I was going to write you a PM on that, Rick, because in one fell swoop you discounted all serious songs. I can see just discounting the major 3 (?) difficult songs, but you fell into that trap and voted 5 points for one of them anyway.  Hypocricy?

I've never written any of those major three, but since my last one was over 9 minutes, they would be no challenge for me.  And most of the people that write serious songs write funny ones too, myself included (they're not just theee ones, but some call them hilarious).

I can appreciate your preference for funny ones, but at a time when we are losing veteran parody writers, don't you think they should be encouraged instead of dissed, like they feel anyway with all the newbies writing to unknown music? I know several on the verge of quitting parodies altogether.

At least you won't be made to *suffer* my parodies in contests any longer...I had already quit them, so I can leave you with that bite from the viper's fangs. This sentence sounds like Nixon's speech... ;D

Why make a big deal about what parodies you like to read?  Most people come here with different motives anyway...what if I gave you my 'have to meet' list or I won't read it?
Pat, I think you know me well enough to know that I am not "suffering" your serious songs. You have written them and entered them into contests and, you have made my short list on more than one occasion. I am just saying that I prefer funny songs. I have said that in my explanations on how I came to decisions in many SOTM rounds. Those reasons apply to all of the others in my list this month.

I didn't fall into a trap in voting one of the "difficult" songs this month. There were actually 3 of them in my shortlist: Arwen's, Red Ant's and wannabemustangjockey's. I stated my reasons for putting Arwen's at the top of the list.

I certainly don't want veteran authors leaving the site. That is something that I have no control over, however. My stating I like humor isn't going to change someone's mind about leaving. They will have their own reasons. I have been thinking of leaving the site as well. Why? Because in my opinion it isn't as funny here as it used to be. The funny button is being overlooked, in my opinion, as much as serious parodies are, in your opinion.

I am not a good enough writer to be a serious one. I mask my lack of writing expertise in cheap humor. I tend to vote for authors who make me laugh. Not always but mostly.

I have stopped recording because I felt the recordings were mostly being overlooked. Most of the daily postings are overlooked these days as well. People come here just to enter contests and become Parody Author of the Year. They don't comment or rate parodies unless or until they are in contest rounds. I don't check the dailies as much as I used to either. I apologize for that. I am contributing to the demoralization that is prevalent around here. I have been trying to make up for it lately by reading more of the new posts. You and I both know that most people get less votes and comments now on their work as they give on others'. It didn't used to be that way.

If I have insulted you, please know it wasn't intentional. Your parodies and those of authors like Royce Miller provoke thought and puzzle me at times with their depth. Sometimes, I guess I am just too shallow to appreciate them more.

Hm. It's an interesting point you have brought up there.

But regardless of the topic, sometimes I just do hard songs like The Major-General's Song just to prove that I can...in other words, I do it for myself. Don't get me wrong, I try to make my parodies as funny as possible, and yes, those are the kinds of songs I wind up entering in SOTMs, but that's mostly because I frequently just churn out one huge parody per month instead of lots of little ones. As I say in my parody page, I'm admittedly not that prolific since I much prefer quality over quantity. I love a challenge, that's why I try to do hard OSes and entered Tomario's competition (and I would have joined Kristof's if not for my impending schedule over the next few months!), not because I'm trying to grub for SOTM points. Although winning a medal is awfully nice, most of the time in SOTM I just assume my song isn't going to win and I root for the parodies I voted the highest...and if I DO win something I accept it graciously. I'm almost modest to a fault, actually.

Just my opinion on this subject here. And regarding joke books, I used a joke book on only ONE parody of mine, "Yo Mama!" That's pretty much because every yo mama joke has been invented already. Otherwise, yes, I strongly believe in using my own material.

Pat, I think you know me well enough to know that I am not "suffering" your serious songs. You have written them and entered them into contests and, you have made my short list on more than one occasion. I am just saying that I prefer funny songs. I have said that in my explanations on how I came to decisions in many SOTM rounds. Those reasons apply to all of the others in my list this month.

