Had an idea. Let's see if anyone's up for it.


Remember Tape Loop? It was fun. But perhaps it got a bit samey in the end. Fair enough. But how about a relaunch with a little bit of tweaking to the format?


Instead of just putting together a tracklist to share your tastes, you have to put together a tracklist set to a chosen theme. These compilations then go around and, rather than giving lengthy reviews of each of the tracks, Loopers just give a summery and a score out of 10 based on how well they capture the theme and the quality of the tracks/mix overall. The tracks can be as well known or as obcure as you like as long as they fit the given theme. The compilation with the most points wins and chooses the next theme and so on. And like traditional Tape Loop, the tracklistings themselves remain a secret until the end.

The whole idea is to rediscover your own record collection as well as sharing and discovering different music with others.

If anyone's interested then please do say so. Interest permitting, I'd say 5 or 6 people would be about right for it to work.

It's an idea I have toyed with myself, but how exactly does it work.

As it stands one CD, 5 people...that's at least a 10 week loop. But how do you decide the theme? Who decides the theme? If it's a case everyone chooses a theme and everyone does a CD based on those that's a Loop of over 50 weeks! Or does everyone have their own theme? Or does everyone do 5 discs of all the themes chosen and send them in one post?

I like the idea of choosing your own theme, and possibly keeping it a secret. ...It may (or may not) be obvious what all the tracks have in common. It could be a music style, a lyric, an emotion, a place, a person etc. The album title can give it away... or not if your prefer.

There'd be a set theme for compliations from the start. For the sake of an example, a theme could be 'The letter B'. Everyone does their own mix to convey the theme. The connections could be the song titles or the artists or something else, as long as there's a tangable link to the given theme. The best mix - the one with the highest points tally - wins. And of course a mass reveal of everyone's tracklisting. Saves PM'ing each time.

The person with the winning mix then chooses the next theme for the next Tape Loop round. At this point people can choose to either stay in the game, drop out or drop in - in the case of one or more dropping out - on a first come first serve basis. This should keep things fresh.

As this doesn't require indepth track by track reviews; just simply a summery of the mix overall and a score, the 2 week turnrover could be reduced to just a week or maybe 10 days. That'll cut down the round time. There'll be a 4 week gap between each Loop to give people a chance to think about and put together their compilations.

As it's slightly more competition based* the compilations should be between 10 and 15 tracks long so they all play for about the same duration. No 18 track 80 minute epics.



* Not really. There're no prizes but if you win you get the warm glow and inner knowledge that you'd probably rock as a 6Music deejay.

This sounds pretty fun actually. A tentative yes from me.

Some observations/suggestions:

- The 'set theme' aspect may need some careful consideration. Depending on what sort of music each individual listens to, it could prove a little restrictive. I would recommend therefore that themes aren't too specific in order to avoid said restriction. Also, once the agreed number of Loopees have registered to play, perhaps each of them could submit 2 or 3 proposed theme suggestions, upon which a general vote is cast? The most popular theme starts the round.

- As with the theme, quite how the scoring system is implemented will need careful consideration.

I know we've usually rated each Tape Loop compilation out of ten in most cases previously, but I wasn't initially sure about implementing a 'scoring' system per se, especially if it's going to be rated on how well the music conveys a theme. If you ultimately don't like some of the music within the mix, it's only natural that you're going to be influenced by that when it comes to 'rating' the CD. But in terms of adding a little healthy, creative competition to the Tape Loop, it's a good idea in principle.

- The 'summary review' certainly sounds much better - the main reason I completely lost momentum last time round was the seemingly obligatory lengthy reviews - a summarised outline is absolutely fine in my opinion. Without that expectation for a track-by-track analysis hanging over people it would keep their interest, and might also help prompt a much quicker turn-round. I believe a weekly mailing date would be quite workable - say, every Saturday.

- Revealing the tracklists only at the very end also appeals to me (rather than repeated PMs) - might also help encourage mailing CDs on every week.

