Happy MeFi Music Challenge Day
February 1, 2011 11:10 AM
MefiMusicChallenge Day?
This is a suggestion that I'm not 100% convinced of myself but I think it might be worth thinking about.
The vast majority of the music challenge entries were posted last night/this morning and, to me at least, it felt like a big community occasion. Perhaps because everybody was keeping an eye on their own entries there seemed to be more bodies and comments around Music than usual.
So my suggestion is this, maybe we should hold off on posting our challenge entries until the last day of every month, Challenge Day.
Maybe there could even be a monthly monthly metatalk post? maybe not.
posted by minifigs (12 comments total)
This is a suggestion that I'm not 100% convinced of myself but I think it might be worth thinking about.
The vast majority of the music challenge entries were posted last night/this morning and, to me at least, it felt like a big community occasion. Perhaps because everybody was keeping an eye on their own entries there seemed to be more bodies and comments around Music than usual.
So my suggestion is this, maybe we should hold off on posting our challenge entries until the last day of every month, Challenge Day.
Maybe there could even be a monthly monthly metatalk post? maybe not.
It's a fun idea, but a problem with Challenge Day is it might make Music feel even more sparsely populated than usual the rest of the month (and like there's "no reason to check it out" any other day of the month).
Maybe there could even be a monthly monthly metatalk post?
I would have thought that to be a great idea until a few days ago; now I kinda worry about the pushback from various haters complaining that Music doesn't deserve "special treatment" and stuff. This particular challenge, on the other hand, feels "special" enough to me that hopefully it'll get a Talk shoutout or a sidebar.
What's this month's challenge, anyway? *clicks link*
*refreshes*
*refreshes again*
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 3:09 PM on February 1, 2011
Maybe there could even be a monthly monthly metatalk post?
I would have thought that to be a great idea until a few days ago; now I kinda worry about the pushback from various haters complaining that Music doesn't deserve "special treatment" and stuff. This particular challenge, on the other hand, feels "special" enough to me that hopefully it'll get a Talk shoutout or a sidebar.
What's this month's challenge, anyway? *clicks link*
*refreshes*
*refreshes again*
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 3:09 PM on February 1, 2011
It's a fun idea, but a problem with Challenge Day is it might make Music feel even more sparsely populated than usual the rest of the month (and like there's "no reason to check it out" any other day of the month).
I totally agree with Karlos on this point. There'll be little else than *crickets* around here most of the time! Now, IRL, I love the sound of crickets, but here... not so much.
minifigs: Maybe there could even be a monthly monthly metatalk post?
Karlos: I would have thought that to be a great idea until a few days ago; now I kinda worry about the pushback from various haters complaining that Music doesn't deserve "special treatment" and stuff.
Now, what could possibly make you think such a thing, Karlos?
I actually took an inordinately large amount of perverse glee in letting some of the air out of those grumpy windbags over there, but, yeah, a steady diet of that kind of negativity could get wearing on the soul...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:55 PM on February 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
I totally agree with Karlos on this point. There'll be little else than *crickets* around here most of the time! Now, IRL, I love the sound of crickets, but here... not so much.
minifigs: Maybe there could even be a monthly monthly metatalk post?
Karlos: I would have thought that to be a great idea until a few days ago; now I kinda worry about the pushback from various haters complaining that Music doesn't deserve "special treatment" and stuff.
Now, what could possibly make you think such a thing, Karlos?
I actually took an inordinately large amount of perverse glee in letting some of the air out of those grumpy windbags over there, but, yeah, a steady diet of that kind of negativity could get wearing on the soul...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:55 PM on February 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
Yes great job on those collabs everyone, I look forward to listening to them all.
It's an interesting idea for sure, minifigs, but I think I sort of like it the spread-out, songs-trickle-in way. My work-ethic is pretty wonky; I like being able to do something right away on a whim or sort of leave it to the end for that last-minute pressure or sometimes something in-between. Besides, if I had it all done and then had to wait a few weeks I'd probably forget to post it.
And man, flapjax, you handled that thread with much restraint and class. I had to re-type my response 3 times because it kept coming out sort of bitchy and condescending to all the "it's just a dad recording his baby" people. Unbelievable.
posted by chococat at 5:18 PM on February 1, 2011
It's an interesting idea for sure, minifigs, but I think I sort of like it the spread-out, songs-trickle-in way. My work-ethic is pretty wonky; I like being able to do something right away on a whim or sort of leave it to the end for that last-minute pressure or sometimes something in-between. Besides, if I had it all done and then had to wait a few weeks I'd probably forget to post it.
And man, flapjax, you handled that thread with much restraint and class. I had to re-type my response 3 times because it kept coming out sort of bitchy and condescending to all the "it's just a dad recording his baby" people. Unbelievable.
posted by chococat at 5:18 PM on February 1, 2011
Not only that latest thread but there was another recent one where some people were opining that Music was undeserving of any extra attention.
