MÖSH ESSAY CONTEST
By:
January 1, 2024
MÖSH YOUR ENTHUSIASM is a series of 25 enthusiastic posts, contributed by 25 HILOBROW friends and regulars, on the topic of metal records from the Eighties (1984–1993, in our periodization schema). Series edited by Heather Quinlan. Also check out our MÖSH YOUR ENTHUSIASM playlist at Spotify.
HILOBROW readers (including friends and regular contributors *) are invited to submit a short nonfiction essay about a favorite Metal song released between 1984 and 1993. You can submit your essay via this form.
* If you already have an entry appearing in the MÖSH series, you are not eligible to participate in this contest.
DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 1st.
Essays submitted to the MÖSH contest will be judged by MÖSH series editor Heather Quinlan.
The winning essay will be included in the MÖSH series! The author retains all rights to their essay; but by submitting the essay to this contest, you agree that HILOBROW has the right to publish the story (online or in other media).
Essay guidelines are as follows:
- Select a favorite Metal song (from 1984–1993) that isn’t already included in the MÖSH series; see the series lineup below.
- Word count should be between 300–450 words. Essays turned in shorter or longer will be disqualified.
- This is not a Wikipedia entry — we’re not looking for a definitive account of the band, album, or song. Explain why you’re so enthusiastic about this song; help us hear it through your ears!
- Title your essay like so: BAND | SONG TITLE | YEAR. For example: CELTIC FROST | I WON’T DANCE (THE ELDERS’ ORIENT) | 1987.
- No more than one essay per author will be considered.
ADDITIONAL PRIZE!
To commemorate the milestone of having collected 1,000 vinyl records (over the course of 40 years), in 2023 HILOBROW friend Christopher Cannon, a data and graphics journalist and editor for Bloomberg News, created Keeping Records — a limited-edition print publication that chronicles and explores the collection in a variety of entertaining, eye-pleasing ways. We asked the author/designer to donate a copy of this rare artifact to HILOBROW for use as a MÖSH YOUR ENTHUSIASM essay contest prize, and he was kind enough to oblige.
Forty-one of the records in Cannon’s collection — which skews towards Punk, Alternative, and Post-Hardcore — are Metal. But according to the chart Consolidated Genres Over Time, his Metal-acquiring tendency is on the rise….
So enter an essay into the contest! This gorgeous publication could be yours….
MÖSH YOUR ENTHUSIASM: INTRODUCTION by Heather Quinlan | Crockett Doob on Metallica’s ENTER SANDMAN | Dean Haspiel on Mötley Crüe’s HOME SWEET HOME | Jack Silbert on Poison’s TALK DIRTY TO ME | Adam McGovern on Dio’s INVISIBLE | Mariane Cara on Faith No More’s EPIC | Heather Quinlan on Blue Öyster Cult’s SHOOTING SHARK | Steve Schneider on UFO’s DIESEL IN THE DUST | Carlo Rotella on Primus’ JERRY WAS A RACE CAR DRIVER | Erik Davis on St. Vitus’ BORN TOO LATE | Greg Rowland on Motörhead’s ACE OF SPADES (remix) | Kathy Biehl on Twisted Sister’s WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT | Nikhil Singh on G.I.S.M.’s GAS BURNER PANIC | Erin M. Routson on Metallica’s ESCAPE | Holly Interlandi on Helmet’s MILQUETOAST | Marc Weidenbaum on Celtic Frost’s I WON’T DANCE (THE ELDERS’ ORIENT) | Amy Keyishian on Living Colour’s CULT OF PERSONALITY | Josh Glenn on Scorpions’ STILL LOVING YOU | Alycia Chillemi on Danzig’s SOUL ON FIRE | James Parker on Godflesh’s CHRISTBAIT RISING | Miranda Mellis on The Afflicted’s HERE COME THE COPS | Rene Rosa on Type O Negative’s BLACK NO. 1 | Tony Leone on Slayer’s SOUTH OF HEAVEN | Christopher Cannon on Neurosis’s LOST | Brian Berger on Black Sabbath’s HEADLESS CROSS | MÖSH CONTEST-WINNING ENTRY: Tony Pacitti on Metallica’s THE CALL OF KTULU. PLUS: CONTEST RUNNER-UP: James Scott Maloy on Accept’s MIDNIGHT MOVER.