[mb-style] MashUpStyle

[Edward Robins]

So, I've been modding mashups at MB for a while, and I feel that the
current naming style guideline is inadequate. According to the Wiki
(http://wiki.musicbrainz.org/MashUpRelationshipType), mashup naming
follows this clause of the VersusStyle
(http://wiki.musicbrainz.org/VersusStyle):

"3. In the third case, where the track is a MashUp, use the mixer as
the ArtistName, and put the two "versus" artist titles into the track
name like so: "TrackTitle (Artist A vs. Artist B)" following the
MashUpStyle."

While this is perfect for "A + B" mashups, where only two tracks are
mixed into the mashup, many mixers have moved towards mixing more
(sometimes many more) than two tracks in their mashups.

For example, take DJ Earworm's "What's My Name? (clean version)":
http://musicbrainz.org/show/track/relationships.html?trackid=5644428

This mashup is mixed from 22 tracks, and if it were to be named using
the current VersusStyle, the result would be: "What's My Name? (clean
version) (Aaliyah vs. Ace of Base vs. Alicia Keys vs. Beyoncé vs.
Brandy & Monica vs. Britney Spears vs. Destiny's Child vs. DMX vs.
Donna Summer vs. Eminem vs. Eurythmics vs. Irene Cara vs. Jason Mraz
vs. Kanye West vs. Lynyrd Skynyrd vs. Madison Avenue vs. Maroon 5
Peter Gabriel vs. Phil Collins vs. Snoop Dogg vs. The Mamas & The
Papas vs. The Who)".

IMO, this is much too cluttered, and all that versus artist info isn't
all that helpful in the long run (it doesn't say what Aaliyah, Ace of
Base, Alicia Keys, etc. etc. track was used in the mashup). I'd also
argue that, in this case, the versus artist info falls under recording
facts rather than artistic intent. On DJ Earworm's website
(http://www.djearworm.com/), the mashup title is given as "What's My
Name?", with the versus artist/sample info listed separately. As
separate, additional information, I feel this is best represented
through AdvancedRelationships, which I have added and continue to add
for as many mashups as I can.

There is also the phenomenon of having a mashup that is primarily A +
B, but also contains incidental samples (which I define as a snippet
of vocal/composition that only appears once or twice throughout the
mashup track). For instance, there's DJ John's mashup "Victim of Da
Funk" (for which I haven't added AdvancedRelationships yet):
http://musicbrainz.org/track/29df638b-276e-477b-a489-9251bc418b8c.html

In this case, the mixer has actually named the track "Victim of Da
Funk (Eagles vs. Daft Punk)" on the website, rendering the previous
argument moot. However, while the primary elements of the track are
Eagles' "Victim of Love" and Daft Punk's "Da Funk", there are numerous
incidental samples (the "right about now" vocal from Fatboy Slim's
"The Rockafeller Skank", the "shake that ass girl" vocal from 50
Cent's "Disco Inferno", etc.). DJ John has the following additional
information about the mashup on his website
(http://www.djjohn.net/mashup.htm):

"This mash-up uses: Eagles "Victim of Love," Daft Punk "Da Funk,"
James Brown - "Funky Drummer," Jazzy Jeff/Fresh Prince - "Brand New
Funk" and the usual medley elements, including "Disco Inferno" from 50
Cent. Includes a DJ-friendly breakdown."

According to the VersusStyle clause, all versus artist titles should
be put into the mashup name. Due to these incidental samples, this
mashup would become "Victim of Da Funk (The Eagles vs. Daft Punk vs.
James Brown vs. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince vs. 50 Cent)" (although
even this would technically be factually incomplete/inaccurate, as the
incidental "usual medley elements" would also have to be deciphered
and included). Again, I feel that because the versus/sample info is
listed as additional information, it should be addressed via
AdvancedRelationships, rather than in the mashup name, and that the
mashup name should remain as listed on DJ John's website (for the
record, I attribute these incidental samples as "additional samples",
rather than "a mash-up of").

There is also the much more arbitrary dilemma of the order of versus
artists. Does one go by alphabetical order, the order in which samples
are listed on the mixer's website, or attempt to determine
"prominence" via how much of the track is used in the mashup? This has
caused the occasional problem of duplicate tracks, with the only
difference being order of versus artist. See, for example:
http://musicbrainz.org/show/edit/?editid=5194893

The VersusStyle guideline was last updated in 2004. In the succeeding
two years, both mashups and MusicBrainz have grown more sophisticated,
and I believe the best way to accomodate for changes in both is to
drop the listing of versus artist titles in the mashup name (excepting
cases where the mixer includes the versus artist titles in their
official website/CD tracklisting/liner notes/etc.), and instead
attribute this information via AdvancedRelationships.

Finally, I don't know much about the MusicBrainz bureaucratic process
(e.g. RFC? RFV? when/what/how should I veto? should I even veto
this?), so if I formatted this wrong, or sent it to the wrong mailing
list, I apologize. Thanks for reading (and hopefully discussing), and
have a great week :)
-- 
- Ed
"Like most writers, I'll do anything to avoid writing. It's really
hard." - David Cronenberg