Handling the Frisbee

The Frisbee is Listening Club parlance for ownership of the coming Sunday’s music pick. At the end of one of our Sunday sessions, the Frisbee holder tosses it to another member. If that other member is you (🎉 congrats! 👏) and you accept, here’s how to handle it:

1. Pick an album you want to play for everyone next Sunday. Use any criteria that strike your fancy, such as you love it and can’t wait to share it, or you’re curious what we’ll all say about it… the way you handle this step is entirely up to you. There’s no correct or incorrect way, and pretty much anything goes. You can pick a studio album, a live album, a compilation (single artist or various artists), a couple of EPs (from one artist or two related artists). We shy away from playing our own mixtapes or playlists, or our own music, though. To make sure you aren’t repeating a previously-played album, check out @akx’s handy list.
   
   
2. Format the music into MP3 format (as high quality as you like) as one continuous file. Make sure you’ve stripped all identifying MP3 tags from the file so as not to give away its identity. If you’re not sure how to do these steps, ask @kleptones, @jimmccauley, or @saucer for help.
   
   
3. Write a little introduction to your pick, for us to post on the blog. Pretty much anything goes for the intro so have fun. You could explain why you picked the music, or a little background or some references… but take care to avoid giving too much of the guessing game away. Toward the end of their intro, some members include a #drinkingclub suggestion to accompany the pick.
   
   
4. Upload the archive and your introduction to a publicly-accessible place. Be sure to do this by the Saturday evening prior to the Sunday that we play your pick. Options for upload location include Google Drive, DropBox, Box, and so on. Send a Mastodon direct message (DM) to @kleptones with a link to that upload location. (Or, if it’s easier for you to email your pick and blurb, DM Kleptones and ask for the address.)
   
   
5. Next, if you can, upload the (fully anonymized) MP3 file to an online listening portal. A good one to use is HearThis. Another option is Funkwhale. (MixCloud tends to identify uploaded albums and delete them, so avoid MixCloud.) If you do this step, DM @kleptones to let him know you did, and provide the link to the upload location.
   
   
6. On Sunday when we’re all finished listening to your pick, reveal its details on Mastodon, using the #listeningClub hash tag. You might want to “@” the artist themselves in your big-reveal post, or include links to a bio, discography, or the album itself.
   
   
7. Now you get to toss the frisbee to another member among those who participated. Base your pick on witticisms, antagonisms, months since they last held the frisbee, or whatever. It’s up to you. But try to extend the invitation pretty soon after your album-reveal post, before folks sign off and miss your message.
   
   

Job well done.

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