Archive for the ‘music biz’ Category
Looking back, Looking forward
Looking back, Looking forward
New City
2011 was a heck of a year for me. A lot happened.. some good, some bad. I won’t bore you with all the details, but I’ll tell you some major stuff.
The most significant change was that for the first time in my life I moved out of California. It was time for a change & my relationship couldn’t handle the strain of a long distance situation any longer. Also catching a roommate on camera going through your stuff & stealing from you is a pretty big wake up call that it’s time to go.
I now reside in Iowa City, Iowa and am finding it to be really nice even though the climate change definitely takes some getting used to. This city is small but it’s more hip than you would expect. They have a great college station here & nearly every show has something interesting to offer. The one thing I miss is good mexican food, but thankfully I’m teaching myself to cook a mean burrito from scratch.
In making this move I had to conquer a pretty huge fear that I haven’t really shared with many people. 1 day on my way to DJ a friends’s wedding I had a major panic attack while driving on the freeway. Since that day, it’s been a pretty serious battle. Driving across the country was a pretty huge step even though the highways were pretty mild compared to southern California. I still haven’t quite kicked this, but I’m getting there.
I also went from living with roommates to having my own place. I’ve found this to really help me focus on music without being interrupted. It’s surprising how much more you can accomplish when you don’t have to stop what you’re doing to handle a roommate situation (and towards the end, there were many). I’ve carried new habits into the new year that are giving my great results as well.
The “Fall Through’s”
Like we all do, I had some “definitely gonna happen” scenarios fall through. I was supposed to work with a band that I won’t mention who were interested in bringing me aboard as a producer & Ableton tech guy for both the studio & the road. We had several conversations that seemed pretty definite but they ended up feeling a bit out of their comfort zone & decided to focus their budget more on upgrading the image & show as opposed to the music. At the end of the day, it likely would have been a mismatch for me to devote too much time to this project & put the rest of my work on hold, so there is really no harm.
I also had some highly anticipated affiliate partnerships fall flat this year. It’s possible things might rise from the ashes in 2012, but I’m not holding my breath. I won’t turn my back on integrity. It’s just not worth it. I live cheaply & thus sleep more soundly knowing I haven’t sold my soul for money. By delivering something of value consistently, the money will come anyway (what a concept huh?)
The main reason I mention this at all, is that I want you all to know that shit happens to all of us. For me, more things have fallen through than I can count, but i’m still here focusing on what’s important. I don’t let it stop me from going for that next thing…and the next. Remember that life will give you as many opportunities as you’re ready for, it doesn’t just knock once.
Blogs of 2011
I developed new habits over the year that have really stuck as well. I made a point to write more regularly during the last half of the year & I think I delivered some pretty good value. If you’ve missed any of my blog posts, here are what I’d consider to be my top posts (in no particular order).
Ableton 101: The Most Ableton Tips Packed into 1 Video
Most important Habit for Finishing Songs
Extracting Chains in Ableton’s Drum Racks for great drum programming options
The New Year
In the new year I took on another music making experiment by challenging myself to write a song completely from the contents of a short porn video clip without it just sounding like re-edited porn. This was right after creating a song out of loops you guys submitted. I documented the whole process at this link below (don’t worry, it’s PG-13 at it’s worst). I ended up with an interesting Minimal Techno vibe:
http://www.musicsoftwaretraining.com/blog/2012/01/07/song-made-from-sampling-a-porno-clip/
Not wanting to lose my momentum of completing tunes, I took on a remix for a friend & am really happy with the results. You can check it out Here. I rarely use my voice in songs, but I think the addition worked well with the tune.
Picking up the guitar again
Directly after that, I contacted some members of an old band of mine Negative Image about banging out a 4 song E.P. It’ll be the first time since ’96 that I’ve written music primarily as a guitarist. Making rock music still seems to come to me pretty easily & I’ve have a number of song ideas bouncing through my head for years. If this E.P. ends up being fun, I could imagine making more.
The way I am approaching this is by making some demos with some raw guitar tracks, drums (mainly drums loops sampled from another song & edited slightly) & then making a bassline by playing the part on guitar & dropping it an octave in Ableton. Then I record some rough vocals to give the singer an idea of how I picture things going. Once I get the vocal takes back, I can share the results with the other guys to lay in proper bass, re-do the guitar & drums.
I find this approach to be more efficient than trying to get everything perfect from the start, I like to present a rough draft to make sure everyone agrees the song idea is worthy of taking to the next level. Another advantage I find is when I’m not worried about “tone” or perfection, guitar riffs, leads, vocal ideas & harmonies come so quickly that the songs largely write themselves. When I’m just doing what’s easy & adding layers, the collection of these parts create a depth & richness that tends to have a better vibe then sitting there trying to impress yourself. It’s also nice to have a whole EP demo done in a week or so, to listen back to with the other bands members to get further ideas. If all goes well, which I expect it to, I’ll share the results.
