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August 17, 2006
IDEA
MIX CONTEST 5: SOUNDTRACK N' FEEL
Yeah, I know what you’re all saying….. FINALLY!
It’s true.
This email and the mix contest are coming a bit later this year. This is due to a few things. I’ll explain:
First and foremost, I really wanted to incorporate the influx of new music that is released in early Fall, so a later contest time allows that. Secondly, we’ve never really had a mix contest that takes place in the Fall. We’ve had Winter/Spring (I), and Summer (II, III, IV), but never Fall. I have this hunch theory that people create different feels (or moods) of mixes depending on the season and weather, so I wanted to see what would happen with a Fall Mix Contest.
Between those two things and my general tendency toward procrastination and perfectionism about finding the Perfect Concept, finally we have it...a Fall mix contest.
FOR NEWBIES - HOW IT WORKS:
Participants in the challenge each create one mix CD. Participants then are responsible for burning multiple copies of that CD, one copy for each of the other participants. Those CDs are then delivered to the organizer by a set date. Once all the copies of all the discs are received, one copy of each mix is redistributed to all the participants.
Participants then listen to all the CDs and then rank those CDs (excluding their own) and vote on various categories (Best Song, Best Disc Art etc.). A winner is decided based on the votes. The winner gets serious bragging rights, and maybe some kind of prize (that's a big maybe, Jen's still waiting for hers from Mix Contest III …and IV).
THE CONCEPT:
So, what is the concept this time, you ask?
It’s two things:
1) SOUNDTRACK: The first part is what is most easily defined as a Soundtrack. The Challenge is to make a mix that acts as a soundtrack to something. Whether it’s an event (like a backyard BBQ) or a life (yours or someone else’s) or a vignette of time or a story, the soundtrack concept surrounds an event or is about an event or events. Something that creates a mood. Something that drives emotion or story. Or at least that’s how I’m imagining it.
2) FOUR QUALIFIERS: The second part of the concept incorporates qualifiers like the last contest (Audio Buffet). The difference is that there aren’t as many of them. There are only four this time and as before, you need to have a song on your mix that matches each qualifier, in other words, 4 songs on your mix, will be taken up by these qualifiers. Below are the qualifiers. [Wait, I should warn you that the qualifiers may seem a little Lifetime Movie of the Week, but honestly it’s an easy set to remember and they fit nicely with this qualifier idea we got going. I based the qualifiers on the wedding custom (or superstition or whatever the heck it is) about something old, something new something borrowed and something blue.]
THE QUALIFIERS:
*SOMETHING OLD – A song from before you were born.
*SOMETHING NEW – A song released within the last 6 months.
*SOMETHING BORROWED - A cover song.
*SOMETHING BLUE - A song that is about, sung by, referencing, considered or otherwise relating to “blue”.
This last one could use some explanation I suppose…Something Blue? In other words, you could use a song with "blue" in the title or in the lyrics. (That’s fairly straightforward.) Or you could use a song sung by an artist whose name includes blue (or bleu etc.). Or you could use a Blues song or an R&B (Rhythm & Blues) song. Of all the colors to be sung about, blue is pretty popular so while this might seem confining, it shouldn’t be too hard to find something you like, even with a very literal interpretation of Something Blue.
So that’s it. That’s the concept. Like it? (Cheers from the crowd! Whoo hoo!)
SOUNDTRACK N' FEEL:
The title of the contest “SoundTrack n’ Feel” combines both the soundtrack idea with this mood theory I have. It’s a title which I really like (thanks brainstormer pal Kim!) but don’t worry, it’s just a title for the contest only - not for the mixes.
I want to reiterate that I think these challenges are a great way to hear and be introduced to music in the context of a mix. That's the ultimate benefit and that's why I keep doing them. The challenges and the themes are just a not-so-sneeky way to wrangle one’s creativity and give it focus. I hope you enjoy these contests as much as I do.
FORMATTING & RULES
Regarding formatting, same guidelines apply about making copies of your CD for all of the other mixers. We’ll cap at 20 mixes again this year. Not sure of an exact due date yet, but sometime in mid or late October for getting the mixes done. I'm open to people working in pairs if you want, but you have to vote as a team if you create as a team.
Voting will be similar to the last challenge. There will voting for Best Mix, Best Art & Packaging, Best Individual Song(s), and best Song Qualifier Match Ups.
RSVP
If you’re in, let me know by email. And feel free to forward this email to friends who have shown interest in the contest. (Or you can remind me of their email addresses and I’ll send them a note. However, the way spam filters are working nowadays sometimes it’s better to get something from a familiar email address. Just sayin!)
We’ve always seemed to have a pretty good combination of old guard and newbies take part in these things, so I hope that continues.
I look forward to hosting this 5th annual (whoo!) Mix Contest and I know it’ll be worth the wait. Please let me know by Monday August 28th if you're interested, so that I can finalize the participants.
THANKS, Take care & Rock On!
MixMama Anne
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