Music Challenge - we need your input June 5, 2013 7:16 PM Subscribe
Over on music.mefi we're considering the future of the music challenge, which I've been running for a while now, after taking over from Flapjax. This has traditionally been an entry point for people into the world of music.mefi and we'd love to get some input about the direction it should take.
The current discussion was spawned from this proposal by Hoops McCann to do another album cover project.
The current discussion was spawned from this proposal by Hoops McCann to do another album cover project.
Sometimes I feel like MeFiMu is like the band room in high school. Yeah maybe you sort of hung out there during lunch-hour, playing Metallica covers on the piano to impress the stoners, but nobody really knew about it, ya know? And it was pretty awkward that one time you were all "Hey Lindsay wanna hang out with me in the band room for lunch? We're doing a drum circle today" and she just looked at you like WTF
...or so I've heard
posted by Doleful Creature at 10:03 PM on June 5, 2013 [6 favorites]
...or so I've heard
posted by Doleful Creature at 10:03 PM on June 5, 2013 [6 favorites]
I'm a bar-band hack who only ever had (half of) one good original song in him, so I was pleased to see a cover challenge. Covers? I've got hundreds I could bust out at a moments notice. Originals? Not so much. I understand why the FAQ asks that covers be kept to a minimum. Still, as a consequence I rarely look at MeFi Music.
posted by ob1quixote at 10:37 PM on June 5, 2013
posted by ob1quixote at 10:37 PM on June 5, 2013
OR! A remix project of any existing MeFiMusic material. This would likely require a lot of source files stashed somewhere for download though.
posted by Hoopo at 10:53 PM on June 5, 2013
posted by Hoopo at 10:53 PM on June 5, 2013
I've always wanted to get into mefimu, but it ses hard to break into--periodic covers are great ways to break the ice. I've never actually recorded a song, so I'm starting from square one, and there seem to be so many excellent musicians here!
posted by Admiral Haddock at 5:59 AM on June 6, 2013
posted by Admiral Haddock at 5:59 AM on June 6, 2013
I don't spend as much time in MeFiMu as I should... partly because I'm off in my own peculiar corner playing music from mid-19th century banjo instruction books and partly because I run hot and cold with my playing; I'll get distracted by other things for months at a time and barely touch my instruments, but then something will light a fire under my ass and I'll be all banjo all the time for a few weeks... which explains why I post tracks to MeFiMu so intermittently.
I think cover tunes are a fine idea for the monthly challenges; low barrier to entry, and if a whole album is chosen it really fosters collaboration.
posted by usonian at 6:22 AM on June 6, 2013
I think cover tunes are a fine idea for the monthly challenges; low barrier to entry, and if a whole album is chosen it really fosters collaboration.
posted by usonian at 6:22 AM on June 6, 2013
Freddy. Mercury. Covers.
This is an invitation to pain.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:07 AM on June 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
This is an invitation to pain.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:07 AM on June 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
shakespeherian: " This is an invitation to pain."
Blasphemy.
posted by zarq at 8:14 AM on June 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
Blasphemy.
posted by zarq at 8:14 AM on June 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
I've always wanted to get into mefimu, but it ses hard to break into
Not sure if you're being serious, but... there is literally no barrier to entry. There have been people who joined up apparently just to post one thing. A good way to start out is just to listen and comment on posts. Whenever someone comments on my stuff I try to go and listen to whatever they've posted and comment where appropriate.
posted by dubold at 8:20 AM on June 6, 2013
Not sure if you're being serious, but... there is literally no barrier to entry. There have been people who joined up apparently just to post one thing. A good way to start out is just to listen and comment on posts. Whenever someone comments on my stuff I try to go and listen to whatever they've posted and comment where appropriate.
posted by dubold at 8:20 AM on June 6, 2013
Freddy Mercury? Isn't that that guy from Fun.? Don't get why people are so crazy about him but I guess they've got some catchy tunes.
posted by Rory Marinich at 8:29 AM on June 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Rory Marinich at 8:29 AM on June 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
Blasphemy.
Mercury's range was incredible-- four octaves. You're asking to hear a bunch of folks try and fail to match that and you will wind up with bleedy ears.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:34 AM on June 6, 2013 [4 favorites]
Mercury's range was incredible-- four octaves. You're asking to hear a bunch of folks try and fail to match that and you will wind up with bleedy ears.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:34 AM on June 6, 2013 [4 favorites]
Rory Marinich: "Freddy Mercury? Isn't that that guy from Fun.? Don't get why people are so crazy about him but I guess they've got some catchy tunes."
