You can feel it getting down to the wire. With only days remaining in February, musicians around the world have been scrambling to put together the best 10 songs or 35 minutes of original music they can muster in a single month, thereby fulfilling the sole criteria of the RPM Challenge. The chatter on the RPM discussion board at www.rpmchallenge.com has approached a feverish climax. What follows is The Wire’s fourth and final round of unedited RPM blog entries. Feel the pressure mounting.

Ahhhhh!!!!! its awesome when another piece goes your way. granted, murphy’s law is always ready to f*** things up....it will make the satisfaction of a well made song all worth the hell to make it happen. now only 6 remain! Time to get the metal out!!! <raises slege hammer> —Audio Assault, Phoenixville, PA
 
I have just discovered that I am another song down as a friend of mine who was going to send me some final guitar parts has suddenly been struck down by something vicious in the intestine... so I’m a bit stuck. Can’t use the demo as it was recorded before Feb... Looks like I really WILL be reciting poetry over a disco beat! The last week is always the best. As you were. —sister savage, Bristol, UK
 
our cheep rocket ship has developed an epic chatter....we underestimated the magnitude of our music! The dials and all the other blinking things are in the red (BAD), we will have to stop in the next galaxy to repair.  DUCT TAPE  Dicky “krunk” el (ton) zoomed in with some freash rymes. We will fix our cheep rocket ship with dem... —Wonkeye, Portsmouth, NH
 
Well, I finished re-working the track i’ve mentioned previously.  It’s not quite working.  I like the parts, but they don’t seem to be gelling together. However, today wasn’t a total loss.  I was looking for samples to try and make the track I was working on work, I found another group of samples that all worked together as one. A few minutes and effects tweaks later, I’ve got track 10! Color me surprised. You always hear about those tracks that get written and recorded in an hour or so, but when it happens to you, it’s such a shock. —Grayware, Columbus, OH

This is what I love about RPM: that sick-to-your-stomach, nail-biting, head-throbbing, sleep-deprived final week as your creative drive drags you across the finish line. You know you should have recorded more during the month. But there was paying work/crying children/bills/you-name-it that needed tending. You needed that paltry 5 hours of sleep, you needed to do the dishes before the bugs showed up. And then reality sets in: you’ve committed to doing this, you want to do this. You have to finish; if you don’t, it’ll gnaw at you that you missed the deadline and then what’s the point. You stay up waaaay past your bedtime too many nights in a row. People politely refrain from telling you just how much you look like crap. You do stupid things like lose your keys and find them in the fridge. But in this corneDr that you’ve backed yourself into, there are songs you never even thought of. You can’t write like that on plenty of sleep. And this, my friends, is the beauty of RPM. Are you feeling it? Start the coffee. It’s gonna be another long one tonight... —Kristen Miller, Georgetown, MA
 
So with three college audtitions, a major snow storm every week, and what I think might be the flu, progress is a bit slower than I had hoped.  The songs have been writen and almost three have been fully recorded.  The only problem is that everyone I need to record with is either in Costa Rica or off getting into car accidents. It’s going to be a long 7 days......at least I finished the album art. —Jordan Elias, York, ME
 
Tonight I created a new progression/framework then decided to be ambitious and create a second one before calling it a night.  I’m toiling away ... editing out stuff ... I go into the next room and bring yesterday’s work in to compare ... and I’ve recreated the same 32 bars ... arrrrrrrrggggggggggg! I’ve plagiarized myself. Anyone know a good lawyer or, umm a shrink? —Doug Hayman, Seattle, WA

Pawns, they’re called in chess. Session musicians are what they are called in the music biz. I wish I could just train a band of monkeys, ‘cause they’d do what you want once they get past the poo-flinging stage, unlike people. And plus, monkeys!!!! —Alchemist Corpse Rite, Pasadena, CA

The snow is not helping - is anyone else sick of this winter? Boy, this it seems to go on forever...  Ok, I will go take some vitamin D - and try and get a good night sleep (we should be cranking on getting this done and instead we are gonna sleep? it just don’t seem right!) and find a new way to win this war. Computers suck. Music rocks! —Neurottica, Amesbury/Newmarket/Sanford, MA

We’ve had to deal with family issues, kid issues, “real job” issues, and, if you haven’t noticed, the weather has really sucked here in NH. I wish snow days could be better spent rather than clearing snow. So, with stuck cars, stuck families, stuck “real jobs” and stuck kids we still somehow manage to get things done. Maybe all of the life issues give material to write about. (although we’ve stayed away from writing about snow, “real jobs” and kids so far) So go ahead life, get in the way, I’ll just write about you for the rest of the world to know. —Bob Jr and the Martini Gardeners, New Durham, NH

I wish I had as much kitten energy as my cat, Skunkerton T. Ham Bandit Esq. He has spent the whole evening running around, clambering on the piano (usually when I recording the damn thing), chasing things and meowing at me a lot. If I had kitten energy, I would have completed two albums already (all of it 200 bpm and crazy). —Fenris Eats the World, London, UK
 
I’m pretty sure I’m not going to finish in time this year! I’m spending way too long on the production and final mix. I am pretty pleased with the results though. —Merlin, Northhamptonshire, UK

Ahhh, what a frustrating month! —James Cooley, Littleton, CO



So my computer crashed last night after I finished my final cut of my 3rd song, with the rest half recorded and partially finished. Ya, it’s kind of funny. But not really. So I took my mac to get repaired and it won’t be ready for 4 days. That will give me at the most two days to finish. Now that’s what I call a challenge... —Brie, York, ME

This is... funky49 from the Superfiends. I wanted to blog to say that we don’t blog. Thanks for tuning in... now tune out. —Superfiends, Tampa, FL

So, here is my confession... my deep dark (not) secret that I keep six feet under-- I don’t sing. —Rolltop Coffin, North Hampton, NH

Wasn’t planning on recording last night but it ended up happening anyhow. I guess I have the RPM bug now. —Richie Rosencrans, Concord, NH

I may not finish this but … For the first time in years I catch myself singing my own songs at work. That alone is worth it. —Jonesie, Silver Spring, MD