Mefi Music Challenge: The Return (?)

May 9, 2008 10:22 PM

Is there interest in the return of the MeFi Music Challenge?

In the previous thread MeTa thread, it was pointed out that interest in the challenges had been waning, and that because of this, they just sort of vanished. I agree with ORthey's comment that part of the reason for this was that the challenges themselves were getting to be a bit uninspired, but it sounded like people had some ideas. It seems clear that MeFites are a musical bunch, so I'd like to see if we could experiment with bringing it back.

posted by !Jim to MetaFilter Music at 10:22 PM (28 comments total)

Thanks for posting this, IJim. Been wondering the same thing myself...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:33 PM on May 9

I have an idea. Up until now, the MeFiMu Challenge has given us single words (for example, water, cupcake, interstitials) as inspiration. But maybe one category of the challenge could be giving the MeFiMu songwriters an exact phrase that they have to work into a song. It could appear as part of a single line in the song, or it could be the focus (ie, the chorus hook or whatever) of the tune, but that phrase would have to be used, intact. Things like, say:

* please don't you open that window
* been drawing a blank all year
* like cellophane wrapped round your soul
* ain't nothing but knives and surprises

I think it'd be fun to see how different people would fashion different songs around things like these.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:51 PM on May 9

I also like the idea of giving people more than just lyrical challenges. Someone posted doing something in 9/4 in the other thread, I think as a joke, but I think it might provide more of an actual challenge to people (or it might just result in even lower participation).

A large part of my motivation for making this post is that I enjoy making music and playing my instruments, but it's hard for me to get inspired and come up with ideas. I didn't find the previous 3-word challenges to be particularly useful to this end. One thing I would really like to see is if someone came up with a note or chord progression or a drum beat, or some kind of thematic element (etc. etc. etc.), and then the challenge was to riff off that somehow.

One thing that I think might have also contributed to the lack of participation is the lack of attention and community surrounding the challenges. What might be cool is if there was some kind of rotation or something, where if you participate in the challenge (by submitting a song), you get to submit a challenge, and it can be anything you like. That would hopefully make people feel more involved, and keep the ideas fresher.

Of course, I realize a system like that would be a lot of work, and to some extent a departure from how Music has worked, but maybe something like that on a more simplistic scale could be implemented.
posted by !Jim at 1:52 AM on May 10

*crickets*










Actually, I think I'm just hearing things. Even the crickets are uninterested.

Unless some folks start chiming in (a mod or two, even?) I'd say the silence has resoundingly answered your question here, Ijim! Such complete and utter indifference is rare here at MeFi, but...

Well, maybe somebody'll show up.

*listens to the wind*
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:48 PM on May 10

Could someone explain what's involved? I might be interested if I knew.
posted by loiseau at 7:16 PM on May 10

loiseau: as Tom Regan said to Johnny Caspar in Miller's Crossing, "it ain't complicated". Here's a Brief History of the MetaFilter Music Challenge:

First, chuckdarwin proposed it.

Then it started happening, and here's the songs that it inspired.

Then it stopped happening.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:53 PM on May 10

I'd like to see the challenge return as well. As I suggested last time we had one of these threads, I think "cover a MeFite" would be a fun theme. Maybe even "cover a MeFite in the style of another MeFite," but that might be getting a bit ambitious.

It seems to me that MeFi Music is right on the cusp of hitting critical mass -- it's not quite popular enough to be on the average MeFite's radar, we're starting to see more multi-song days and fewer no-song days. If we can get a few more regular posters (I'll try to be one of them!) the community will be strong enough to keep the challenge from languishing every couple of months.
posted by danb at 10:34 PM on May 10

"while it's not quite popular enough to be on the average MeFite's radar..."
posted by danb at 10:35 PM on May 10

I don't really have a problem starting songs; I have a problem finishing them. I always kept an eye on the challenges in case one of them fell in line with some half-finished ditty of mine that I would then be inspired to complete, but it never happened. (I suspect it happened to others -- I wonder what the percentages look like, between "this inspires me to create this new song" and "hey I have this song that already fits.")

