Moondog Wily
Howlin' At The Moon!
I have been thinking that it would be fun to participate here on the forums, in an "Infinite Monkey Theorem" (IMT) type experiment. For those of you who don't know, the IMT postulates that random generation of words/letters could eventually produce all things ever written, and a whole lot more.
This experiment deals with the "whole lot more" part of the theorem. It would be called, just like the title of this post, (In)Finite Monkey Songs. The idea is, we meld our finite (hence "in finite" as we are in a finite group) monkey brains to create something new.
The participants would collectively write the lyrics to a song. Here are the proposed guidelines:
1. Anyone can start a IFMS thread. I would recommend that the thread title starts with the acronym IFMS, followed by a dash and the title of the new song. I think these should live in the "Studio & Stage" forum here as it would be creations (a mind performance if you will), but will certainly consider why they should live elsewhere.
2. I would also suggest that each of these threads has a poll, that asks if you agree or disagree with some legal BS. More on this below! Wish we did not have to do something like this, but if we don't, who knows WTF could happen!
3. The OP would provide the title (in the thread title and at top of lyrics) and the first line of the song (in the post). The OP may also provide context for the song, structure, description of what they envision, style/genre, etc. but those are not strict rules and participants can choose to insert lines that may not adhere to said criteria or deviate from structure, etc. I would say it is best to try and work with the OP and other participants, but bucking the system would be allowed on this front! I would say such comments/information should be provided at the top of any post so as to inform up front about anything relevant.
4. Then other participants would add the next line to the song, but only one line at a time.
5. No participant can add a line right after their own. You have to wait for at least one other participant to add a new line before you can add another line.
6. In the case of overlap (two or more participants respond without seeing other participants concurrent response), we will use the one that has the oldest post timestamp. In the case of a tie on timestamp (as we only see hours:minutes), the OP has the right to decide which one wins.
7. OP has the right to determine when the song is done. I think a good way to do this would be "STOP", and nothing else, in large bold faced red letters on a new post in the thread. Anything after that will be considered to not be a part of the song.
8. Although it is extremely unlikely that anyone will have to deal with any of this, I think it is best to have the rules in place from the beginning for resolution and our own peace of mind! Ownership of the song is equally divided among all participants. OP gets one extra share as if they are two participants (so 8 participants + OP is total of 10 participants, each gets 10% and OP gets 20% because OP counts as 2 participants). This will be true regardless of whether they have contributed one line or one hundred lines. Too complicated any other way IMO.
9. If a song gets to a point where participants feel that is should be moved to a private message thread, the OP can decide whether or not to do so. Feel free to petition the OP via that thread to do so. OP would need to invite all participants to the new PM thread if such a move is made.
Poll details
So the poll "question" would be something like this:
"I agree that my participation in this song writing experiment gives me equal rights with all other participants, and nothing more. I understand and agree that if anyone were to use this material for profit, I will be entitled to whatever percentage aloted to me, based on the number of participants. Failure to agree by choosing the "Yes . . ." option below will void any claims of participation and any proceeds that may result there from."
The possible answers would be:
Yes, I agree to the details outlined in the question above and would like to participate in this song writing experiment!
No, I do not agree to the details outlined in the question above and will not participate in this song writing experiment!
I think this could be a lot of fun!!! There is a lot of humor that gets thrown about here, and applying that humor and wit to some random songwriting experiments could prove to be both fulfilling and interesting.
I am going to roll the dice on this and start the first one in another thread. It will be titled "I Got G.A.S."!
Hope we can get some participants and have some fun with this, I really believe the forum monkeys could produce something worthwhile and have a great time doing it!!
Happy lines!
MW
This experiment deals with the "whole lot more" part of the theorem. It would be called, just like the title of this post, (In)Finite Monkey Songs. The idea is, we meld our finite (hence "in finite" as we are in a finite group) monkey brains to create something new.
The participants would collectively write the lyrics to a song. Here are the proposed guidelines:
1. Anyone can start a IFMS thread. I would recommend that the thread title starts with the acronym IFMS, followed by a dash and the title of the new song. I think these should live in the "Studio & Stage" forum here as it would be creations (a mind performance if you will), but will certainly consider why they should live elsewhere.
2. I would also suggest that each of these threads has a poll, that asks if you agree or disagree with some legal BS. More on this below! Wish we did not have to do something like this, but if we don't, who knows WTF could happen!
3. The OP would provide the title (in the thread title and at top of lyrics) and the first line of the song (in the post). The OP may also provide context for the song, structure, description of what they envision, style/genre, etc. but those are not strict rules and participants can choose to insert lines that may not adhere to said criteria or deviate from structure, etc. I would say it is best to try and work with the OP and other participants, but bucking the system would be allowed on this front! I would say such comments/information should be provided at the top of any post so as to inform up front about anything relevant.
4. Then other participants would add the next line to the song, but only one line at a time.
5. No participant can add a line right after their own. You have to wait for at least one other participant to add a new line before you can add another line.
6. In the case of overlap (two or more participants respond without seeing other participants concurrent response), we will use the one that has the oldest post timestamp. In the case of a tie on timestamp (as we only see hours:minutes), the OP has the right to decide which one wins.
7. OP has the right to determine when the song is done. I think a good way to do this would be "STOP", and nothing else, in large bold faced red letters on a new post in the thread. Anything after that will be considered to not be a part of the song.
8. Although it is extremely unlikely that anyone will have to deal with any of this, I think it is best to have the rules in place from the beginning for resolution and our own peace of mind! Ownership of the song is equally divided among all participants. OP gets one extra share as if they are two participants (so 8 participants + OP is total of 10 participants, each gets 10% and OP gets 20% because OP counts as 2 participants). This will be true regardless of whether they have contributed one line or one hundred lines. Too complicated any other way IMO.
9. If a song gets to a point where participants feel that is should be moved to a private message thread, the OP can decide whether or not to do so. Feel free to petition the OP via that thread to do so. OP would need to invite all participants to the new PM thread if such a move is made.
Poll details
So the poll "question" would be something like this:
"I agree that my participation in this song writing experiment gives me equal rights with all other participants, and nothing more. I understand and agree that if anyone were to use this material for profit, I will be entitled to whatever percentage aloted to me, based on the number of participants. Failure to agree by choosing the "Yes . . ." option below will void any claims of participation and any proceeds that may result there from."
The possible answers would be:
Yes, I agree to the details outlined in the question above and would like to participate in this song writing experiment!
No, I do not agree to the details outlined in the question above and will not participate in this song writing experiment!
I think this could be a lot of fun!!! There is a lot of humor that gets thrown about here, and applying that humor and wit to some random songwriting experiments could prove to be both fulfilling and interesting.
I am going to roll the dice on this and start the first one in another thread. It will be titled "I Got G.A.S."!
Hope we can get some participants and have some fun with this, I really believe the forum monkeys could produce something worthwhile and have a great time doing it!!
Happy lines!
MW
