Print Story Attention MFC Infidels
Music
By motty (Wed Sep 28, 2005 at 03:52:54 PM EST) (all tags)
An idea for the next Music Fun Challenge within. Also, other random whiney stuff.


I have had an idea for the next MFC, as follows:

Music isn't supposed to just sit there, it's supposed to do something to you, whether that's make you dance, make you smile, make you cry, make you think, make you turn the music off, whatever. So, the idea is this: record anything you like, anyhow you like, but with a distinct intent (and, optionally, an appropriate drug of choice), which you put in a comment hidden by a spoiler on some suitable page. Voting can then take place according to whether the intended effect was the actual effect on listeners. My apologies if this is too muso wank. (My other ideas were much wankier.)

Other than that:

  • Life continues slightly suffocatingly chez my grandma. Must do something about this.
  • The insurance people are making noises about the fact that I was using the car to get to and from a gig when it was stolen. I probably shouldn't be mentioning this.
  • I have spoken to various people of the female persuasion in living memory who are neither old friends nor gay, nor, indeed, old friends who are gay. This is a step forward.
  • I have been writing small snippets of C for fun and have been going over the Inform tutorial. This kind of thing always happens when I stop working as a programmer. However I must not let it make me think I should go back into being employed as one again, because this has now proven to be a mistake twice.
  • I must stop playing Urban Dead because it is rubbish. However, it is also addictive. This annoys me.
  • I must do something about the fact that I keep thinking I could write a better web-based MMORPG than Urban Dead. Either stop thinking about it or do it.
  • I have not recorded anything for ages. That's stupid.
  • I am skint as a church mouse that just had its car nicked and whose last employer is being very tardy with the last paycheck. That means I should not be going out for drinks tonight.
  • I am going out for drinks tonight
  • For a bloke who has been called 'bright' in the past, I am remarkably stupid
  • It is my grandfather's stonesetting tomorrow.
  • So I really shouldn't be going out
  • Oh well
  • If I am indeed going out tonight, stupidly or otherwise, I should go now, or it will be too late.
  • That's enough bullet points.
< Peaches and Cream | BBC White season: 'Rivers of Blood' >
Attention MFC Infidels | 26 comments (26 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback
stonesetting? Please to enlighten me by georgeha (4.00 / 1) #1 Wed Sep 28, 2005 at 04:09:25 PM EST
as to that quaint custom. It sounds ominous.




Oh that... by motty (2.00 / 0) #8 Wed Sep 28, 2005 at 10:01:04 PM EST
Around a year after the funeral, in the Jewish tradition, we have a ceremony to mark the placing of the gravestone. So, that's what that is. Nothing ominous, other than me having to get up at some ungodly early hour of the morning to have go and say Kaddish in front of my whole family, as the last male blood relative capable of doing so.

I amd itn ecaptiaghle of drinking sthis d dar - Dr T
[ Parent ]

MFC by Bob Abooey (4.00 / 2) #2 Wed Sep 28, 2005 at 04:42:25 PM EST
It might be interesting to put out a (one or two minute) drum track and then let people put something on top of it as the contest.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob


I dunno by komet (4.00 / 4) #3 Wed Sep 28, 2005 at 05:06:35 PM EST
I think that would set too narrow limits on genre. The cool thing about the last MFC was that we had stuff all over the board.

--
<ni> komet: You are functionally illiterate as regards trashy erotica.
[ Parent ]

True enough by Bob Abooey (4.00 / 1) #4 Wed Sep 28, 2005 at 05:41:04 PM EST
It would make it more of a true contest though. The last one was rather wide open and a bit too loose IMHO. And really it wouldn't limit you as much as you may think.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob
[ Parent ]

a good drumtrack by bobdole (4.00 / 1) #5 Wed Sep 28, 2005 at 06:07:56 PM EST
can work pretty much for everything, it could be sampled and sped up, chopped up and filtered into the unrecognisable (pretty much like the motif from the last one).

