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Duck and Cover: It's an MFC!!!

By The Fool (Mon Jul 24, 2006 at 09:41:15 AM EST) MFC, fear, fire, foes, snakes on a plane, cats and dogs living together, major pez shortage (all tags)

Time to break out your didgeridoo and fife and be prepared for the latest Musical Fun Challenge.

What: MFC VII (or so): In Case of War, Break Glass
Where: On TEH INTARNETS.
When: Now. Submission deadline August 14th at 12:01 A.M. PDT. Voting sometime after that.
Why: Just in case.

The tanks are advancing on your position. The warheads will be landing in 5 minutes. Tairists are threatening to blow up your favorite espresso cart. Tom Cruise is on Oprah.

In the last moments before chaose breaks loose, you'd feel awfully silly being forced to listen to a commercial break on your favorite radio station. So, this MFC is your chance to provide the necessary musical accompaniment for these trying times of crisis and universal brouhaha. The finished product will be an album called "In Case of War, Break Glass", which could be kept safely in one's home, car, or workplace until the need for a requiem for whatever became necessary.

Maybe you want to make one last plea to give peace a chance. Maybe you feel the need to listen to a musical setting of maintenance instructions for a gun. Maybe you want to go out singing along with "Lowrider", by War. You might even want to ponder the postwar dream.

As usual, there is a parallel contest for album art, with the same deadlines.

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Duck and Cover: It's an MFC!!! | 35 comments (35 topical, 0 hidden)

Cool. by blixco (4.00 / 3) #1 Mon Jul 24, 2006 at 09:54:19 AM EST

The desert island all time top five thing, with Gabriel on trumpet. I dig it.
---------------------------------
Taken out of context I must seem so strange - Ani DiFranco

Excellent! by Bob Abooey (4.00 / 3) #2 Mon Jul 24, 2006 at 09:55:49 AM EST

I must get back in the swing of things and muster up an entry for this one.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

There's actually... by ana

(4.00 / 3) #3 Mon Jul 24, 2006 at 10:00:46 AM EST

something i've been working on recording that might fill this particular bill. And now, post-concert, there's no other significant music in my life, so, like, why not?

Can you introspect out loud? --CRwM

VSTFP by TPD (4.00 / 5) #4 Tue Jul 25, 2006 at 06:22:30 AM EST

Excellent idea!

why sit, when you can sit and swivel with The Ab-Swiveller^TM

http://256k.org/mfc7/ by 256 (4.00 / 4) #5 Wed Jul 26, 2006 at 08:55:38 AM EST

no problem
---
_{I don't think anyone's ever really died from smoking. --ni}

Thanks! by The Fool (4.00 / 1) #6 Wed Jul 26, 2006 at 09:06:07 AM EST

Now I just need to figure out something to enter...

[ Parent ]

: Um... by ana (2.00 / 0) #15 Sun Aug 13, 2006 at 07:04:23 AM EST

256k.org seems to be down as of Sunday morning east coast USia time.
Can you introspect out loud? --CRwM
[ Parent ]

After my pathetic no-show of late by gazbo (4.00 / 3) #7 Wed Jul 26, 2006 at 10:40:34 AM EST

I should probably enter, eh what?

I recommend always assuming 7th normal form where items in a text column are not allowed to rhyme.

(Comment Deleted) by vorheesleatherface (2.00 / 0) #8 Wed Jul 26, 2006 at 10:32:06 PM EST

This comment has been deleted by vorheesleatherface

Tairists are threatening my by wiredog (4.00 / 1) #9 Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 02:00:55 AM EST

favorite espresso cart? Ok, that's it, time to all Dubya on tham! I mean, it's one thing when xenu worshippers are on Oprah, but when they threaten the source of that Lovely Black Beverage Which Is Proof That God Exists, Loves Us, and Wants Us To Be Happy, it's time to break out the 5MT airbursts.

Earth First!
_{(We can strip mine the rest later.)}

(Comment Deleted) by vorheesleatherface (4.00 / 1) #10 Tue Aug 08, 2006 at 02:22:04 PM EST

This comment has been deleted by vorheesleatherface

Requirements? by polaris (4.00 / 2) #11 Wed Aug 09, 2006 at 09:49:19 AM EST

Are there any particular requirments? I ask mostly because my microphone is currently in storage and I probably won't be arsed to dig it out before the deadline... all the posted tracks have some vocals.

If that's not a requirement, I'll probably enter. I've even done up some cover art already.

I don't think so. by ana

(4.00 / 3) #12 Wed Aug 09, 2006 at 10:35:39 AM EST

If I recall correctly, there were some instrumental submissions to previous MFCs. Mine currently has no vocals and I may not get around to adding any before the deadline.

Can you introspect out loud? --CRwM

[ Parent ]

: Rock on. Thanks. nt by polaris (4.00 / 2) #13 Wed Aug 09, 2006 at 10:52:42 AM EST

[ Parent ]

Instrumental is fine by The Fool (4.00 / 3) #14 Wed Aug 09, 2006 at 10:53:14 AM EST

Actually, there is no set requirement for anything, other than that it has something to do with war (at least in your mind).

It occurs to me that a recording of a moment of silence would also meet this requirement.