That said, I'm always interested in stricter constraints and conditional limitations and conceptual unpleasantries -- I'm more interested in "write a song where the only instruments are two wrenches" than "write a song that mentions cupcakes" -- and I think those are more interesting to witness the results of as well. I can't guarantee I'd participate, but I'd listen to 'em.

It seems to me that MeFi Music is right on the cusp of hitting critical mass -- [while] it's not quite popular enough to be on the average MeFite's radar, we're starting to see more multi-song days and fewer no-song days.

Well, maybe, but if so I wish there was a proportional increase in comments to go along with it. It always depresses me to see someone who's put a little piece of themselves out there be rewarded with a big slice of indifference. Speaking of which -- I'm part of the problem, so I'm off to The Black right now to lisen to some tunes.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 12:37 AM on May 11

Though I like the idea of The Challenge, truth to tell it's rather redundant in my observations. The talent pool surrounding MeFi is so that attempts to 'challenge' it is mildly unnecessary. We shouldn't make it feel like a chore for these wonderfully creative artists (be they professional or amateur). They should not feel like they have to create stuff just for MeFiMuse. They should just create as they go and then, if they so choose, feel encouraged to share what they have with the rest of us.

Maybe an alternative would be to look at what MeFiMuse already has and see where it's lacking. Do we have more electonic music than acoustic? Do we want to even that out? Rather than songs about cupcakes, how about we figure out what the audience of MeFiMuse responds to more favorably, then informing potential musicians to those trends, in case they want to respond to that. Not a requirement but you know, it never hurts to learn more about your audience.
posted by ZachsMind at 9:03 AM on May 11

Sorry, I completely missed this thread somehow.

We ain't agin' it, it just hasn't really been hitting our radar the last couple months (as evidenced by the failure to get new challenges up). I've honestly been kind of distracted from Music (and non-band musical projects in general) by other things for the last few months, so I haven't been nearly as attentive to or involved in what's going on over there lately, and without either me or Jess or Matt making a point of selecting and posting a challenge, well, there you go.

I think we ought to throw one back into action, maybe soonish, maybe top of the next month. I've said before that I'm okay with trying different types of challenges, but the one thing that seems to be true is that any given kind of challenge is going to strike a lot of people who are in principle interested in the Music Challenge idea as being not actually a useful/interesting challenge in practice.

I don't know if that's a problem, really—if we just switch it up a lot every month, we can at least try for a some of the people some of the time situation—but I think the lack of anything like a clear consensus on one thing that Just Works is part of what has taken a bit of the wind out of our sails as far as maintaining the thing.
posted by cortex at 10:07 AM on May 11

I really want it to return. And I think it needs to be quite different from what it started as, even though that was awesome. It's been suggested we do "cover a mefite" several times - so can we maybe just try that? For the next month? Just do it? Any reason not to? I honestly don't see what we lose from trying the challenge again. Even if ONE person does it, then hey, it inspired that one person to make music. What do we have to lose here? And if people don't like "cover a mefite," at least something else that's not just a one-word or phrase theme.

I dunno, maybe no one cares. But dang, why's this so complicated?
posted by ORthey at 10:30 AM on May 11

...at least something else that's not just a one-word or phrase theme.

Oh, so you don't like my phrase idea, eh? Why, I oughtta...

Seriously, though, I'm hearing you: why indeed is this so complicated? And, yeah, I think it's clear that this challenge thing (and MetaFilter Music as a whole, actually) is something of a rather low priority among the mods, even our musical mod, cortex. But hey, whaddayagonnado?

*walks away muttering*
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:00 PM on May 11

if we just switch it up a lot every month, we can at least try for a some of the people some of the time situation—but I think the lack of anything like a clear consensus on one thing that Just Works is part of what has taken a bit of the wind out of our sails as far as maintaining the thing.

Have you considered scheduling changes for this? If someone were to collect the varied and wide-ranging ideas for a weekly challenge, they could mete them out over a published scheduled period instead of just picking one and leaving the rest to rot. The idea being more Music-makers can get excited about participating because they can anticipate and/or prepare for their challenge. I'd hate to clutter up the sidebar even more on musicdot, but even I might attempt a skwawk if my kind of challenge came along knowingly in 2 months or so.
posted by carsonb at 5:14 PM on May 11

Maybe making it a regular monthly thing is intrinsically like the wind got blown out of the sails. If our Big Three lost interest and were overwhelmed by more pressing matters, that's not a good sign, and it's not like the community as a whole is up in arms about it. I mean it's been three months and no one's threatened to cut their wrists yet or run naked through the Blue to bring attention to this travesty of justice that is an absense of challenges.