I think it sounds like a great idea really, partly because I hate putting down drums myself, too :-)
-- The revolution will not be televised.
[ Parent ]

See, by blixco (4.00 / 1) #6 Wed Sep 28, 2005 at 06:40:31 PM EST
I can put down a 4/4 backbeat, and it can be anything, but in my mind (and a lot of other minds) it will be a song built on a 4/4 backbeat.

I like the idea of four notes, because those can become chords or notes or whatever.

But I also like this idea.  You'd listen to me wail out a Tom Waits cover and vote immediately for "Too Much Whiskey to Sing!"
---------------------------------
The farmers always win.
[ Parent ]

Bob, that's a great idea... by motty (2.00 / 0) #20 Fri Sep 30, 2005 at 04:47:13 PM EST
.. but it's a whole different MFC, don't you think? Make a tune using drumbeat X has little overlap with make a tune intending to induce effect X on listeners.

I amd itn ecaptiaghle of drinking sthis d dar - Dr T
[ Parent ]

Right. It's a completely different idea by Bob Abooey (4.00 / 1) #21 Fri Sep 30, 2005 at 05:02:43 PM EST
I meant it as an alternative WIPO idea.

I think it would be interesting to hear the different entries that come out of a common minute or two drum track. I'll bet you would still get lots of different types of songs.

In my mind it makes it a little more of a contest, as everyone has the same beginning point, whereas your idea (which is much more artsy and subjective IMHO) is very wide open.

Heck, there's nothing to say we can't do both of them at some point if this continues. Time willing I plan on entering either way.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob
[ Parent ]

Cool... by motty (2.00 / 0) #22 Fri Sep 30, 2005 at 06:55:15 PM EST
Uh... yeah.

I think they'd both make pretty good contests, really, and I'd like to hear what came out of each one.

The thing with the drum-track one, though, is it needs a drum-track, and my drum programming sucks what I believe you Americans refer to as 'the big willy'.

I amd itn ecaptiaghle of drinking sthis d dar - Dr T
[ Parent ]

I like the idea by Dr Thrustgood (4.00 / 1) #7 Wed Sep 28, 2005 at 07:36:58 PM EST
However, howabout we modify it to be a bit more fascistalistic; instead of allowing people to choose willy-nilly, demand that they write music to slit wrists/dance like a git to.

That'll learn 'em.





Hmm... by motty (2.00 / 0) #9 Wed Sep 28, 2005 at 10:01:50 PM EST
I kind of prefer the choosing willy nilly thing...

I amd itn ecaptiaghle of drinking sthis d dar - Dr T
[ Parent ]

Cracking idea by nebbish (4.00 / 1) #10 Thu Sep 29, 2005 at 05:15:32 AM EST
It'll make it more interesting for us non-musical types who don't even know what a note is.

Plus I bet there'll be a lot of humour in use.

--------
It's political correctness gone mad!


I quite like the idea by gazbo (4.00 / 1) #11 Thu Sep 29, 2005 at 05:20:06 AM EST
It's nicely open in terms of genre, and also completely open in terms of musical instrument (inc. voice, of course).

Also good in that you can spend as little or as much time as you want on it - I may enter a 5 second song with a single note in it, with the stated intention of making you feel "disappointed".


"Engarde!" cried the larvae, huskily. - Scrymarch



Surely... by motty (2.00 / 0) #14 Thu Sep 29, 2005 at 10:02:46 AM EST
.. that should be a 3 minute and twenty second song, with one note in it...

I amd itn ecaptiaghle of drinking sthis d dar - Dr T
[ Parent ]

Dont laugh by cam (4.00 / 1) #15 Fri Sep 30, 2005 at 04:04:22 PM EST
That type of song came close behind your pianic opus last time :)

cam
Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic
[ Parent ]

Opus shmopus by motty (4.00 / 1) #16 Fri Sep 30, 2005 at 04:29:08 PM EST
So what do you think of the MFC as <r>emote idea?

