i've been ripping off boards of canada slash four tet left and right lately. it's so easy--the safest form of plagiarism--deliberately translating idm and electronic compositions to six-string guitar.
i know i've said this before, but i think i'm on to something new--maybe just a new direction for me personally. i can't expect the rest of the world to care. though, i have seen similarities, in terms of this similar sort of hypnotic, rhythm-based acoustic structure to artists like the late Jack Rose--whom, i've sadly only just discovered--and his romantic contemporary, derek bailey--whom, i've also just recently uncovered.
i find that it's easier to write songs this way--it fits my style of lyrical delivery better. though, i've never been one of those people--like dylan or conor oberst--who strive to put the focus on the lyrics, with the music being secondary. for me, it's just about a feeling. i want to communicate something, artistically, sure, but i don't want the rather dull structure (read: not flashy like the horde of yngwie malmsteen imitators and dad-rocker wannabes currently populating this little slice of the midwest) to become a hindrance. i want the lyrics, the delivery to be prominent, yet buried in the mix--like the polyphonic babbling of disembodied voices you hear in yr head shortly before falling to sleep. i'm not sure if i've perfected this yet--in some cases, guess--but i'm really excited--sometimes, frustrated--by the prospect of trying.
as i've said before, though, i am and will always remain skeptical of the music industry--even when it comes to allegedly indie artists. there's a lot of homogenization--a lot of suspiciously similar artists doing suspiciously similar things, composing their songs in much the same way. perhaps it's just the flash-in-the-pan mentality currently guiding popular music at the moment, but there does seem to be a lot of crap continually being perpetuated by hype and sites like--and i'm not always an opponent of this site, as much as i ridicule it--pitchfork.com and various music blogs.
i'd list examples now of what i mean, but i feel too lazy. suffice it to say, there's been a lot of bands recently that have come out with animal names in their titles, what jim refers to as simply an extension of the neo-hippie movement. it's a little disheartening, to tell you the truth. i don't understand--with all the beauty left to exploit in the world (both externally and internally)--why anyone in their right mind would choose to romanticize a failed social movement from fifty years ago.
equally disheartening is when i see these bands--and i know i've addressed this before--they always seem to have their shit together. i mean, it's good to be prepared, but it's more than that. they sound mechanical almost--in places when they shouldn't. and i've actually talked to nikki about this--there's a moderately successful "indie" band (not that that term still stands today for what it did ten years ago) from around this area who she recently had the opportunity to work behind-the-scenes for and she admitted--somewhat sardonically--that they had, in fact, used backing tracks in presenting their material live.
so, i don't know. anytime i go to a live show anymore, i feel like i'm watching attractive robots--stepford wives with guitars. it doesn't feel real--not like the music i play. perhaps this is why they're "professionals" and i'm just an asshole with theories upon theories and theories. either way, i'm slowly becoming more and more disenchanted with the whole thing. all my interests have been commodified--stretched to their most profitable limit. i want to create something pure, but i know i have a certain audience to reach--one that mindlessly follows the next big craze propagated by the industry, itself.
it's bullshit. but, oh well.
there is originality out there. i've seen evidence of it. so, that gives me hope.
Showing posts with label cynical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cynical. Show all posts
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
the tonight show
the mind is a very mysterious thing. how is it possible to feel so lonely you could weep and still want to relish in this feeling, as if it were the ultimate source of joy?
tonight, i feel this way.
sad. i know.
the internet has made it impossible for me to meet people, whereas, with others, it's quite the opposite. there are people who would have no chance, in heaven or hell, at finding someone (a friend, a lover, etc.) if it weren't for this damned contraption. funny how the world's been turned upside down on itself.
mainly, i just feel like no one has time anymore to fit me into their schedule. i can't complain, though. i've been pretty negligent as a friend and, as they say, what goes around comes around, even when you anticipate it and realize the err of your ways.
oh well. oh well. oh well.
i need to record and release this detestable batch of songs. i want to make a solo album, proper. i know it may not have much of an impact (on anything), but i feel like it's something i should do. i don't know why. it just sucks that, on an amateur level, no one gives a shit and that, for whatever reason, with wider distribution, you get better sound quality. i'm almost certain (borderline paranoid) that the music industry is generated by a bunch of fat guys who sit behind computers all day, plugging and chugging certain time-tested formulas for success. nothing i listen to anymore sounds authentic. it sounds so...intangible (?)--impossible to recreate. i'm sort of disenchanted with the whole thing. i really want to figure out how some of these bands manage to create the sounds they do. is it better equipment? practice? do they know something i don't know? i mean, i can play their songs, as they themselves perform them, and it sounds nothing like the original. not quite as pristine. i hit every note, as accurately as possible. i sing every word, verbatim. still, the question remains: how do they do it? how does one manage to capture that "professional" sound? i'd really like to know.
i watched the final episode of the tonight show (with conan o'brien) tonight. made me feel really sad. it's so gimmicky, but the whole time i was expecting, waiting for conan to get choked up--and he did, he totally delivered. it was during his farewell speech. it's really kind of a cheap victory--to see your favorite television idols act against the behavior they're known for, but i won't pretend it's not exciting. conan is the reason i started writing--his harvard commencement speech opened so many doors for me, in terms of what can be done in literature and the many forms in which literature can exist. so, i feel sort of indebted towards him. i guess. i don't want to get sentimental.