So, post your instrumental track. The real fun is just seeing everybody's different approaches to the challenge.

[ Parent ]

Ahem... by ana

(4.00 / 1) #16 Sun Aug 13, 2006 at 12:35:26 PM EST

Can you introspect out loud? --CRwM

hope I didn't miss it by polaris (4.00 / 1) #17 Sun Aug 13, 2006 at 08:50:04 PM EST

I was hit with a lack of inspiration, so I went with one of the tracks I made while just fooling around instead of the moody synth-orchestral that I was hoping to do. I'm happier with the cover art I made, which was fun.

Unless I have my time zones wrong, I'm just in time uploading this. There's a lot of interesting takes here.

Hot damn. by blixco (4.00 / 2) #18 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 03:10:24 AM EST

I like your track....wow. Really quite good. The cover rocks, too.
---------------------------------
Taken out of context I must seem so strange - Ani DiFranco

[ Parent ]

Thanks! by polaris (4.00 / 2) #19 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 04:08:09 AM EST

I did have fun making it. It doesn't really demonstrate much musical skill, but I'm (mostly) happy with the sound of it. I'm better at sound than music anyway.

The cover I'm almost proud of. It's probably more meaningful to me than most others, but when I got the concept I knew what I had to do.

[ Parent ]

Hey, uh, by blixco (2.00 / 0) #22 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 11:38:07 AM EST

hwne I downloaded it here, I got 1 minute, 20 seconds. I tested that a couple of times.

You may want to re-upload it!
---------------------------------
Taken out of context I must seem so strange - Ani DiFranco

[ Parent ]

Weird. by ana

(2.00 / 0) #23 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 11:46:31 AM EST

My copy is 9 min 17 sec.

Can you introspect out loud? --CRwM

[ Parent ]

Mine shows 9 min 17, by blixco (2.00 / 0) #24 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 11:51:44 AM EST

but only plays for 1 min 20, then fastforwards thru blank space to the end.

I've tried three downloads from here, but I'll try from the house again (it worked this morning from the house).
---------------------------------
Taken out of context I must seem so strange - Ani DiFranco

[ Parent ]

Just the excuse by ana

(2.00 / 0) #25 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 11:56:37 AM EST

i needed to listen again...And you're right. About a minute 20 in or so it decides it's done.

Can you introspect out loud? --CRwM

[ Parent ]

Hm. by ana

(2.00 / 0) #26 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 11:59:13 AM EST

Downloaded again and got 2:20 or so this time.

Can you introspect out loud? --CRwM

[ Parent ]

wtf? by polaris (2.00 / 0) #27 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 12:52:34 PM EST

Is this about my track? 'cause it's only 1:27... I tested the D/L and it ended where it should...

Weirdness.

[ Parent ]

oh, I think I know... by polaris (2.00 / 0) #28 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 12:56:06 PM EST

I used an MP3 recorded that I don't usually use, out of laziness. It probably just encoded the duration funny, but (classic) winamp gets the right length when I play from download.

[ Parent ]

: Ah ha! by blixco (2.00 / 0) #29 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 01:39:07 PM EST

Yeah, iTunes shows it as being 9-something minutes, then shows 1m20s or so of data, though sometimes as much as 2m20s.
Anyhow. If yer saying it is short, then it is correct!
---------------------------------
Taken out of context I must seem so strange - Ani DiFranco
[ Parent ]

Please to notice by ana

(4.00 / 1) #20 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 05:03:44 AM EST

Can you introspect out loud? --CRwM

Update by The Fool (4.00 / 3) #21 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 05:13:16 AM EST

So, since a lot of people had trouble uploading yesterday, I'm going to extend the deadline until sometime this evening. How about 9:00 PM PDT (GMT -7 ???)

All of the entries that I've listened to (and I've listened to all but the most-recently-uploaded two or three) have been excellent.

Hrm... by motty (4.00 / 2) #30 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 02:59:35 PM EST

Hope I'm not too late then...

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

[ Parent ]

eh by vorheesleatherface (4.00 / 1) #31 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 03:02:57 PM EST

just get it in as soon as you can and no one will care.

[ Parent ]

All done. by motty (4.00 / 1) #32 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 03:12:28 PM EST

Bit hurried.

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

[ Parent ]

You might notice... by The Fool (4.00 / 1) #33 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 07:32:35 PM EST

My entry was a it later than yours.

(OK, it's just a correction to fix the obvious problems like no ID3 tags and no right-hand channel at all. Still can't get the aptly-named LAME to encode it as anything other than 64 MBit. Bleargh.)

[ Parent ]

Glad you fixed that. by motty (2.00 / 0) #34 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 08:21:23 PM EST

I'll download it again.

Checking each file it looks like the earlier one was 128kbps and stereo, only with silence in the right hand channel. This new one is 64kbps and claims to be mono, so the mp3 has identical left and right channels.

Is maybe the file you are encoding from mono?

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

[ Parent ]

: Yup by The Fool (2.00 / 0) #35 Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 08:49:47 PM EST

It's mono. The file says stereo because... because I had this strange idea that playing the same thing in both ears was stereo.
Obviously, not the case.
But at least it plays in both ears!!!

[ Parent ]

Duck and Cover: It's an MFC!!! | 35 comments (35 topical, 0 hidden)