thats when you know they're bullshitting you

one my music business professors has said "he's a genius, he just hasn't been around long enough for people to recognize it". my music has been compared to philip glass and beethoven in one of my music classes. thats when you know they're bullshitting you. I mean, how are you supposed to live up to something like that?

The first professor wants me to produce better songs for him and the second professor gets a sense of self esteem by building his students up with encouragement. Either that or they genuinely mean it (to some degree). But to accept that means I have to live up to a certain frightening pedigree (genius, beethoven etc). I mean, thats a lot of ridiculous pressure, I'd rather assume they have other motivations for saying these things.

i suppose this might be similar to the problem hot chicks have with accepting they're hot. your ego gets in the way and it makes it difficult to see what the truth really is or if people want something from you.
__________________

when you look at it as human nature, the world isn't so complex anymore. you could explain things by citing the human motivation behind it. Thats all there is to the world.

Basic salesmanship psychology tells us that people in general have about 14 needs:

1. A sense of power or mastery
2. Ego-gratification, pride or importance
3. Financial success
4. Recognition
5. Social or group approval
6. Desire to win or be the first or to excel
7. A sense of belonging or roots
8. Creative expression
9. New Experiences
10. To do something worthwhile
11. Liberty and freedom
12. Self-Esteem, dignity or self-respect
13. Love
14. Emotional security.

one of the issues i've had with writing lyrics is that you gotta reveal a little bit of yourself. they say write what you know, write what you know, and the problem with that is inevitably you have to share a bit about yourself (not to brag, but its all good shit). Sometimes its easier to be contrived and stale rather than spontaneous, direct, and honest. I used to have a hyper secretive personality.

working class hero

notes on recent showcase concert

A lot of these guys were starting out. There are so many songs out there that you have to have some sort of purple cow in your songs. Something which gives something for people to talk about and makes it remarkable. Having the notes bend and reach maybe isn't enough anymore. The first 10 seconds has to pull you in these days. These guys were missing those hooks and those "purple cows." Some of the instrumentation was too basic on some of the songs - just guitar and vocals. The lyrics do not have a poetic quality about them - perhaps these songwriters have not read through a lot of poetry. Also, none of them announced a website or a place where you could buy their material. I saw a drummer who was technically good but he misses the expressive nuances - perhaps it is not fair to compare him with the other drummer I know. Some of them were not used to being on the stage and were not expressive with their faces. Some of the songs miss a type of structure or melodic curve that increases tension. It just misses that big climax point. Some of these songs do not much use tempo changes/dynamic changes/accents to create drama. Though drama is largely unneccessary in many kinds of music - maybe I'm just the over the top type of person. I don't like drama in daily life but when it comes to something performed onstage I think shakespeare go the right about drama into his art. I want to make my music pregnant with drama! But these criticisms are not bringing them down - they all have talent and positive things about their performances too. they're certainly above my current level.

What I learned was that - the second guy had a type of stage/interpersonal/dress well charisma. I liked the whole idea of gospel music though I don't listen to it - which is using art for a higher purpose than to just make art. The last act was terrific. Though they are a hip hop act I should probably seize my opportunity to work with them. I think they have a bright future. They did sufficient instrumentation to serve their songs right. Excellent use of tambourine / (bongos?) Overall ironically I learned a lot by sitting in the audience vs performing. I have many convictions about how I want music to be. I'm not saying I have convictions about how music SHOULD be. But I think a strong and distinct, nuanced sense of conviction about how you want art to be indicates the person has a little bit of - maturity when it comes to - creativity. which is what I'm searching for.

Lastly another problem was that it did not offend anyone or at least the older generation. NOT that I think someone should intentionally do this sort of trollish behavior. I believe that good music sometimes provokes emotion. Provoke should be in italics. Music sometimes should CHALLENGE, not just entertain. I also believe that music is a tool for separating the generations. It doesn't actually have to be different and revolutionary. The older generation just has to not like it. That was the whole thing about rock and roll back in the day. Music gives a form of generational identification. Though that generation grows up and realizes they weren't too different from their parents. Though that is ok. Music doesn't have to ACTUALLY BE that revolutionary and THAT different to serve the purpose of creating group or generational identification/separation, bla bla bla.

art and context

well, since this is my personal blog, and I haven't told much anyone about it - I can pretty much write about what I want.

I want to write about art and its context. Its the context that allows people to judge if art is amazing or a piece of crap. They did an experiment where a concert cellist that gets paid big bucks - play for dimes at a subway. The result was that no one paid attention - they just passed by, even though his instrument was worth millions (a rare stradivarius) and he was among the best in the world. And he was playing masterpiece of his genre. This is a guy that gets paid thousands just to perform one night! Concert cellist in a beautiful concert hall - great. The same concert cellist in a subway playing for dimes - bad.

So what i'm getting at is that....IS the internet/myspace a great place to prmote your art and music? Well, if you are serious about it, then your website or myspace better look good. If it looks good, people will judge the art by its context. The bad news is that most myspace pages are so displeasing, shitty looking, asymetrical, and unfunctional that most people would in turn consider your band to be displeasing, shitty, atonal, and unmusical. You can't listen to myspace songs while moving around (at least I don't know how) People don't got all day to sit there. Your stuff should at LEAST compare to the best in the genre (metallica, the beatles, bach, whatever) if you want people to actually sit there and actually listen to it. People have metallica and the beatles on their cds/ipods whatever...so what good reason do people have to listen to "just another myspace band"?

After a while you just don't want to browse myspace anymore for bands. Most of them aren't really worth hearing, and a lot of them have ugly myspace/website designs. Thats not being negative, Thats just being REAL. Of course there are great and upcoming bands on there, and I hope they don't get lost in the mix.

So my point is: the DIY philosophy is great. But only if you know what you're doing. Professionalism is better. There's an art to presentation too. Presentation counts. Get a web designer. A real fucking web designer. You won't get the best if you don't insist on it! I used to be an art major. People who say art is unpractical - THEY DON'T KNOW SHIT. In fact, I would go so far as to say - for all intents and purposes - A good product with shitty presentation is worse than a bad product with immaculate presentation. How are people going to appreciate art if its so discouraging for them to do so?

As machiavelli said - it doesn't neccessarily NEED to be a prince, it just needs to look like one.

joan baez

a lot of music these days don't have any depth.... the topics aren't serious enough for me at all. just bling bling and sex. which I admit, does fascinate me to a degree.

i've been watching clips of the young joan baez on youtube. I've been thinking...oh no...I can't have a crush on joan baez...cause in real life she's like 65! but god, the young joan baez, not only was she hot, but she was an activist for nonviolence, civil, and human rights. Human rights is something I really believe in.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989

so....

so , this morning I had irish tea with coffee creamer instead of my usual tea with milk. It actually tastes alright with creamer!

I want to sing and play the guitar but my parents are asleep. Maybe its time to move out.