Wed, 09/14/2011 - 20:45
I sort of get the feeling that the numbers have sort of dropped. Last I looked, only 11 people had won, and there were a lot of people who had only posted one or two songs. Plus, on the jukebox I tend to see the same names quite frequently. Is it just me?
Wed, 09/14/2011 - 20:53
#2
I have four or five songs in the hopper, but I just can't press that record button. I actually am working on re-writes of the current crop. I know I am supposed to wait until October for that, but I couldn't help myself.
Wed, 09/14/2011 - 21:03
#3
I'm in, trying really hard to get to 50 but it's feeling further and further away each day as other stuff takes me away from quality time with my uke and phone (to record). Trying to spend travel time to and from work playing with apps to try and make music on those in the interim, also trying to give myself just 15 minutes to sit and write a day, coming up with bits and pieces that way, which is nice.
I'm noticing the same names in the jukebox too, but that's because I have it set to Watchlist so I can get songs for the podcasts (I've added everyone who gives their permission to my watchlist).
Wed, 09/14/2011 - 22:03
#4
I been hanging at 49 for about a week now ... mental block, I guess but I think I'll make it! I get the sense that some people wait out some doldrums in the middleish part.
Wed, 09/14/2011 - 22:19
#5
I see there are a few around the 30-40 mark that should still be able to make it, but I have noticed an increase in the number of meta-songs lately (myself included) which usually indicates attempts to kick to the muse into life.
I am still trying to make it with an hour of commute/writing time each morning, expect a lot of train songs near the end..
And ****shameless self promotion plug***** if anyone wants to boost their count with collabs, I've still got a few lyrics begging for musical attention 
Wed, 09/14/2011 - 22:20
#6
@TomS: I noticed the same thing, and almost posted a thread about it. I see you beat me to the punch. 
This is only my second 5090, but it feels like we have a much higher, or at least more noticeable, attrition rate this year. Calum hypothesized in another thread that there might be only 100 active users at this point. I wonder if it's even really that many. I notice the same people in the jukebox, too. I'm still discovering some great new music, but I feel like the new selection pool is shrinking. Sad face. I'm likely not to hit 50, but my aim was 30, and I'm posting track 31 tonight, and I have an awesome collab in the works, and the want to write some more.
@Johnny Credit: Go for it, man! You're so close! Get to 50! If I can't, I'll live vicariously through you!
Wed, 09/14/2011 - 23:28
#7
I got to 25, the halfway point today, whoop! But my writing and recording time is definitely more constrained now that the school year is officially underway. seventeen days left? I don't expect to reach 50, but if I push hard I might still make the first page of 5090ers when you sort by progress. I've been trying to stay in the 'top 50' but it isn't easy .
I've noticed a lot of my watchlist people have kind of slowed their output, but I don't think they have completely stopped. Have you folks noticed a big sprint to the finish line in past 5090s? I'm hoping for that deadline driven creative push any day now...
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 05:00
#8
okay, statistically, you will see more of the same names over and again as the challenge goes on. Why? Let's look at a hypothetical situation involving c. 300 5090ers:
Week 1: there are 300 participants, each of them does between one and five songs in the first week. That's 900 new songs, across 300 creators, the chance of hearing each creator in the jukebox is ~ 0.33% in the first week, plenty variety
Week 5: by now there are plenty of people who stopped at three or four songs, but there are some, let's say 100 or so, that are still going, they might have 20 to 40 songs by now. So let's say that's 100 people with 30 songs each, and 200 people with 6 songs each, so the chance of hearing a song from one of the prolific 100 (which is a minority) is already ~72%, while the chance of hearing something from the majority who haven't written as much is only ~28%
Week 10: Let's say there are 40 people still hammering away, and they are close to, or over, the 50 mark, while the other 260 participants have left or are now lurking. Most of them did a single figure number of songs, a few stopped in the teens, twenties etc. Let's say there's an average of 10 songs each for the now-inactive 260 creators. That still gives you a ~44% chance of hearing something by one of the diehard 40 participants, and just over a 50% chance of hearing anything from any of the other 260 creators!
It's easy to see that as 5090 progresses, the chances of hearing an apparently random selection of creators goes down (since the jukebox doesn't attempt to represent creators equally. If it did, you'd be hearing a lot of the songs over and again from the less prolific 5090ers). The graph of this is basically a logarithmic style curve (an inverse logarithmic type curve actually i think) where y decreases as x increases, where x = time and y = the number of participants.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 06:51
#9
Still here- and at about 47 songs, so i'm close to 50.
yeah, less folks here now, and compared to the early weeks, alot less comments per song.... I do need to listen to a bunch of things here I haven't yet, hopefully those of us left will be doing more listening/commenting in the next few weeks....
one interesting fact - seems like my last , say, 15 songs are gonna be stronger then my first 15 songs. Anyone else have that happen? Didn't happen in prior years, i think... but seems to be happening now. (Unless they're just newer songs im not sick of yet!)