I didn't fall into a trap in voting one of the "difficult" songs this month. There were actually 3 of them in my shortlist: Arwen's, Red Ant's and wannabemustangjockey's. I stated my reasons for putting Arwen's at the top of the list.

I certainly don't want veteran authors leaving the site. That is something that I have no control over, however. My stating I like humor isn't going to change someone's mind about leaving. They will have their own reasons. I have been thinking of leaving the site as well. Why? Because in my opinion it isn't as funny here as it used to be. The funny button is being overlooked, in my opinion, as much as serious parodies are, in your opinion.


I'm okay with it now..it just struck me the wrong way when I read it and ...  (thanks for the answer).

It would be a loss losing you as well.  As I've said too many times, you are ultra-talented. You underestimate your influence on people....I think if they see you leave, they'll give up too.  As to your next paragraph,nah...you are a good enough writer for any type of parody.


I am not a good enough writer to be a serious one. I mask my lack of writing expertise in cheap humor. I tend to vote for authors who make me laugh. Not always but mostly.

I have stopped recording because I felt the recordings were mostly being overlooked. Most of the daily postings are overlooked these days as well. People come here just to enter contests and become Parody Author of the Year. They don't comment or rate parodies unless or until they are in contest rounds. I don't check the dailies as much as I used to either. I apologize for that. I am contributing to the demoralization that is prevalent around here. I have been trying to make up for it lately by reading more of the new posts. You and I both know that most people get less votes and comments now on their work as they give on others'. It didn't used to be that way.

If I have insulted you, please know it wasn't intentional. Your parodies and those of authors like Royce Miller provoke thought and puzzle me at times with their depth. Sometimes, I guess I am just too shallow to appreciate them more.




Shallow you are not!

Quote from Adagio: As I've said too many times, you are ultra-talented.

How could you possibly say that too many times? Say it again and I'll let you know how close you are too exhausting your usage of it.  ;)

;)  ULTRA-TALENTED RICK C.!  ;D

First of all, I'd like to thank Rick for his kind words...I really really really appreciate them.  :-*

Secondly, I'd like to say that I do, for the most part, agree with him.  I will almost always prefer a parody that makes me laugh over a parody that makes me "think."  I'm not saying that I don't appreciate the effort that goes into a serious parody...but I also come to the site to laugh.  That's my objective...not stated in an effort to undermine anyone else's purpose...but it is what it is.  I've written some parodies that are not so funny...(perhaps due less to an effort to be serious than to my lack of sense of humor that day)...but I try really hard to write things that are humorous.  I DO know what Adagio means when she talks about "that feeling."  And, unlike her, I get it when I write something that makes me laugh...that I hope will make others laugh...but if it doesn't, it's okay...because I'm still laughing.  We're each different...and that's okay.  I have read some very serious parodies that I have REALLY liked...but again...I like laughing a lot.

I agree that many people are too wrapped up in contests.  I compete in them, and I love them...so I'm not judging anyone, really.  I just get very frustrated with the mindset, among some, that if something isn't SOTM worthy...then it's a waste of time.  I was on the site for probably a year before I ever got involved in the contests.  That first year was a BALL...because it was just about writing/enjoying parodies.  I read things because I wanted to...because they made me giggle...and I'd found this huge group of people who shared my secret passion.  There weren't a lot of rules, and people said what they wanted to say...and I think people submitted more back then...because they submitted EVERYTHING that they wrote...without worrying about whether it was good enough to win a contest.  There are parodies out there that will never win a contest that are on my all time favorites list.

I am guilty of slacking in checking daily posts...which I regret...but it is due more to my own business than anything else.  I know that there are TOO many good authors out there who have nothing to do with the contests...(Alvin, AFW, etc.)  I try my hardest to catch everything I can.  I'm going to try harder.

Thanks, Rick...for being honest...I think it's rare sometimes...people are so afraid to offend, and end up making all praise generic.  You're braver than some...and I, for one, appreciate it.  :)

but also, everybody (including I'm sure, Rick and Arwen, and definitely me) enjoyed their first year on amiright (for the reasons Arwen described) BECAUSE it was their first year. 