::dies::
shakespeherian: "You're asking to hear a bunch of folks try and fail to match that and you will wind up with bleedy ears."
ONE WORD:
Autotune.
(Kidding, kidding)
posted by zarq at 8:43 AM on June 6, 2013
::dies::
shakespeherian: "You're asking to hear a bunch of folks try and fail to match that and you will wind up with bleedy ears."
ONE WORD:
Autotune.
(Kidding, kidding)
posted by zarq at 8:43 AM on June 6, 2013
Scaramouche, scaramouche, will you do the Gangnam Style?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 9:25 AM on June 6, 2013
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 9:25 AM on June 6, 2013
I've always wanted to hear Mefites covering other Mefites...
posted by mbrubeck at 9:32 AM on June 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by mbrubeck at 9:32 AM on June 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
You could do covers of the devil's music and just do songs played backwards ;)
posted by Karmakaze at 9:36 AM on June 6, 2013
posted by Karmakaze at 9:36 AM on June 6, 2013
I love it over there, and I always mean to spend more time there and upload more stuff, and then...laziness, life, etc. I also like that it's mostly non-covers. There are some really creative people over there, and I like original music, so.
Also: I am in for Bowie cover album project like whoa.
posted by Lutoslawski at 9:47 AM on June 6, 2013
Also: I am in for Bowie cover album project like whoa.
posted by Lutoslawski at 9:47 AM on June 6, 2013
I've posted one challenge song (long) in the past, and have always wanted to be more active, but my music time over the last few years has been more limited than I'd like. It would be sad to see the challenges go away but it is understandable that the volunteer effort involved gets old.
Even though I'm not active at music, I've thought about this from time to time when wishing I were more active, and I think my perspective as a longtime member who is squarely in the group of metafilter musicians might be useful. There are some structural things that could maybe use improvement somehow. One would be occasional cross-posting of mefi music stuff to the sidebar, best of, and/or metatalk (there have been times in the past where this happened, but it seems like it's been a while). I tend to forget about the subsite for stretches, and this might raise awareness. I'm not sure exactly what the flow is for getting stuff into the first two, but this might be something that would benefit from more mod oversight.
Another is that I wish music talk were more prominent; it seems in principle like the kind of subsite that I (and probably others) would really like even when we don't have time to actually post music. However, I've always found music talk confusing to get to / really easy to forget (I've never even figured out how to get to it on mobile, is this possible?) and the distinction between songs and discussion posts to be a bit artificial. I assume when it was created there was some reason for not flowing these together (right now the low volume of discussion posts might be one), but I can't figure out what it would be. Also, this is a place where the distinction between the subsites occasionally seems problematic, for example there are all sorts of posts under the recording tag that would ideally at least be cross-posted to music talk. In other music communities I've participated in (ableton forums, kvr) the community thrived on the kind of discussions that don't much happen there, even though they do happen somewhat more an ask metafilter.
So this second point leads to two ideas for structural improvements that might help a lot, though I realize that each would be a substantial pony: (i) restructuring music talk so that it is easier to get to / somehow more integrated with music posts, and (ii) having some way of connecting relevant questions from ask metafilter into music talk. A lo-fi version of this request (maybe too lo-fi) would be to have a special tag that caused the question to show up on both subsites, with a graphical indicator that this is so, to remind people that music talk exists.
Not sure if you're being serious, but... there is literally no barrier to entry.
I'm not sure what the person you're responding to had in mind, but for me, the fact that it is completely public on the internet provides a pretty substantial barrier to entry. I personally can't put just anything up there, it needs to reach a certain level of quality.
Also, I have to say, I was somewhat put off by Hoops McCann's post in the other thread. I guess it was made somewhat in frustration, but I don't think this is the right approach to take to community building in mefi music.
posted by advil at 10:02 AM on June 6, 2013 [2 favorites]
Even though I'm not active at music, I've thought about this from time to time when wishing I were more active, and I think my perspective as a longtime member who is squarely in the group of metafilter musicians might be useful. There are some structural things that could maybe use improvement somehow. One would be occasional cross-posting of mefi music stuff to the sidebar, best of, and/or metatalk (there have been times in the past where this happened, but it seems like it's been a while). I tend to forget about the subsite for stretches, and this might raise awareness. I'm not sure exactly what the flow is for getting stuff into the first two, but this might be something that would benefit from more mod oversight.
