Welcome Back & Brainstorming Post

[morbane]

Hello! I am so excited to start Jukebox up again for this year. I can't believe it's the fifth year already.

Journal style changes

You may notice that both this community and the LiveJournal community look a little different. With a bit of help, I re-jigged the theme and colours and added link lists. My hope is that the new design is a) more legible and useful, b) more consistent across the two communities, and c) a little prettier (though that is a very distant third). I'm happy to take further feedback; otherwise, if you add ?style=mine to the end of a URL in this comm, it'll show you the page in your own journal style. Maybe there'll be a sticky post with a nice picture later.

Currently, the links list includes the collection, the tag set, and the schedule; later I'll add other things like the canons, the letters post, and the beta post. Suggestions welcome. What makes the community easy to use for you?

Rule changes

Small changes for this year include:
Art minimum
I tweaked this to remove the pixel requirements, which didn't really work last year, and specify that if you are submitting graphics, at least 3 separate pieces are required; otherwise, please just ensure that the work is checked for obvious problems (don't draw on lined paper, make sure you have a reliable scanner or camera, check resolution, etc) and is complete. EDIT: Now changed to: collages, manips, and similar graphics may be given as treats to people who are open to them, but may not be used to fulfil an assignment.

Nominations limit
Last year I allowed 8 nominations; I'd prefer to make it 7 this year. That is solely because it seems to take around the same number of total hours for me to put together the link tables as there are nominations per participant. Weird, I know, but it's consistent. I can commit to 7 hours in one day to put the tables together, but 8 was stretching it and I don't want to delay sign-ups. If this is a large disappointment to y'all, I'll reconsider.

Requests limit
Last year you could request 3-8 pieces of music. It occurs to me that 8 is a bit arbitrary since AO3 goes up to 10 easily. Does anyone want me to change the possible request maximum to 10? The minimum will not change.

Pinch hits
Are you all happy with me continuing to post them to the community?

Any other feedback is welcome.

Brainstorming

Since nominations will open on Friday (approximately), please use this post and its Dreamwidth equivalent to share what you're thinking of nominating! This is an optional part of the exchange and so is nominating, but it's a good way to get ideas, see if other people are excited about your music choices - or at the very least, bring your favourite music to other people's attention.

This post on LJ

Comments

[alexseanchai]

Noms limit: no problem for me. Irritating, yeah, but I'd rather an irritated me than a you who doesn't want to commit to running this challenge next year... :)

Requests: *tilts hand back and forth* I could certainly fill ten request slots...

Pinch hits: no problem for me.

Brainstorming: ...I have no idea, honestly. I'll come back in.

[merryghoul]

No opinion on art, since I don't draw, but I'm happy with the nominations and requests limit. (I will probably nominate and request less than the maximum, anyway.)

I'd prefer pinch hits posted to the community, because I have issues with sites like Google Groups (Google Groups either takes a long time for me to load or it doesn't load for me at all, especially on mobile).

As for songs, I was thinking of nominating a lot of songs nominated in previous years (by myself or from others):

* Perfume Genius -- “Queen” (video)
* The Smiths – “This Charming Man” (song)
* Taylor Swift – “Out of the Woods” (video)
* Andrew Bayer – “Superhuman” (video)

And I was also thinking of nominating Solange – “Cranes in the Sky” (song) and Father John Misty – “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” (song).

[moetushie]

Oh man, Cranes In the Sky was really important to me last year -- I kept listening to it after the US elections, and somehow it really helped.

[morbane]

Irritating, yeah, but I'd rather an irritated me than a you who doesn't want to commit to running this challenge next year... :) - heh, thank you. It would take more than 1 hour of extra work to stop me running the challenge, but it does make for an easier day's work to keep it to 7.

[moetushie]

Yay, Jukebox! The best exchange!

I like pinch hits being posted on the comm is fine. Usually I'm on mobile when I see them, and it's a PITA to navigate the Google Groups on mobile, especially when you're not logged in.

For brainstorming:
- Something from Tom Lehrer -- maybe "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park", or "I Hold Your Hand in Mine" or maybe "We Will All Go Together When We Go" (depends on the news cycle.)
- Nina Simone, "My Baby Just Cares for Me"
- Iron & Wine's cover of the New Order song "Love Vigilantes"
- Frank Ocean, "Swim Good" or "Novocaine"
- Chet Baker, "But Not For Me"
- The Platters, "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes"

[teaotter]

The change in nominations works fine for me, and I have no real opinion about the number of requests.

I really want to nominate several of the songs from Guante and Big Cats An Unwelcome Guest -- especially "If It Bleeds, It Leads," "Red States," "Welcome to the Border," and "In the Damp Foggy Midnight."

And then maybe Guante's "This Is the Opposite of a Suicide Note," which is one of my favorite songs right now.

[alexseanchai]

*reads other comments* If the alternative to pinch-hits-on-the-comm is pinch-hits-only-on-Google-Groups, pinch hits on the comm, please.

