THEME: MUS

PUB DATE	WEEK	TITLE	SYNOPSIS	THEMES	LINKS TO THIS CONTEST	WINNER	LINKS TO RESULTS OF THIS CONTEST (usually published 2-4 Weeks later)
January 29, 1995	98	YOUR CHEATIN' ART	Come up with titles for country music songs featuring any one or more of the following themes: cheatin', thievin', drinkin', truckin', lovin' or dogs.	MUS	Text file | Contest image
June 25, 1995	119	MUZAK TO OUR EAR	Come up with unfortunate Muzak songs to hear on the phone while on hold. You can use either a song title or a lyric.	MUS	Text file | Contest image
May 19, 1996	166	DOO WAH DOODY	We are looking for really bad lyrics to real rock songs. Your lyrics must be from a reasonably popular song, and you must include the name of the singer or songwriter.	POE MUS	Text file | Contest image
June 8, 1997	221	SONG SUNG BROWN	Pick any song, pick a well-known line, and give us the discarded first draft. If it is part of a rhyme, you must maintain the rhyme.	POE MUS	Text file | Contest image
December 7, 1997	247	BLACK AND WHITE AND WED ALL OVER	Propose the marriage of any two people, and the song they should not play at their wedding. The people must be a man and a woman.	MUS	Text file | Contest image
July 16, 2000	358 (XXV)	Finish the Fire	Finish "We Didn't Start the Fire," to summarize 1990 to the present.	MUS	Text file | Contest image
October 7, 2001	422 (LXXXIX)	Taught Language	Come up with lessons learned from (1) the movies, (2) popular songs, (3) romance novels or (4) the comics page.	MOV MUS LIT COM	Text file | Contest image
July 10, 2005	618	Of D.C. I Sing	Give us a song about Washington, set to a recognizable tune.	POE MUS	Text file
November 13, 2005	636	A Song From Tex Arcana	Write a verse of a song about sea urchin sushi or any of the other provided ostensibly unlyrical topics.	POE MUS	Text file
February 12, 2006	649	Across the Wide What?	Give us some Virginia-appropriate lyrics for "Shenandoah."	POE MUS	Text file
September 24, 2006	681	Ticket to Write	Write a jingle for a business (or its product), organization or government agency, set to a Beatles song.	POE BUS POL MUS	Text file
July 11, 2009	825	Disinstrumentals	Write some words to music that has no words.	POE MUS	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
November 14, 2009	843	Prefrains	Provide a sentence or two of lead-in to the first line of a well-known book, poem, or song.	LIT MUS POE	Text file
March 27, 2010	862	Be cheerful	Send us a cheer or fight song for any pro sports team or any national team.	POE MUS ATH	Text file | Post e-version
July 3, 2010	876	Oilies but goodies	Write lyrics somehow related to the oil spill, set to an existing tune.	POE MUS	Text file | Post e-version
July 24, 2011	929	Now sit right back ...	Write a funny song introducing a TV show, past or present.	MUS TEL	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
August 5, 2012	982	The parody line	Set your own, humorous words to the tune of a well-known song--except that you must preserve one of the original lines.	POE MUS	Text file | Post e-version
March 31, 2013	1015	Faux re mi	Give us some humorously false trivia about music or musicians.	MUS TRI	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
July 14, 2013	1029	Ditty Harry	Write a descriptive theme song for a well-known movie, set to a well-known tune.	MOV MUS POE	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
October 6, 2013	1041	What have you got to lose?	Answer a question, real or rhetorical, that appears in a song.	MUS QUE	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
November 3, 2013	1045	Songs for the asking	Take a sentence, phrase or title from a song and provide a funny question it might answer.	MUS QUE	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
February 9, 2014	1059	With parens like these …	Add some words in parentheses to a well-known song title to make it funnier in some way.	WOR MUS	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
July 27, 2014	1082	Band on the pun	Alter the name of a music group or performer slightly -- not necessarily by just one letter, but enough so it's obvious what the original is -- and describe it in some way. (Conversational text)	MUS WOR	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
December 21, 2014	1103	Themes good enough for us	Suggest an existing song to be used as the theme for a TV series or program for comic effect. (Conversational text)	MUS TEL	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
March 1, 2015	1113	Our occasional parodies	Write a song celebrating someone's birthday or other personal occasion (rather than, say, a holiday), set to a familiar tune. (Conversational text)	MUS POE	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
March 29, 2015	1117	You got another sing coming	Write a song about a topic or person lately in the news, set to a familiar tune. (Conversational text)	MUS	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
May 24, 2015	1125	The song remains the sa	Supply a real song title that has the end or beginning -- or, what the heck, both -- chopped off and describe it. (Conversational text)	MUS	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
