photo by Mia Ferm

After an exhaustive search far and wide (celebrities are hard to find when you need them!), we have found judges for Rafter’s Music For Total Chickens Video Contest. The contest, which will award two $500 cash prizes to winners, has provided four songs from Rafter’s upcoming Music for Total Chickens, due for release on January 23, 2007. You (as in, you the people!) will determine the winner of the Quantity Award, which is based solely on YouTube views.

But for the Quality Award, we needed some very special people to determine quality-ness, people – nay, celebrities – attuned to the ebb and flow of quality-ness. And so, with that in mind, we based our selection on two very important criteria: the person’s celebrity-ness and visual know-how.

And the judges are...

• Singer songwriter Kristin Hersh, formerly of Throwing Muses and currently fronting 50 Foot Wave. Hersh’s visual lyricism made her an obvious choice for the panel.

• Tim Kingsbury, bassist for the Arcade Fire, was chosen for his love of looking at various things.

• Scouts selected former videogame columnist and science fiction writer Jim Munroe for his D.I.Y. spirit, corporate combatting, and complicated relationship with the future.

• Because Arto Lindsay was one of Rafter’s inspirations to enter the musical world, Asthmatic Kitty thought it befitting to employ his extensive experience on the panel.

• Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris were chosen for their collection of MTV Music Video Awards (that, and their writing and directing of a film entitled Little Miss Sunshine).

• Peaches was chosen for her keen eye for costuming.

Together, the team will bring each of their own unique perspectives to the judging table and sift through the inevitable hundreds of video entries for a definitive winner. As of today, there are eight entries to the YouTube Contest Group – that means chances are a keen 2 in 8 of winning $500!

And the earlier entrants submit videos, the more views it can garner for the slightly dirtier but just as cashy Quantity Award. The word is viral, folk!