Another is that I wish music talk were more prominent; it seems in principle like the kind of subsite that I (and probably others) would really like even when we don't have time to actually post music. However, I've always found music talk confusing to get to / really easy to forget (I've never even figured out how to get to it on mobile, is this possible?) and the distinction between songs and discussion posts to be a bit artificial. I assume when it was created there was some reason for not flowing these together (right now the low volume of discussion posts might be one), but I can't figure out what it would be. Also, this is a place where the distinction between the subsites occasionally seems problematic, for example there are all sorts of posts under the recording tag that would ideally at least be cross-posted to music talk. In other music communities I've participated in (ableton forums, kvr) the community thrived on the kind of discussions that don't much happen there, even though they do happen somewhat more an ask metafilter.
So this second point leads to two ideas for structural improvements that might help a lot, though I realize that each would be a substantial pony: (i) restructuring music talk so that it is easier to get to / somehow more integrated with music posts, and (ii) having some way of connecting relevant questions from ask metafilter into music talk. A lo-fi version of this request (maybe too lo-fi) would be to have a special tag that caused the question to show up on both subsites, with a graphical indicator that this is so, to remind people that music talk exists.
Not sure if you're being serious, but... there is literally no barrier to entry.
I'm not sure what the person you're responding to had in mind, but for me, the fact that it is completely public on the internet provides a pretty substantial barrier to entry. I personally can't put just anything up there, it needs to reach a certain level of quality.
Also, I have to say, I was somewhat put off by Hoops McCann's post in the other thread. I guess it was made somewhat in frustration, but I don't think this is the right approach to take to community building in mefi music.
posted by advil at 10:02 AM on June 6, 2013 [2 favorites]
I love, love, love the idea of the Bowie cover album project. Skilled and learning and new musicians alike, that would be awesome.
If you wanted a really low-barrier-to-entry project, though, may I suggest favourite children's songs/lullabies/folk songs?
posted by batmonkey at 10:02 AM on June 6, 2013 [2 favorites]
If you wanted a really low-barrier-to-entry project, though, may I suggest favourite children's songs/lullabies/folk songs?
posted by batmonkey at 10:02 AM on June 6, 2013 [2 favorites]
Not sure if you're being serious, but... there is literally no barrier to entry.
I'm not sure what the person you're responding to had in mind, but for me, the fact that it is completely public on the internet provides a pretty substantial barrier to entry.
That's more or less it--I don't have a lot of time to write original stuff (and haven't in years). I don't have a lot of experience recording, either. So the challenges I've seen (write something in a zany time signature, or whatever) are far beyond my capabilities. Even some of the covers seem adventurous to me (e.g., OK Computer, given how technically accomplished Radiohead are).
I have a friend who's a great musician, and he wants to jam, and I'm like, no. I need a week just to learn how to play a song I know; a Phish-like jam/ramble is not happening.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 10:30 AM on June 6, 2013
I'm not sure what the person you're responding to had in mind, but for me, the fact that it is completely public on the internet provides a pretty substantial barrier to entry.
That's more or less it--I don't have a lot of time to write original stuff (and haven't in years). I don't have a lot of experience recording, either. So the challenges I've seen (write something in a zany time signature, or whatever) are far beyond my capabilities. Even some of the covers seem adventurous to me (e.g., OK Computer, given how technically accomplished Radiohead are).
I have a friend who's a great musician, and he wants to jam, and I'm like, no. I need a week just to learn how to play a song I know; a Phish-like jam/ramble is not happening.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 10:30 AM on June 6, 2013
By barrier to entry, I mean the difference between 'cover this well known song which has three chords', and 'write a sonata in 11/8'.
posted by unSane at 10:42 AM on June 6, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by unSane at 10:42 AM on June 6, 2013 [3 favorites]
having some way of connecting relevant questions from ask metafilter into music talk.
This is a great idea. I know cracking this nut was sort of the downfall of TravelFilter, but this seems like a good opportunity to try a couple of different approaches to crossposting to see what works best.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:59 AM on June 6, 2013
This is a great idea. I know cracking this nut was sort of the downfall of TravelFilter, but this seems like a good opportunity to try a couple of different approaches to crossposting to see what works best.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:59 AM on June 6, 2013
I would personally love to turn the tables on all you MeFiMusicians that are all good at playing instruments and singing and composing and stuff, and for a challenge some month have you all make samples-and-loops or electro-synthy hip hop beats like I do for lack of said abilities on instruments and singing and composing and stuff.
