I Don't Like Mondays" - Boomtown Rats