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 07:40
#10
Much admiration for anyone who's still going! I had to drop out early this year, but I remember by this time last year I was pretty sick of writing songs, so I'm not surprised that numbers have tailed off.
50/90 remains the big challenge for me - like a marathon run at sprinting pace. One of these years I'm gonna crack it, even if I can only manage it once.
@mike skliar - I also noticed what you pointed out - my output definitely increased in quality last year as time went on.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 08:13
#11
don't be misled by the fact i only have three songs up (four if you count the demoless sonnet i started with): i'm still participating. i just write slowly!
i've got one percolating at the moment, but i'm busy working on moving house, so a demo won't be forthcoming until i'm settled. (i don't like posting songs until the demo's ready, otherwise no-one ever really hears it.)
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 08:12
#12
I've started writing again. Probably not going to make it to 50 but having fun collaborating on my trip.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 08:21
#13
I don't think I've stopped but I've certainly slowed to a pace that...well, probably doesn't deserve to be called a 'pace'. I'm listening to a few songs every day and I drop by to see what interesting things may be happening so that's a form of participation, I guess. I need eight more songs to double last years output (19 -> 38); I don't know whether I have enough ambition to hit that or not.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 10:21
#14
Still going. I think it was similar last year until just towards the end when there was an increase. This included a large number of locked demos many of which were never unlocked if I remember correctly.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 10:26
#15
Well, get OFF you fat ass and sing into the telephone or something! - I tell myself. Just DO it!
I am at 19, I was at a standstill for a long time. There is 15 days left, so I need to make around 2 every day for the rest of the time. Hm. But I am still ... I would not say confident, but I have hopes. I have found some promising techniques (which I hope to be able to divulge later), and there are several weekend days left.
I am not at all unhappy about the quality of my production so far. As to the quantity, I could leave the race right now and feel pretty good about it.
But I will soldier on.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 10:44
#16
It always happens during 50/90. People start, then trail off towards the middle and even more at the end. I think it's to be expected. Three months of hardcore songwriting is hard to maintain. I've completed the challenge a couple times. It's pretty intense and does give you a nice feeling of accomplishment. If you are going for 50, good luck. It's cool to be able to say you did it. This year, I'm pretty happy with the 25 I've completed. Unless I do some more collabs or just suddenly get a wild hair, I'm pretty much done writing for this 50/90.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 10:58
#17
Still here, a little burned out, plus summer's over and I'm teaching again, which feels like a parasite sucking out all my precious creativity juices. I have a ton of half finished songs (mostly written with half-finished lyrics) that I'm trying to finish now. I got so wrapped up in collabs that my own proper stuff really got neglected.
I never really thought I would get to 50 anyway, but now I'm close enough that it feels possible... but I don't want to start posting crappy (crappier) work just to win the little trophy.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 11:14
#18
+1 to Val and downburst about getting burned out. Last year, after 50/90 and Rocktober, I didn't really write anything until March. I had never written that volume of music in that short amount of time before. This year, I feel a little better at this point in the game. Still, definitely wears on you a bit.
I am addicted to this site, though. I won't mention how often I check the site and forum updates each day.
And +1 to downburst about not wanting to post things I'm not satisfied with just to hit the number. Not all of my songs I've done are winners, but I like something about all of them. If I don't like what's happening at all, it doesn't get posted.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 11:15
#19
I don't post things I'm not satisfied with just to hit a number. I post things I'm not satisfied with because it helps me draw a line under them and move on...
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 11:35
#20
Sweet, that's a total of +2 for me! Unless Val and I have to share that first one. Judges?
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 11:50
#21
I think my previous comment had a total of +3, of which, you received +2, downburst. It would be awkward if I asked you and Val to share a +1. Or would you get a +1/2? That just seems rude.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 13:41
#22
@Helen: I'm actually posting all kinds of demos I'm not happy with just to get a higher number. I figure if I mark it as a feast and tag it as an improvisation, I'm not harming anyone but myself. Besides, there's no telling what some people might like .