None of us could believe we'd found a site of such like-minded people.  And I believe that early euphoria, and the pleasure in becoming known and a part of it all, colours our memories of the quality of the parodies posted in our first year, and of the bonhomie.

And then there's the inevitable anticlimax of the second year, and we run the risk of blaming our lower levels of enthusiasm on the slipping of the overall amiright content quality

What is, is.  It's different now, but it's noone's fault, and its no development's fault.  As Bob Dylan says, "Things have changed"  Old people go and new ones come.  There are plenty of good times ahead.

Good topic, Rick, and I'm glad you brought it up.  Before going further I'd like to mention that what you may be lamenting as "a loss of veteran writer's" may really just be something more like "Summer Doldrums"...I  seem to recall the same drop in votes, comments and general enthusiasm occurring around this time of year last year and probably in 2004, too.  A lot of folks are away on Summer Vacations or whatever, and even though they COULD still check in (this is on the InterNet, after all), they are likely out of their usual "mode".  So I wouldn't give up so easily.

OK...now to the "Funny vs Something Other Than Funny/Long Parody and why do people torture us Poor Reader's with them" issue. Personally, I only do parodies to real long OS pieces when (1) I think I have something really good & really funny with a lot of good and unique lines throughout...I HATE writing repetitive parody lyrics...I LOVE replacing crappy/saccharine/lame, etc. repetitive OS lyrics.  And, conversely, I love even more working with OS material that I REALLY like...I mean, who wants to listen 20-30 times or more to an OS they think sucks?  I do it when I write and then record my over-lays because I need to be sure they match up and that those are the best lines I can make for that song.  Hell, I must have listened to "Hot-Blooded" 2 dozen or more times this last weekend when I wrote and then did my over-lay.  But I really enjoyed what came out of it...and singing the parody lyrics over the OS crap is very gratifying actually...even though few people will ever hear them.  Now, I don't know if you feel the same way or have even given it much thought, but when I get a good parody to a song I have always disliked and then hear it played somewhere I just start thinking (or singing out loud...lol) my parody replacement lyrics...yeah, it generates some interesting 'looks' on occasion...I generally DON'T burst into "Parody Replacement Lyrics" in open Public, but occasionally I'll be rolling right along out loud and not REALIZE that somebody else is around...You should have seen the look on my next door neighbor's face this night back in April...I was just getting home from 12+ hours at my Tax Analyst job for a Tax Software company...it was about 8:30pm...I'm walking up to the front gate of the apartment building I live in and I'm singing my "Damn Squirrel" lyrics, complete with phony "Borreese/Russian" accent...and I didn't notice my neighbor was right in the front there, checking her mail...I'm going "Damn Squirrel/Moose & that Damn Squirrel...DAMN SQUIRREL"...getting ready to Falsetto the "YOU FOO-OO-OL" part that I love so much and  she turns wide-eyed just staring in confusion and perhaps a little fear as well...Well, I'm a little taken aback, too...ahem...quick thinker that I am I happily chirp out "Good Morning" (remember, it's 8:30PM, as in the EVENING) to her and just keep on walking - double-time...I notice she kind of scurries away rather quickly whenever she sees me now...lol...OH...where was I?  Ahem...(2) {LOL} -  I occasionally write very SERIOUS and POINTED Political or Social commentary pieces - with something that I think I need to say and that maybe other people might need to hear...and I generally don't have much humor in those these days...personally, I'm not finding the current State of Affairs very comforting or encouraging...Either Nationally or Worldwide...When I do that it may or may not get anyone to think about the topic, but at the very least it gives me an outlet...and a small "soapbox" to air my angst, annoyance and anger.  And so you see, Rick, THIS note is why you should  stick around...because where else in the Wide-Wide World of Sports are you ever going to get to read something so convoluted, disorganized, scattered, hopefully amusing, half-tongue-in-cheek/half-serious and half-assed (that's 3 halves, by the way, which is more that a whole, or "hole", depending on how you perceive this missive) note or comment s that is just so totally and outrageously drenched in some really whacked out Amateur Author's eccentric personality? Can't think of any, right?  Hell,  if you are really still reading this you probably can't think AT ALL by this point...(OW! My Head HURTS...wish he wouldn't do this to me...)...So I hope to be still seeing you here in the Funny Papers for at least a good while longer. 

