The Great my99 Challenge: Selecting the top songs of your lifeIN A BLOGSHELL:Who: You! Finally, a countdown that matters to you
What: Challenge to post your lifelong top 99-song playlist, with accompanying anecdotes that tell the story behind some of your selections
When: Postings should be on July 3 and 4, before 9 p.m.
Where: Post on your blog and leave a link to your posts in the comments section of this post
Why: Lots of reasons, like having your lifestory compiled in song, telling stories about those memories, and WINNING A FREE iPOD!
How: It’s all below!I started to play around with the 10,000-plus songs on my iPod and realized that, if I had to choose my top 99 favorite songs, there would be very strong reasons why they would make the cut. There are stories behind these songs that make them my favorites, the ones I go back to time and time again when I am sad, when I feel the need for energy, when I feel on top of the world.Here’s what I’m doing: I’m building a playlist on iTunes of all the songs that rightfully qualify to be deemed important in my life. Then, I’m moving the top songs from that playlist into my final my99 playlist to create the most significant soundtrack of my life.Ranking them will be a challenge, but this is where the stories come in, I think. Did this song elicit a stronger emotion than this other tune? Does it signify something that is more important in my life right now? These are the stories that will be begging to be told. What part of you is being bottled up in those three minutes and 41 seconds of music?To put it simply, my 99 songs are the stories of my life. I bet yours are, too.So I introduce to you: The First Annual my99 ChallengeOn the mornings of July 3 and 4, I will post my countdown in two batches of 49 and 50, respectively, along with a few stories about those songs that made it into my final 99. I’m challenging you to do the same. If you break it in two batches like me, then on July 3, you’ll post your songs counting down from 99 to 51; on July 4, you’ll post the final top 50. For both days, choose at least one song to share a story of how that song fits into your life, your history. Bring your my99 to life for you and for the rest of us.Don’t want to break it into two posts? No problem. If you want to list your my99 in one blog entry, go for it. Just make sure your entry is posted by the time the fireworks are lighting up our skies, and don’t forget to leave a comment on this post telling us that your my99 are up.These songs can come from anywhere—whether you find them on your iPod or in your stack of old 45’s in the basement, any song is fair game. Don’t own the song? No matter. Throw it in the mix anyway.Feel free to give as much info about the song (in addition to the title) as you want—group, year released, year memory made—it’s up to you entirely. Any stories you wish to tell—long or short—about the songs can be embedded right into the countdown.
Also, feel free to offer an intro about how you narrowed it down to the top 99 and how you ranked them. Did you base your decisions on emotions? experiences? lyrics? melody?
Oh yeah…The Prize: Free iPod?
Yep! When I moved up to my 150-gb iPod a few months ago, I had to retire my older iPod. So…The best storyteller online gets my 15-gb iPod, complete with docking station and charger! All you have to do is leave a link in the comments section of this post to your my99, and as long as you complete your countdown and tell a few stories along the way, you are entered to win the iPod!
Stories will be read by the acclaimed editor of Maryland Voices, the lovely Carla (a blogger-to-be), who will judge your stories on originality, believability, and sheer likeability! The winner will be posted on Monday, July 7 at rusvw.net.
Finally, there’s this: Invite your friends to join along. Spread the word far and wide about the my99 Challenge. I guarantee we’ll learn more about each other—and ourselves—in sharing our playlists and our stories.
Good luck…and have fun! If you have any questions at all, feel free to email me off-blog: theoldmanse (at) gmail (dot) com.
Rus VanWestervelt 
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