I’m also considering making a video collection specifically for Bands. I’ve been asked by guitar based music makers how to approach non-electronic music in Ableton. I’d love your feedback if you are in a band & have questions regarding how to accomplish things in Ableton.
Rebranding
Finally, I plan to do another electronic side project making a minimal techno E.P. (or at least my own version of what I think minimal techno is). The reason for not putting it under my current production names (innerstate, Jason Timothy) is that I already have a reputation for making progressive house, so it will be harder to get signed to labels of a different style than what I’m known for if I keep the same name. Better to clean the slate and start fresh. This is basically an experiment of rebranding myself. After I’ve made 4 songs I’m proud of, I’ll go through the process of shopping it to labels. I know I’ll have to start with the small labels & build a reputation there before I can expect the bigger ones to take an interest. Fair enough, I can work toward the end goal patiently.
What IS the end goal you might ask? I’d like to be traveling as a producer/DJ playing properly equipped & promoted gigs & the door is simply not open anymore for DJ’s who don’t produce. If your name alone can’t sell tickets, it doesn’t matter how great you are. Luckily, I love making music as much as DJing, so this shouldn’t be an issue. If you run a club or know someone who does (nationally or internationally), get in touch.
To wrap this up, I plan this year to be pretty damn productive & I’m really excited. As opposed to resolutions, I’ve opted to create new lifestyle habits. Most importantly, making music everyday. Some days you win, some you lose, but if you don’t set aside the time & space, you can’t ever expect any magic to happen.
Happy Music Making,
Jason
P.S. – Don’t forget to comment & tweet (down below) & “like” (up above). All your feedback & support is appreciated.
I recommend the sites below:
Logic Courses
Reason Courses
Interview with William Rauscher (Night Plane, CCC)
Interview with William Rauscher (Night Plane, CCC)
I’ve decided recently to start doing some interviews with artists & musicians who I personally like & respect. My goal is to get into the brains of these people & find their creative approach. In my opinion, understanding how a person thinks creatively is much more important than learning a production technique alone. There will always be new techniques to explore (and I will certainly share plenty more) but approaching things from a “mindset” point of view seems that it would give more long term benefits and also deter the “copycat”approach forcing people to find their own creative way.
My first interview is with William Rauscher, who I originally came across through his fantastic remix of a band called Warpaint, which as of this writing is about to be released on Warpaints label Rough Trade (probably best known for signing The Smiths). As I dove deeper into his body of work, I really connected with his psychedelic vibe. He has a solo project he works on under the name Night Plane as well as a group effort under the name CCC. Both have a strong sense of who they are and what they are attempting to invoke in the listener. Links are both below and throughout the interview. I highly recommend giving the linked songs a listen to get a better idea of what we are discussing. His songs are made on a PC in Ableton.
Originally this interview was recorded as video screen sharing but was unfortunately lost due to a rendering error. Thankfully he was kind enough to answer some of the main topics in text format. Below is that interview. Enjoy!
1. You have great warm sub bass in your songs. I’d love you to walk me through how you’re getting these results.
A lot of credit for that goes to Hector, the CCC Roland Juno 106. All the hardware in our studio is named – there’s also Jojo the Jomox 888 and the two 707s, Selena and Esteban. For subby warmth Hector’s hard to beat, especially if you only use his sub and turn everything else down.
2.You have a certain way of cutting up vocals & layering vocals that creates a very dreamy vibe. How do you like to approach vocals when working on a new song?
I like approaching the human voice as an instrument. I’ll usually try to find a brief loop first that can function almost like a chant in the background, that can fade in and out in a sort of ghostly manner, and then build on that. On my remix of Warpaint, I first made a very filtered-out vocal loop that is off-time, it’s like two and a third bars or something, so that when it plays over the percussion it sounds extra trippy, like you’re spiraling down a rabbit hole. It’s also good to pair off different phrases that can form a kind of call-and-response effect when they’re placed next to one another. On “Parallel Lines” I composed the vocal line so that it repeats certain words or phrases to make the whole sentence more rhythmic, so I had Eric and Heather sing the vocals as if they had already been cut-up. Lyrics are important to me: they should appear to be indicating something universal but in an oblique way, so that anyone can project their own interpretation on them – I wish there were more songs about geometric shapes – I composed “Parallel Lines” in part because I liked “ target=”_blank”>Parallelograms” by Linda Perhacs so much.