OH...Yeah, I don't "Vote & Comment" as much as I used to - or as much as I probably should...lots of other stuff happening...My job - last summer it was virtually sitting around writing and reading parodies until around late August...we were in our old location and we just didn't have space for a lot of projects and classes to be conducted.  We moved to newer/nicer/huger digs in mid-May this year, so now I'm involved in Teaching, Writing Tax Analysis for potential On-Line "Help" scripts, coming up with new topics for when we train the group of Seasonal Temp employees who will be coming in around Mid-November, and a bunch of other smaller duties...while I'm working a somewhat reduced Summer schedule that I prefer...It's a damn good thing I type like the wind or I'd have a problem writing stuff like this....LOL...Well, that ought to be enough for now, even though I could easily yammer...er...HAMMER...out several hundred or perhaps thousand more words of wisdom, folly and/or self-promotion...

Seriously, stick around...but take a step "outside" for a breather  every once in a while if it starts to feel stale to you.  I've found when I do that I ALMOST get back to the Totally-Away-From-The-Real-World Enjoyment feeling that I experienced here when I first came onboard and starting posting back around Mid-November 2003.

Thanks for the soapbox, dude...and, uh...come again when you can stay a bit longer.

Paul R

Cat, Arwen, Stu and Paul, thanks for the responses. You all make a lot of sense in everything you've said and, it's good to hear from all of you. Maybe I'm just feeling nostalgic because the summer doldrums ARE upon us.

In any case, you all must realize that I don't spend a whole lot of time on threads on the messageboard. I haven't expressed my opiniions much since I've been writing parodies. I guess I just wanted you to know how I feel. Thanks for letting me know how you feel.

The summer in the northern hemisphere is probably a culprit to some degree, I notice that Stu and Kristof down under in the wintry south are at it as usual. 8)

IMHO it might also be taken into consideration that the very large amount of parodies, especially 2-3 years ago, was a combination of a bunch of very prolific newbies arriving simultaneously, four of them even on the same day! http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php/topic,17554.0.html and Malcolm Higgins and William Tong at that time actually chasing each other to break the 1000 line first, sorta rasing the quantity bar for everyone else to a previously unheard off standard.

If one goes back beyond that to the very first generation of writers only STG and Jim A (and Tong if he's to be counted as first generation) broke the 300 line. The duo Rice Cube and Watt Daddy was still going and considered prolific when I first arrived (at first only as a reader) and they stopped at 62!!! :o

Also, on the very first paragraph of the authors page you'll find a remnant of those days, it still states that you're in the "top submitters club" once you have written 25 parodies... :P

Later // Peter

Great observation, Peter.  :)

Lest we forget Kristof's an expat, he's in London now...but Pieman is still submitting regularly.

.02 pennies--

I don't have the time to read all comments here, so forgive any incorrect or ignorant statements.

Everyone should write at his leisure and not be beholden to write any parody in any style they choose, towards any song they choose. I don't strive to write "The Big 3" songs for the same reason Rick C. said--I like to be more original in song choice.

"Serious" parodies have an art to themselves that "funny" parodies don't. The problem that I think Rick has is with parodies that want to be funny but just aren't--either for juvenile humor, or because the author's point just doesn't come across at all well. I have nothing against serious parodies, but in a contest situation, the funnier is my first choice...a serious parody has to really "wow" me. But that's just me.

Carry on.

.02 pennies--

I don't have the time to read all comments here, so forgive any incorrect or ignorant statements.

Everyone should write at his leisure and not be beholden to write any parody in any style they choose, towards any song they choose. I don't strive to write "The Big 3" songs for the same reason Rick C. said--I like to be more original in song choice.

