May 8, 2007

The Axeman Cometh?

So. Returning from Mexico, I expected to find my mailbox brimming with mixtape wonders and pieces of aural majesty. There was music in there, but only my ebay winnings, and nothing, nothing from guild members.

Without the normal contrived embelishments in my writing style: this pisses me off. Really. I don't know why it upsets me so much, aside from being very excited to hear possible new tracks and plow new musical fields.

I know it might seem incredibly draconian to suggest that the late members be banished from the guild, but that was my only thought all morning. The first group needed to kick this off right, and they didn't, but being the first group might also warrant increased patience. I am a patient guy normally, which is why I don't understand whay I was so upset by lack of music.

I know we have beat this high horse to death, so I will stop here. But all it takes is a little postage and an hour or so of your day to brighten the life of at least one young lad in Idaho Falls. I am certain there are others who feel the same. Now, having said that, it is almost my turn to mail, so if I am late, I expect a lambasting of the highest order.

Also, I would suggest to the first group that if you haven't already mailed your mixes, don't bother at this point because the market will be flooded, so to speak. Does anyone agree?

5 comments:

ibid said...

Agreed...too much music at once, though better than no music at all, seems to be more of a chore then enjoyment. And who wants to be shipped a chore?

I too am disappointed in the lack of motivation from the first group...the Randomizer wasn't random enough to avoid grouping fellow slow boat compatriots together. Alas. Perhaps some alternates should be considered.

Side note: I have been thinking about something the Cap't said a few posts back about track lists. At first I felt that to have them right at hand would be ideal, and that it would enhance my overall listening experience, but now I can see where he is coming from. I admit that if I saw a band I disliked on someone's mix it would be difficult not to delve into the sampling with preconceived notions of distaste. I still don't think it should be adopted as practice to not send track lists along with the mix, but I can see the benefit for abstaining to gander until after listening. I dismissed the idea far too hastily.

Captain Admiral said...

As I grow older and my hairline receedes, I find that one of the most challenging things in life is to get someone to feel the urgency that you may feel about a certain subject. Furthermore, it is even more difficult to get someone to feel said urgency and then get them to adhere to your schedule.

If any of you folks have ever been in management in a workplace you will know that about the only thing that will cause people to adapt to your belief system (or at least pretend to) is the almighty dollar. Since we are not paying each other (at least not in currency) I figured that this mixtape experiment would either luck out, be embraced and be really, really cool, or it would be met with a collective shrug and be kinda sucky.

April people...I understand that you had short notice, and that most of us had very high hopes and that is a fairly combustible combination. Sometimes we, as rational humans, simply don't get things done the way others want us to. The reasons for you not completing your mixtapes are yours alone. I only wish that you would have at least told the rest of us that it wasn't going to happen. Truly, none of us would have taken you to task for choosing not to, or not being able to complete the mixtapes. I can't speak for others, but I would have been happy to trade up and do the April thing in your stead.

Hopefully in the future we will have a bit better communication and keep each other in the loop so that at the very least we know what's coming, or not coming as the case may be.

P.S. I will mail my mixtapes tomorrow so ya'll should have them by the weekend (give or take). As for the track list...um, how about I mail the mixtapes Wednesday, and post the track list on the weekend? If someone doesn't take a shine to this, I'll post it as soon as they ask me to.

teacher of fruit said...

I know I'm an outside member...I'm a friend of a friend, but I too was slightly annoyed by not getting mixtapes. I guess annoyed isn't the right word...just disappointed (not in the people who were meant to send out, just in the selfish “Santa Claus doesn’t exist” kind of disillusionment.) But, I think there is no reason to over react. It is the first month out, I don't envy their position (I'm more than intimidated that my music tastes aren't hip/current/obscure enough for you all.) But I think the second we make this a chore, a must do thing, it will become no longer fun--and as already stated, we aren't doing this for money, but for fun. I think slack has been cut and we should just move on. If people don’t want to be a part of this, there should be no shame in bowing out, but kicking people out might be a bit extreme. But, with that said, I wasn’t the one who put all this together, I didn’t spend loads of my own time to organize and update a well-kept page, I didn’t collect address…so do what must be done.

I’m not trying to be pejorative and I hope this hasn’t somehow blacklisted me. I still believe.

Grifter said...

Good points compadres. I should have clarified my intention in the posting. My impulse to axe people was a flighty, knee-jerk thing--a synapse. It was simply a feeling rooted in disappointment (a very selfish loss), but I concluded that I was being a little too fierce.

Still, although we might not be doing this for legal tender, the music involved and the promise of new sounds rivals a modest monetary award, in my mind. The concept is reward enough and should ideally motivate a group of individuals who share the linchpin of inordinate music enjoyment, I would think.

And now that you have seen the extent of my understanding of behavioral psych, I am off to work.

Of course, no one is excluded or banished. No one is going in the hole. I have coped with my loss and am seeking help.

Emily G said...

Hey, this is partially in response to the Captain's comment....I'm going to burn and package my May mixes this Sunday (I'm on "tour" til then) and have mi madre mail them for me the next day since I won't have the chance. I'm not sure how hastily this will be done...I'm sure I can take an extra few seconds to send track listings with the cds, but otherwise, I can post the songs before I head out for this survival camp deal and you can peruse the music titles before you get the cd (I don't really like this idea at all at all at all, unless you all do) OR I can send the mixes, give you a couple of days to sleep over it, and then post the track listings first thing after showering/shaving when I get off the trail this next thurs/fri...the 17th or the 18th. Which may be about when you receive the mixes? Do you want to wait for the listing or would you rather get the list with the mix? I'm fine either way. Printing and cutting is just as easy for me as copy/paste. Okay, then.

As far as the April mixes go......I have more friends and former students here in Logan who would love to be a part of the guild.....I'm disappointed about not receiving anything yet, but I'm not seething. IF, however, people decide they don't want to play after all, I would opt to try out other kids who want to give it a go before scrapping the mixtape-swapping altogether, yeah?