The music in my head turned off

[donkey tugger]

...I don't think we tend to ever go back to being our earlier selves. We just have to find what works in our current emotional makeup and move forward....

You might be right. I'm fighting to protect my young self as long as possible from inevitable maturity. I can tell you from experience it's not a good strategy if you want good health care and a solid retirement plan. The kind of creativity I fear losing can be a harmful distraction.

All interesting stuff. This struck a chord (ho ho..) with me. I stopped doing any music for 7 years. I was working quite hard (unusually..) and never seemed to have time to do any music, and when I did try it just sounded crap. In my case, a chronic health problem meant I needed to cut down a lot on boozing, and strangely I found I had a lot of spare time, and a lot more disposable income - bought a shitload of new gear and am currently churning out loads of the drivel again. When I was younger 'success' seemed to be so important (and probably creatively stifling) and I think now I'm a bit older I realise that as long as I'm happy with what I'm doing, that's really all that matters. Didn't seem to get any better on the guitar in the time off though..

[foosnark]

I already answered once about my process, but my other answer is this:

The music that is in my head, goddamned near constantly if I don't distract myself with something else, is video game theme music, cartoon theme music, and goofy stuff like The Might Be Giants or MC Frontalot. Sometimes I will listen to music -- or make it -- to shut up Plants Vs. Zombies or The Price Is Right or whatever bullshit is running rampant between my ears.

More seriously:

It's funny seeing opposing thoughts here about youth vs. maturity -- worries about losing creativity, vs. worries about not-very-creative adolescent angst.

Personally, I would not want to go back to my childhood mental state. I was a miserable little shit in a lot of ways. I have a lot more self-knowledge and confidence now, more technical and creative experience and better aesthetic judgement, more focus, more ability to roll with the punches... less paranoia and self-absorption. And a lot more disposable income for gear.

[donkey tugger]

Personally, I would not want to go back to my childhood mental state. I was a miserable little shit in a lot of ways. I have a lot more self-knowledge and confidence now, more technical and creative experience and better aesthetic judgement, more focus, more ability to roll with the punches... less paranoia and self-absorption. And a lot more disposable income for gear.

"Youth is wasted on the young", as I think George Bernard Shaw said. I was frequently wasted.

[Jace-BeOS]

I already answered once about my process, but my other answer is this:

The music that is in my head, goddamned near constantly if I don't distract myself with something else, is video game theme music, cartoon theme music, and goofy stuff like The Might Be Giants or MC Frontalot. Sometimes I will listen to music -- or make it -- to shut up Plants Vs. Zombies or The Price Is Right or whatever bullshit is running rampant between my ears.

I didn't realize that's what you meant in your earlier post. I often get songs stuck in my head. The poppier (more catchy), the more annoying their presence becomes. It can last for days. Most sounds, especially rhythmic, will stick in my head and repeat. It can become maddening. It's rarely my own music and it's never anything original.

I love They Might Be Giants. I hate having most of their songs repeat in my head. I'm at risk of it starting just thinking about this.

I've had to forcibly replay different music in my head to get out something more repetitious. Sometimes I can play straight through an entire album I know well, just in my head. Other times I have to play something for real.

I don't know why sounds repeat in my head so easily and so incessantly. I can't find any actual use for this "ability". Well, other than replaying The Downward Spiral in my head at will. I imagine that people who have this ability AND perfect pitch AND understand notation well are the kind of geniuses who can write entire symphonies without touching an instrument (or software). Since I have only one third of these components, my "ability" is just an annoyance. Sometimes an intense one.

EDIT: and now I have "A self called nowhere" repeating in my head.