I should clarify what I said: I think, despite my newly-found reservations, that a monthly MetaTalk thread is a great idea; maybe in the first day or two of the month, posted by whoever is curating the challenges (or, to stave off "this is not what MetaTalk is for" complaining, by Cortex, at least at first, if he's willing), and it could have a rundown of how the last challenge went and also a mention of the new challenge for the month with an invitation to join in.
That'd be pretty great. Every month, there'd basically be a new "jumping in" point to explore Music from, which is one thing that gets mentioned in every MetaTalk thread about Music -- people don't know where to start, or how to browse through everything.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 6:11 PM on February 1, 2011
I should clarify what I said: I think, despite my newly-found reservations, that a monthly MetaTalk thread is a great idea; maybe in the first day or two of the month, posted by whoever is curating the challenges (or, to stave off "this is not what MetaTalk is for" complaining, by Cortex, at least at first, if he's willing), and it could have a rundown of how the last challenge went and also a mention of the new challenge for the month with an invitation to join in.
That'd be pretty great. Every month, there'd basically be a new "jumping in" point to explore Music from, which is one thing that gets mentioned in every MetaTalk thread about Music -- people don't know where to start, or how to browse through everything.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 6:11 PM on February 1, 2011
Not only that latest thread but there was another recent one where some people were opining that Music was undeserving of any extra attention.
yeah, i just don't get that. what a buzzkill. flapjax shouldn't have had to defend anything, and hopefully umbu wasn't discouraged. we played that track over and over here at my house last saturday night, and laughed with joy...and it's been in my head all week so far (^_^)
'The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not mov’d with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus.
Let no such man be trusted.'
~ Shakespeare
as far as future collaborations - - - i'd love to see it happen again, and be able to participate...hopefully before another year goes by !
posted by g.i.r. at 6:30 PM on February 1, 2011
yeah, i just don't get that. what a buzzkill. flapjax shouldn't have had to defend anything, and hopefully umbu wasn't discouraged. we played that track over and over here at my house last saturday night, and laughed with joy...and it's been in my head all week so far (^_^)
'The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not mov’d with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus.
Let no such man be trusted.'
~ Shakespeare
as far as future collaborations - - - i'd love to see it happen again, and be able to participate...hopefully before another year goes by !
posted by g.i.r. at 6:30 PM on February 1, 2011
It's odd that MeTa is treated as such hallowed ground. I mean, Music is a subsite, after all, one that also happens to be immensely awesome, and it pains my soul to think anyone would be against highlighting that awesome-ry on a regular basis.
I'd love to see the Collaboration become a yearly challenge. I just love MeFi collaboration so damn much, and I'll tell you why: it means we're not just about the music. Not that I'd have any issue with that, because let's be honest: I'm all about the music.
But see, this is what makes MeFi Music special, and heck, MetaFilter in general. We care about each other, and even though I haven't actually met a single one of you (went to one meetup, no other musicians), I feel a weird implicit trust. Like, if I send you some tune to work on, you're going to treat it with respect. When I post a tune, you treat it with respect, you tell me all sorts of nice things, and criticism is voiced with a kindness that's so hard to find on the Internet.
On the Internet, we're so anonymous. I won't get into that because I'm sure that 65% of all grad students are writing papers on that very topic at any given time. But Music, it fucks with that anonymity a little bit. It puts voices and words and talents and sounds to the names. It's actually quite a vulnerable act to post a song under your own username, a song that you created and for all you know is a piece of crap.
Collaboration is, I feel, in some ways the heart of why MetaFilter Music works. Not the fact that it occurs every day, but the fact that it can.
/oddly emotional soliloquy
posted by ORthey at 6:56 PM on February 1, 2011 [4 favorites]
I'd love to see the Collaboration become a yearly challenge. I just love MeFi collaboration so damn much, and I'll tell you why: it means we're not just about the music. Not that I'd have any issue with that, because let's be honest: I'm all about the music.
But see, this is what makes MeFi Music special, and heck, MetaFilter in general. We care about each other, and even though I haven't actually met a single one of you (went to one meetup, no other musicians), I feel a weird implicit trust. Like, if I send you some tune to work on, you're going to treat it with respect. When I post a tune, you treat it with respect, you tell me all sorts of nice things, and criticism is voiced with a kindness that's so hard to find on the Internet.
On the Internet, we're so anonymous. I won't get into that because I'm sure that 65% of all grad students are writing papers on that very topic at any given time. But Music, it fucks with that anonymity a little bit. It puts voices and words and talents and sounds to the names. It's actually quite a vulnerable act to post a song under your own username, a song that you created and for all you know is a piece of crap.
Collaboration is, I feel, in some ways the heart of why MetaFilter Music works. Not the fact that it occurs every day, but the fact that it can.