You can’t do that in the current challenges? I’m not up on the rules, I didn’t think there were many.
posted by bongo_x at 11:20 AM on June 6, 2013
You can’t do that in the current challenges? I’m not up on the rules, I didn’t think there were many.
posted by bongo_x at 11:20 AM on June 6, 2013
If you are looking for some challenge ideas I can come up with some:
posted by cjorgensen at 11:35 AM on June 6, 2013 [5 favorites]
- New member drive. First time posters. Post something. Anything.
- Collaborative post.
- Original spoken word.
- Spoken word cover of public domain work.
- Cover of something from the Appalachia music archives in whatever style.
- Song using only children's instruments.
- Song using only instruments you've made or found objects.
- Parody of your favorite Lady Gaga song in the style of Pink.
- Instrumental version of an a cappella song
- Political satire
- Soundtrack for podcasts (intro/outro, breaks, ramps).
- Music for puppets.
- Original murder ballad.
posted by cjorgensen at 11:35 AM on June 6, 2013 [5 favorites]
Parody of your favorite Lady Gaga song in the style of Pink.
So what kind of being were you before you became pure dark matter?
posted by mintcake! at 11:40 AM on June 6, 2013 [6 favorites]
So what kind of being were you before you became pure dark matter?
posted by mintcake! at 11:40 AM on June 6, 2013 [6 favorites]
What about songs inspired by FPPs? Or everyone writing a song about one particular, randomly-chosen FPP? I can't make any type of music at all but I love listening to MeFiMu.
posted by divined by radio at 11:41 AM on June 6, 2013 [5 favorites]
6. Song using only children's instruments.sElf did an entire record of this: Gizmodgery. It is AWESOME.
posted by divined by radio at 11:41 AM on June 6, 2013 [5 favorites]
> Mercury's range was incredible-- four octaves. You're asking to hear a bunch of folks try and fail to match that and you will wind up with bleedy ears.
Use two singers and split the job: One does the lower half, the other does the upper half. Or use four singers and assign octaves. You have the entire mefite population at your disposal, some kind of division of labor shouldn't be hard.
posted by ardgedee at 11:59 AM on June 6, 2013
Use two singers and split the job: One does the lower half, the other does the upper half. Or use four singers and assign octaves. You have the entire mefite population at your disposal, some kind of division of labor shouldn't be hard.
posted by ardgedee at 11:59 AM on June 6, 2013
I'd like a challenge that answers the perennial AskMe question "What should I put on this mix CD for theme X?" Wedding, baby, running, travel, mourning, meditation, whatever. Partly inspired by having two of my niece's favorite songs from her baby CD written by MeFites. Covers or originals or both, no matter.
posted by donnagirl at 12:01 PM on June 6, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by donnagirl at 12:01 PM on June 6, 2013 [2 favorites]
Have you ever loved a song, made someone listen to it, and only then realized the lyrics were inane, vapid, or otherwise embarrassing to your sensibilities? How about a challenge to cover those tunes but with new lyrics, either original or imported from a different source?
"Hard to Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago, I'm looking at you.
On preview I realized I'm going to get caught reading MeFi at work so I didn't check to see if someone else already offered this idea.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 12:04 PM on June 6, 2013 [2 favorites]
"Hard to Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago, I'm looking at you.
On preview I realized I'm going to get caught reading MeFi at work so I didn't check to see if someone else already offered this idea.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 12:04 PM on June 6, 2013 [2 favorites]
ardgedee: You have the entire mefite population at your disposal, some kind of division of labor shouldn't be hard.
88 MeFites, one note each.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:06 PM on June 6, 2013 [3 favorites]
88 MeFites, one note each.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:06 PM on June 6, 2013 [3 favorites]
Oh, and I always mean to participate but my personal barrier to entry is that I feel intimidated and inadequate.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 12:08 PM on June 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 12:08 PM on June 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
The World Famous, I love every single thing about that idea.
posted by mintcake! at 12:23 PM on June 6, 2013
posted by mintcake! at 12:23 PM on June 6, 2013
... or as I just said over there ...
Do the Residents Commercial Album -- 40 songs, all one minute long. Lots of room to move, expand, contract. What's not to love?
posted by philip-random at 12:24 PM on June 6, 2013
Do the Residents Commercial Album -- 40 songs, all one minute long. Lots of room to move, expand, contract. What's not to love?
posted by philip-random at 12:24 PM on June 6, 2013
Hey everybody, if you want to participate in the Bowie Challenge, you should say so in this thread.
posted by dubold at 12:46 PM on June 6, 2013
posted by dubold at 12:46 PM on June 6, 2013
That challenge is far too specific to be interesting (as I argued on that thread). Covering a track that I have been assigned sounds more like a homework assignment...