3. What elements do you feel are necessary for a great club track?
The great thing about club music is that once you pay a certain price by obeying certain strict rules, you can do whatever you want. That functionality is very liberating. As long as your track is of a certain length, a certain speed, and has certain frequencies in it, you can do whatever you want, it can be composed of any sound in the universe. In CCC we adhere to the Law of 32: intros and outros must be 32 bars, because that’s about the amount of time that a DJ needs to mix from one track to the next. A great club track only needs what’s absolutely necessary. In general, the more elements I can remove from my tracks, the better they get. Pacing is everything: remember that a club audience will hear your track in a certain state of distraction. It’s not a concert where everyone is listening in rapt attention – they’re zoned out, dancing, talking with friends, so the music should be way more repetitive than something designed for home listening. I know that might sound like a bit of a no-brainer but it bears repeating.
4. Talk bit about the CCC collective and how that came about.
CCC is three of us, three Austin Texas boys to be exact – JM, Harry and me. It’s a multimedia project, so in addition to releasing records we’re in the process of printing a 100-page art journal about psychedelic drugs called On Acid: A Field Guide to Altered States. The performance division of CCC is myself and DJ Harry Bennett. Harry is the in-house decks captain and house music vet. JM is the designer and creative consultant. We’ve all known each other forever. JM and I met in physics class in the tenth grade, when he threatened to kick my ass if I didn’t stop playing this piece of shit acoustic guitar. I was fifteen and I was really into Beck. Later we became friends and nerded out over The Orb. We met Harry because he was living with Todd Ledford (owner of Olde English Spelling Bee label) at the time and we were using Ledford’s basement to record hours and hours and hours of drone music. CCC considers itself as continuing the work of groups like the KLF and Psychic TV: issuing mysterious transmissions, operating on the level of conceptual pop art, projecting an esoteric aura, treating the artistic process as an occult process. Every artwork is a religion of one person. “Vibrations” is probably the clearest case of sonic propaganda from CCC, as it’s composed as an aural equivalent to the brainwashing scenes from movies like A Clockwork Orange and The Parallax View.
5. What type of habits & mindset have you found important in building yourself from a complete nobody with no songs or DJ gigs under your belt to where you find yourself now?
You have to maintain a balance between listening to everybody’s feedback and believing in yourself. Everyone’s feedback is valid but in each case you should remember who you’re talking to – a fan, a promoter, a friend or a fellow DJ – everybody’s going to hear something different, which is fascinating. Everyone’s opinion is valid but nobody’s is the gospel truth. I was fortunate enough that after I interviewed Wolf and Lamb for Resident Advisor I became friends with them and Soul Clap who were extremely supportive of my work and instrumental in getting it to a larger audience. When “Str8 2 Ur Heart” got attention it taught me the importance of finding an overlap between what I liked doing
and what other people wanted to hear, and that in order to communicate with others through sound I was going to have to seriously streamline my compositions. I could keep doing dense, baroque explorations of sound if I wanted but that wasn’t going to flip many people’s wigs. When making deals I believe it’s important to be gracious but firm: courtesy and politesse are invaluable, but one should refrain from being obsequious. Standing your ground is a key to earning respect. Lastly, don’t look down on others for being opportunistic: the only way to get ahead is to ask for what you want. Also, if people don’t get what you’re about, fuck ‘em. Fuck ‘em but in a nice way. Keep your head down and keep refining your work until it is impossible for people to ignore you – everyone respects good work and eventually the people who are supposed to hear your music will find you.
6. What are some of the things that put you in an inspired & creative mood? How do you motivate yourself when you just aren’t feeling it?
If you’re a creative person you have to decide whether your projects are going to be inspiration-driven or labor-driven. Don’t succumb to the myth that inspiration only arrives like a gossamer angel that possesses you. I motivate myself because I treat my work like work, not like a fun-time hobby just to blow off steam. Turn on your gear and go to work – inspiration will come. It’s a variation on Pascal, who says “kneel down, move your lips in prayer, and you will believe.” Also useful are any kind of pre-work rituals that can get you in the mood and help to symbolize the transition into the special headspace you need, that headspace that’s somehow disconnected from the rest of the world. Weed can be good for this – not that you need weed or other drugs to be creative, but their effects can produce that feeling of transition into an altered zone where you are mentally free.
7. Since unfinished ideas get you nowhere, what are some of your shortcuts to getting your songs across the finishing line. Have you built “go to” kits or templates to get you moving?
I have a personal library of loops because I’ve taken every track I’ve done and broken it down into little parts, this is an immense time-saver, even if the loops are used only for scratch placement. I don’t really know shit about soft synths, I wish I did. I try to know where I am in the creative process: am I in jamming-out mode? Am I in editing mode? Am I working on the middle of the track, the “peak,” or is this just the intro? On several occasions I’ve found myself releasing that the outro should in fact be the main part of the song – I wish I could compose an album that was just an hourlong outro.