anyway, his farewell speech was pretty great. he warned younger viewers to, "not be cynical," saying it's his least favorite quality in people. i thought that was pretty impressive, if not empowering. it's something i try to avoid, in my own life, whenever possible, but it's so damn hard. the world we live in almost demands it. oh well. i guess it's pretty sage advice. part of me (my cynical side?) wants to be like, "well, that's pretty easy to say when you're conan o'brien and you're a comedic genius slash icon for the 20-something demographic and you're that successful" and so on and so forth. but the other part of me just wants to believe in it and apply it to my own life. i mean, he's conan for a reason, right? maybe he has all the money and success and happiness because he's manage to avoid being cynical all these years.
i dont' know. it's hard to say.
i'm willing to try it out, though.
i have a hard time wanting to believe in anything--long enough to stick with it. i get so easily discouraged and i think that disappointment manifests itself as cynicism or general distrust of the world or whatever. so, i mean, it's so easy to get derailed. i don't want to make the mistake--lord, i surely don't--of confusing anti-cynicism with blind persistence. at some point, it's time to throw in the towel, i think. i don't want to be that creepy miss havisham archetype who never gives up on his or her dream. they tell you, in school, on the tube, wherever, to stick with it, achieve your goals, blah blah blah, but, at some point, i think it does more personal harm than good. you just have to be self-aware enough to realize when your ship has sailed. and, not only that, but accept it.
i guess. i don't know. this is all speculative.
anyway, that's probably about it for tonight. i feel drained. or lazy. i can't decide which. i'll keep you (imaginary readers) all posted on the latest as it happens. until then, yeah yeah yeah.
tonight, i feel this way.
sad. i know.
the internet has made it impossible for me to meet people, whereas, with others, it's quite the opposite. there are people who would have no chance, in heaven or hell, at finding someone (a friend, a lover, etc.) if it weren't for this damned contraption. funny how the world's been turned upside down on itself.
mainly, i just feel like no one has time anymore to fit me into their schedule. i can't complain, though. i've been pretty negligent as a friend and, as they say, what goes around comes around, even when you anticipate it and realize the err of your ways.
oh well. oh well. oh well.
i need to record and release this detestable batch of songs. i want to make a solo album, proper. i know it may not have much of an impact (on anything), but i feel like it's something i should do. i don't know why. it just sucks that, on an amateur level, no one gives a shit and that, for whatever reason, with wider distribution, you get better sound quality. i'm almost certain (borderline paranoid) that the music industry is generated by a bunch of fat guys who sit behind computers all day, plugging and chugging certain time-tested formulas for success. nothing i listen to anymore sounds authentic. it sounds so...intangible (?)--impossible to recreate. i'm sort of disenchanted with the whole thing. i really want to figure out how some of these bands manage to create the sounds they do. is it better equipment? practice? do they know something i don't know? i mean, i can play their songs, as they themselves perform them, and it sounds nothing like the original. not quite as pristine. i hit every note, as accurately as possible. i sing every word, verbatim. still, the question remains: how do they do it? how does one manage to capture that "professional" sound? i'd really like to know.
i watched the final episode of the tonight show (with conan o'brien) tonight. made me feel really sad. it's so gimmicky, but the whole time i was expecting, waiting for conan to get choked up--and he did, he totally delivered. it was during his farewell speech. it's really kind of a cheap victory--to see your favorite television idols act against the behavior they're known for, but i won't pretend it's not exciting. conan is the reason i started writing--his harvard commencement speech opened so many doors for me, in terms of what can be done in literature and the many forms in which literature can exist. so, i feel sort of indebted towards him. i guess. i don't want to get sentimental.
anyway, his farewell speech was pretty great. he warned younger viewers to, "not be cynical," saying it's his least favorite quality in people. i thought that was pretty impressive, if not empowering. it's something i try to avoid, in my own life, whenever possible, but it's so damn hard. the world we live in almost demands it. oh well. i guess it's pretty sage advice. part of me (my cynical side?) wants to be like, "well, that's pretty easy to say when you're conan o'brien and you're a comedic genius slash icon for the 20-something demographic and you're that successful" and so on and so forth. but the other part of me just wants to believe in it and apply it to my own life. i mean, he's conan for a reason, right? maybe he has all the money and success and happiness because he's manage to avoid being cynical all these years.
i dont' know. it's hard to say.
i'm willing to try it out, though.
i have a hard time wanting to believe in anything--long enough to stick with it. i get so easily discouraged and i think that disappointment manifests itself as cynicism or general distrust of the world or whatever. so, i mean, it's so easy to get derailed. i don't want to make the mistake--lord, i surely don't--of confusing anti-cynicism with blind persistence. at some point, it's time to throw in the towel, i think. i don't want to be that creepy miss havisham archetype who never gives up on his or her dream. they tell you, in school, on the tube, wherever, to stick with it, achieve your goals, blah blah blah, but, at some point, i think it does more personal harm than good. you just have to be self-aware enough to realize when your ship has sailed. and, not only that, but accept it.
i guess. i don't know. this is all speculative.
anyway, that's probably about it for tonight. i feel drained. or lazy. i can't decide which. i'll keep you (imaginary readers) all posted on the latest as it happens. until then, yeah yeah yeah.
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