July 8, 2008

VOTING RESULTS!

JULY 9, 2008

Who dunnit? Below is the mix/mixer list which tells you who did what mix. (NAME) of mixer in parentheses. Sorted alpha by mix title.

JULY 8, 2008

These are songs that got 2+ votes but the song votes were across the three song categories. They deserve a mention.

June 30, 2008

Extension for voting! Email me completed ballot by the evening of July 2nd. That way I can tabulate the results and get them to you by the start of the long weekend. THANKS!

June 24, 2008

BALLOT VOTING

-----------------== BALLOT ==--------------------

Please vote for the following by MONDAY JUNE 30. For songs, remember to include which Mix the song came from.

Top 5 Mixes (Best Overall)
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)



[1st place = 6 points, 2nd = 5, 3rd = 4 etc....]

Best Song/Qualifier Match Ups
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)


---> A particular song (and its associated qualifier) that you thought was particularly creative, heartfelt, wacky, revealing or just plain right on! The idea is that these song/qualifier pairs addressed the spirit of the qualifier in some manner. These are the best songs in terms of their qualifiers. This should be considered different from Best Individual Song votes.
- Please supply song name/artist and Mix from where it came.
[1 point each]

Best Individual Songs
1)
2)
3)


---> A particular song from one of the mixes which struck a chord. maybe it was an artist you'd never heard before and were introduced to through the mix contest, or a song you use to love but hadn't heard in years. whatever you want to interpret this vote as...
---> Please supply song name/artist and Mix from where it came.
[1 point each]

Best Theme
1)


---> Regardless of songs selected, the most creative and interesting theme idea/solution.
[ 1 point]

Best Art & Packaging
1)
2)
3)


---> Give some props for mixers putting in the effort and making the mixes look cool.
[RANKED 1st = 3 pts, 2nd = 2 pts , 3rd = 1 point]

AUTOMATIC POINTS will be given to whoever achieves:

May 6, 2008

BALLOT VOTING

AUTOMATIC POINTS to whoever achieves:

Please submit your track list to CDDB. This is how to do it.

Submitting Compilation Track Names to CDDB

March 26, 2008

QUALIFIER HELPERS:

14. A song with cowbell. (More or less.) [cowbell]

The web is full of geeks. (Shocker, I know.) These folks just make it too easy, but there you go:

A database of songs that use cowbell, what more do you need!?

Ding! Next!

4. A song with a particularly great Bridge. [bridge]

This one can be a bit tricky, because not every song has a great or memorable bridge, but many do. Songwriting for Dummies explains the bridge of a song as ?The bridge is a section that provides a contrast to the verse sections by using different chords, a different melody, and sometimes a shift in the focus in the lyrics. It provides an interlude between verses, which can be very effective if it's done well.?

So, the bridge of a song is a departure from the rest of the song and it adds interest. It?s not the chorus, it not a verse, but it generally leads into the last repetition of the chorus, i.e. it?s near the end of the song. For me, they?re often my favorite part (or can be the worst part) of a song, because they highlight all of the other aspects of a song. That?s why I love this qualifier ? it was not intended to cause anyone brain strain.

If you think you hear a bridge in a song, but aren?t sure, try a little Googling and use ?Name of the song? with ?tab? or ?guitar tab? or ?guitar chords? and chances are, for popular songs, you?ll be able to find a breakdown of the song chords with labels for the parts of the song that should confirm or deny your hunch.

[BTW, if you think you?re going to be tricky and use a song that mentions an actual ?bridge? (such as the Brooklyn Bridge) for this one, that?s totally fine with me. It's creative interpretation. Just know you?re not the only person thinking of doing it. Head?s up, 7 up!]

31. A song not in 4/4 time. [not 4/4]

This qualifier refers to the time signature of a song. Most Western pop songs are going to be in 4/4 time. Apparently this signature just appeals to our sensibilities. Don?t kill yourself trying to use this qualifier if goofy time sigs ain't your thing. That said, if you want to learn more about 3/4 time (aka the Waltz), 6/8 or irregular time signatures for popular music, this is a great instructional by the folks at Pandora.

