Deadline day has come and gone, and new CDs are flooding into RPM Challenge headquarters at The Wire office. Those who did not hand-deliver their discs on March 1 have mailed them from around the world, and RPM volunteers are busy tallying the results. What follows is a sampling of unedited excerpts from comments posted on the RPM blog at www.rpmchallenge.com. They document the final week of February, during which participants staggered to the finish line, dazed and exhausted but determined to complete the challenge. Kudos to all those who made it, and consolations to those who tried but fell short. Don’t forget, the RPM Challenge regional listening party takes place on Saturday, March 26, beginning at The Music Hall in Portsmouth. Stay tuned to The Wire for details.

Done: I’m officially done, as of now. I am SO proud of this. I think it might even be better than Lucid Forest in Lurid Leyline Limit (my album from last year). —_11:34, Albany, N.Y.

Ah yes... first timer!: So, First timer here... First time RPM’r! Laid down 10 tunes... Just need to finish vocals and DONE! Started Sunday night at 9PM... done at 1:30AM... Started again at 6PM last night... done with all 10 tunes at 1:00AM. Jon Nolan, Andrew Blown, Geoff Taylor, Jon McCormack, and some vocal assistance by Jamie Biscomb. Cant wait to have it finished this week! —David Nebbia, Eliot, Maine

14: Finished another track that will most likely end up the album closer. It’s more industrial/noise than the rest of the stuff and at 9 and a half minutes it’s also way longer. If I had more time there are one or two things I’d do differently but overall I like it! — Ravensbrück, Albuquerque, N.M.

Not Gonna Finish: I’ve got instrumental parts completed for 4 songs. I have drums recorded for 3 more, but the last three songs haven’t even been started. I don’t see how I can do this is in a week. I’ll see what I can get done. Half an album is an RPM Challenge failure, but it’s still half an album I didn’t have on Jan. 31. —Pant Claps, Chicago, Ill. 

The CDs are here!: My shipment of CDs arrived from Kunaki moments ago. Now to send a copy off to RPM HQ... —Room 34, Minneapolis, Minn. 

completion elation: Ahhh to be done with it....sweet bliss ! To wander about like a daft fool...oh wait, I do that all the time. It’s been the usual merry-go-round of madness and I loved every minute of it....and look forward to next year even though I will continue songscaping tomorrow as if nothing happened. —Justin Anderson, Madison, Wis. 

DONE, All Ten Finished: All songs are finished, it is 3 am, I have to get some sleep. I hope the player works? all that is left is to make the CD put the artwork in the jewel and send it WOOHOO —MosAiK USA, Post Falls, Idaho

OMNITONES complete: And there it is. Just under 40 minutes long, and it feels complete to me. Listening to it from start to finish, the total experience, feels immensely satisfying to me. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed making it. —Dan Bruington, Seattle, Wash.

World Weary And Wise ...Done, Dah Done, Done Done!: With the exception of some minor tweaking here and there I believe I am all done with this years challenge. Some of the tracks are barely over 1 or 2 minutes and are kind of silly at best but I am still proud of some of it. I had a lot of fun and cant wait to come to Portsmouth next month to hang out and meet some more great people. I have been a little reserved the past couple of years I have come up but plan to be a little more social beyond the circle of friends that usually accompany me. Say Hello...will you? —World Weary and Wise, Brewster, Mass.

Ray Away: There - I remixed all my tracks and burned them to a cd and sent it off to RPM HQ. I didn’t think I would feel a greater sense of accomplishment for mailing the cd, but i actually do. It’s peculiar. —BeeKeeper, Ontario, Canada

Oreos: We’re done. We finished at about 11:30 last night. We flew through vocal recordings and mixing. The CD cover is done too. Now we just listen for a couple days before we submit. Possible tweaking may occur. Highlights of the evening include all of us trying to not say the word cock instead of the word socks while recording, a song about the drug like state induced by Oreo cookies, and the new musicians friend catalog full of excellent guitar porn. —challenged, Winooski, Vt. 

Correction: RPM For Us This Year: Just realized we re-entered RPM on the down-low. We’re IN! We actually are doing RPM! We didn’t think it was possible this year, but we were completely inspired by friends and RPMers who said, “dudes, do some remixes”. We tested the waters and to our surprise, we kinda enjoyed it. So, with 14 days left, we checked that little check box that obligated us to participate in 2011. Now back to remixing...! —Beatnik Turtle, Chicago, Ill.

perspective?: Not really sure if this is helpful or irrittating to you.... nonetheless i just completed the unmastered versions of 4 albums this month, only 1 of which was NOT an RPM challenge. Our new band, The Last Star Pilot, completed our debut album, an RPM album, got signed, a printing, CD pressing deal, 4 new webpages, all after playing our first show Feb 2nd. Phew! We’re booking our European tour for June/July & playing Glastonbury Fest THIS year. The dream really happens. Keep it alive. —Will..., Venice, Calif.

DONE!!: I really wasn’t sure if I was going to get it done this year (today is my deadline - have to use the next 2 days to move!) but here it is! Not everything is 100% the way I’d want it, but that’s part of the spirit of the challenge, I suppose. The album will be called “Part 1: Melancholy Goes For A Ride”. Looking forward to putting it out there for all y’all to hear it...I’m proud of this one. —The Daniel Parkhill Project, Ontario, Canada

8 Songs... I’m done!: Whew! I finished my last song last night... since I am at work all day today, I will have no more time to work on any more songs. I feel great about what I have done these last weeks. I have not written any new songs in many years, so this was a kind of “double” challenge... get off my butt and write challenge, as well as do ten songs. I feel that I did pretty good on both fronts! —Todd Cumpston, Woodbridge, Va.

Congratulations to all!: Congratulations to all that were able to finish their CD’s this year—it has been a tough one! To those who did one or more songs, but didn’t finish a CD—congrats to you too, one new song is a major victory. To those who just couldn’t get it together—there is always next year. Even with those that believe in the Mayan calendar thingy, we still should have at least one more February. —Kevin Emmrich, Crozet, Va.