December 20, 2015	1154	Tabby Road -- songs for cats	Write a song for -- or about -- cats or other animals, set to a familiar tune. (Conversational text)	MUS POE	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
April 17, 2016	1171	What's my (next) line?	Take a line from any song and pair it with your own second line to make a humorous rhyming couplet; the second line should match the rhythm of the first, rather than the second line of the song itself. (Conversational text)	MUS POE	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
April 24, 2016	1172	Pieces of 'Pie'	Write a short passage -- an observation, a joke, a dialogue, a poem, anything -- using only words that appear in the song "American Pie".	WOR MUS	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
May 29, 2016	1177	The ballad box	Write a song related to this year's elections, set to a familiar tune.	MUS POL	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
November 20, 2016	1202	Don't be afraid of the dark	Write lyrics to a song that, in some way, express hope. (Conversational text)	POE MUS	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
February 4, 2018	1265	Parody for the course	Write a song relating to a class or course of instruction, or to school in general. (Conversational text)	MUS POE	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
July 8, 2018	1287	It's parody time: Oldies for newsies	Write some song lyrics about something in the news these days, set to a familiar tune. (Conversational text)	MUS POE	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
November 18, 2018	1306	PolitiCaroling: A song parody contest	Write a song about something in the news lately -- political or otherwise -- using a Christmas, Hanukkah or New Year's tune.	MUS POL	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
July 7, 2019	1339	Songs for a modern error	Write humorous lyrics about some modern woe, set to a familiar tune. (Conversational text)	POE MUS	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version	Duncan Stevens	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version (pub 8-4-19) Text file | Contest image | Post e-version (pub 9-1-19)
November 10, 2019	1357	It's parody time!	Write a satirical song about anything in the news right now, set to a familiar tune. (Conversational text)	MUS	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
April 5, 2020	1378	It's (emergency) Parody Time	Write a song about life in the Age of Corona, set to a familiar tune (or even one of your own, if you perform it on video). (Conversational text)	MUS	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
April 12, 2020	1379	Your wish: A pun -- a star	Tell a joke, in your choice of form, whose punchline is a pun on a song title or lyric. (Conversational text)	JOK WOR MUS	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
November 29, 2020	1412	Jumble bells -- anagram a song line	Rearrange all the letters in a song title, or a line (or more if you dare!) from a song. Optional: Offer a parody of the original tune (or a few lines of it) that refers to the new title. (Conversational text)	LET MUS POE	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
January 24, 2021	1420	Singing on the job -- a parody contest	Write a humorous "work song" for any job or profession. Set it to any well-known tune. (Conversational text)	MUS POE	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
February 7, 2021	1422	The Collaboratory	Think of a book, movie or song title. Then pair its creator, star, singer, etc., with an unrelated "collaborator" to produce a wordplay on the title. (Conversational text)	WOR MUS LIT	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
April 18, 2021	1432	Turn tale and run with it	Offer a new angle on a folk tale, nursery rhyme, children's song, etc., with a short poem, mini-story (under 100 words) or song parody. (Conversational text)	POE MUS	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
June 6, 2021	1439	Vowel Movement: The Musical	Choose a song title; remove all the vowels; then add back as many vowels as you like to create a new title, and describe the song. You might also provide a line or two of lyrics. (Conversational text)	LET MUS	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
June 13, 2021	1440	It's parody time!	Write a satiric song about anything in the news these days. (Conversational text)	POE MUS	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
June 20, 2021	1441	\'Rick rolling: songs as limericks	Sum up or otherwise reflect a well-known song as a limerick. (Conversational text)	MUS LIM	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
October 24, 2021	1459	And we quote: 'It's Parody Time'	Write humorous first-person lyrics for a song "by" some particular person. (Conversational text)	MUS POE	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
February 13, 2022	1475	Hail to the Commanders!	Write a song (set to any familiar tune) or shouted cheer for the Washington Commanders. OR: Write for any other D.C. institution, e.g., the Metro, the Senate, the National Zoo, The Washington Post. (Conversational text)	MUS POE WAS	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version	Jeff Shirley	Text file | Contest image | Post e-version
YEAR 31 BEGINS