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 1:11 PM on June 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 1:11 PM on June 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
I put my name down on that thread. I like that it seems like a homework assignment. It's probably the only way I'd get round to doing something for a challenge.
posted by cincinnatus c at 1:21 PM on June 6, 2013
posted by cincinnatus c at 1:21 PM on June 6, 2013
Show tunes reworked in any manner you see fit.
Bluegrass versions of anything.
Ad jingles taken somewhere dark.
posted by arcticseal at 1:45 PM on June 6, 2013
Bluegrass versions of anything.
Ad jingles taken somewhere dark.
posted by arcticseal at 1:45 PM on June 6, 2013
two of my niece's favorite songs from her baby CD written by MeFites
I'm honoured that my song containing the lyrics "We watch Monty Python and we chug drinks that we stole from your parents' bar" is on a baby CD. May the circle be unbroken.
posted by chococat at 3:00 PM on June 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm honoured that my song containing the lyrics "We watch Monty Python and we chug drinks that we stole from your parents' bar" is on a baby CD. May the circle be unbroken.
posted by chococat at 3:00 PM on June 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
88 MeFites, one note each.
I actually had to perform "We Are the Champions" on stage a couple of years ago. I can not sing, do not sing, but was not in a position to flatly refuse (don't ask why, it's a long story.) That is not a song with a tremendous amount of vocal range. It should have been totally possible. I had a drummer to keep the beat, even. It should have been fine.
And then I realized that each verse is sung in two breaths. The amount of vocal control it takes is way, way outside my capabilities, even though I can nominally hit all the notes. Freddy Mercury is not a man you want to cover, is my point.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 3:02 PM on June 6, 2013 [4 favorites]
I actually had to perform "We Are the Champions" on stage a couple of years ago. I can not sing, do not sing, but was not in a position to flatly refuse (don't ask why, it's a long story.) That is not a song with a tremendous amount of vocal range. It should have been totally possible. I had a drummer to keep the beat, even. It should have been fine.
And then I realized that each verse is sung in two breaths. The amount of vocal control it takes is way, way outside my capabilities, even though I can nominally hit all the notes. Freddy Mercury is not a man you want to cover, is my point.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 3:02 PM on June 6, 2013 [4 favorites]
my song containing the lyrics "We watch Monty Python and we chug drinks that we stole from your parents' bar" is on a baby CD
Cortex's song contains the line "all the fucked up things about which I tend to sing don't apply". In my family, we like to raise our babies to drink and swear.
posted by donnagirl at 7:35 PM on June 6, 2013
Cortex's song contains the line "all the fucked up things about which I tend to sing don't apply". In my family, we like to raise our babies to drink and swear.
posted by donnagirl at 7:35 PM on June 6, 2013
Challenge: Each participant shall record and post a song consisting of a single note, performed at any octave or multiple octaves, on any instrument, voice, whatever, or multiple instruments, any tempo, etc.
I thought you were saying a 3 minute song using only A# for instance, and I wasn’t getting it. You’re not, right?
posted by bongo_x at 7:45 PM on June 6, 2013
I thought you were saying a 3 minute song using only A# for instance, and I wasn’t getting it. You’re not, right?
posted by bongo_x at 7:45 PM on June 6, 2013
Wouldn’t they all just sort of sound like Morse Code at different speeds?
posted by bongo_x at 8:02 PM on June 6, 2013
posted by bongo_x at 8:02 PM on June 6, 2013
"Dude, I told you to do the bendy every once in a while!"
posted by Rock Steady at 8:11 PM on June 6, 2013
posted by Rock Steady at 8:11 PM on June 6, 2013
I think a challenge to cover any original song put up by another Metafilter Music user would be super fun. I'd like to try chococat's Olivia, personally.
posted by lazaruslong at 8:14 PM on June 6, 2013
posted by lazaruslong at 8:14 PM on June 6, 2013
I think a challenge to cover any original song put up by another Metafilter Music user would be super fun. I'd like to try chococat's Olivia, personally.
We did this one about five years ago, and it was super fun (I did a chococat cover!), so I think it's high time for a return.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 8:22 PM on June 6, 2013
We did this one about five years ago, and it was super fun (I did a chococat cover!), so I think it's high time for a return.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 8:22 PM on June 6, 2013
Maybe a distinction should be made between challenges and collaborations. Collaborations, as in let's make a bunch of bossa nova songs or let's each cover a track from Reign in Blood, are necessarily going to be somewhat restrictive because there's an expectation each contributor will work to make part of a whole. It's like making an album.
