Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

I know I probably won't be in the minority here when I say that the overplaying of popular songs at FIRST events can be quite a turn-off for a lot of people. I know that last year I would often choose to stay in the pits as opposed to watching other teams' matches, simply because the entire event was 4-5 songs on repeat. I don't think this tradition should be stopped or anything, but for the sake of people's sanity, can we try and play the overplayed music a tiny, tiny bit less? Events are always fun, but they could certainly be more bearable if more of a variety of music played. I've seen a few of the FIRST DJs around Chief Delphi before, so maybe you could take this into consideration.

Thoughts?

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

In Florida we don't have this issue as much as you seem to but there was an official list in 2009

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

I'd be very impressed if you heard Gangnam Style at a regional last year.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

:D I predict it will be big this year.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Good list. Do you know if this is given to DJs every year or is it more up to them?

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Volunteer coordinators for most regional events will have some say as to who is hired/volunteered to be the DJ. There is an official approved music list each year that is shared with the DJ and there is a conference call training scheduled in which the DJ may or may not participate.

A more direct route to have your issue considered is to chat with your regional director or volunteer coordinator. C.D. is too broad of a mouthpiece for an issue with one or two regional events.

Cooton Eyed Joe, YMCA, Chicken Dance et cetera are often go to songs to fill voids created by technical delays or otherwise.

There is some art and science to this whole deal which may or may not be applied correctly for all tastes. User experiences my vary:D

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

If I remember correctly, FIRST has an approved list of music or each DJ has to get the music approved by FIRST. That being said, I've watched regionals where they repeat songs every 5 songs or ones with a very varied selection. I used to DJ FLL and FTC events, and everytime I did so, I had atleast 200 songs ready.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

While we're at it, can we also turn the volume down? My throat always hurts in the hotel in the evening because I had to scream over the music all day.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Hear, hear!

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

What? :yikes:

I usually have good luck when I ask the DJ's to turn the sound down (when I can find them - sometimes they hide well). At FLL especially I just say that the refs need to be able to hear the kids - there's usually something in the game where the kids have to ask the ref to move or remove something. The DJ is very willing to do it for the kids.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

From a student's perspective, the fun songs like Gangnam Style, the Chicken Dance, and the Cotton Eyed Joe kind of are what make regionals really great.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

I agree with this. I enjoy the popular songs. I guess it's a matter of opinion.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

There's nothing like being able to cue up Cupid Shuffle at a meeting and have a room full of people immediately respond.

The repetition of these corny songs may be grating at times but it's part of the experience.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Bohemian Rhapsody?

That's something everyone will sing to!

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

It's a FIRST thang you go to as many competitions as I do you grow numb to it over time.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

I'm kind of partial to this one ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6khLRcDgv4


I definitely agree the songs can get pretty overplayed, but FIRST has the official playlist and only those songs will get played at events.

When I was a student, we had the Cha-Cha slide, Macarena, and Cotton Eye Joe, and that was 12 years ago. I'm glad we've added at least two more songs to that list!

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Alan what was that? I can't hear you over the music!

On another note, pun intended, go to the DJ and request a song. I have at the GTAW and the DJ is always willing as they are looking for input as well.

Even when all else fails, have fun as it will get better.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

At a couple regionals, members of my team have returned from the DJ's station disappointed after the DJ told them, "I'm not taking requests." :( At some events the music is on a playlist that seems miles too short. I think all the scouts out there would love some variety.

Never ruins a good competition though!

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

You know what my favorite part of this thread is? The fact the OP and other posters have specifically called out Gangnam Style, despite the fact it wasn't released until July of 2012. In other words, it's never been played at a FRC event before. That overplaying of Gangnam Style has been everywhere else but FRC.

That being said, anyone who doesn't anticipate it being in heavy rotation at upcoming FRC events is fooling themselves.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Coming from an Emcee's perspective on the field: The audio is largely controlled by the event staff and not the DJ. The DJ generally sets one audio output level (just clarifying, not quoting what you said). I would recommend that you have a representative talk to the Event Coordinator from Show Ready Events to help out with lowering the volume (you could also try the regional director). Getting sound right is an extremely difficult task to do especially in all areas of an arena where the audience/teams are sitting (but then again, the event staff is paid to make this sound as good as possible).

Speaking from the events that I do, it is true that the DJ (if your event even has one and not the DJ in a box thing) does have a set playlist of guidelines to follow, but there are always deviations of this. I always try to coordinate with the DJ to hold off on the majority of dancing songs until Saturday to "ramp" up the event. I have found from feedback from a few teams that this helps make the event more exciting and less drawn out from hearing the dance songs over and over again.

Point being: Talk to your event staff and volunteers who are responsible for making this happen. We are all here to give you, the audience the best experience that we can. Most people responsible for making this happen do not spend their work time on CD ;).

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Fixed it for you, I know that it was very overplayed at off season events

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

If Gangnam does come out I just hope it is the NASA version. Wish I had the Youtube link.

