On the 2nd January 2022 the first ever Song Quest concluded.
The game was inspired by the game Weird which I made for SpLinter.
My main hope was to create a competition that would show the wide range of interests and hobbies across SpLinter members. Did we achieve that?
Jordan Thompson picked “What Could Have Been” from the animated series Arcane.
My nephew created a song “Happy New Year” using the guitar skills he has been developing.
I myself picked the British Eurovision entry of 1977 “Rock Bottom”.
That was just to mention a small number of interest on display.
There was also a large range of music genres on offer from rock to folk.
So I was happy to succeed on that front.
Here's the full playlist from that event...
The voting was swift… enough. I could still see ways I could improve. For example working out how I could instantly count the votes up as soon as I get them.
There was only six jury members which meant on the plus side, it was easier to manage all the votes but on the negative side, meant that the introduction of just one more member would have completely changed the results.
Julia had suggested that in future competitions, we give a period to allow people outside the games night to vote for songs.
A few issues do arise with this rule change…
1) I would have to contact multiple people who have accidentally voted for themselves.
2) It would be tricky to stop people finding out who submitted what songs. If they do, they could vote for friends and families regardless of the song they pick
3) There would be no way of making sure people have had a good listen to all songs. Not doing so would give the more well-known songs a better chance. We want to also celebrate more unknown songs as well.
However it would involve more people in the voting and take part in the competition, something that’s very important to the future success of this game. Perhaps some middle ground could be found. Just something to consider for the next Song Quest.
Regardless, well done to everyone that took part and for picking such a wide range of music.
In this competition there were less than 4 points separating first and third.
The 3rd place song (36 points) was chosen by myself and was “Rock Bottom” by Lynsey de Paul & Mike Moran.
It placed runner up in the 1977 Eurovision, only beaten by France. It’s a cheerful song that features themes of bad stuff happening, starting anew and hitting rock bottom again. A mood that a lot of us might be able to relate to with the ongoing pandemic.
The runner up song (37 points) was chosen by Louis Jones and was “Mountain at My Gates” by Foals.
Interestingly enough this song featured in the video game FIFA 16. The song is a rock song about facing extremely difficult challenges which is coming whether the protagonist likes it or not. If I had knowing what the song was about before voting I might have tipped the song over the winning line.
The winning song (39.6 points) was chose by Julia Lyford and was “Morning has Broken” by Cat Stevens.
It’s a folk song that was based on a Christian hymn, inspired by the village of Alfriston in East Sussex and set to the tune of a tradition Scottish Gaelic tune, “Bunessan”
The song to me, is about appreciating the first morning and all the things that make it up. It has a strong biblical feel to it as well. I really liked this pick, as a result it got my 2nd top mark behind Emily Matheison’s pick “Always Look On The Bright Side of Life” which finished 4th.
With that, Morning has Broken is now SpLinter’s favourite New Year’s Day song.
If you want to join the next song quest follow this link... https://forms.gle/hxuAsLKm496EhULKA
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