/oddly emotional soliloquy
posted by ORthey at 6:56 PM on February 1, 2011 [4 favorites]
Hey Karlos, quit refreshing, I'm taking the night off to reflect on all of the awesomeness that was posted here today! Seriously, I'd have to put on my "serious" hat to describe how impressed and moved I am by all of the challenge submissions. Totally inspiring and beautiful collaborations!
minifigs, I love your idea. Having so much talent and greatness to absorb in such a short time span is exhilarating. Perhaps even overwhelming. But it might benefit folks like TGBM and reklus whos early posted project may have been a bit overlooked.
HUGE CHEERS TO EVERYONE! Today was a big day in my book.
posted by snsranch at 7:24 PM on February 1, 2011
minifigs, I love your idea. Having so much talent and greatness to absorb in such a short time span is exhilarating. Perhaps even overwhelming. But it might benefit folks like TGBM and reklus whos early posted project may have been a bit overlooked.
HUGE CHEERS TO EVERYONE! Today was a big day in my book.
posted by snsranch at 7:24 PM on February 1, 2011
Hmm, I totally missed Mulp/reklus's piece. It's really good. Everything was really good, in fact. Good enough that I'd love to have these in uncompressed form...
Anyone interested in putting together wav or aiffs of all the challenge tracks & making a CD? I'd be happy to do the heavy lifting & coordinate it (what the hell, I have time/blank CDs/a 4shared account) if we're talking about a handful (say, up to 20?) copies.
Also - I'd sure be happy to hear stuff from any of the teams that didn't upload yet - if there's almost-finished or even work-in-progress awesomeness out there, bring it on.
This was so much fun. Thanks, everyone, for really inspiring stuff. and if I'm ever in Zenabi's neck of the woods he's totally going to take me to the beach. awesome.
posted by mintcake! at 8:15 PM on February 1, 2011
Anyone interested in putting together wav or aiffs of all the challenge tracks & making a CD? I'd be happy to do the heavy lifting & coordinate it (what the hell, I have time/blank CDs/a 4shared account) if we're talking about a handful (say, up to 20?) copies.
Also - I'd sure be happy to hear stuff from any of the teams that didn't upload yet - if there's almost-finished or even work-in-progress awesomeness out there, bring it on.
This was so much fun. Thanks, everyone, for really inspiring stuff. and if I'm ever in Zenabi's neck of the woods he's totally going to take me to the beach. awesome.
posted by mintcake! at 8:15 PM on February 1, 2011
Yeah, that was an odd experience over in Metatalk. I was so happy that lots of people liked the song, but then there was all of this inexplicable and unnecessary hostility. I felt like a lot of it was triggered by people not realizing that flapjax calling that song epic genius was playful purple prose, or even semi-facetious. If anything, I thought the subtext of the tune is that any kid sings great stuff when they aren't being made to sing 'obediently.' It was odd that people were speaking about the song I did with umbuzinho utterly as if I wasn't present in the room. It made me happy that my son can't read yet. I kept thinking that it was the right thing to recuse myself, even though I had lots to say about the topic, but as it wore on I wondered whether that was the right decision. I guess it just reminded me why I spent much more time over here than there. The concept of someone saying that a song is shit and devoid of any musical value over here is totally foreign, because we're all posting and therefore vulnerable.
I also really liked the fact that everyone posted and commented at once yesterday. At the same time, things ebb and flow around here, and I worry that they might ebb and flow to greater extremes if we institute something like that.
posted by umbú at 8:49 PM on February 1, 2011
I also really liked the fact that everyone posted and commented at once yesterday. At the same time, things ebb and flow around here, and I worry that they might ebb and flow to greater extremes if we institute something like that.
posted by umbú at 8:49 PM on February 1, 2011
Maybe it's best to keep "the lighter grey" angry and Music a happy little oasis. Not rock the boat, so to speak, or perhaps let the boat continue to rock out at sea, just out of earshot, like it always has. I don't know how Metafilter Music would look if we had discussions like we did in the Fairy Magic thread taking place here. I like how comments here are typically limited to practical and constructive advice from knowledgeable people, or else by people who just dig the songs. Personally I don't know if I'd contribute as much (I'm already pretty bad at posting stuff with any regularity). I don't mind "needs more cowbell", but an increase in "that's musically shit" and "meh" might be hard to take.
Though I agree it kinda sucks when no one says anything at all, and the increased comments the last couple of days were nice.
posted by Hoopo at 9:12 AM on February 2, 2011
Though I agree it kinda sucks when no one says anything at all, and the increased comments the last couple of days were nice.
posted by Hoopo at 9:12 AM on February 2, 2011
MeFi Music Challenge Day also wouldn't really work well for those of us who have a tendency to take a challenge idea and build an entire album around it, or for things like the Hallelujah challenge, for which our dear cortex created over 9000 versions.
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 3:43 AM on February 3, 2011
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 3:43 AM on February 3, 2011
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But I'm very interested in what the rest of the community has to say about this.
posted by Corduroy at 1:53 PM on February 1, 2011