Summary
...Holy Cow! Man, what a week! The combination of trying to figure out how to register my EOS tokens/wallet by June 1st in conjunction with Steemit going off-line for a stretch on Thursday - in concert with trying to temper some valid and not so valid concerns of some entrants who feel somewhat disenfranchised with regard to “voting-trails,” “voting-bots,” “paid-for-votes,” and the numerous imperfections of “Steemit,” - we nonetheless made it through another week, for better or worse!
Yes, there are a lot of things wrong with the current manifestation of the Steemit blockchain protocol as it were. Right now, however, it’s the best we’ve got! I myself would be favorable to more of a “structured decentralization” of blockchain participation as it were, but that’s a topic for an entirely separate blog post.
For now, everyone needs to know that their musical and artistic contributions extend far beyond that of mere votes, earnings, rewards, and the like. The groundwork that The Open-Mic, a “decentralized-structured-community,” is laying down here is one of enduring value and artistic integrity, which should not to be confused with whether or not a given Open-Mic post is “trending,” or has been “upvoted” by a whale/witness, or anything of the sort. Quite the contrary…
Your individual worth as an artist is NOT determined by a simple series of impetuous up-votes from “ who knows where” nor is it determined by whether or not you “place” in any of the judge’s top-5 lists. Your worth, is simply “what it is,” and it is “what you believe and will it to be!”
Your due diligence and work efforts relative to your personal artistry and ambitions shall forever remain emblazoned on the blockchain until the end of time. Just think about that for a minute before you fly off the handle with petty grievances or anything of a similar sort. There are more proper times and places to explore, express, and expose all such relevant grievances. To ponder doing so amid the comment threads of another artist’s entry is in my opinion, surely not one of them.
Yes, “proof of work” and a “consensus” of sorts is most certainly a “must-attain” prerequisite and gage of one’s efforts, however, the entire process of achieving such begins with the most basic and simple belief in oneself. It is nothing more, and nothing less.
Regardless of venue, there isn’t one single station in life that is entirely “ALL about "US” as solitary individuals. The Open-Mic is most certainly no exception to this irrefutable universal rule. Unless one is being specifically targeted in a malicious and spiteful manner without justification or sufficient cause, there is simply no grounds to complain and use oneself or one’s ego as the center of such grievances or misaligned focus.
With that said, I suppose the takeaway here is to “just keep believing in YOURSELF” – have fun with this otherwise challenging and subjective topic – and continue producing that which you most enjoy producing – and in the process, figure out a way to financially empower yourself to do so endlessly - until such time as you decide to pursue other venues of satiation to suit your particular needs and desires.
In due course, it is my hope that all of the weak links within the various protocols of current engagement relative to “Steemit” will be minimized if not altogether eliminated. What we end up with on the other side will hopefully be something of enduring merit and longevity, which will take each and every last one of us toward the next level of universal enlightenment, productivity, and duly-earned abundance.
Be it on “Steemit” or any other EOS based social platform or anywhere, we must all be ready to meet the challenges that the future most assuredly promises. Be ready, be smart, be patient, be flexible, be adaptive, be prepared, be gentle, be driven, have fun, and if you play all those cards right, you shall rule your world and reality for as long as you wish.
Be honest, be kind, be humble, take “NO SHIT” from anyone, and “Take No Prisoners” along your hard-fought journey. In any case, for what it’s worth, this is my unprofessional advice, for the 2-cents or less it may be worth in the open marketplace of general ideas. So, no, you can’t take this outlandish advice to the bank, whatever that may imply… Take it to a worthy blockchain instead!
VOTE for These WITNESSES... ... RIGHT NOW!
IMPORTANT: Before we move on, please don't forget to vote for @Pfunk, & @Teamsteem as witnesses! Both of whom are big supporters and play major roles in helping to run, fund, and curate, build and expand the Open Mic contest.
