How do you choose your music?

[Roosta]

Hey all,


So just interested in how you all select your music that you sequence your show to?


Also what songs have you decided on for the 2016 season? ;-)


Not being particularly musicky or artsy I am finding this part of the show a bit of a hair puller!


Cheers,
Nik

 

[ShellNZ]

I do some Xmas songs and some NON-Xmas For the Xmas ones I just try and find ones that wont make me want to cut my ears off by the time I am done sequencing it. For the NON-Xmas ones I do my favourite songs (past or present) or artists. In saying that....this year I am doing JT's new song due to the Trolls movie coming out in November, its for the kiddies as Im not a huge JT fan lol.

 

[lithgowlights]

My rules:

1. No rap or country
2. Songs should be able to be cut to 2 minutes or so in length
3. Fun songs are welcome. Comedy as well
4. Did I mention no rap? I REALLY hate rap and techno crap
5. A few classic Christmas songs to appease the wife - she's religious, the rest of the family are not
6. I must like it, after all I have to sequence it

 

[Roosta]

Thanks peeps..


I have engaged an experienced DJ to make up a few mixes for me..


Think i have decide on top 20 pop songs from 2016 and some recent christmas song remakes thrown in the mix to chrissy it up a bit..


cheers

 

[Fing]

Hi,


Here's a little test, find a song, download it to your iPod/iphone/computer... then play it over and over on repeat, in the car, around the house... can you put up with it? does it inspire programming ideas in your head? if not ditch it and look for another.
I had a playlist of possible songs, which I played repeatedly, you soon learn which are suitable for 26 days of performance.


This years highly possible is Can't stop the feeling by justin timberlake from an upcoming animated movie Trolls...maybe


Cheers
Fing

 

[smeighan]

everybody is different.


for me i like
Pentatonix Mary Did You Know
Pentatonix Little Drummer Boy
Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song
Hallelujah Chorus by Tchaikovsky


You can hear 20 or so songs that we like by going to Lilia's vimeo page: https://vimeo.com/album/3888694


You can also hear 100+ songs by looking at Holidaysequences.com.
http://www.holidaysequences.com/Holidaysequences-com-16-Ribbon-CCR-s/124.htm


many of those songs would not be for me, but others like them. Many are a match to my tastes

 

[Roosta]

Thanks everyone for the tips, especially Sean (pentatonix covers are awesome!)..

 

[algerdes]

Roosta,
It is simple.
It is whatever she tells me I like.
Done.

 

[logandc99]

Maybe it's because it's summer here and people are more in a party mood but the non-Christmassy songs tend to hold more interest to the audience that visit here. Having said that, it's a Christmas display so really also needs to have some Christmas songs. So last year with Starwars making a comeback, that seemed like the natural choice for 2015 ( of course there is another Starwars movie this year also, so...[emoji1417]). But this year, the first song I sequenced a while ago was JTs song from the upcoming Trolls movie due out in Nov (so fingers crossed its a good movie). But like Fing said, you also gotta like the song in order to sequence it because you are going to hear it over and over and over and over.... again not only during the sequencing process but also for the whole of Dec.


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[ShellNZ]

lol great minds think alike Logan, I have JT as well, Im waiting for the movie to come out so I can get the beginning of chorus to put on my matrix

 

[logandc99]

The Cloud guy looks hilarious in the brief short I've seen. My son likes doing the complicated fist bump with people he meets ( even did it to a guy in U.S customs who fortunately had a sense of humour because those guys are usually very serious/grumpy.


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[ShellNZ]

Awww, how cute Looks like youve had a great holiday!!

 

[logandc99]

Yeah thanks Shell it was a fantastic holiday. Sometimes the best holidays are in your own back yard. And I was so proud of how well my son did - he was doing the intermediate runs with me by the end. It was really cool [emoji1][emoji1][emoji1]


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[Wolfie]

I find selecting Halloween songs to sequence far harder than Christmas. Christmas has a VAST array of selections and genres to select from. Halloween is far far more limited.

For either, there are a few rules I go by.
1. I must be able to listen to it over and over and over and over. (because thats what you do sequencing).
2. No rap. Period.
3. No country. Period.
4. G or PG lyrics or such that it can be cut as such (strict for Christmas, a little looser for Halloween).

Re #4: If I won't let my two granddaughters listen to it, I darn sure won't play it as part of my show. Its strict at Christmas due to the family nature of the holiday. I loosen up a bit at Halloween as far as subject matter goes. Its a demonic type holiday and not all fluffy good feeling stuff all the time. Death, scary, bloody themes withinn reason. But still no lewd language or f-bombs. Just how I roll. Your choice is yours to make.

I go to youtube and browse and search. I try to find stuff that catches my ear or evokes something in me. In other words, I know its got something when I hear it. I try to go for stuff everyone else is NOT doing. For Christmas, Wizards of winter is a no-fly zone because its been beat to death by everyone else. This is Halloween falls into the same category for Halloween. I am so tired of both.

Mashups are a great source! They are different and unexpected and usually available for free download by the DJ or mix artist that did them. Re-mixes are also another source of slightly different versions of songs.

Another source I turn to is my granddaughters. I gather ideas from them. Check what music they listen to (as a normal part of parenting but also for this purpose). Last year I made a big play list and let them pick some and suggest a few. A couple made it of their suggestions. I am from a vastly different generation than they are so my music choices are vastly different than theirs. I realize I have to cater to their generation too so if I just play what I like and nothing they like, they and the visitors their age won't enjoy anything. So while I stick to the NO RAP rule, sometimes I let it get a little close with R&B.

Once I have a few prospects, I throw them in a folder and put them in a playlist to listen to. At that point some tend to float to the top and others sink to the bottom. Again I throw the list at GD12 and GD10 (who have different tastes) to see what they lke and don't. Theirs isn't a go/no-go choice but I use it as a suggestion. See rule #1.

Many folks tend to pick a theme/genre and go with it for everything. Me, being different as usual, I don't do that. I tend to mix it up. You may not like this song but you may like the next is my thought. If I pick all techno and you hate techno, well, you hate the whole show.

For example, this Halloween I have the following mostly sequenced:
Witch Doctor - Witch Doctor Lipsync Test - YouTube (my lipsync video)
Werewolves of London - Werewolves Of London - YouTube
House of 1000 Corpses - Rob Zombie-House of a 1000 Corpses Song - YouTube (I trimmed this and made an alternate ending in Audacity)

I have 4 on hold that are mashups that I will choose a couple from and sequence. It time permits, more.