As for the DJ's, as long as your request is tasteful and fits into the game, no real problem, or least that's been my experience.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

2648 stopped Mainly Spirit so they could do a production of the whole team dancing to it.
It will be part of FIRST for all eternity.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

As long as we never return to the year of Party in the USA every three songs, I'll put up with whatever else rolls down the pike!

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

I guess I've been spoiled by Lone Star, which has always had an excellent musical selection, but at most out-of-state regionals, and at Champs, the music was really repetitive. I love Greyhound by SHM but it did not need to be played every 4 matches on Newton. The best playlists I've heard at regionals have a blend of all genres/song ages and never play the dance songs unless there's a delay. It may be part of the culture of FIRST to have the same really old song get played 20 times in a day, but that doesn't make it a good thing. I'm looking forward to the first time Gangnam Style gets played, but I'm really dreading the 300 times I know it will be played after that.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Derive So Hard should be played at every regional. GO CALCULUS!:D

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYbSwlMD6NA

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Love that video...my roommate happens to know these guys well as they were classmates at Gunn HS. Small world.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Let 'em know that us robo kids here on 1730 in Missouri love that song! Team Driven's anthem... hopefully!

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

This many times over. I haven't been to nearly as many events as Koko, but I have acquired an immunity to the repetitive songs. Buckeye seems to have gotten better though...

...because of this. I'm almost certain that the Buckeye Regional committee decided the same thing. In 2010, Thursday it was chilled, laid back music almost all day. Friday got into more upbeat songs, but nothing too crazy. Saturday was full blown Cotton Eyed Joe and Chicken Dance. Even then, they didn't go overboard, if I recall correctly.

I don't mind the songs themselves. But FIRST should strongly advise the DJs and Regional Directors to create a lengthy playlist (or playlists for each day).

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

The thing I find amusing is that when I think of FRC event music the first song that comes to mind is Sandstorm by Darude. What makes Sandstorm so special that it gets ignored as an overplayed song? :confused:

Unlike the usual dance drivel, Sandstorm feels exciting, like you should be revving a car up in Fast and Furious or something to that effect. It's good action music, which makes it great for the first round of finals and compliments the robot game. Additionally, there's no dance that gets in the audience's way. The dance songs are good for technical delays, but when they are overplayed they get annoying for two reasons: the dancing isn't as fun the fourth and fifth time, and it's a reminder of how many failures there have been so far. Sandstorm is never used in those scenarios.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

I had to look it up on YouTube. Didn't know that was the name of the song. Anyway, it's usually played during the matches themselves, which is when all of your attention and focus is on the action on-field, not the music. Plus, you have the announcer's voice talking over the music anyway.

Today I Learned: That song is called "Sandstorm".

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Wait, they play music at events?
I must not notice anymore...
:P

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

This. Thanks to the engineer that invented earplugs.

After last year's 2056 - 1114 showdown in the GTW finals I decided that the theme from "Pirates of the Caribbean" should be required for at least one finals match. I could stand to hear that at every tournament, and wouldn't mind it if it got played a second time if there's a third match. :cool:

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Wait, that's supposed to be music? :)

One robotics evening a student played Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, but left it on repeat. It's a good song, but after five or six times in a row, even that could be overplayed.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

check out the RoboBess RoboGangham style on YouTube

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

My lead CAD kid likes to play "Cantina Band Hour" on repeat while he's CADding. It's a good way to keep people other than him out of the lab.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Duly noted. :D I'll have to keep that strategy in mind.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Have a link? I couldn't find it

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

I completely remember commenting to members of my team about the obscene overplaying of this song that year.

Party in the USA is a particularly bad song but overplaying anything is painful. I remember seeing some sort of DJ whitepaper on CD a few years ago, why can't the DJ's use the list of (over 100) songs on there?

Here is the link to our video. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6khLRcDgv4

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

a search for the correct spelling would help. Try robobees gangnam style. Or just use this.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

With dubstep and eletronica being so much more popular than in the past, a DJ's selection for syncopated "dance songs" has gone through the roof. Most Pop music is now featuring drops for Pete's sake. When you consider how many songs an i-pod, zune, (insert mp3 player of choice here) holds there is no reason for repeat songs unless by choice or pure laziness.

My most memorable "please dear god not that song again" moment was Thunderquest 2009. Every 6 or 7 songs was the chicken dance or thunderstruck. It was awesome for the FLL kids. They had a blast dancing with the chicken suits to the chicken dance. The parents and mentors wanted to shoot themselves 2 hours in.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

I would just like to tell the OP I am watching all of the webcasts at our buildspace and almost all of them have already played Gangnam style and 3 have played cotton eye joe

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

They are currently playing Thrift Shop at TC. The attempts by the DJ at censoring it are laughable.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Yeah, that never works...why not just play the radio edit?

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Yeah, as dcarr pointed out, there's a radio edit. Not sure why FIRST DJs don't just make sure they have the radio edit for all the songs they intend on playing...

I absolutely abhor the dance breaks with a fiery passion. It's not fun after the first (maybe second) time through. There are other dance songs that they also simply don't play at regionals.