- As much as I enjoy 80 minute 18-track epics, a set running time limit of around 50 minutes wouldn't be a bad idea.

I'd be up for this.

Me too, I like the theme idea.

As it's open to people's interpretation when making their mix, the compilation can be linked to artists, song titles, genres, writers/producers or any manner of connection. There should be enough scope in anyone's record collection to convey a given theme whether it's general or specific. I plucked a theme out the air yesterday as a test to see what I could use and found I actually had more than I thought I would to make a decent mix, and I'd be the first to say I have a slightly limited collection to pull from.

Having a vote for the first Loop theme will just lead to too much umming and ahhing and likely to split the preferences of the group before we've even kicked off. Plus it would cut into the time of future Loops when people could be getting on with putting their mixes together. You get the theme given and you go for it. The aim is to strip Tape Loop back to its basic elements. A few simple rules and then we're away sharing some music, with just a small friendly bit of competition. I've got a very general theme in mind to kick things off when Loopees have been confirmed. It's fair for the winner of each Loop to pick the next theme thereafter.




But that's what happens with Tape Loop anyway. You rate the overall mix depending on the quality of the songs. It's the choices the person makes. This time, though, it's all about people's different approaches to the same theme through their own tastes rather than a collection of maybe not so widely known tracks and artists they like and want to spread the word of. Tracks can be really well known chart hits or obscure b-sides that only you seem to know about. Points awarded just make it easier to see where the preference lies.




I'm inclined to have it every Tuesday.

Most post offices are only open half days on Saturdays so cuts people's chances of making the last collection. Plus it's not value for money on postage to post on a Saturday as packages will be left in the sorting office over Sunday, as well as any Bank Holiday Mondays. Tuesdays avoid both and at least get the money's worth out of the stamp as it'll arrive the next day. Or at least should.



Not least because I still don't have a couple of tracklists from previous Loops.




That's why I thought 10 to 15 tracks would be a good limit. I reckon people, whatever the size of the record collection, would have at least 10 tracks to go with any given theme. 15 should be more than sufficient and bring a bit of a challenge element to those with the bigger record collection at their disposal.


Yep, I think I managed to fully disect that post.

But not very flexible if you don't work anywhere near a post office. Saturday probably makes more sense.

Right, there's 3 definites and 4 tentatives interests.


Definites:

Me
Sleeping Pirate
Princess Kate

Seemingly definite maybes:

Sostie
Jon79
Everlong
Ade


First 3* to make themselves definites get on the list and I'll set up the finer details in due course.




* As that would leave one person out I'm happy to give my place up if the that person reeeeeally wants to do it.

Having a posting date brings people up to speed on when to post on the cds. You're free to post on Saturdays if that's easier but as a general guide for Loopers a post date is given to keep things moving in a smooth way.

Yeah. count me as a definite.

Well that's me told.

Agreed. I can only get to a post office on a saturday. (unless I get up early ...which doesn't happen too often)

Tuesday makes no sense to me at all.

How about this for an idea. People send the CDs out, copy and pass them on immediately. Or they are all sent to one person first, when the whole batch is recieved they are passed on as a single lot, after being copied (in the long run this would be cheaper). Within a short period of time everyone has the CDs to listen. Then there is a set time to listen, digest and judge them all.

I'm interested, although I'm not sure about this whole "posting CDs" idea. The way Royal Mail is at the moment, I can see everyone involved getting frustrated at non-arrivals, and several postmen increasing their collection (the last one I was in ground to a halt this way). I'd like there to be some contingency for that.


In relation to this, or in general?

Yes, yes it is.




1. If you post on a Saturday - which you're still free to - the package will be held over Sunday and posted on Monday (or held over Sunday and Monday if there's a Bank Holiday and so not arrive until Tuesday). If you're going to pay the 1st class postage you might as well post the package on a day guaranteed to see it delivered the next day. Post days could also be Wednesdays or Thursdays. Tuesday is just the first of those days of the week.