"Serious" parodies have an art to themselves that "funny" parodies don't. The problem that I think Rick has is with parodies that want to be funny but just aren't--either for juvenile humor, or because the author's point just doesn't come across at all well. I have nothing against serious parodies, but in a contest situation, the funnier is my first choice...a serious parody has to really "wow" me. But that's just me.

Carry on.
Actually, the thread started with me expressing my opinions on how important doing the "hard songs" has become around here, with less focus on the "funny" angle and originality. Somehow, during the course of the thread, what started as the "difficult songs" turned into the "serious songs" and the thread went a different way than I intended. I was only trying to say that I tend to award more points for originality than for difficulty and more points for funny than for serious. I was just stating my opinions. I don't spend a lot of time on the message board and, thought I'd start a thread and see where it went.

Well, whatever this thread started out as, I am hereby renaming it "Let's make sure Rick Cormier doesn't leave the site"... ;)
Rick, you are easily one of my favourite authors. Thanks for the shout out, mate...I really appreciate your kind words...but don't sell yourself short. I know that when I read one of your pieces that I'm going to chuckle; and that's why I visit the site as well. It's also why I write the way I do; if I don't at least attempt to make nearly every line funny, then I feel that I've done a half-arsed job.

I'm probably going to regret saying this, but I agree with you about the quality of the work being posted lately. Without regular contributions from the writers I "grew up" with, Amiright does indeed seem a little duller. There aren't many new authors who make me laugh, so I don't visit the daily postings as much as I used to, which is probably to the detriment of some of my faves (alvin, AFW etc) who still submit regularly.

For me a good parody combines humour, clever use of language and a view of the world that I can relate to. I find playground humour hilarious IF it's written knowingly. Clever for clever's sake doesn't do it for me, but I can appreciate a serious parody on it's own merits. It's just that I, too, will choose funny EVERY time.

As for the long, dense parodies. I profess a fondness for the "bigguns" when done well, simply because there's more to laugh at. Your Edmunds, AmPies, Blindeds, BoRaps, BOGuests, and Major Generals often do well in SOTM because there's so much more to them in terms of ideas, language, and narrative...in a way they are easier to write. It's like breakdancing in an empty carpark vs a cupboard....you tell me which one's going to lead to fewer injuries.

I'm not sure about the theory that people are ONLY writing for SOTM. I personally am writing less due to an abundance of real life getting in the way and a bit of writer's block at the mo...could that be the case for our veterans as well? Who cares that much about winning SOTM? It's not like you get a prize, or free meal (or even a freakin' beer bought for you) or anything.

So what to do? I'm going to ride out the doldrums for a while yet... and hope that some old familiar faces start reappearing. This site's just too darn fun, important, clever, etc etc to abandon.

Kristof signing out

There aren't many new authors who make me laugh

*ahem* Kristof, I believe you owe SOME-one an apology...hah, just kidding, I had to say that. And I'm not really that new anymore anyway.

And I know I've said in the past that I write big songs for SOTM, but I just honestly don't have the time to crank out lots of little parodies since I have lots of other things to attend to in my life. (and I naively thought I'd have more time in the summer...yeah right) I just submit whenever I get a good idea.

Well, Kristof, thanks. I'm not ready to give up on Amiright quite yet. I'll get through the hassles in my personal life and I'll be OK. I guess I just wanted to talk and get feedback for a change.

Song difficulty probably means different things to different people. I consider TWOTEF a hard song, but I doubt Michael Pacholek does. After doing my last Major-General parody (my 4th) in less than 90 minutes start to finish, I don't really consider that one hard anymore.

The Great Parody Challenge was the only contest where I've voted mainly on perceived OS difficulty, because IMO the difficulty was an inherent part of that contest. In the rest of the competitions, my votes are based mostly on humor and singability (with little thought of TOS) though there have been a few exceptions to the former (Phil's "Wanton Murder" (Killing Children) comes to mind). OS difficulty only factors in when I have two entries that are more or less equal in every other respect; if it comes down to that, I might use OS difficulty as a "tiebreaker" of sorts between the two. Of course, how original and underused TOS is is also a factor.

I won't be around the site or messageboard much until the middle of October, and right now I don't have time to write or enter any more contests.