JPF Home Page Forums Post QUESTIONS or COMMENTS here!

Brian said: << 1. We will not post individual results. There are many reasons, not the least of which are time and manpower, but more than that, this is to recognize great lyrics, not embarrass those that didn't make it... >>

Since Brian is the Founder and Bard of the Boards, and he makes this his #1 point in no uncertain terms, I guess there's no point in trying to get this decision reversed. However, I think this is a missed opportunity, and I do have some comments on this matter that I think are important, and some other members may share my views:

1. JPFolks offers us many valuable things that we can't get elsewhere, and one very important thing it offers is a vehicle for feedback directly from our fellow songwriters. It has been suggested several times that the appropriate place for this is the lyric feedback boards.

I've checked out these boards, and the traffic there is quite low... so the opportunity for significant feedback based an estimated 500+ voters in this lyric contest is much higher than on the lyric feedback boards. Also, I've noticed on the feedback boards that many songs get zero or one response, and the songs that get more responses typically are responded to by the same group of members... so what you have there is a cluster of songwriters who give each other mutual support, which is a good thing, but of limited value.

In addition to the vastly enhanced statistical value of seeing lots of overall votes via the lyric contest, there would be another plus: the members voting in the lyric contest have just evaluated a huge catalog of lyrics - a great education in the art and craft of songwriting, as so many people have noted - and therefore are ideally qualified to give feedback.

And yet another plus: the voters are required to winnow down their choices to five, and must rank these, so the votes are absolutely sincere. A comment like "Nice song, Mike" on a lyric feedback board might be heartfelt, or possibly just polite. But each vote in the lyric contest represents one member who thought that the song was one of the top five.

2. As a singer/songwriter, I often find that when I write a new song, I am in love with it - but I don't have the perspective to know if it's really good. I can show it to my other songwriter friends, but the only way to really tell if the song works is to get out there in front of an audience and try it out. And since every performance and every audience is different, I really don't know for sure until I've played it at a bunch of shows. Getting feedback from 500+ voters would be a wonderful opportunity!

3. It's not clear to me, based on comments to date, how many participants would like to see the complete results, and how many would prefer just to know the finalists. If the majority of participants would like to see their standing, it would be a shame to deny this to the majority. Conversely, if only a handful want to see their standing, providing this info on a request basis would make everyone happy, if it were technically feasible.

4. I'm no expert on technical matters, but would it be difficult to provide either a web page or an automated return email with a list of all songs, identified by number only, and the number of votes they got - available to participants by request or sign-in with the lyric contest password? I don't see how anyone could possibly be embarrassed by this approach.

If we take the Clinton-esque approach, option #4 above would technically fulfill Brian's policy of "We will not post individual results", and would provide valuable information to those who actively request it - sort of like the Freedom of Information Act for songwriters.

5. A comment on the criterion of "songs that move you"... I found that some of the songs I like are humorous, and since these for the most part do not dwell on true love, heartache, death, faith or other blatantly emotional topics, it seemed hard at first to justify voting for them. But I've decided to think about it this way: if a song delights me with its wit, sophistication, images and fresh ideas, if it grabs me with the first line and doesn't let go, if it makes me say "Gosh, I wish I'd written that line" or makes me laugh out loud, I say that it moves me, and is eligible for my vote.

Well, that's my long-winded two cents. At any rate, I agree with all those who say that this contest has been a great learning experience... I've reviewed seven pages so far, four more to go, then final decisions. FYI, I've decided not to vote for my own lyric, because I can't possibly be objective about it.

Mike