However, challenges like "make a song about an FPP" or "record a song with a solo of some sort in it" can be interpreted very broadly. I think these are more likely to inspire an "I can do that!" response.
So, keep the grand projects around but also provide a low-pressure option for people.
posted by ignignokt at 9:41 PM on June 6, 2013 [3 favorites]
However, challenges like "make a song about an FPP" or "record a song with a solo of some sort in it" can be interpreted very broadly. I think these are more likely to inspire an "I can do that!" response.
So, keep the grand projects around but also provide a low-pressure option for people.
posted by ignignokt at 9:41 PM on June 6, 2013 [3 favorites]
Freddy Mercury? Isn't that that guy from Fun.?
I had dismissed Fun as kids making pop music I wouldn't understand, on account of their singing about being young and strange production (what is with that drum being so prominent in the mix anyway?). Then I found out the singer is 31, which is really only a couple of years younger than me. In light of this new information I may have to re-evaluate them as "obnoxious".
posted by Hoopo at 8:48 AM on June 7, 2013
I had dismissed Fun as kids making pop music I wouldn't understand, on account of their singing about being young and strange production (what is with that drum being so prominent in the mix anyway?). Then I found out the singer is 31, which is really only a couple of years younger than me. In light of this new information I may have to re-evaluate them as "obnoxious".
posted by Hoopo at 8:48 AM on June 7, 2013
bossa nova songs or let's each cover a track from Reign in Blood
Reign in Bossa Nova
posted by Hoopo at 8:49 AM on June 7, 2013
Reign in Bossa Nova
posted by Hoopo at 8:49 AM on June 7, 2013
The challenge that came closest to getting me to participate was the "cover the song that was top of the charts on the day you were born" challenge a few years back. The OK Computer challenge was close as well.
As a variant of the 'day you were born" challenge, we could do a yearly challenge on MeFi anniversaries...something like "MeFi turns 14 this month...cover a song that was a hit on your 14th birthday". Next year you get to choose a song from your 15th birthday, and so on. They don't have to be straight covers either, maybe cover the lyrics with music from a different genre.
Things like this would get me involved more than having to compose an original song.
posted by rocket88 at 12:26 PM on June 7, 2013
As a variant of the 'day you were born" challenge, we could do a yearly challenge on MeFi anniversaries...something like "MeFi turns 14 this month...cover a song that was a hit on your 14th birthday". Next year you get to choose a song from your 15th birthday, and so on. They don't have to be straight covers either, maybe cover the lyrics with music from a different genre.
Things like this would get me involved more than having to compose an original song.
posted by rocket88 at 12:26 PM on June 7, 2013
I think that the music challenges are growing too esoteric. Looking at The World Famous's suggestion above, I would not participate, and I think it alienates other potential MeFiMusicians. It might make for a fun arrangement of noise, but that challenge would be incredibly difficult to get something that resembles music out of it. Not only does it require a high level of skill with one's ear, but it also requires a high level of competency with whatever recording software one uses.
Playing a song backwards, unfamiliar tempos, mode inversions - These are not easy for a beginner to do. Like the "88 keys" challenge idea above, you are asking for either a) regular musicians to put up something good-to-brilliant or b) newer users to put up something of lower quality.
posted by frecklefaerie at 12:56 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Playing a song backwards, unfamiliar tempos, mode inversions - These are not easy for a beginner to do. Like the "88 keys" challenge idea above, you are asking for either a) regular musicians to put up something good-to-brilliant or b) newer users to put up something of lower quality.
posted by frecklefaerie at 12:56 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
I think the suggestion is to not focus on technique in challenges. More "everyone cover ‘Like A Virgin’" and less "everyone write a song in ⅞".
posted by bongo_x at 1:47 PM on June 7, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by bongo_x at 1:47 PM on June 7, 2013 [2 favorites]
It might make for a fun arrangement of noise, but that challenge would be incredibly difficult to get something that resembles music out of it.
Noise counts.
posted by mintcake! at 4:02 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Noise counts.
posted by mintcake! at 4:02 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
What about just leaving challenges open and having more than one going at a time? Instead of hashing out what exactly to do and when, then doing it again later, just put up "Here’s a challenge to to songs from Ziggy Stardust" and leave it there. "Here’s a challenge to make one note songs". Have them be ongoing. If no one is interested in a particular challenge then it will just languish. The challenge with the most recent activity could move to the top.
