Page 1 of 8

Workaday Skirmishes

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 1:59 am
by Adam!
In the hour after I get home from work I never do anything productive; I mainly just catch up on blogs and webcomics. Well, recently I've been using that time to do skirmishes with Plat, and it's been a lot of fun: it gives me a chance to record something without having to worry about sinking too much time into it, and I find myself looking forward to it at work. My goal is to skirmish Monday through Thursday, starting tomorrow, and if anyone would like to join in they are very welcome. I know that's not a lot of notice, but I'm not expecting a big turnout. So..

The Rules: Every Monday-Thursday, at 6:00 PM Pacific, a title will be posted in this thread. You've got <b>90</b> minutes (which is a little long for a skirmish, but <i>strictly</i> includes the time it takes for mixdown, mastering, converting to mp3, ftp'ing it to wherever you plan on ftp'ing it to, and posting the mp3-link in this thread). If you're late, you should probably post the link anyway, but expect to be ridiculed. If you hate the title, just wait until the next day and there will be a new one.

I'm gonna try this one week at a time, and if there is interest it will continue. I really doubt there will be enough participants to warrant considering implementing a voting mechanism, but if someone wants to work one out they are free to. Also, if 6pm Pacific doesn't work for a whole bunch of people who would otherwise participate, I could shift the time a bit. Lastly, the titles come from Magical Mystery Land; if you would like to send a title <i>suggestion</i> to Magical Mystery Land, you can PM it to me and I'll see that it gets there.

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 2:17 am
by Adam!
Here are my recent skirmishes I mentioned earlier (I've censored one off this list, because it was really crappy and I have the power to do that). Enjoy?

LonelyGirl15 - lol, Wolfparade drums
If You Eat Too Much Bread... - lol, Charcoal-y
What is the Price of a Bike in Calcutta? - lol, terrorists

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 2:35 am
by Denyer
this is the perfect time for me tomorrow and I pledge to make a beatbox and rap song.

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:02 am
by Plat
I'm in tonight for sure. *hungry stare*

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:34 am
by HeuristicsInc
I like this idea - the 60mins for recording and 30mins for production (or whatever) is nice. Last time I found that the mix was pretty bad after 60mins, but I had to hand it in.
Hope to join one day this week. I think that's 9 PM EST? Or did I do that wrong?
-bill

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 4:20 pm
by Plat
HeuristicsInc wrote:I think that's 9 PM EST? Or did I do that wrong?
Yep, 9:00PM Eastern prevailing time tonight. Really, I guess I should say 9:00PM EDT (Eastern Daylight Time), but we know what we mean :-).

P.S. Arizona is weird.

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 5:23 pm
by Reist
What mountain time is that?

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 5:50 pm
by Plat
jolly roger wrote:What mountain time is that?
7PM Mountain time, assuming you observe daylight saving time. In other words, about 30 minutes from now.

Or Tuesday 1:00AM UTC/GMT/Zulu time.

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 6:07 pm
by Adam!
Alright everyone, this starts in 12 minutes. That goes for those of you on Mountain Time aswell. Get your <wildcard> in tune.

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 6:19 pm
by Adam!
Title: Alternative Energy
Due: Links posted by 7:30 PM pdt (90 minutes)
Optional Challenge: Deny the existence of something

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 6:22 pm
by Reist
Well, here we go.

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 6:33 pm
by fluffy
If I'd known about this earlier, and I wasn't rebuilding my dang webserver, and didn't have a numb mouth and sore jaw (from getting a tooth drilled, you perverts) I'd totally be all over this, maybe. But probably not.

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 7:48 pm
by Plat
Alternative Energy (instrumental demo) by The Cow Exchange

Yeah, I know, no lyrics. I have a scratch track, but prefer to keep that to myself. :-)

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 7:51 pm
by Adam!
Puce - Alternate Energy
_________________________
Pencils down

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 7:56 pm
by Reist
Jolly Roger - Alternative Energy

I got overzealous on recording (I have a bad cold so my vocals were really scratchy and for some reason I cared), so there was little to no time for mixing. Sorry y'all.

EDIT: Great job you two other guys. Wish you had lyrics with yours though Plat. I really like them both.

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:02 pm
by Plat
Very cool, JR. I enjoyed the strong live feel, self-applause, and cold mention.

So, same time tomorrow? (I'll take a different approach so I actually have lyrics next time... mayyybe).

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:04 pm
by Reist
Not sure if I'll have time, but who knows? Probably one more time this week.

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:07 pm
by Adam!
Cool song JR. That chorus is rad. The clapping gets big bonus point from me. This is a really strong song.

Plat, too bad the vocals didn't turn out, but this is a very cool instrumental anyway. This mix is great for a skirmish. I'm totally impressed and intimidated by these 3 minute long songs with a whole bunch of instruments.

Mine almost didn't happen when Cubase crashed on mixdown. I managed to scrape my way to the 75 second mark, but the timing is all wack. I need to learn how to play the keyboard; sequencing takes too long for these things.

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:15 pm
by Reist
Figure I might as well do reviews (not sure if you do that on skirmishes, but why not)

Plat - Great instrumental. I like how you change it up after the acousticish intro. Wish you had vocals for it. Great for an instrumental though. I can definitely see it going with the title even without words. Great mix and awesome ending.

Puce - I really like the intro. Mix is pretty good too. Your voice is great too. I like the mix of kind of tense yelling vocals and the really melodic one. Chorus is great too. I love the line "alternative energy source keeps my brain alive". Strong song.

Me - Thanks for the comments on this one. It's a mess, but maybe I'll rerecord it good sometime.

Great skirmish. I'm actually surprised at the stuff you guys came out with. Great job on such short notice to you both.

EDIT: I just realized how many times I used 'great' in that post. Frick.

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:18 pm
by Adam!
Alright, that was a mild success, so this is on again for tommorrow. Same time, same place.

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 9:26 pm
by drë
i gave this a shot and failed miserably.
maybe another day.

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 9:34 pm
by Denyer
dre wrote:i gave this a shot and failed miserably.
maybe another day.
I started but quit when I realised everyone else would be making good songs.