Does it have to be "rock"?

Count me in.

Paul S, no, it does not have to be rock. Last year's mixes included an electronic mix, a mix of new rock, a mix of music by a single artist, a prog mix... I'd say all of the mixes had strong traces of a particularly challenging (to some other Townsperson) characteristic of the mixmaster's taste.

As I said last year, preferably, Townspeople who want to participate will submit a concentrated mix of a type of music they truly like - rock or not - that might be assigned to another Townsperson who may not be comfortable with that mix. The beauty of a concentrated mix - rock or not - is that the recipient of that possibly alien CD will be faced with a collection of tunes that may upset or unlock a new, targeted area of the brain. A big part of the experiment is to let something particular and challenging in your own tastes out there and then guage the reaction of someone who has agreed to listen to that mix, no matter how foreign it might be to his or her usual tastes.

I've probably repeated myself more than once in this response, but you know how it goes:)

Does this mean the Fantasy Rock Band League is coming back, too?

Oh yes, I would take part in this. Do the mixes include a track-list, or is that secret too?

Alexmagic, one thing at a time. I don't think you were around this time last year; I'm hoping you participate in this year's Hear Factor.

The Fantasy Rock Band League was a lot of work, and it took a lot of Townspeople away from their daily responsibilities. You should have seen the e-mails I received from significant others complaining of the time their mates wasted trying to decide on whether to use that 62nd-round pick on Carmine Appice or the Japanese replacement bassist from The Faces.

The logo for the Rock Band Fantasy League almost justifies an encore...almost.

Cherguevara, if I remember how we did this last year, only I would receive the track list at first with each participant's submission. I collect the CDs and then try to assign them to Townspeople whose tastes, as expressed here, seem least likely for knowing or instantly digging the mix. They listen blind. Then, as they report back, we publish the track lists and post samples of the mix and then, at the end, the full mixes as zipped files.

Glad to hear you're in. Stay tuned for submission details!

Actually, I believe the Hear Factor recipients also received track listings. Otherwise, Mr. Mod's summation of the process is accurate.

You may be right, Oats. My memory's not what it used to be, and it wasn't all that in the first place.

So far we've got 3 Townspeople enrolled with a few more pondering the enrollment. Space is filling fast!

I'll do it again this year. My only qualm was the requirement that we listen to nothing else for a week. I think I'm the only one who even attempted to do it that way last time. I understand that the point is that you want people to give the mix CD a thorough listen, but listening to it exclusively is tough.

I have mixed feelings about withholding the tracklisting. But depending on what it is, knowing the artist(s) involved may not be of much help anyway.

I'll play again.

I'm in!

BigSteve wrote:

My only qualm was the requirement that we listen to nothing else for a week. I think I'm the only one who even attempted to do it that way last time. I understand that the point is that you want people to give the mix CD a thorough listen, but listening to it exclusively is tough.

I think once we started we lessened the number of days to 3; that seemed much more realistic. Remember, there's a little bluster in RTH concepts now and then, but I do appreciate that you made the effort to listen to your mix exclusively. I stuck with my stinking Blood, Sweat & Tears album as much as I could. Although we do have ways of monitoring the listening habits of our Townspeople, we can be reasonably lenient.

Glad to hear that a number of veterans are willing to come back for more. How 'bout some more new blood?

Hey - like Christopher Walken in Deer Hunter - I'll play anything once! Also I has just cut a hell-raising dance mix for another band audition this Saturday.

My only problems is that I gots a new $400 car with only AMFM innit so I'll have to figger out a crafty way to lissen up to the tunages...

BRING IT, townsfolks!

I'm in.

I think we've got 8 Townspeople enrolled so far; 9 if I decide to play. Hopefully we'll nail down our dirty dozen over the weekend, and then you'll be hearing from me - offllist - regarding details. I KNOW some of you are sitting on the fence. Hop off and make this thing happen!

Just back from another trip...

I'd really like to participate, especially since certain kinds of music I like to listen to would, I imagine, really set the teeth of some people here on edge.

My problem: I'm traveling a lot right now, and when I'm not, I'm working my butt off. So there's not much extra time. Still, I want to commit to this, so hold me to it.

I might be in. What sort of deadlines are we looking at? And I just submit a cd of ten songs that I like and those songs may or may not have a theme running through them?