YO, MAN – AS I WRITE, @PFUNK IS SLIPPING BENEATH THE 20 LEVEL PEOPLE… WHAT’S UP WITH THAT, FOLKS? I HAVE JUST ONE QUESTION: HAS EVERY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL LISTED IN THE CURRENT “SEE WHO PLAYED LIST” VOTED FOR @PFUNK AS WITNESS? CHECK YOUR SHIT PEOPLE, AND IF YOU HAVE YET TO DO SO – DO IT NOW!
https://steemit.com/~witnesses
In addition to the above-mentioned witnesses, I am also adding @curie and @cervantes to my esteemed list of “must-vote-for” witnesses. @curie and @cervantes provide a great deal of support directly to many of our most outstanding musicians, and we should all support them in kind. You can vote for all of them right now by going to this link: https://steemit.com/~witnesses
With all of that said, following some further insights as to how I judge entries, let’s get on with it, shall we?
Steemit Open Mic Week 84
My Process
As one of the esteemed Open Mic judges, it is my job to come up with (or “curate” as it were) a short-list of my top 5 entrants each week. With all of the great talent here, that is by no means an easy task. Sure, tossing in another 5 honorable mentions helps, but not when my weekly list starts out with 100 or more of my favorite entries... You guy's rock - I'm tellin ya!
Yes, I am a Libra – so I have an inherent drive deep within me to be fair and balanced – good qualities for a “judge” if you ask me. That being said, I’m still human – filled with emotion and subjective feelings – just like you. So, in order to mitigate my subjective tendencies to the best extent possible, I’ve come up with a method by which to narrow down my selections in a more objective vs. arbitrary manner.
Here’s how I go about my personal judging process: I first start out with a list of 100 or more of my most favorite entries for the week, and score them (yes, subjectively) in six distinct categories via a spreadsheet. The categories I’ve selected for scoring are in general harmony with those explained by @luzcypher in his post titled How We Pick The Top 3 Entries, referencing such.
To get a more in-depth perspective as to how I personally go about selecting my artists, please refer to What I go through as an Open-Mic Judge.
Even though it’s still a “subjective” process – diligently going through each scoring category to come up with a “total” score for each entrant helps to minimize any overzealous subjectivity that I may harbor with respect to any specific entrants.
Quite often, this exercise doesn’t give me the exact results I would personally prefer to see – but that only means that my system of judging is working as intended and designed. With all of that said, here are...
My Top-5 Picks in Order
It is instantly apparent in listening to and viewing “The Burn I’ve Learned to Love” that Lilly has got it all going on every which way from Sunday! Not only is she quite charming and rather beautiful, but she is one extremely badass singer-songwriter, performer, poet, and composer! This week I was clearly smitten by her talents and charm. I simply fell head over heels for Lilly, her song, and her performance, and I suspect you will too!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@lillywilton/steemit-openmic-week-84-the-burn-i-ve-learned-to-love-original
Gosh, the girl who Lisa explains inspired this song, must be a super special person because wow, what an extraordinarily beautiful song emerged from their acquaintance with her! Typically full of fun, frolic, and laughter, this performance is somewhat of a slight departure for Lisa and @rhavi in that it’s a song of love, internal struggles, sorrow, joy, and pain. Despite the lyrical content, one still can’t help but feel happy listening to them both. It’s quite beautiful, Rhavi’s performance is terrific, and Lisa’s voice is simply divine. Their entry rolled me up in a ball of ecstasy from which there is no clear escape!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@lisamalletart/open-mic-week-84-lisa-and-rhavi-or-enrola-bola-original-song
Wow! What a maiden Open-Mic entry! All I can say is that I can’t wait to see and hear a whole lot more from @daily-musings. Her composition, “Expensive Wine” is most awesome, poetic, beautifully sung, and brilliantly performed. We now have yet another outstanding singer-songwriter poet to welcome to the Open-Mic. This one is a sleeper that went mostly under the radar, check it out, you’re gonna love it!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@daily-musings/expensive-wine-or-daily-musings-original-song-or-steemit-open-mic-week-84