Holidays only happen once a year for a reason. Arguably, every day should be Mother's Day, but if we celebrated it every day, we'd get jaded pretty quick. I think even mothers would get bored after awhile. If the MeFi Muse Challenges were more like quarterly or semi-annual, then when it did happen, more people would be inclined to get excited: monthly makes it routine.

I still think it'd be better to find ways to focus on bringing attention to what musically inclined talents in our community are already up to, rather than trying to make them pigeon hole their efforts into some precariously chosen phrase or word or whatever.

In completely unrelated news, Paul Tabachneck had a CD Release Party yesterday. He rocks. You can learn more about him at myspace.com/paultab. This has been an unsolicited recommendation. I recently bought his CD. I don't buy CDs anymore, but I bought his. That's how good his shit is. Shame we can't get his ass in here to do something for MeFi Muse.
posted by ZachsMind at 6:49 PM on May 11

absense = absence
posted by ZachsMind at 6:54 PM on May 11

absence = that still looks misspelled. I suck.
posted by ZachsMind at 6:54 PM on May 11

...that still looks misspelled. I suck.

But hey, you brought the comment count up to a reasonably respectable 17, so at least at first glance it would appear to anyone scanning the MeTa posts that this is a topic that more than 9 MeFites are interested in!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:19 PM on May 11

Just as a simple solution, why doesn't someone who wants to see the Challenge keep going act as the middle person for the mods? Those with ideas for Challenges can memail/e-mail the designated person who can then pick each month's guideline, send it to the mods, and then they can put it up.

This will take care of the problem for the mods since they're all busy, keep the challenge going, and give everyone who doesn't like a given month's challenge a central person to send complaints.

I've been reading this thread periodically and this seems like the easiest way to me to keep people happy.

As for the timing of the challenge, if it's monthly, some people will do it every month, some won't. I think it will be the same if it's quarterly or every 5th day after a month in which someone posts a about apple butter, but in whatever form if it's here and some people do it, then it's a success, right?

And before you ask, no, I'm not going to do it.
posted by sleepy pete at 9:32 PM on May 11

I'm not going to do it.

I'd do it. Except for the fielding of "complaints". I don't think anyone should have to hear complaints from anyone else in such a scenario. Everybody would have a shot at Challenge suggestions, and if yours got picked, right on! And if not, hey, no sweat, right? And if some folks don't like this month's Challenge theme, hey, try next month's!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 11:24 PM on May 11

Yes, I am interested in the return of the MeFi Music Challenge.
posted by First Post at 12:11 AM on May 12

I'll be happy to be the mod liason for this, fwiw.
posted by jessamyn at 7:21 AM on May 12

I'd love to have a go at one of these, so I'd love to see more.
posted by nthdegx at 9:00 AM on May 12

Any complaints can come back to meta. I just meant that at least there would be a central person in charge of the picking of the Challenge. I'm sorry to imply that all complaints about it should be directed your way, flapjax.

I do think it would be a good idea to do it that way and if you're willing, I'll gladly nominate you for the job.
posted by sleepy pete at 10:39 AM on May 12

if you're willing, I'll gladly nominate you for the job.

Seconded.
posted by cashman at 11:48 AM on May 12

OK y'all!

MeTa.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:17 PM on May 12

I don't think anyone should have to hear complaints from anyone else in such a scenario. I totally agree, flapjax, and consider your nomination thirded.

FTR, I didn't quit participating because the challenges sucked or anything, I just threw down some serious New Years resolutions this year and they are taking up most of my MeFi time.

I would LOVE to see challenges back, though. So what's the consensus now? Send MeMail suggestions to jessamyn? flapjax?
posted by snsranch at 5:18 PM on May 12

snsranch: see here
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:23 PM on May 12