Mike's Musings: The Ever-Growing Legacy of Young Songwriters

Well here we are and here I am. The year 2025 is poised to roll out with a new raft of specifics: logos, judging panels, competitions, award structure, staff and more. And with that spreading out of activity and vision we have a new, emergent Play It Strange. 

 We are poised to build up a wide buoyant activity in where songs written by young school-aged students place their words of life from those songs and then, those who are enjoined in that momentum, will make many creative discoveries.  

After all, songs that carry with them such lyrics as are unearthed in honest transcriptions and stories with the accompanying music – well, they will bring to reality each newly- arrived song with a story that weaves into a colourful assembly. And we listeners who get to hear them are the lucky ones.  

In line with that focus, I am drawn back into the reflections of the whole Play It Strange world when I was here in the early 2000s and with that, the marvel of how this simple concept came to be real and what that became. 

The whole focus on the Play It Strange competition is simple. Songs are written by secondary school students and entered in competitions. The requirements for these  are not rocket science. Songs must be written by such students, the ‘quality’ of the recordings of these entries is irrelevant and so are the performances of those songs that are sent in. 

There it is. And there we have them – songwriters waiting in the wings for people; someone who will listen to the young songwriter’s songs and give feedback in what whatever manner is at hand. Let’s just call that a response – feedback. The first principal response is one where appointed judges listen to and rate the entry songs leading to a number of ‘finalists’ who will receive a recording session at a studio, with that sum of mastered tracks comprising an album, then posted online for listening to by whoever in the world has a curious nature and heads out and up in exploration. 

The whole affair is one of appreciation and celebration. There is no downside to any of it except those that don’t get recorded in studios may have missed out with the judge’s marks, but still hold their presence in place and may well triumph on another day. There is always another day.   

Having said that – the seeking of grants, funds and donations is a continuous pursuit and the confidence in pursuing increased budgets for the recordings is very real.     

And so, here we are with twenty one years of time travel and hundreds of songs flying towards studios with studio producer/engineers  and a focus on the musical process at hand.   

While the original two staffers of Play It Strange (including Debbie Little) were living with naivete and hope, the first competition was launched in April 2004, we can look back and recall – were there surprising highlights in that first competition? 

In the first arrival of songs, such as were entered in 2004, there was one song in particular which harboured an elevation and a prowess bringing in a true lyrical impression and a true melodic thread. This song went by the title “It Takes Time” and was written and performed by Kimbra Johnson. You can hear it right now on Spotify.  The opening lines give you the gist: 

“Well walk on in 

Yes I see you standing there  

but I wont let  that interfere with what I’m doin “ 

An extraordinary track from a 14 yr old Hamilton girl from Hillcrest High School. With her now known specifically as Kimbra, it proved to be a wonderful launch of Kimbra’s journey across and around the world. And she’s not the only one. Let’s shine the spotlight on a couple more.   

In 2006 the number of songs entered by students provided another wide window into the hearts and minds of NZ youth. There were two songs both written by and entered simultaneously by their songwriter. Her name?  Annah Mac.  

Annah had entered two songs in her first shot at the songwriting competition. It pointed to her delightful character. Very engaging. It was 2006 and they were titled “Blue Butterfly” and “Home”.  When we asked Annah which one she wanted in the competition she said, “ You decide!’ so we picked the sophisticated ballad “Blue Butterfly”.  

It took First Place.  Annah had arrived at the airport in the firing line of a TV documentary maker, she had the song “Home” and as she arrived, we all surprised her. At the Awards function Annah strode onto the stage at the Western Springs College Hall we had booked and, with her eyes fixed on the audience, she received a great reception for that very cool song.  

The next year she entered the song “Home” as it remained patiently from the year before and it took third place. A version of the song was performed at the Awards Concert by Victoria Girling-Butcher. In 2008 Annah took third place and then left school.  

Things happened quickly and she recorded a single for Sony Music. It reached 2nd Place in the national charts. Everyone got to know that song. “Girl In Stilettos’.  

In 2007 we had a young 17 yr old songwriter and guitarist take 5th place with his song “Three Ladies”. A truly heartfelt song, it was dedicated to his mother and two sisters.  When it was performed at the Play It Strange Awards function, at Auckland’s Eden Park Hall of Legends, Louis performed it with Cydel, a band from south Auckland.  It was a hit and showed just how wide Louis’ talents spread themselves across the songwriting, guitar playing and soul vocal combination. That heady combination is still very much a busy one around the world as Louis takes to concerts especially in the northern hemisphere, firstly as a guest of Fat Freddy’s Drop and also as a soloist.