24 Hours, May 2009

[Koremora]

I'd be up for doing I Want It That Way. Oh man this could be hideous.

HIDEOUSLY AMAZING!

My keyboard came today, so now I need to figure out Ableton a wee bit better and then set a day aside to record. It might suck, but I'm okay with that. Gotta start somewhere.

[Sox]

As long as we all are serious with our Quality Control, this is going to be nothing short of brilliant.

[october1983]

I might have to rope in someone else to sing for the Backstreet Boys thing, we'll see how it goes.

[Christophe]

I did a horrendous fruityloops cover of I Want It That Way once. It was so bad.

I call Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely.

[a pack of wolves]

As long as we all are serious with our Quality Control, this is going to be nothing short of brilliant.

Well, except for the ones made by musical incompetents such as myself. It will be the best version of Everybody I'm capable of producing though, you have my word on that.

[DynamiteKid]

I'm going to give 'Backstreet's Back' a go.

[Sox]

Three people have done this now. Read the first post. Your choice may have already been chosen.

[DynamiteKid]

Can I have 'As Long As You Love Me'?

[Linds]

My friends and I once turned "Quit Playing Games with My Heart" into "Quit Playing Games with My Mom." I will have to look at the two cds my mom has of theirs and maybe I'll do one. If and only if my ears don't bleed or fall off in the process.

[Patrick]

DARRYL I am hereby calling dibs on "Shape Of My Heart"

[Patrick]

Actually if I can switch to "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely" "Don't Want You Back" that would be awesome

I tried to go refresh my memory of "Shape Of My Heart" by listening on YouTube and basically the song has like 17 fucking chords aijersmrmgiosmreh yeah fuck that

[KvP]

If it hasn't already been done we ought to consider a compilation once this is all done. We might have to finagle 3-6 minute songs out of some of the otherwise sprawling mixes some people will be making.

[DynamiteKid]

We could make a megamix? Cross-fades and the like.

Mine will most likely be acoustic, so it should be a hidden track.

[Sox]

Focus on the existing challenge, for now. A third of the way in and there's only two records? For shame.

[sean]

Well, except for the ones made by musical incompetents such as myself. It will be the best version of Everybody I'm capable of producing though, you have my word on that.

just do a really dirty lo-fi scremo cover, and it will be perfect.

[KvP]

Focus on the existing challenge, for now. A third of the way in and there's only two records? For shame.

It's finals week genius

[sean]

yeah honestly may is one of the worst months you could pick to ask people to set aside a day to write an album.

oh well

also what backstreet boys song can best be converted into post-rock cause i might be able to do that one.

[Patrick]

Fuck you, "May" and "day" rhyme, you need to make your school suck less

[squawk]

his school?
try EVERYONE'S GODDAMN SCHOOL

anyway. as usual i'll be able to do this on only the last two days of may. last year i tried and failed but got like three songs out of it? but that was in june anyway!

[Koremora]

I propose that this be moved/extended to June either this year or next year, as other have said, May is the WORST possible month for this due to student obligations ramping into anal destructive mode. I predict it would increase the number of contributions substantially.

[scarred]

If it's finals now/nowish, what the hell do you kids do for the rest of school? Or was I the only one whose high school let out in mid-June?

[Koremora]

Most of may for most people is finishing up projects/last minute cramming/finals. Most schools end in late may/very early June, and leading up to that point is generally hellish. Point being, June is a FAR better month for most (student) people. Just change the title of the thread to 24 Hours, May/June 2009. Problem solved. 

[Koremora]

Also, double-post, but I really like Khar's album. It's got a great, very moody, very IDM/Ambient/Industrial feel to it. Nice work. 

[Linds]

I was working on my thesis for college last time we did this and I managed to crank out 15 minutes. Granted, most of it was complete crap, but some of the songs I did I quite liked. (Meaning the actual songs I liked.)

I know May is horrible, but if it's horrible, don't commit to it. Try it some other month whenever you feel like.

Just sayin'.

[squawk]

Well because of all that, last year it was extended to June.

Which rhymes with "afternoon".

[billiumbean]

Bathroom?  "Living room", too, if you say it right.
Laughter, you?
Raptor poo?
Kangaroo?

[Christophe]

I'm going to try to make my Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely cover sound like Bedhead.

[billiumbean]

Oh, and I call "The Shape Of My Heart" since Patrick didn't want to do it.

This is the best idea this forum has ever come up with other than most other things this forum has come up with.

[Sox]

Time is one of those things that people like to complain there isn't enough of, but really those people just suck at time management.
The thing is, almost everybody who cried for a month long extention last year didn't put out. So there isn't going to be one this year.
Every other rule for the (already very open to interpretation) challenge went out the window, the time frame stays. The reasons are arbitrary, but just as you would not celebrate Xmas in July, this challenge will not be moved forward a month. It is not intended for students who are too busy to take part. It is intended for people who will make the time no matter what.