My man Tomas is back in my Top-5 once again! He calls this a “cheeky cover” but man; his rendition just blew me away! I’ve never heard the song before, so I have no reference, however, after hearing Tomas’s version, I really don’t think I need nor want another reference. His timing and rhythmic abilities are flawless and machine-like, while his vocal tones, cadence, and inflections are equally captivating. Thank you for this rather amazing “cheeky cover” brother, we love you too! This is another sleeper that went under the radar, so open his link and give him some big love, okay!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@tomashofficial/steemit-open-mic-week-84-somebody-that-i-used-to-know-cover-gotye
I am so glad that Luis is back! He explains his recent absence was in part due to a bit of a creative dry spell, which he’s very much gotten over quite obviously. “Paper Thin” is brilliantly written and performed. Quite talented as a production engineer as well, Luis used looping techniques and the like to fashion his artistry in a most endearing and captivating manner. The story told is very intense, and truly relatable, and his harmonies haunting and pleasing all at the same time. All good things are worth waiting for, and Luis’s return with “Paper Thin” is one of them!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@luisferchav/steemit-open-mic-week-84-paper-thin-original-song
My Top-5 Honorable Mentions in Order:
First: @funkmedia – Special Affair - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@funkmedia/steemit-openmic-week-84-funk-media-ft-coco-and-nano-cover-special-affair-the-internet
Second: @vera.carla – Raro - (Original)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@vera.carla/steemit-open-mic-84-raro-weird-original-song
Third: @samidbarid – Fall - (Original)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@samidbarid/steemit-open-mic-week-84-sami-d-barid-fall-original-guitar-song
Fourth: @novumorganon – Another Brick in the Wall - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@novumorganon/nzt2zqip
Fifth: @cesaralejandro – Todo Cambia - (Original)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@cesaralejandro/steemit-openmic-week-84-todo-cambia-everything-changes-original
Thank you for reviewing my selections for this week’s Open-Mic contest. If you find this content I’ve curated entertaining and of value to you, then please consider up-voting and/or re-steeming it.
Peace, Love, and Justice for All
A Very Special Shout Out To:
The following 20 artists who were very much on my radar, each within a splitting hair of making it into my overall top-10, and whose performances I loved, cherish, and respect most assuredly. This special list is very much an extension of my most honorable mentions.
They are - in no particular order: @miguelblanco, @pechichemena, @ilazramusic, @abelfernandez, @melavie, @paintingangels, @vladoramirez, @moccamonica, @kayclarity, @shookriya, @williamsreinoso, @lorenzopistolesi, @juliolunar, @rjcha, @nirtsfaty, @wilins, @k0wsk1, @ingridkornelia, @moderndayjester, and @melodeons!
Another Special Shout Out To:
The following artists whose performances I very much enjoyed this week. They are - in no particular order: @maerod, @leomolina, @cesaramos, @klynic, @edwardstobia, @olvidesantelmo, @lifetipsbysn, @senzenfrenz, @acousticsteveo, @mrjl, @yulita, @yrmaleza, @enazirma, @yenibe, @jonsnoww, @guifaquetti, @gibber, @that.bass.guy, @cellomusic91, @ikasumanera, @arrozymangophoto, @jembee, @mcmusic, @musiccircle, @juliopalomo, @prayer11, @ferchemusico, @danieldedosd2, @elmaster, @melbookermusic, @melor9, @grayarty, @calule7, @ceparl, @scottone, @verhp11, @lyndsaybowes, @armoniritmia, @juanhobos, @baiver86, @hienco, @adrianjordaz, @pipomontilla, @andreabortone, @paskha, @itslobianco, @wethepatsies, @cabelindsay, @drewley, @camuel, @miaapado, @alejandra23, @jons0318, @williansjmm, @manurodriguez, @jerrytsuseer, @tarotbyfergus, @robertonavs, @yetxuni, @sanelleadguitar, @etemi, @tcpolymath, @sallyswitchblade, @soykatonline, @fael, @jgvinstl, @mujicamarian, @jesusfernandez, @denis.savisko3, and @lauriane!
