Songfighters?

I've been sorta kinda following Cortex and Chococat on Songfight and I think Davejay, The White Hat and Doleful Creature are also on there somewhere although I don't know their handles. Anyone else? And any tips?

I don't want to out anyone by making an unwanted connection between their mefi handle and their songfight handle, but maybe if you're cool with it, post your song fight handle below?

I'm gonna be Sportswriters, just because if I ever have a real band again that's what it'll be called, after Richard Ford's novel.

posted by unSane (16 comments total)

It's different over there, in that you have your identity on the forums, but then you can submit music using as many different identities and personas as you want.
I go by bgm.
No tips that I can think of. It's not a nice warm cushy womb of love like it is over here; people will tell you if they hate your song or what parts of it they think suck. Sometimes it's productive, sometimes it's not.
posted by chococat at 7:35 AM on October 17, 2011

I must be missing something here. But I don't quite get the aggressive/competitive thing with this. I really hate the idea of music as a kind of sport where the basic idea is that you "beat" someone else or are just gratutitously nasty and destructive about their musical efforts. The whole idea of "best" or "better than" in music is quite fascinating. I mean - who's to judge and by what measure?
posted by MajorDundee at 8:02 AM on October 18, 2011

The "fight" part is meant playfully, really it's a bit of a misnomer. To me it's more of a challenge than a fight. The crux of it is that there is a title suggested, and you get a week or so to submit a recording based on that title. The same as the challenges here, only you just get a title; for example, this week's "Has Been For Years."
That's the appeal for me, writing and recording a song in a week, based on a vague suggestion.
And then hearing what everyone comes up with. The voting is sort of silly; you can tell when people game it and then really, what's the point? You don't win anything. The point is the challenge of doing it and then the feedback after.
Some people make ignorant comments. Most don't. Some people give constructive, helpful tips; other people try to be funny with their snark, like anywhere on the internet.
posted by chococat at 8:20 AM on October 18, 2011

You're such an old hippy, Major. EVERYTHING's a competition, didn't you know?

Seriously, like chococat I liked the idea of having to write and record a song on a given theme without long to think about it. I've always worked best under pressure but it's hard to pressure yourself. I just posted the song I did for the 'Has Been for Years' theme, definitely sent me off in a completely unexpected direction.
posted by unSane at 12:25 PM on October 18, 2011

Ah, I see. Having done something similar a while back (when I took a bunch of poems and set them to music - the Walt Whitman one probably being the most sucessfully realised) I can appreciate the attraction of this kind of challenge. It does indeed send you to interesting places. I must do that again. Actually - could be a future challenge idea?

I was trying to think of something pointy and sharp to say about being accused of being an old hippy, but I just drifted off man and kind of looked at how blue the sky is and.....
posted by MajorDundee at 3:03 AM on October 19, 2011

For some reason I thought that had been done, Major, but I just checked back through the challenges and I can't see it. It's a great idea. I was not sure about November but I think that might be it.
posted by unSane at 7:01 AM on October 19, 2011

Oh, hang on, there's Challenge 41, but it's not quite the same.
posted by unSane at 7:03 AM on October 19, 2011

(In fact only one poem entered and that was Vogon)
posted by unSane at 7:05 AM on October 19, 2011

I had no idea Cortex and Chococat were on there. Huh. That might explain why there's someone over there whose music reminds me of Cortex's.
posted by davejay at 2:15 PM on October 20, 2011

I'm not on there yet. I only learned about it via one of Chococat's posts. I checked it out, seems like a really cool way to keep me motivated. I'll join up, and I'll be Doleful Creature on the forums and likely Doleful Creatures (plural) as my band name, or maybe sometimes Lazerhaus if I do something more bloopy.

I didn't even realize there was a forum until this thread, and honestly I'm not at all concerned if people call me names or hate on my stuff...but it will be fascinating to read no doubt.

Bonus Info: My former MeFi handle is jnrussell. I even posted two songs on that account. I just got kind of tired of my pedestrian username and decided to go for something a little different.

Elsewhere in the world of music forums (ocremix.org, years ago) I was known as ubernym.
posted by Doleful Creature at 3:35 PM on October 20, 2011

Doleful Creature is a much better name.

Maybe we should have clan tags, like in online FPS.

MeFi | unSane
posted by unSane at 5:45 PM on October 20, 2011

I haven't really been active over there for about a year, though. I had a month or two where I jumped in and tried to be really active, and it was all else aside a hugely rewarding thing personally because I needed a kick in the pants. But then something distracted me (and by something I mean Minecraft) and I sort of lost track.

I should get back to it, my pants need more kicking.
posted by cortex at 8:33 AM on October 21, 2011

Yes, Minecraft is both a wonderful and terrible thing. I've grounded myself from it until Minecon (yes I'm totally going to that).
posted by Doleful Creature at 9:11 AM on October 21, 2011

Minecraft totally saved my sanity when I broke my leg somewhat savagely earlier this year. I used to wake up in the middle of the night in pain and be awake for a couple of hours around 3am, unable to move from the La-Z-Boy I was confined to. Minecraft (and the MeFightClub server) made the hours fly by. I don't fire it up very often now but my kids caught the bug and we set up a home server for them, so every time there's a new release or some cool mod, the immediately tell me all about it.
posted by unSane at 3:03 PM on October 21, 2011

(In fact only one poem entered and that was Vogon)

ahem...there were TWO Vogon poems, thank you.
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 3:55 AM on October 22, 2011

Ha! I stand corrected.

One of the things I discovered about songfight this week is that once you embark on a particular course of action you are pretty much committed to it. Not being able to have second thoughts or a Plan B is actually very fun.
posted by unSane at 7:04 AM on October 22, 2011