Why do people feel the need to write standard music?

[anti-banausic]

Allright, I am going to post something and then get the hell outta dodge!

How about this:

The only reason that you want to be original is because you are "trying" to make music that will get you noticed (there is no harm in this line of reasoning).

Someone who writes out of sheer enjoyment, for their own pleasure, may write something that sounds like what he hears and likes of other people!

Who is more genuine?

I just try to be true to myself. If that means I come up with something that sounds commercial so-be-it. But I certainly don't attempt to make things that sound commercial. On the other foot, I don't try to make things that sound uncommercial.

Believing in the artistic purity of being original is like licking cow dung because you thought it was a chocolate pie.

T.S. Eliot even says in the Four Quartets that we all at this point in time are basically, re-hashing old ideas into somewhat new forms. Pastiche...is this truly original? Yea or nay, it is most likely where we are.....We build off of experiences, other peoples' works etc....

What I find more deplorable with the origins of this thread is that people are going to complain about it. The reality is, if you are going to complain, you have to realize this....if we were all sooooo wonderfully original, then we would all actually be the same...in our difference. Put another way, you couldn't be original if there weren't trends in music that others choose to follow. So, shove a sock in it and realize that complaining is for those who so want fame, and recognition, that they have to make a noise to get their noise heard.

Sorry.
Bad day.

Cheers, though.
AB

[MickGael]

Yoko, however, refused to learn anything (to keep her mind open or something), and ended up wrapped in a canvas bag on stage, howling like a wolf, out of tune and out of synch with anyone around her, to the embarrassment of herself and everyone but John, who was pussywhipped into pretending he liked it.

...Don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry...

Actually, "Why" from Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band is pretty exciting. But then again, it had John all over it, dinnit?

[soulata]

I truly wish there was some "learn the tools, then forget about it" way of doing it, but apparently there isn't, at least not for me. Sad thing.

I'm with you on this one. it's not easy to forget what you've learned.

I, too, kinda miss the days, when....

k

(better not say it, had a beer or two too much)

[fjell_strom]

You're the man, anti-banausic.

[Meffy]

Oh, and my thunderstorm recordings don't exactly match those used in the Doors' "Riders on The Storm", or the The Who's "Love Reign O'er Me". Now, how am I supposed to get my Doors/Who tribute band started, without the prerequiste thunderstorm sounds???

If results really count, be a pro about it. Hire a rain god.

[Sascha Franck]

The thing that shocks me is not how often it happens, but how determined they are to exactly duplicate the sound from a record, when the original artist probably wouldn't even play it the exact same way twice. It's not as if most of these "elusive sounds" couldn't be replaced with an equally interesting alternative.

A big fat "Amen" to that (and defenitely not the amen break...).

That said, I'm still trying to find out which 35mm camera and motordrive the J. Geils band sampled for their hit song "Freeze Frame". I just gotta have that exact sound for my next composition, and my Nikon FM with MD-11 motordrive didn't even come close.

But seriously, why don't you just mail them? I've found some guitar servicemen and the likes to be highly communicative in the past.

Apart from that, Hovmod, I can't agree with you all that much. The typewriter argument is kinda weak. I am of course happy to know about proper recording techniques, but that's all there is about.
Being able to type doesn't make you a good writer at all. At the same time, being able to track something properly doesn't make you a good musician (let alone innovative).
That's all just technique, but I was thinking about something going deeper.
When you spend HOURS after HOURS learning chord movements and progressions on your instrument of choice, those just become a second nature. You can't do much about it - at least I couldn't. And I've allways been a mediocre student, so others adopted certain things way deeper than me.
Still, it seems to get in my way.

But hey, of course you're right, that's just a lame excuse. Especially since I'm aware of the problem I could indeed do something against it.

[Hovmod]

I have a friend who is an incredibly gifted guitar player. When he was oh pushing 20, he was offered a (actually 'the') place at the jazz academy here in town. He took his time thinking about it, and declined. I asked him why, and he answered with this little anectode:
When he was about 13 or 14 years old, he was lucky enough to jam with a blues legend (I can't remember who, which bothers me a bit, but just assume it's one you know about). This blues legend was highly impressed with my skinny little friend, and it was fading into a childhood memory at the time where my friend had to make up his mind about the jazz spot.
But then another guy met this blues legend again, and the first thing he asked about was "how's 'baby blues' doing".
My friend realized he had now become too advanced both technically and mentally to play convincing blues, and that broke his heart.
So he decided to skip the jazz thing, get a touring gig and find his roots, so to speak.