Much love and thanks to each and every one of you who have touched a part of my heart and soul - not only this week but forever!
Thank you for bringing such wonderful sounds to my attention!
Brother Chris, you are quite welcome! Thank you ever so much for stopping by to take a listen! Our little group here is just a powerhouse of truly extraordinary talent. Thank you so much as well for your kind and generous support - it is greatly appreciated.
Hey man! Thanks for the pick and lovely words!! :D :D :D
You should definitely check out the original, though!
Yo, brother... Thank you so much for this link! Yes, you were right to suggest I check out the original... Definitely a cool production - and it's given me that much more appreciation for your outstanding rendition. Thank you, Tomas! You rock, dude!
Thank you so much for all those kind words and support@passion-ground <3 It means the world.
I absolutely loved the summary you've written in this post as well. The more I can internalize those words, the better I'll be as an artist. Thank you for the reminders of what's really important. <3
My accolades are but a mere tangential reminder of how truly talented you are. Humbly, they hold no weight whatsoever with regard to what's truly important in your ongoing development - only you hold the keys to unlock all of that magnificent potential... .xxx
Hey @passion-ground! Thank you soo much for choosing my entry for your top picks!! And also very much for your kind words!! Great choices as usual, I especially enjoyed @daily-musings' entry!
I read also that you were trying to register your EOS tokens and wanted to share with you this video I made for an @officialfuzzy competition several months ago on this very subject! I hope this is useful for you!
https://steemit.com/eos-help/@luisferchav/eos-io-video-tutorial-challenge-eos-keys-and-wallet-registration-process
Also I will be making a post about people voting for @pfunk and @teamsteem as witnesses, I agree completely with you, every one that has anything to do with open mic needs to vote for them! :)
You're most welcome, Luis! Thank's for the video link as well. You produced a rather impressive tutorial to navigate through a fairly complicated task! I used my Ether Wallet vs. Meta Mask, and being in the US, I also had to use a VPN to register directly thru the EOS site, which added a further level of complication.
I did tons of research before diving in - and found numerous ways one could go about registering. Some easier than others, and some that were a little bit sketchy. I choose "the official" way to do it via My Ether Wallet. "Meta-Mask" was the other official way too! It was a success! Had I seen your tutorial earlier, I would have likely followed and registered via Meta Mask.
I look forward to your promotional post for @pfunk and @teamsteem... Might as well mention @curie and @cervantes too - they also help many of our musicians as well. Thanks again, brother... Much love.
Hi passion-ground thanks for the mention, I´m very happy.
Nice to see you add @curie to the witnesses to vote for, thanks for that. PFunk is awesome and 200 STEEM weekly to open mic is nothing to sneeze at of course, but Curie certainly provides a huge sum to open mic contestants weekly as well. Bit of a shame that so many of the witnesses above both seem to do so little for the community besides vote selling :(
Thank you, Carl! Yeah, there are some issues for sure... Thank you again for your comment brother... Much love for you and the work you do, man.
Thank you for the mention brother! always glad to be on your radar, pretty much appreciated! ... i hope we can continue sharing this "passion" for music as long as we can! wise words at the start of the post, i enjoyed reading them! greetings
You got it, brother! And thanks for taking the time to read my summary, I am most pleased you found it to your liking. Thank you, Julio!
I've always enjoyed your top fives, it doesn't matter if I am in here or not, in the other way around, I like them because of the artists that you mention in these posts. Thanks for sharing your personal opinion. As always I say, there are a lot of talent in here, and we'll always have a lot of sources for learning from each contestant.
Cheers dude, big hug and respects!
Brother, that's so very kind and humble of you to say... Thank you! We need a lot more people like you in the world @manurodriguez! Cheers, hugs, and HUGE respect in kind my friend!
