Be Excellent To Each Other

Might I suggest you change the non-voting stickies to announcements. So they are separated from the others?

Malc

Good idea. Now done.

The themes for week four have now been added to the first post in this thread (where people have got back to me with one). If anyone is going away and wants to nominate a song in advance, if your group theme is listed, feel free to send it to me in advance.

I can't see them, am I blind?

Malc

I have, erm, *shuffles feet* updated the wrong thread. I've now really added details on the Week 4 themes.

An intriguing difficulty with the 80's soundtrack theme is that so many 80's films are either nostalgia-fests which determinedly put lots of unrelated golden oldies on, or 'teh future' with synth driven monstrosities. Should make for an interesting sesh.

Hi there. I'm sorry, I really don't understand what Song Wars is about, I'm a belming idiot. It looks interesting though. What is it, please?

*sees Mark X's member title and laughs again, having forgot it already *

I have a feeling that this theme will be the first where two people will pick the same song. Unless it has happened already Mark X?

Basically, it's a competition and a way to discover new and great music. All thought up and run by Mark X.

It first starts with a group round that last 10 weeks that follows a league format. Each week each group has a theme to which songs have to be pick to. Then everyone else (including non-players) vote Eurovision style for their favourites. At the end of the week points are then awarded to the top 3 scoring songs in each group. Then the songs for the next week is put up and we continue.

At the end of the 10 weeks we go to a knock out phase where the top 2 players from each group battle it out though quarter-finals, semi-finals and then a big grand final to then be declared the LORD/LADY OF THE SONG WARS or something.

Aha... okay, so, the players are all decided, but non-players like myself might want to pay attention still so as to vote and stuff, when it's time? Okay

Yup pretty much, as well as comment on and praise any song's you feel worthy.

Still time to vote for this week.

Only just though. Week 2 ends midnight tonight.

Yeah, the songs about to be put up to public vote are going to be from a completely free choice, but the songs people will pick for the next round of voting (i.e. the ones going up at around midnight next week) will fit in with the themes on page one of this thread.

Oh, and CUS - it's all as Bluecup has said. While it's too late to sign up to the roster of people picking the songs, you (and everyone else not directly taking part) are more than welcome to stand on the sidelines shouting praise and/or abuse.

Okidokie, sounds good. One question: how long does it "last"? That is to say - when can I have a go? Happy to just vote for now, mind!

Ends at Christmas.


I detect the invisible hand of the moderator in some of the choices.

Malc

Indeed, I mentioned it elsewhere. Even though quite a few of those songs are ones I like.

I'm sure I don't know what you all mean.

The plan is for the group stage to run until December 9th, from which point there'll be a straight knock-out quarter-, semi- and final final. The weeks those will happen are subject to change, to account for participants maybe going away.

As for a Song Wars II: Song Harder, wait and see. I can certainly see it happening, but it depends on whether everyone gets bored of this one before the end.

Thong wars is next. 29 Beex-ers line up in their choice of tasteful cockpocket for your voting pleasure.

And once that has reached it's inevitably unpleasant conclusion, Pong Wars. Which Beexer smells the nicest? Or the least bad? Get ready to purchase your limited edition USB smell-o-scopes now.

I don't rate my chances at that one, but I'm pretty confident for Schlong wars.

Group D Week Five theme: picked by Dr Awkward, the artist formerly known as Myoptika - "Epic (anyone choosing that Faith No More song will be frowned upon for not being very funny)"

Prediction : Shin was going to choose an Epica song to be amusing here until she reads this and thinks "Shit!".

whats week 7's theme?

Week 7's themes are:

Group A: "Bouncy" (chosen by Plissken)
Group B: "60s!" (Mr Chris)
Group C: No theme, pick whatever you like.
Group D: "NSFW" (tossrStu)

Is there any criteria being applied to the definition of One Hit Wonder?

I'd expect it would be 'Artist had one hit single.'. And in the UK probably.

I was wondering about the definition of 'Hit', though. Say, they had one top ten hit, but followed it up with another song ehich charted, does this disclude them? If not, where in the charts does? Or say a band had a top ten track years ago, and followed it up 10 years later and it charted in the twenties, are they one hit wonders, or not?

If they are only famous for the one song then they are a one hit wonder surely.

I'm sure Babylon Zoo released more songs than just Spaceman that charted but can the majority of people recall them off the top of their head?

I had a discussion about this with a friend whilst writing an article for a site.

We decided that if the 2nd song did not chart in the top ten AND the majority of a voting panel could not remember another single from that artist with no research then they counted as a one hit wonder.

The classification of "one hit wonder" is technically a tricky one. You could say a band like They Might Be Giants count (one hit, "Birdhouse In Your Soul", no 6, 1990), but then it's entirely fair to say that they were never trying to be a hit in the first place, it just happened. And anyway, does TMBG's "Boss Of Me" (no 21, 2001) strike out their former smash, or is that too lowly a chart position? But they were on Top Of The Pops with it? Does that matter?

However, a similar band could be said to be (and I'm trying to be careful here, lest it tread on anyone's choice of song) The Cuban Boys ("Cognoscenti Vs Intelligentsia", no 4, 1999), but then that was the one time they were purposely aiming for a Christmas pop smash, so does that count? I'd go with the classification mentioned by Mr Russ, that if hardly anyone can remember what any of your other songs sound like, you're fair game.

Babylon Zoo? See also "Animal Army" (no 17, Apr 1996) and "The Boy With The X-Ray Eyes" (no 32, Oct 1996), but I'll be jiggered if more than 4% of Beexers can hum the chorus of either. But anyway, Babylon Zoo don't count, as everyone only ever bought Spaceman because they'd hoped it would at least have had a version that was like the Levis advert all the way through (i.e. any fucking good) somewhere on the CD single. It didn't, and history will only remember Jas Mann as an unsuspecting dupe on Brass Eye. If memory serves, a "Like It Was On That Advert All The Way Through Remix" was included on a CD single spewed from the (snigger) second album. Clearly, no-one cared by then.

Oh, also:

(a) I used the excellent Everyhit.com for those numbers. I'm not some sort of chart-based Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man, and

(b) I'm going to check my PM box now, song pickers. Sorry for the rather huge delay in doing so.

oh yeah, and...

(c) Apologies if Jas Mann is now a member of this forum.