On the other hand, I'm a bit burnt out on true songs--- melody and lyrics. I can't seem to post these until they are mostly ready to listen to. After 50/90 I will have to get a lot of new songs up to live performance standards--- tighten up the loose ends and pick some set lists. I have a two hour coffee shop show booked in October, and I'll try to have a lot of the new songs worked into the set.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 14:01
#23
I'm happy to share the +1 with downburst if I have to, but having my own +1 is a guilty pleasure.
@Izaak: In the past, I've posted plenty of songs I'm not happy with just to get my count up. It's a self competitive thing for me, but also because I think it's in the spirit of 50/90 to post what you've written. It has to be really, really bad for me not to post it.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 15:17
#24
I'm still here.
I think I've posted anything and everything I've ever written in a FAWM or 50/90. Proof that 3 or 4 chords can go a long, long way.
@downburst - Teaching sapped my creativity, too, at the beginning of this school year. Mainly just wore me out. Now I'm back in the groove with both teaching and music. And I teach writing to some pretty motivated kids, so my job is crazy for a lot of the right reasons.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 15:48
#25
Still here, and still aiming for 50. Might just make it too.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 15:51
#26
I've been posting things that don't count as songs, really, but I am absolutely certainly going to hit 50 this year. I did it easily two years ago, last year there was so much going on that I only hit 19 or so, but this year I can do it, as long as I am allowed to cheat.
I would say that Expendable Friend has a good excuse in the form of a steller EP which is free and I hope everyone here downloaded!
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 15:56
#27
I'm still here, but I'm exhausted. Will probably get to 20, but not much further. And I'm perfectly happy with that.
Funnily enough I'm really much more excited at this point about Rocktober... I have a bunch of cool things I want to try out on other people's songs
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 16:07
#28
I'm still here. A bit quiet, and a bit faded, but plodding on.
Got another five songs brewing, not quite ready to post yet. I may yet make it to 50, writing one song a day every day to the end of the month. Time to raid old skirmishes and the muse for inspiration...
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 16:15
#29
I have 3 or 4 I plan to finish but I could really use a break 
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 16:47
#30
I am addicted to this site, though. I won't mention how often I check the site and forum updates each day.
@jonniegrunge - that made me laugh. i've memorised how many comments each of my songs have (not hard when you have so few), and several times a day i check my profile page to see if the numbers have changed 
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 19:37
#31
I'm still here and currently hovering at 37 (Jonnie and I posted a new collab last night). I was hoping to be able to hit 50 this year but an urgent family matter requires a lot of my time to be spent away from home and my computer. I'm hoping to get some more recording done, but I'm just not sure the time will be there.
@Third Time Lucy and JonnieGrunge - It is a well known fact that the number of comments you receive is directly proportional to the number of times per day you check the site for new comments. If you're not getting enough feedback it's because you're not checking back often enough.
@JonnieGrunge - I'm so used to my wife subtracting points from me that it seems odd to have points assigned a positive value. Can I have some?
PS - I'm giving myself +2 because I deserve it.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 20:30
#32
Still here. I'm three away from 50.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 20:30
#33
Just posted #43. Inspiration's flagging, but the finish line's spurring me on. My progress bar is turning red, yet, oddly, there's no swelling or itching.
But I have to admit, I do look forward to an evening such as tonight where I can relax and watch something stupid on TV...
50's not a gimme, though - I'll be out of town Sunday through next Thursday. Going to Tennessee, somewhere around Pigeon Forge that my wife selected. I'll have my travel guitar and my little Zoom PS-04, and hopefully WI-FI.
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 20:42
#34
I'm still writing here and there, though I haven't made time for recording in a while. I hope to do something about that soon.
Fri, 09/16/2011 - 01:33
#35
And then there were twelve.
Fri, 09/16/2011 - 03:13
#36
I'm still going also. No chance of hitting 50, but last year I managed 28, and I'm currently at 27, so should easily top that. I'm considering taking a day off work in the last week and doing as many songs as I can... who knows, I could still do it!
Very impressed with those of you nearing the finish line (and those who've already got there!)
Fri, 09/16/2011 - 03:18
#37
I'm still here, working on 3 collabs at the minute.
I'm totally impressed with @Calum's calculation! As for the jukebox, is it working? I gave up trying it and it not working, so I just occasionally look at what's new and mostly at my watchlist. Sad I know, but my time is limited.
Some people are so prolific, the chances you will hear their stuff on the jukebox is almost overwhelming, whilst others like myself who are still in single digits get lost in the noise.
