Back at the beginning of the pandemic “lockdown” (as much it can be called that in the United States), when I put together a matrix for the #SonicGeographySongChallenge, I didn’t imagine my idea for the following month, #NotbyBillyJoel, would lead to a new challenge every remaining month in 2020. Over the New Year, I decided to take January off. I had a couple of ideas in the works for February, but before I could follow through, I got contacted by [NAME REDACTED] of a (mainly DC expats) Facebook group I’m in asking if he could use my matrix for his own idea. I gladly said yes and sent the Photoshop file over to Matt… uh, I mean [redacted].

Imagine my surprise when I logged into Facebook on Monday morning and saw not only the #NotbyAbbaChallenge, but also two others: one by Paul, a teacher down in Miami, and another by my friend Mike and his buddy challenging people to NOT post love songs all month.

I would be remiss if I didn’t post them all here. I should have done that yesterday, but the day got away from me for various reasons. Anyway, enjoy the “Not by ABBA” Challenge, the “Not a Love Song” challenge, and the “Not by Queen” challenge, all to keep your February filled with music in its 28 days.

In case anybody is wondering, my Day-1 choices for all three challenges were Refused songs. If you can guess which three, then more power to you.