A Love Letter to Songcrafters.org

Jean Pierre · January 20, 2023, 02:01:47 AM

What a great job...respect

StephenM · January 20, 2023, 07:15:49 AM

Quote from: Ted on January 20, 2023, 12:51:21 AMI tell ya! The Blackout Bumping Business ain't as easy as it looks.

Because my method is to choose a random week from the past when I was AWOL, it's no surprise that certain members come up more often than others. The more prolific and consistent a member is, the more often they come up. So I end up skipping over Oldrottenhead, The Gobi Desert Canoe Club, Hook, and ODH to try and get to know some of our less prolific members. And I usually skip over members who are long gone, giving preference to people who are still active – because, you know, community. Sometimes I say fuck it and go to the next random week. And sometimes I have to try two or three random weeks until I find a song to bump. It's not an exact science.

Blackout Bumps by Member Snapshot Jan 20, 2023

You might say, Then stop for God's sake!

NO!

It's worth it! (he cries, a bit unhinged). I'm getting to know some members I've neglected over the last 14 years, 10 months, 23 days.

I'm also learning that some members I think I know well aren't as prolific as I imagined they are. Such as Geir. What a slacker.

Only 38 days until my 15-year anniversary on this site.

you are making me laugh Ted... you have a geek inside you. I like that...
plus the fact that community matters!
I think your bumps do get people more involved, sometimes even ones that haven't been active in a long time. I notice!

StephenM · January 20, 2023, 07:17:25 AM

Quote from: WarpCanada on January 17, 2023, 08:51:11 PMOh hi, I'm back after just such a little gap.

I have a bucket of song ideas rattling around in my head, and a notebook full of lyrics.

Finger paints out, let's make a mess!

[Warren]

Can't wait to hear some of them Warren. You write and record some amazing songs plus your recordings have made some incredible strides technically.

StephenM · January 24, 2023, 03:34:29 PM

Since this is a love letter I will pile on...

sending out love and peace to all SC! Everywhere you are! Right now I am listening to the great list that exists today, the latest jukebox... and to hear the great music that flows here is so inspiring and so beautiful...
thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you here on SC! I love you all!
Stephen

Ted · February 27, 2023, 01:29:07 AM

Today is my 15-year anniversary on Songcrafters. If this were a marriage, I'd get a gift made of crystal. Instead, I think I'll have a shot of Malagasy moonshine, inspired by my 155th Blackout Bump.

Blackout Bumping got complicated.

It started out as a simple algorithm: I would pick a "blackout week" at random, then look at the songs posted during that week, and then listen to a gem or two that I had missed out on over the past 15 years.

But then it turned into, "Damn it! Not you again, The Gobi Desert Canoe Club! Don't get me wrong, you're wonderful, but I'm trying to get to know more of the members." or "Aaagh! The dreaded No MP3 Error Message!" or "Nope. That user hasn't been active for five years," or "That user hasn't been active for two years, so I'll send them a message." or "I would want to bump the song, but they don't seem to be a fan of blackout bumps, so I won't risk annoying them."

Then life and work got much busier in recent weeks, and I skipped a day or two. All of my available time for playing music has been consumed in learning cover songs for the band I'm in. And then I found I had stopped listening to the newly posted songs; stopped saying Happy Birthday. The self-imposed priority to blackout bump became a new kind of blackout – a different kind of neglecting the community.

It was a worthwhile exercise. If nothing else, I really learned to game the SMF search function. That'll look good on my resumé. Seriously, I got to know the styles and vibe of some of my fellow members who I had previously not given a fair hearing. I think some people got to know me better.

If anyone is interested, I blackout bumped 155 songs in 161 days. There were 192 "blackout weeks" I did not visit.

So what now? I'm going to get a bit caught up on the Latest Song jukebox, then I'll try to hit the On This Day jukebox a few times per week – as we all should do. There is still a wealth of music on this site to be discovered.

Gotta make some new music too.

Greeny · February 27, 2023, 01:52:56 AM

Happy anniversary Ted!

Bluesberry · February 27, 2023, 05:15:44 AM

Quote from: Ted on February 27, 2023, 01:29:07 AMSo what now: I'm going to get a bit caught up on the Latest Song jukebox, then I'll try to hit the On This Day jukebox a few times per week – as we all should do. There is still a wealth of music on this site to be discovered.

Gotta make some new music too.

thank you for your dedicated service on this blackout bump campaign ...it brought up some great music for consideration from the depths of this community ......I like the sound of your new mission here.........there has been some dynamite songs posted in recent weeks waiting for your snappy and heartfelt feedback.........