So I kind of understand that your fingers don't want to even concider trying new things or 'wrong' things. I'm not that good, so I don't know.

But I've known people who have made life changing decisions based on the kind of feeling you have, so it's real enough..

[pHz]

hmmmnnn ...

... ive always found this whole idea difficult to navigate ... but to use a parallel from my 'real' area of expertise ...

... in visual art terms im totally 'classically' trained to a VERY high level but rarely use those skills anymore since i moved into the digital realm ...

... the 'background' skills (composition / colour theory / contextual knowledge) remain important ... but the practical / technical skills mean nothing anymore (aside from the fact i sometimes use a graphics tablet) ...

... i see parallels in the DAW world (at least for me)

slainte rob

[Jesse J]

Nihil Sub Sole Novum

you bet! and i'd say even more:

Vanitas Vanitatum Et Omnia Vanitas

plus ça change...ne c'est pas?

Yeah latin is cool as only few know it and you can feel elite, as we in Finland say 'Sormi pois perseestä'.

Same thing could be said about original music. Some people have a need of being different and stand out, other have a need to belong.

I think there is lots of music for both crowds, your just looking for interesting music for you in the wrong place. I mean same thing goes for books. There's the easy digestive books, and then there are the crime and detective books, and then there are the advanced section for the harcore scolars. Just pick your flavour.

It's like asking, why do some people like sweets and desserts, why don't you like spicy food? You should drop the sweets, you should all start diggin this spicy food I'm into.

I'm not saying Britney Spears sounds interesting to me, but I'm sure it works for 10 year old girls who need the feeling of beloning to a group with other girls who have falled for the same marketing trick. It's the best music ever.

I bet you can see a same kind of group of 20 year old guys with Iron Maiden t-shirts. It's the best music ever.

Or a bunch of 50 year old all smoking cigars and sipping whisky whilst listening to dixieland at the jazz club. It's the best music ever.

Or shopping golfgear and listening to Celine Dion. Cause she's the greatest singer af all time.

And I'm not trying to be better than anyone here. I do it too, everybody does, unless you are emotionally dead.

[Meffy]

Ku maika'i keia mau kawele pepa i ke 'ano o ko'u 'a'ahu palema'i.

[diverdee]

When our lass first started studying art at college level a lot of it was examining established artists & emulating them, as well as learning particular techniques & theory.
At university level she was encouraged to 'break out' in various ways - sometimes it was quite stressfull, such as when she spent a long time creating a beautiful pencil based set of drawings, only to have her tutor order the group to tear them up, stain them with tea etc. & then reassemble the broken pieces.
She did learn a lot from it though.
some of the tutors & students took originality to an extreme (imo) & I wouldn't have wiped my arse on their self absorbed artistic 'statements', it appeared that they never had much technique to break free from (again my opinion).
Then again some of the stuff was technically excellent painting by numbers, beautiful none the less, if often a little sterile.
In martial arts (& other oriental 'arts') one must first rigorously 'practice' before one can truly 'train' & then some people get to bruce's level, & go beyond rhythm to 'broken' rhythm.
I'm possibly talking shite now, but then i'm not a very good or original musician/music producer or whatever.
I hear something that moves me or interests me & I go home & noodle around trying to recreate what I heard, or am at least influenced to head in a different direction - all too often my lack of theoretical & technical accomplishment hampers me though.
I can sit watching telly & i'll hear music on a bloody advert or something & there'll be that one tone that sends me upstairs to play around with sounds y'know - unfortunately then it'll start getting late & i'll have to get to bed for work.
completely dig the guy who mentioned dreaming tunes & then waking up & losing them - I want a machine that will allow me to bypass the technical accomplishment stage & just pull the sounds straight out of my head & into a daw.
Sweet.

[The Chase]

i took 2 years of latin and cant speak/write it for biscuits!

[Meffy]

diverdee: Brainphones. I want a pair too.

Chase: Neither can I. I plunder the language-joke websites for good stuff. =^_^=

[Hovmod]

i took 2 years of latin and cant speak/write it for biscuits!

sic transit...

[ouroboros]

Ku maika'i keia mau kawele pepa i ke 'ano o ko'u 'a'ahu palema'i.

is that the thing to say on a bright, Hawaiian Christmas morn?