I had a real bummer of a night last night and was unable to sleep. So, I judged songs over at OurStage....Jazz and Latin channels. I judged for over 4 hours. I have a Latin song, "Hot Day In Havana", at number 22...woooHooo!!!

But, I casually charted the songs I judged, over 200 judges. Of the 200+ that I judged, they all came up a similar number of times. It appears to be random but balanced. One of the other judges that I briefly "chatted" with got the same pairings that I did. If you judge long enough, over the collective judging period, it appears to me you will eventually hear all the songs in that channel (genre) an equall number of times. I cannot state that as a fact; but that is the impression I get.

The most difficult thing for me is to remember that with each paring, I am judging those two songs against one another...not against all the other songs. Thus, you must try to ignore your biases, assuming you have any, about the particular song you are listening to as it compares to the collective entries.

I enjoyed the process a lot. I heard a lot of really good music and some not quite so good music. And one thing I also find interesting is that after you have judged a paired competition, they tell you how your decision compared to everyone else who has judged that same pairing. I recommend everyone try it at least a couple of times.

Al