I can't answer about the deadlines, but I'd say the idea is that you're trying to challenge another person to listen to something outside their normal comfort zone. The mix CDs usually have a common thread. I'm going to do music in a particular style, as I did last year, but a lyrical theme running through your CD might be interesting. A CD of tracks by a single artist you feel is unjustly neglected would work. A mixed-bag selection of what's currently rocking your socks would work. It's up to you to make of it what you will, and then Mr. Mod distributes them based on his knowledge of our individual taste and what he thinks might stretch our ears.

Speaking of deadlines, it might be nice to post the address we mail these to sooner rather than later. I think I've got my mix sorted out, and if I don't get to the post office tomorrow, it might be next Saturday before I can send it.

And if we're going to make it more of a blindfold test, don't put identifying information on the CD. It's fun to guess who the source of the music is. I think emailing the tracklist to Mr Mod, so that he can share it later is the way to go.

I think we've got 11 Townspeople in. including myself. I'll get details out to those enrolled later today. There's still room for more. What are you waiting for?

Those of you who have enrolled in season 2 of Hear Factor will be receiving the following e-mail at the address you used in subscribing to RTH. Here's what I sent out, minus my PO box address, to anyone else who's interested in joining in. Let me know if you're game, and I'll send out the rest of the info you need. Thanks.

Thanks for enrolling in season 2 of Hear Factor, Rock Town Hall's bold experiment in getting inside the ears of another Townsperson with tastes that may not be within your comfort zone!

The experiment is simple: Send me a 10-song or 45-minute mix CD, whichever comes first, by Wednesday, April 30 (let me know if you need a few more days; the world won't end). Send me the tracklist as well, which I may or may not send along to recipients. You may address your package to the following address:

As has been pointed out, the CDs work best when they have some kind of concentrated theme to them, be it musical, lyrical, stylistic. A "let's impress everyone with the breadth of my collection!" mix will be fun to listen to but difficult to target to someone who might be thrown off by something that typically makes them uncomfortable.

Then, I will redistribute your CDs to Townspeople who may be most likely to resist this particular part of your tastes that you truly love (ie, don't just make a mix of something you too find intolerable, like '80s Hair Farmer Metal, if that's the case). The deal is, you pledge to listen to that CD exclusively for 3 days, keeping a journal on your thoughts and experiences, which will then be posted as a Main Stage thread along with some of the songs that hit you most profoundly. The journal entries will run over the course of a week. Either send me your thoughts to load onto The Main Stage or place them there yourself, using your Back Office entry. If you don't presently have Back Office privileges and think it might be a good time to begin taking advantage of the right to establish new threads beyond your Head Factor thoughts, let me know!

Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks.

Hey, Mod --

Well, your CD's in the mail. And I did say *your* CD. Don't try and fob this one off on anybody else; it's time you faced your demons.

HVB

Hey all,

Just checking in. I'm very sorry to have missed Hear Factor, Mach II, but my home computer's been down forever and I just don't have much chance to get into the Hall. I still pull out my disc from the last round on occasion and just today I got a Rideshare CD that I bought based on one of the tracks on the Oats comp that the Mod posted as a zip. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to pick up some second hand mixes despite my inability to participate this time around.

Sorry Oats. The song was Rideshare, the group is Beauty Pill.

Hey Geo,

I'm just psyched to hear someone got interested in Beauty Pill. Which CD did you get?

It was the EP with Rideshare, Cigarette Girl from the Future. I also picked up the Future Clouds & Radar record, which is swell and I've gone all out with The Dirty Projectors, working my way backwards buying the whole catalog after checking them out at Johnny Brenda's based on your recommendation. All winners although I haven't quite absorbed Beauty Pill past that one song on the Hear Factor comp. Hey, can Pulp be far behind?

It was the EP with Rideshare, Cigarette Girl from the Future.

Cool, that's their best work, although "Ann the Word" the song they've streamed on their MySpace page from an as-of-yet unfinished new album is something else.
BTW, I don't think it was me who recommended The Dirty Projectors. I saw them in NYC (opening for Jarvis Cocker as a matter of fact) and wasn't really impressed.

Hey whatever happened to this Hear Factor thing, by the way?