I’m sure the time frame helps some people, but I tend to just say "oh, that’s not happening until September". And then of course it’s September and I’m too late. I didn’t do that well in school.
posted by bongo_x at 5:57 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
I’m sure the time frame helps some people, but I tend to just say "oh, that’s not happening until September". And then of course it’s September and I’m too late. I didn’t do that well in school.
posted by bongo_x at 5:57 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
The first time I ever tried a somewhat serious cover was for the Velvet Underground + Nico Challenge.
I learned quite a bit from that challenge.
posted by snsranch at 8:16 PM on June 7, 2013
I learned quite a bit from that challenge.
posted by snsranch at 8:16 PM on June 7, 2013
Just a listener, never a participant. I love the cover challenges, specially the whole album thing. I have mostly complete versions of OK computer and velvet underground + nico made up of my favorite entries. Actually I have almost two full OK computers.
The esoteric challenges I listen to once and mostly forget about them.
Coming from someone in the audience who has the musical ability of a flatworm, this comment may sound like a cry for free bird. Just letting you know what makes me smile.
posted by Doroteo Arango II at 9:14 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
The esoteric challenges I listen to once and mostly forget about them.
Coming from someone in the audience who has the musical ability of a flatworm, this comment may sound like a cry for free bird. Just letting you know what makes me smile.
posted by Doroteo Arango II at 9:14 PM on June 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
From my perspective as an amateur dilettante musician, the simpler challenges seem to be a great entry point. The challenges that get the most response in terms of submissions, aside from the album covers, are the general, easily executed challenges well in reach of total beginners; the four-chords challenge, the first-single challenge, etcetera. Lyrical themes seem to be pretty variable, though; the May Day one was sparse, while the Wasteland one was well received.
I'd suggest things like:
Cover a song from the 1910s (no copyright!)
Do a song using just one instrument, no effects, no overlays
Collaborate - find a musical Mefite and make something
Sarcastic love song
Let's bring skiffle back!
The intimidating thing about the MeFiMu forum, though, is the lack of response. Look at how many posts on the page have 0 comments, or two. There doesn't seem to be a community there that would be really helpful to beginners. The more amateur stuff gets ignored, and the really good stuff gets praised, but there doesn't seem to be anything particularly constructive going on.
So, while the challenges are a good subject to tackle when talking about bringing new people on board, I'd like to suggest that we think about how to respond to the new people when they do get up the courage to put their stuff out there.
Maybe incorporating the MusicTalk discussion threads would be the best way to go about it; it might make it more likely for people to post feedback on music tracks. Or possibly have guidelines for posting feedback that would make people more comfortable with the idea of critiquing someone else's work.
It seems to me that the value in a music community is that it helps all of its members, from the kid with the kazoo to the professional musician, to be better musicians. It seems like, in MeFiMu, we've got the venue, and we've got great people, but we haven't figured out how to be particularly helpful to each other as of yet.
posted by MrVisible at 10:39 AM on June 8, 2013 [2 favorites]
I'd suggest things like:
Cover a song from the 1910s (no copyright!)
Do a song using just one instrument, no effects, no overlays
Collaborate - find a musical Mefite and make something
Sarcastic love song
Let's bring skiffle back!
The intimidating thing about the MeFiMu forum, though, is the lack of response. Look at how many posts on the page have 0 comments, or two. There doesn't seem to be a community there that would be really helpful to beginners. The more amateur stuff gets ignored, and the really good stuff gets praised, but there doesn't seem to be anything particularly constructive going on.
So, while the challenges are a good subject to tackle when talking about bringing new people on board, I'd like to suggest that we think about how to respond to the new people when they do get up the courage to put their stuff out there.
Maybe incorporating the MusicTalk discussion threads would be the best way to go about it; it might make it more likely for people to post feedback on music tracks. Or possibly have guidelines for posting feedback that would make people more comfortable with the idea of critiquing someone else's work.
It seems to me that the value in a music community is that it helps all of its members, from the kid with the kazoo to the professional musician, to be better musicians. It seems like, in MeFiMu, we've got the venue, and we've got great people, but we haven't figured out how to be particularly helpful to each other as of yet.
posted by MrVisible at 10:39 AM on June 8, 2013 [2 favorites]
13. Original murder ballad.
I attempted one a few years ago and it was really fun to do.
My son wasn't crazy about it though; the one time it came on the iPod when we were in the car he asked if we could skip it.
posted by chococat at 2:27 PM on June 8, 2013
I attempted one a few years ago and it was really fun to do.