I amd itn ecaptiaghle of drinking sthis d dar - Dr T
[ Parent ]

Sounds ok to me by cam (4.00 / 1) #17 Fri Sep 30, 2005 at 04:31:53 PM EST
I seem to do everything in 4x4 (boom cha boom cha) so it might force me to do something else. Might also cause a flurry of drum/wav track swapping as well which could be a good thing.

Be worth a go anyway. From the last one, this site isnt short of invention and musical diversity so who knows where it will end.

cam
Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic
[ Parent ]

Maybe one way of doing it is by cam (4.00 / 1) #18 Fri Sep 30, 2005 at 04:33:55 PM EST
to give two (3) sixteen beat drum patterns and require that they be somewhere in the song.

cam
Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic
[ Parent ]

That's was Bob's idea by motty (2.00 / 0) #19 Fri Sep 30, 2005 at 04:46:11 PM EST
I think it's a great idea, but I also think it's a completely different MFC. Make a tune using drumbeat X, and make a tune that has effect X on people (or is at least intended) seem quite different to me. No?

I amd itn ecaptiaghle of drinking sthis d dar - Dr T
[ Parent ]

Sorry thought we were talking about drumbeats by cam (4.00 / 1) #23 Fri Sep 30, 2005 at 09:21:42 PM EST
not emotive song writing. I reckon trying to reach end point x (through whatever genre) is fine too. Though I think you should probably say, write a lullaby that will make people cry or, make people do the pogo, or something like that. Maybe a bit more focus even though there is an emotive goal in it.

cam
Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic
[ Parent ]

Don't agree... by motty (4.00 / 1) #24 Fri Sep 30, 2005 at 10:16:21 PM EST
In the spirit of making it as open as possible to everyone, I thought the emotive goal should also be as open as possible to everyone by being, uh, open. Not everyone has got the whole gamut of emotions in their pallete; in fact, I'd go further, probably none of us do - I know I don't. So it's not quite so fair to make people that really wouldn't know where to start with a lullaby have to do that if they'd far rather go for the 'make you play air guitar even if you don't like rock' thing. Or whatever.

To me the key is that there should be an emotive goal, whatever that is.

I amd itn ecaptiaghle of drinking sthis d dar - Dr T
[ Parent ]

But that wont stretch people by cam (4.00 / 1) #25 Sat Oct 01, 2005 at 11:09:26 AM EST
I will just produce the same song and claim, "it is to make you feel all warm and fuzz poppy". Which would be true, but wouldnt make my put what talents I have to a new end.

cam
Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic
[ Parent ]

Not sure... by motty (4.00 / 1) #26 Sat Oct 01, 2005 at 01:24:15 PM EST
Surely it goes without saying that all entries should be at the least not entered in any previous MFC, and ideally, newly written and recorded.

I think the idea of consciously trying to produce a specific effect will stretch a lot of people (since I don't normally do that consciously it'll certainly stretch me), and leaving the effect open stops it from being impossibly difficult.

Also, people will stretch themselves as much or as little as they choose to / have time to, regardless of the nature of the challenge. If the challenge is too much of a stretch, though, some people who might otherwise take part, might not, which would be a shame.

I amd itn ecaptiaghle of drinking sthis d dar - Dr T
[ Parent ]

Interesting idea by TPD (4.00 / 1) #12 Thu Sep 29, 2005 at 07:07:54 AM EST
I like The desired effect could be kept completely secret (ie emailed in some fashion to the host - ie you?).

And rather than any poll vote people had to say what they thought the music was trying to achieve, and the piece with the closest matches wins?

Rock Hard Abs are just a sw-sw-swivel away!


Could be secret... by motty (2.00 / 0) #13 Thu Sep 29, 2005 at 10:01:52 AM EST
Also, I suppose. It's eithre that or have it collected in spoilered comments. Not sure which would be better. Spoilered comments might be easier and more transparent etc.

I amd itn ecaptiaghle of drinking sthis d dar - Dr T
[ Parent ]

Attention MFC Infidels | 26 comments (26 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback