Metafilter Music Collaboration #2 is finished! This song involves 20 MeFites collaborating on an original song --
Exquisite Corpse style, which means that each contributor only got to hear one other contribution. Full credits and details inside.
This project started over a year ago with
this post.
We ended up with 20 contributors (and about the same number of people who ended up dropping out -- not a bad percentage, I think, given, you know,
musicians). You can see the flowchart
here (and my working version
here). Each participant heard
only the contribution of the person before them --
not all contributions up to that point, but only their immediate predecessor's. For instance, if you refer to the flowchart, you can see that uncleozzy heard only jpdoane's contribution, but not wanderingmind's contribution (which, in turn, was the only thing that jpdoane heard).
In order of appearance (in the song, not in order that things were recorded):
Karlos (me!):
Pling Plong (DIY Music Box)
snsranch: guitar
wanderingmind: synth
burnmp3s:drum program
univac: bass
uncleozzy: Edge-style guitar
umbú: easy-going guitar
chococat: strummed acoustic guitar
flapjax at midnight: jaw harp, vocalizations
TwoWordReview: jagged electric guitar
bunnytricks: bass
smartyboots: slide guitar
nanojath: percussion, boingy sounds
ORthey: banjo
equalpants: electric guitar
xorry: ocarina
InfidelZombie: quarter-note electric guitar on right side
god hates math: glockenspiel
naju: techno beats & synth
jpdoane: rock-star guitar on left side
It's very, let's say, "through-composed" as opposed to having a traditional song structure, in part due to wanting to get everyone in there.
Some people got nearly their whole submission used, and some people only got little parts in. My biggest regret is leaving out nanojath's entire vocal part (although if you listen closely, you can hear his intake of breath in preparation, looped over and over again), but perhaps someone will do another mix using that as a basis.
The toughest part was trying to figure out what to do with the key changes -- one branch ended up in D while everyone else was in C. I thought about pitch-shifting everyone into the same key but decided against it -- I like the modular aspect of everything being compatible, but decided it was more important to keep everyone's contribution "pure" for this version.
I'm going to try and set up something tomorrow to host all the parts so that anyone who wants to can put together ther own version.
Feel free to ask any questions you like about the process!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:27 PM on June 1, 2009