My son wasn't crazy about it though; the one time it came on the iPod when we were in the car he asked if we could skip it.
posted by chococat at 2:27 PM on June 8, 2013
11. Soundtrack for podcasts (intro/outro, breaks, ramps).
I've often thought that the podcast could benefit from bumpers for each segment. Something to draw attention to the transitions between recapping one part of the site and another. A challenge to create a thematically unified set of musical bumpers — for Jobs / The Blue / AskMe / IRL / MeTa / Other News / whatever — could yield something to be appreciated across many months of episodes.
posted by mumkin at 2:50 AM on June 9, 2013
I've often thought that the podcast could benefit from bumpers for each segment. Something to draw attention to the transitions between recapping one part of the site and another. A challenge to create a thematically unified set of musical bumpers — for Jobs / The Blue / AskMe / IRL / MeTa / Other News / whatever — could yield something to be appreciated across many months of episodes.
posted by mumkin at 2:50 AM on June 9, 2013
A few observations from running the challenges for a while:
-- Collaborative challenges are REALLY difficult to pull together and probably best handled as one-offs separate from the main challenge. On the other hand the occasional 'cover this album' specials are generally a huge success. But anything that requires two MeFites to collaborate on a single track is almost always doomed, however good their intentions! (I speak from experience)
-- Technical challenges (eg odd time, do something in bluegrass style) are fun but can be very restrictive, since you have to know how to play or fake bluegrass, or be familiar with odd time, to participate. On the other hand they do sometimes produce really fantastic contributions. It's all a question of balancing esoteric challenges with populist ones I think.
-- What consistently works in a challenge is an idea which you can execute in a couple of hours, or a day at most. So 'write a new song about...' tends to not get a lot of traction, while 'cover a Carpenters song' will probably net a big haul.
-- I've floated the idea before (which worked well in another context) of running the challenge as follows: each month someone picks the challenge subject, and at the end of the month they choose one of the entries -- not necessarily the 'best' but maybe the most interesting or unusual, or whatever criterion they choose -- they can explain their decision or not, and review the entries or not. But anyway, whoever they choose nominates the subject for the next challenge and picks their successor. (Or they can pass on the duty to someone else). It's not really meant to be competitive, more of a pat on the back kind of thing.
posted by unSane at 5:04 AM on June 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
-- Collaborative challenges are REALLY difficult to pull together and probably best handled as one-offs separate from the main challenge. On the other hand the occasional 'cover this album' specials are generally a huge success. But anything that requires two MeFites to collaborate on a single track is almost always doomed, however good their intentions! (I speak from experience)
-- Technical challenges (eg odd time, do something in bluegrass style) are fun but can be very restrictive, since you have to know how to play or fake bluegrass, or be familiar with odd time, to participate. On the other hand they do sometimes produce really fantastic contributions. It's all a question of balancing esoteric challenges with populist ones I think.
-- What consistently works in a challenge is an idea which you can execute in a couple of hours, or a day at most. So 'write a new song about...' tends to not get a lot of traction, while 'cover a Carpenters song' will probably net a big haul.
-- I've floated the idea before (which worked well in another context) of running the challenge as follows: each month someone picks the challenge subject, and at the end of the month they choose one of the entries -- not necessarily the 'best' but maybe the most interesting or unusual, or whatever criterion they choose -- they can explain their decision or not, and review the entries or not. But anyway, whoever they choose nominates the subject for the next challenge and picks their successor. (Or they can pass on the duty to someone else). It's not really meant to be competitive, more of a pat on the back kind of thing.
posted by unSane at 5:04 AM on June 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
Taz suggested artwork for the challenges, which sounds like a great idea to me. Anyone interested in coming up with art for the individual tracks in the Bowie Challenge should let me know and i'll pair you up with one of the artists.
posted by dubold at 4:00 AM on June 10, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by dubold at 4:00 AM on June 10, 2013 [1 favorite]
That challenge is far too specific to be interesting (as I argued on that thread). Covering a track that I have been assigned sounds more like a homework assignment...
Different strokes for different folks. I think a really good thing about the challenges is that they veer between very prescriptive, such as being allocated a track to cover like you say, to really loose with a lot of space for interpretation.
posted by greenish at 6:18 AM on June 11, 2013
Different strokes for different folks. I think a really good thing about the challenges is that they veer between very prescriptive, such as being allocated a track to cover like you say, to really loose with a lot of space for interpretation.
posted by greenish at 6:18 AM on June 11, 2013
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posted by Hoopo at 9:21 PM on June 5, 2013 [1 favorite]