Again, thank you very much for your support. You're one of my favorites! Greetings
You're too sweet... Thank you, @yetxuni!
Oh yeah right and i get the honour of been mentioned in your shout out. Holy cow! Means too much to me. Thanks @passion-ground
You’re welcome @etemi, I think… I say, “I think” only because the phrase “oh yeah, right” at least in the US anyway, is typically associated with extreme sarcasm, distrust, and a general stance of blanket disdain and intimidation. In any case, unless you reveal to me otherwise, I shall assume that your comment was left with the purest of intentions. Thank you!
Lmfao! Well i think i may want to agree with you anyway am not in the US at least, i am just nodding my head and kinda excited that you enjoyed my song this week anyway.. I think i have stayed in the open mic community enough to understand what genre of music you enjoy listening to... If am not mistaken my mind might be playing tricks on me. I seldom even get on this list i am todayz of people whom you enjoyed. So why i used the phrase i was smiling while i did say that though... Am sorry if it came across to you that way but absolutely not what i meant when i said it, you know while typing alot of misinterpretations can be gotten compared to oral communication.
Much love, @etemi, that's exactly what I suspected, however, now I am 100% certain. Thank you for your patience and grace, and profoundly beautiful voice! .xxx
Smiles! Alright then. Thanks also for your patience in giving me a listening ear. Btw i am feeling sad was making a post and then posted it and part of it had disappeared had been writing it for hours.😫😫😫😫.. Its all good though.. Yeah and Thanks for the compliment too... Much love!
Gracias por la mención hermano! Es un gusto siempre estar entre las participaciones que disfrutas.. Un abrazo! Las mejores vibras para ti!
You are most welcome, my brother! The best vibes for you too... Thank you!
Gracias nuevamente.. Sigo experimentando con ahora buscando algo de música electrónica o de secuencias tipo mantras.. Sigo explorando jeje
Greetings from Venezuela, I invite you to see my interpretation of time in a bottle I hope you enjoy it
Thanks for the shout out. You rock. 😎
Thank you, brother - you rock too!
Have done my homework to vote pfunk long ago.
Loved lillys entry well deserved, only her second and what an entrance on steemit, lovely voice she seems very sweet too. Really a fav for me this week.
I was impressed by Luis skills at looping, best of lucks everyone
So nice of you to say, @yidneth! And thanks for giving @pfunk your support!
Oh my I was correcting my typos, I have muppet fingers on small phones ;) sorry ❤️
haha... No worries... I like "muppet fingers!" :-)
I really have lol... ;) Sing muppet songs sometimes... Muppet voice too... Deep wisdom in the muppets honestly...
Woah!!! yo @Passion-ground after we checked this top 5 we got the shivers and wanted to thank you for your consideration, as one of the guys behind the curtain of what Funk Media is looking to achieve in the long run we are gratefull for your support an the fact that you recognize our effort to keep bringint good content is filling us with gratitude. thanks @passion-ground Stay tuned! because it seems like our Friend Coco Ramos is going to join the Steemit Comunity pretty soon.
Woah, that would be awesome! I am coo-coo for Coco, gentlemen! Thank you for your kindness, talent, and community spirit... We love you guys!
hahahahaha @passion-ground you are very funny, we could laugh a good time, since you are coo-coo for coco, you did not expect this @lecocosoul https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@lecocoramos/j753xjbo she is awesome and beautiful
Thanks!!!!! i'm happy you've enjoyed it!!! greetingss
Very much so... Thank you, Andrea!
Once again another fun-filled week and once again thank you @passion-ground!
Click here to see who won Open Mic Week 84:
Steemit Open Mic Week 84 Winners See Who Won Open Mic And Join Us This Week --- by @luzcypher
Indeed it was, Luz... To my mind, the Open-Mic is what endearing memories are made for... :-)
♥♥♥ Thanks once again!! :)
Raro is insanely good! Thank you, Vera! :-)