I recommend all of the Pandora podcasts actually. They?re very intelligent yet accessible.

If you just want a little audio refresher on 3/4 and 6/8 time (the more common of the less common), here are a few modern songs that use 3/4 or 6/8:

Ultimately, the choice of any time signature is a stylistic choice for the composer of the song. There is WAY more to it, but I always think that having cocktail party knowledge of this stuff is not a waste of time. So, simply, if you can hear a distinct "one two three, one two three, one two three" repetition in the back beat of the song, you can assume it?s written in 3/4 or if it?s a bit faster of a repetition, "onetwothree onetwothree onetwothree", it?s 6/8.

March 10, 2008

2008 Mix Contest Qualifiers:

February 26 , 2008

Mix Contest VI: Call for Participants Email

Long time, no hear from me, I know. :( First an explanation: I really wanted to put together a mix contest for Fall 2007. Truly, honestly, and for realz. But alas, life had some unexpected diversions of my time and energy, and that didn't leave me with a lot of oomph left to organize a mix contest I'd be proud of, or happy to run. All is better, and I am back and in full effect. I hope you understand that the gap isn't a reflection on you guys. The contest is something that has been a yearly project that I dearly enjoy organizing but I just wanted to do it well, which for me meant postponing it a little.

Now? I hope you all are as ready as I am for another stellar mix contest! Whoo!

This year's mix contest is going to be a lot like the one we did in 2005. [If it were a Friend's episode it would be called "The one with all the qualifiers." Ha! (? Did I just write that? Friends jokes? Geez, how old am I? Grandma Anne needs her Centrum Silver. ) ]

So yes, I've come up with another list of 30+ Qualifiers (33 to be exact). There are a few familiars but most of them are new. You may notice that on the list are some qualifiers that I poached from past mix themes that you all have created. So, thanks for helping!

Without further ado?. HERE THEY ARE!

2008 Mix Contest Qualifiers:

Choosing from this list of 33 Qualifiers, pick a selection of songs where each song has at least one qualifier, and make a mix from those songs. Put them in any order and pick whichever you want, as many as you'd like to fit on your mix. (Note: You don't need to make a mix using all 33, which would be almost impossible.)

FOR NEWBIES ? HOW IT WORKS

Participants in the contest each create one mix (Audio CD, not mp3). Each participant is then also responsible for burning multiple copies of that CD, one copy for each of the other participants. Those CDs are then delivered to the organizer (me or my helpers TBA). Once we've received all the copies of all the discs, 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 possibly some kind of "prize".

PARTICIPANTS

I'm looking to cap at around 20 mixers again this year. Anymore than that and it seems the Bell Curve of Flakiness kicks in, so it's frustrating for everyone. No one wants that, so I'm saying 20 mixers.

DUE DATES

Not sure of an exact due date yet, but sometime in mid or late April will be the deadline for getting the mixes to me. 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

Voting will be similar to previous contests. There will voting for Best Mix, Best Art & Packaging, Best Individual Song(s), and best Song Qualifier Match Ups etc. There could be more categories (I'm open to suggestions). There also may be additional voting done in a March Madness-style bracketed winner way, but I haven't worked out the details yet.

FORMATTING

Specifics on formatting guidelines and what you need to include with the disc will come later, when the mixer list is final, but the same rules apply as in the previous mix contests. In formatting this year's mixes there will again be the need to include which qualifiers you chose matched to the song, so keep that in mind.

What previous contests? See 'em here: http://www.weeklytrash.com/mix/

RSVP If you're in, let me know by email (anne [at] weeklytrash.com). Feel free to forward this email to friends who have shown interest in the contest. (Or you can get me their email addresses and I'll contact them.)

Even though there's been a long hiatus between contests, I hope this contest is still of interest and continues to draw both old skool mix contesters and newbies.

Again, I look forward to hosting the Mix Contest VI (!!!) and I truly hope it'll be worth the wait for everyone. Please let me know by Friday March 7, 2008 if you're interested, so that I can finalize the participant list. THANKS!

Take care & Rock On!