2. As I say, Saturday is usually a half day for Post Office opening hours and collections, while you have all day Tuesday (or Wednesday or Thursday) to catch the post. For the convenience of the next person it's better to post either before or on the post days so that the cds arrive in good time for the next post date, and a full day's chance to post is better than half a day.

3. Posting during the week means people get a whole weekend with the cds before posting them on. Posting on a Saturday - again, if it's more convienient for you, you still can - means you only have the cds during the week with the quicker turnover, which might become tricky if anyone has a busy work week. Having a set post day is simply to ensure cds are posted either on or before that date to give everyone pretty much the same amount of time with each mix. It can help to have a visable horizon.






1. If there's a loss in the post then they're all gone in one shot. It's much easier to reburn one new disc and send it to the empty-handed Looper than everyone having to start again.

2. If we just pile it all together it becomes perfunctionary and the compilations will just blur into each other. The quicker turnover, with the short summery reviews, stops things flagging but it shouldn't go so quickly that it loses the spirit of the game. A week to take your time to mull over the music choices, collect your thoughts and give a score is just fine.

3. It's not a race. It's a bit of fun with some music.





1. There's a Loop limit of 6 people. If you want in you'll have to sweep in before Everlong, Ade, and Sostie decide whether they definitely want in or not. Each Loop will work on the usual first come first serve basis. So even if you miss out on this one get ready for the next one.

2. That Loop fell on it's arse because there were a few too many in the loop to begin with and a couple of people dropped out (without warning) barely halfway through which meant cds weren't passed on. Eventually it packed up as the Loop was broken.

3. The next Loop after that was the one I tookover and streamlined. I kept it in check and shifted things about when necessary (delayed postings, people going away) to accommodate everyone in the Loop as best as possible and it worked out well. So if anything comes up this time I'll be ready with a back up plan.



You can't please all of the people all of the time. But there shouldn't be anything fundamentally wrong with the set up.


Anything else?

However, you seem to be missing the point rather which is that you seem to be the only person for whom a weekday is a viable day to get something in the mail. There's no point arguing the logic of it when it's completely impractical for 90% of the participants. Better to go with a weekend posting date, then give people longer to listen and review the CDs so they have the following weekend to do so. As you said, it's not a race.

*sighs*

If I have to say it again, I will. This doesn't have to be complicated.


You can post on a Saturday if you wish. Or a Monday. Or Tuesday. Or maybe Wednesday or Thursday if there's any late arrivals on the previous week. It's very flexible. I just said Tuesday as a starting point. I was simply avoiding the upcoming Bank Holidays.


A weekly posting date is given as a guide to the best date to post on cds so everyone is on the same page and has each cd for about the same amount of time before posting on. It's advisable to post within a couple of days of the post date just simply to keep the rythym of the Loop going. It's better to have a prompt for everyone to follow than just going by everyone's own devises.


A weekend posting date doesn't actually give you longer with the cd.

Post on a Saturday>>>delivered on a Monday>>>5 days with the cd>>>Post on a Saturday.

Post on a (eg)Tuesday>>>delivered on a Wednesday>>>6 days with the cd (including a whole weekend)>>>post on a (eg)Tuesday.

This was why I suggested a weekly posting date. NOT because it was more viable for me personally.



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There're 4 people confirmed, which would be enough to kick things off, but I'll give it to the weekend for a couple more to make themselves definites before giving the theme and getting the ball rolling properly next week.

^ Yes, I think everyone understood all that, but to be fair you weren't listening to the people who were saying it was inconvenient for them to get stuff in the post on a Tuesday, so the point had to be made a little less subtly.

What about on a Friday?

>>>>







*and then she exploded*




You funny fucker.

Yes, you did say:





But you followed those comments up with further, lengthy arguments on why Tuesday is still better - the above messages got more than a little lost!

And with that nobody mentioned it ever again.

Are you, Ade, Rachel or Sostie taking part in this first round of the Loop?