May is the month of the challenge. This will not be changed.
24 hours is the maximum time allowed. Don't have 24 hours to spare? Do it in less.
When the challenge becomes malleable, it is no longer a challenge. This is the challenge. If you can't do it, it will not move to accomodate you.

[a pack of wolves]

just do a really dirty lo-fi scremo cover, and it will be perfect.

This is most likely what will happen, since I can't do any other kind of singing anyway. My main worry is the drums, don't have access to a kit and I don't know how to do them on Reason or anything... yet. I'm thinking some passing the mic action a la Path Of Resistance or 'Three's A Party' might be necessary on this one too. Gang vocals are a definite whatever happens.

[KvP]

Time is one of those things that people like to complain there isn't enough of, but really those people just suck at time management.
The thing is, almost everybody who cried for a month long extention last year didn't put out. So there isn't going to be one this year.
Every other rule for the (already very open to interpretation) challenge went out the window, the time frame stays. The reasons are arbitrary, but just as you would not celebrate Xmas in July, this challenge will not be moved forward a month. It is not intended for students who are too busy to take part. It is intended for people who will make the time no matter what.

May is the month of the challenge. This will not be changed.
24 hours is the maximum time allowed. Don't have 24 hours to spare? Do it in less.
When the challenge becomes malleable, it is no longer a challenge. This is the challenge. If you can't do it, it will not move to accomodate you.

Your attitude marks a disregard for the diversity of circumstances we find ourselves under and a willingness to paint with a too-broad brush (Here I was thinking my concern about finals was because it's the most important factor going into my semester grade, when in actuality I just wanted to abandon my QC forum commitments!), but let's leave that aside. This isn't just about time. Even the most creative people I know cannot write/paint/draw to their satisfaction under the kinds of pressure that finals bring. The pressure to perform on projects and tests blunts their creative impulses. Most of them have dropped out of / taken hiatus from school for that very reason, if they're intent on creating things for themselves. I'm not different. If you're going to ignore that then at the very least I'm going to ask you not to bitch when this ends and you've got mostly people who've done this before and have the kind of experience with writing and recording that makes this possible for them (Khar, Shane) or people who rush themselves and lack quality control (Linds, by her own admission) or people without life concerns. If you're looking just to those people to do this, say so in the first post of the thread, put it in big bold type and save yourself the effort of berating people when this is done. I'm not sure why this wasn't done in the first place. If I had known this was such a serious business I wouldn't have bothered getting into it.

Personally I'm going to be on Defcon 5 until at least the 15th. When you have to rile yourself up and get to a high-stress place to get what you need done in school oftentimes it sticks with you for awhile after the semester ends, like a near-death experience. If I have to make an album before that period of anxiety is over, I'm probably not going to do it. A challenge is good only if you're at a level of ability you're comfortable with, otherwise it's not fun, it's frustrating. You wouldn't expect a guy with a pulled hamstring to run a marathon.

[StaedlerMars]

I'm going to be in a radio studio for nine hours on the 28th. I am going to be recording it.

Does this count?

[scarred]

I feel like debating this issue is a waste of time. If you can't do it, don't? I wasn't under the impression there was an obligation to participate.

[Sox]

Easy J-bug.
You seem to have made the assumption that I am expecting people to make records as a favour to me, that I want people to drop their committments and take part. I find this incredibly insulting. I have no expectations and only continued the challenge this year because people asked me to. It's stressful for me too and I have cancelled a LOT of projects I was very excited about*. The idea that I would berate people at the end of the challenge for not being up to scratch is ridiculous and it hurts me. Your accusations have left me genuinely upset. You talk like I am personally directing this challenge to a particular group of people who happen to be very busy right now, which is not the case. The open challenge is not directed at anybody, and if it was it would certainly not be directed at people too busy or stressed to do anything. Perhaps I should specify in big bold letters that it is not meant for people too busy to take part?

The reasons for this challenge, and its taking place in May are deeply personal to me. I'm not going to explain them because I shouldn't have to. I am not going to take part this year because I too am a full time student in the middle of finals. I too am under pressure to drop out. I, like many of your friends, have dropped out in the past for those very same reasons. I understand the stress and I understand where you're coming from. I appreciate that there are wildly talented and creative individuals that are too busy to take part in my dumb stupid challenge. Myself included. Y'know what?
Tough titties.

The challenge takes place in May. No compromise. It takes place in May because that is the challenge. The challenge is to make a record in May. Nobody is approaching busy students and holding them at gunpoint to make a record.