[alexseanchai]

* Taylor Swift – “Out of the Woods” (video)

Sold

[alexseanchai]

Athena - CircusP & CrusherP (Song)

Dance in the Circle - Heather Alexander (Song)

Tomb of the King - Damh the Bard (Song)

Ancient Mother - Robert Gass & On Wings of Song (Song)

Wild Maiden - Kellianna (Song)

Mary Mary - SJ Tucker (Song)

Woman of the Earth - Spiral Dance (Song)

WAIT CRAP that's seven and I haven't even looked at Seanan McGuire! "How Much Salt" and "Mother of Crows" and "Dorothy" and "Earthquake Weather" and "Take Advantage of Me" and "Downhome Aphrodite" and "Time Travel Girl"—crap that's seven more—

So which of these potential nominees might you lot be excited about? I need a little help narrowing it down... XD

[sirvalkyrie]

Bad Apple - by Ashe & Rockleetist
Hide and Seek by Lizz Robinett
Jekyll & Hyde by JoyDreamer
World's End Dancehall by ham & JubyPhonic

Still undecided on my other noms, but these ones are definitely being nominated.

[pameluke]

It's heeeeere!

I had a song/music video ready to celebrate when the time would arise, but I have misplaced my note.

I'm probably going to repeat a couple of requests from last year, so some Bob Dylan, Mark Lanegan, possibly the Rolling Stones. I've listened to a lot of Agnes Obel this year, but I'm having trouble narrowing that down. Same for First Aid Kid.
In the last weeks I've been obsessed with The Get Down, so I'm tempted to pick some music from that, but it's always tricky to see musical music clear from its original context. The music is so good though!

Rules bit, will brainstorm later.

[extrapenguin]

Stylewise, I think it'd cohere better if you replaced the cream color of the text background with the grey in the background-background. That might just be Redshift messing with color values on my end, though.

Only being able to nom 7 things is a bit disappointing, but then again, I have like 20 things I could nom, so I'd have to thin them out anyway. Changing the request maximum sounds nice – I'm not sure if I'd request 10 things, not knowing the tagset yet :P, but 10 is a nice round number. It might make matching easier?

ETA: Some clarification on the line between "digital art" and "digital graphic" would be nice.

[extrapenguin]

Agreed. I, um, might find Google Groups very hard to use and also confusing.

[seekingferret]

Dear everyone: remind me not to sign up by random number generator this year. Thanks!

The Brainstorming

[extrapenguin]

I'm thinking this year's theme will be cheerful-ish songs where the fics would be sci-fi about women. Here's what I know I'll nom:

Battle Beast - Let It Roar
Ohh yes space metaphors. Also I think I'll go for a F/F angle.

Epica - Storm the Sorrow
Overcoming doubts. I think I'll request "narrator succeeds", maybe with an angle to this xkcd.

Stratovarius - Stand My Ground
This year's uplifting and positive Stratovarius! Where does the narrator's ground lead?

Amaranthe - Automatic
Again, uplifting and positive. I think I'll go for something on transhumanism, cyborgisation, or automatization.

Brainstorming

[irusu]

Most of the ones I'm thinking of seem to have a science fiction, mythic and/or fairytale feel to them, but I'm happy to see all sorts of interpretations, from the literal to something totally out there.

Covenant Call the Ships to Port. Swedish electronica. Lyrics

Adam Stemple Fool am I and Gene Wolfe Pastiche #12, and The Ocean Doesn't Listen. Folk rock with major blues and classic rock influence. I'll have to transcribe the lyrics, as I think my CD got lost in a move somewhere after I ripped it for my mp3 player. (edit: I've transcribed them here.)

Van Canto The Last Night of the Kings (lyrics) and My Voice (lyrics). German a cappella metal, usually fantasy/mythic/fairytale themes.

Blind Guardian The Bard's Song (lyrics) German power metal band, although this song more on the acoustic side.

[shadowsapiens]

Rules tweaks sound good to me!

I'm currently obsessed with every song on Frightened Rabbit's Painting of a Panic Attack. So my challenge will be to narrow down it down to songs rather than the entire album... Some -- like I Wish I Was Sober -- are my favorites to listen to, but I'm not sure would thematically lend themselves to fic or art I'd enjoy.

Blood Under the Bridge is definitely a candidate, though.

I've also been listening to everything by Chvrches. Make Them Gold is a fave -- it's a joyful comfort sort of song. Not sure what I'd want to prompt yet besides "make me feel like this."

[xenoglossy]

I just recently came across the video for Don't Let Me Down by the Chainsmokers feat. Daya, and it immediately went on my "probable nominations" list because seriously, what is going on there.

I've also been planning to nominate the video for Utada Hikaru and Shiina Ringo's Nijikan Dake no Vacance, because who doesn't need more space lesbians in their life?

[morbane]

Sensing a theme there!

Earthquake Weather might be nice to see again.

[morbane]

Thanks! And yeah, I was surprised Out of the Woods didn't net any works previously. I remember the Andrew Bayer video.

[morbane]

It totally is. /impartial.

That looks like a nice range! I am having a hard time imagining any Tom Lehrer song that is anything other than FANTASTICALLY DARK (I assume that's part of the appeal.)

[morbane]

Welcome back!

It would be good to have some rap in the collection - there always seem to be one or two songs nominated every year but barely more than that.

[morbane]

I like the sound of Bad Apple.

[morbane]

Aw man, I hope you find it in time.

What Bob Dylan?

Maybe someone else can suggest favourites from Agnes Obel and First Aid Kit. (First Aid Kit the Swedish duo, or a First Aid Kid I don't know?)

Re: Rules bit, will brainstorm later.

[morbane]

Thanks, I'll try tweaking the style a bit later. I don't want it to look too 'cold', but right now it's kind of aggressively strawberry.

We've never had a problem with matching, so that unfortunately doesn't apply. :P

When I say digital graphic, I mean collages & manips - as opposed to drawn/original art that just happens to be born-digital. I'm not quite sure how to say that properly though. Any ideas?