A few suggestions for FIRST DJs out there (note: not all of these are the censored/clean versions):

1. The Wop (be sure to check out the octogenarians in the crowd of people on the beach to the far right)
2. 1, 2, Step
3. G-Slide
4. Humpty Dance (also it's by the Digital Underground and who doesn't want to listen to Shock G?)
5. Thizzle Dance
6. Time Warp
7. Flex
8. You're a Jerk
9. Walk It Out
10. Birdwalk
11. It's Time for the Percolator
12. The John Wall (this one isn't that great but I'm a bit biased as someone currently in the DMV and a John Wall fan)
13. Stanky Leg
14. Chicken Noodle Soup
15. Pop Lock and Drop It
16. Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It
17. 2 Step
18. Cat Daddy

It's been a while since I've heard Teach Me How to Dougie at a FIRST event, but I have heard it before, which is why it's not on the list above. There's also a song called Twerk, but I think that might be a little too much for a FIRST event.

I've heard maybe 2-3 of the above songs at FIRST events, but they get played nowhere nearly as often as stuff like Cotton Eyed Joe and the Cha Cha Slide.

To address the issue of overplayed songs, a somewhat decent starting point would probably to be to look at the Billboard Hot 100. Out of those, I'm sure you can get at least 50-60 songs from there alone (some obviously would have to be weeded out because they're either inappropriate or just not upbeat/dancey enough for a FIRST event). Then there are the "FIRST standards," like Sandstorm, Zombie Nation, Thunderstruck, etc. In addition, you've also got the top songs from previous years that, like the Billboard Hot 100, would give you another decent chunk of songs. Once you've got that, you can go back and grab all the 90s and early 2000s songs that people love(d) but haven't heard in forever (I mean, who doesn't want to listen to some NSYNC every now and then?). There's tons of classic rock that would certainly help to appease the mentors. Then, of course, there's also adding in any personal favorites that you think fit the feel of FIRST competitions. I'm not saying it's easy to DJ a FIRST event (I've never done it), but, from where I'm sitting, it shouldn't be too hard to find 200 or so songs to play.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

It will take some time for me to queue up my Big Band collection of dance songs and get them posted. But in the short time let me say that Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller and of course Louie Armstrong were able to get crowds on their feet every night... :rolleyes:

And I expect the Polka fans to chime in soon!

FIRST events like Telsa and Edison would have heard!!!

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Polka music would be wonderful for FRC competitions. I also wouldn't mind upbeat folk music from the areas that each regional is held, so if you went to a certain regional there would be a sharp deviation of the songs (other than the cotton eye joes) heard.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

+1 !

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Music at FIRST events can definitely be excessively loud and obnoxious, especially for people who are there for the engineering challenge and to prove the robot they worked so hard on. It's bad enough in the stands, and even worse on the field. I know people that have actually asked them to turn down the music. At one point during this season, I was talking with another team's lead mentor, and he said that one reason for it is that it makes the competition even more like a real sporting event. The staple songs, line dancing, and too loud music make the competition more exciting for anyone there not as invested in the robots themselves.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

The first couple times people go to events to watch, the music is fun, and doesn't seem very repetitive. The people in the pits have already been to several events, and aren't always in the mood to listen to dance music. It's fun if they play gangnam style once during the finals when they're waiting to get set up, but it gets really annoying.

That being said, there are some songs that make the atmosphere better. Sandstorm is my favorite, and they've played it during the first round of einstein for as long as I can remember. They also play it during the first round of elims, and the first final round in some regionals.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

This song should be played:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68ugkg9RePc

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

No.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Lil' Lavery is wise and full of knowy goodness. Just no.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

I'll add in some suggestions for eliminations music.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Theme
Iron Maiden- Hallowed Be Thy Name (Win or Go Home Matches)
One-Winged Angel
Metallica - For Whom the Bell Tolls
Portal 2- Bombs For Throwing At You

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

Whaaaaaat? Fiiiiiine.
I'm not gonna lie though, when this song came on at the beginning of Iron Man 3, I got all nostalgically happy.

How about this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFRkpvvop3I

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

I feel like part of the reason Sandstorm is so often overlooked as one of the brutal ear-grating overplayed songs is the fact that it lacks lyrics.

That said? I'm with Koko Ed. I barely even notice anymore. The music is just part of the background noise at an FRC event.

I have noticed several times though, where the DJs have played a song I would consider drastically inappropriate for playing at an FRC event. Thrift Shop is a good example, but even things like Greased Lightning from Grease. I realize we're talking about high school students and most of them have already seen and heard it all, but it still feels wrong to me.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

In 2008, AC/DC's "Big Balls" was a popular play; in 2010, we heard The Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps" - they made for some uncomfortable squirming in the stands.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

What? Of course Sandstorm has lyrics! I sing along every time I hear it.

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

From standpoint of an FRC kid from New York who attended regionals in Massachusetts and Connecticut; Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe are two songs that i have experienced in my past three years of competitions. But what would be really cool is if somehow a flash mob could be arranged to get a bunch of teams connected at the events. There's something that would be pretty awesome! :cool:

Re: Gangnam Style and Cotton Eyed Joe
 

You should probably talk some more about this here:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...69#post1287469