It began as a challenge I set myself. I liked the idea and found it curious enough that I shared it. People took the challenge and did something great. Some of them not even musicians. The people who took part did a wonderful thing, and their contributions stand as a testament to what they can achieve. I have a genuine admiration for those who did it, even the people who didn't complete it and share their work on the blog for the rest of us. People overcame so much to complete a record. People called up friends, regrouped old bands, learned new things, made the best of poor recording setups. People had a LOT of fun. So much fun that people requested it become an annual thing.
There's no set way to do things. There's no way music has to be. You don't need a studio, you don't even need a microphone. You don't need instruments and you don't need skill. You can do it. This challenge is about proving to yourself that you can.

You want to prove it to yourself but have finals? That's okay. You can prove it to yourself any time of the year. But this challenge is happening right now, and people who are able are already taking part. You want to do it in June instead? That's okay. You can do that. Nobody is telling you that you can't. You want that effort to be posted on a blog with the rest of the crop? Sure. I'll put it up there, it deserves to be heard. Is there going to be a month long extension? No.

*If you'd like to help lighten my load by taking care of/aiding the blog/archiving duties, I would be incredibly grateful, as I'm sure everyone else taking part would too.

Simon: It doesn't matter what the setup is or what the circumstances are, it always counts.

Edit: Whew, okay, power down. I'm always cranky if I miss my evening glass of milk.
KvP: We're good, we're okay. I know you meant nothing by it and only reacted because I acted like a dismissive dick. We're cool.

[Patrick]

his school?
try EVERYONE'S GODDAMN SCHOOL

You know I don't discriminate, Anna, I am not a bigot when it comes to denouncing the splendors of education

Darryl, I know I am not exactly the authority on posting, but the first two sentences of your letter said it all.

Guys, let's give Darryl a break. He's not trying to take over your entire lives. Everybody has enough stress with finals and everything (or, if that is not applicable, there's plenty of stress sources in just general life that are perfectly capable of ruining May for you), there's no need for internet drama to add up into it.

Let's just make some t00nz guys

[KharBevNor]

So, what did you guys think of my album?

[Linds]

Whoa now. I didn't have time to make a good record because I was physically AT SCHOOL trying to do it between classes. That was my reason on actually not having enough time, because I picked a stupid day to do it on, which was my fault. But I still tried. I was stressed because of my thesis, yeah, but doing the album was an outlet, not a hindrance to my creativity. I wanted to do this, so I did it and it was a stress relief for me. If this is stressing you out, then do it some other time! I think everyone here will appreciate it just as much, even though it's not done during May. I know I will at least. This is just a thing for fun and a chance to push your creativity. That's really what everyone needs to remember. I love you both, so please don't tear each others hair out over this.

Khar, I am listening to it now! I will post a review when I am done!

[GenericName]

I just thought of something: if I put my chemistry notes to music, I can do this while studying for my exams. Would that be legal, even though my chemistry notes took a year to write?

[Koremora]

So, what did you guys think of my album?

I posted a small review further up the page if you missed it, Khar.

[Linds]

They are your notes, so I don't see how that'd be illegal.

[GenericName]

But isn't it supposed to be done completely in the 24-hour period?

[Linds]

The start to finish of recording, etc is to be done in 24 hours. You reading notes you've taken isn't going to break that rule.

[imapiratearg]

I just thought of something: if I put my chemistry notes to music, I can do this while studying for my exams. Would that be legal, even though my chemistry notes took a year to write?

That would sound rad.  Especially if it was Battles or Hella-esque math rock.

[KvP]

Yeah sorry guys I got a bit testy there and I apologize.

In other news, my microphone port doesn't seem to be working, so I might have to buy a new external sound card to record with the KP3. I've made a lot of progress with it though, I think I can make some halfway decent stuff with this thing.

Khar your album is rockin'.

[spoon_of_grimbo]

if i can rope a few mates in and get some recording gear together, i'll give this a go.  it'll probably end up being a pretty short album (more like an EP) of four-chord punk, but fuck it, it'll be a laugh!

[Jeans]

No, it won't. All albums must be serious business.

[spoon_of_grimbo]

you could not have a more perfect avatar to go with what you just said.

[scarred]

So, what did you guys think of my album?

I've actually listened to "Heterodyning" and "Black Diamond Train" multiple times, and could see myself doing so again. They're quite good. The rest was a little too dissonant for me though... I'm not enough of an experimental hipster yet.

[GenericName]

Aw snap my acoustic is broken so this may have to be all electric, as much as I would like to have it be acoustic I don't think I will have repaired it by the end of May.

[valley_parade]

No, it won't. All albums must be serious business.

Last year I read stuff from newspapers and made my guitars go "BUWWASSSHSHHNSFDJFHSJFHDHHF" in the background. Serious doesn't exist in my vocabulary. jens.