Fri, 09/16/2011 - 07:03
#38
This is my first 50/90 and I learned something about myself that I didn't know: apparently, I run out of creative gas after two months! I mean, I never had any intention of reaching fifty songs - however, I did intend to make new songs (maybe one every two weeks or so) for the entire three months. But by the start of September, the desire to create completely vanished. I've already moved on to learning some new songs on the guitar. And just vegging out.
Evidently, I'm more suited to the month long FAWM challenge! hehe
Fri, 09/16/2011 - 09:13
#39
Just want to tip my hat to dawnsoap here, who has quietly written songs about 40 of the 50 US states and is still going. I'm cheering her on.
Also, I just looked through the current songs, and a whole bunch of them are songs people write for their kids. Something in the air?
Fri, 09/16/2011 - 09:35
#40
I've been trying to get back in the swing of things. It's just that I do my best work on break up songs, and I'm certainly not at any kind of breaking up point in my life at the moment. And if I write a love song, I've promised my boyfriend that he can read it, so I'm putting that one off as long as possible.
So... I'm sort of still participating. I'm working on it. I've put up a few things in the past week or so, after about six weeks of nothing.
Fri, 09/16/2011 - 09:52
#41
thanks for the heads up about dawnsoap, downburst, that is some achievement! I'll need to go and listen to some of those (something in my head is saying she's got more staying power than Sufjan Stevens!)
Fri, 09/16/2011 - 09:53
#42
I burned out early this year, for whatever reason. I got past 50 last year (including some lyrics-only and some more 'experimental' instrumentals), so I figured I didn't have anything to prove this year, but I'm still a little surprised that I've only done 7. Haven't even checked the forums much since July.
There's a small part of me that thinks I should try to do a massive feast of short, terrible (or maybe not quite terrible) songs, just to see if I can do it. I've been trying to convince myself to do this for a month now.
Fri, 09/16/2011 - 10:56
#43
lefty013, I really like what I have seen of yours, and I have to tell you this (in seriousness):
It appears to me that you believe that you can only write what you know about. Take a good look around you on this site. People write about all kinds of stuff that is pure fantasy. It's OK. I wrote about being a soldier, about how I had killed a woman, how I can sympathize with the terrorist who gunned down almost 100 political youths in Norway. I wrote about "strange creatures", apparently they are a kind of aliens. I wrote about about a devil. None of that happened to me personally in real life. Free your mind, write from a book or a newspaper story. Take part in a songskirmish. Get on over that fence. Now. Or later. And the best of luck to you.
Fri, 09/16/2011 - 14:31
#44
ACK! Two weeks left. Working harder than ever to win. Hard to imagine. HATING September. I'm gonna be on that winner's list. I WILL be on that damn winners list. ** wanders off grumbling trying to figure out what chords work with E flat minor. **
Fri, 09/16/2011 - 16:01
#45
Combed through my songs today, including the ones on my computer that I haven't yet posted, and came up with the following stats:
Songs: 42 (at various stages of completion)
. . Of which...
. . . . Posted: 34
. . . . Finished: 15 (at the "has lyrics, music and completed demo, stop fussing at it and move on" stage.)
. . . . Almost, but not quite, ready to post: 8 (at the "gaps in the lyrics and/or music that I want to close up before posting" stage.)
Planned: 13 (at the "must do something with this title/line/hook/idea" stage.)
If I get everything to the "posted" stage I will have 55 songs and be on that winners list. Yay!. How many of those will be "finished" I have no idea. Trying to focus on getting songs posted at the moment, then going back and finishing demos, etc. It would be nice to get this backlog cleared in time for FAWM, but I'm not setting nay
Got a few lyrics looking for music. Listed on my profile, if anyone wants to collab.
Sat, 09/17/2011 - 10:47
#46
"on the jukebox I tend to see the same names quite frequently."
I've hidden most of my audio files in order to allow the quality of music improve in the jukebox.
Sat, 09/17/2011 - 10:56
#47
Oh please! You have done some of the most interesting, sophisticated music I've heard here. Stop saying stuff like that.
Sat, 09/17/2011 - 11:16
#48
Well, I was only ever aiming for 20 this year - I'm sitting at 23 at the moment with another 5 in the works (and possibly another that I did with downburst?) so I am reasonably confident that I will hit 30. I'll be more than happy with that if it happens
Sat, 09/17/2011 - 11:53
#49
See, here's a great example, Levesinet is at 51 and I've not heard a single song!
Sat, 09/17/2011 - 12:29
#50
OH, ME TOO. I AM NOT EXEMPT
I quit for about a month, but I'm gonna try to finish strong.