8. What is your musical background? What bands have inspired you most?
I started playing piano when I was six and for a few years my mom was my piano teacher, she was a gifted singer and pianist and definitely responsible for putting that inspiration in my life. When I was a teenager and in college I listened to a lot of experimental music, high brow like Stockhausen but also low-brow like The Dead C and Sun City Girls. I was greatly inspired by drone-y sixties minimalism like Lamonte Young and Terry Riley and musique concrete like Pierre Henry. I think listening to all that stuff taught me to focus on the materiality of sound, and to cultivate an experimental attitude.
If you are a nerdy boy who plays piano and likes science fiction, like I was, then you will eventually discover electronic music. I’m always impressed with how inhuman electronic music can sound, and yet everyone wants to party to it. It comes from the future, it goes on forever, and it encourages revelry and ecstatic trances: what else do you want? I still am basically a rock person and the rock I like is all fairly trance-y – that strain of Velvet Underground, Spacemen 3, The Stooges, and so on.
9. You seem to juggle a number of projects. How are you able to keep everything in order without dropping the ball on quality work?
I love collaborating because it’s a way to get out of yourself and your own petty ego. At the same time I’m grateful I have Night Plane where I’m totally in charge of it. If you’re doing multiple projects, division of labor is important – make sure you’re not doing the same job all the time or you’ll get burnt out, and have a clear sense of what each project is offering to you and what you can offer back to it. After working solo on Night Plane for a while it was really weird to actually have to express my ideas in language when
working with CCC! Totally different experience.
10. What are some of your favorite tools when creating music?
Hmmm I use Albino softsynth all the time basically, and Izotope Ozone, which is
indispensable for mastering. I have a library of analog drum machine samples that I
put through Reason which is extremely helpful. I love finding weird ways of vocoding
things.
______________________
Shared links:
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/12129-parallel-lines/
http://soundcloud.com/williamrauscher/night-plane-live-from-the
- we recently compiled all the CCC indie rock edits – we’re currently working on a future
release called the Liberty Lunch EP which will feature house covers of indie tracks like
Gold Soundz by Pavement and Gigantic by the Pixies. It’s named after the rock club in
Austin where Harry used to spin between acts.
_________________________________
I’d like to thank William for his thoughtful and detailed answers. I hope you got as much out of this as I did. Until next time… Happy music making!
Jason
P.S. – Don’t forget to comment & tweet (down below) & “like” (up above).All your feedback & support is appreciated!
DJ Etiquette
DJ Etiquette
I’m going to take a different angle on the art of DJing. If you want to learn to DJ or are looking for a how to DJ properly, this is going to be just as important to you as mixing skills.
Of the many blogs and writings about DJ culture & all the tricks and techniques shared, there is one topic that has not been given much, if any, attention. I think it’s something that most aspiring DJ’s don’t even consider. Etiquette.
I’m sure this is true worldwide, but I can say especially true in the USA. Americans have a very difficult time playing a supporting role in an overall event, or to a headlining DJ or artist. There are several things that a DJ should understand and consider before planning a set and performing.
I’m going to assume you are not yet a popular headlining DJ. If you’ve gotten to that stage, you’ve probably already practiced good etiquette & it has paid off for you. Congrats. For the rest of you, let’s go over some proper DJ manners….
1. Do not play popular tracks that the headliner might be playing later:
Just don’t do it. I don’t care how much playing this track might be a big ego boost for you. You are a warm up DJ for a reason. You are there to set the vibe of the night to come. Opening sets are great in that you are challenged to build a great mix with songs that are not so obvious. This really helps you to develop your own style instead of just relying on whatever is popular. Everyone is going to be banging those obvious tracks, so enjoy doing something unique. In the long run, your audience will appreciate you for this.
2. Do not play all of your epic upbeat tracks:
Unless you are headlining, or playing a peak time set, it is your responsibility to ease people into the night. If I were playing an opening progressive house set, I’d make sure my fastest BPM was the slowest tempo of the next DJ. If I planned to go any faster (and I recommended only 1 or 2 bpm at most), I would do that in the middle of my set so I could slow it down again by the end of my set.
3. Do not crank the soundsystem, especially if the place hasn’t filled up:
As much as you would like to think it is, sorry pal, this nite isn’t about you. Cranking the sound system early on is a rookie mistake, especially if the place is still filling up. The last thing you want is to have blaring music in an empty room. Even if the place is filled up, make sure you still leave some volume room for the headlining DJ. Besides, if you are a bad DJ, volume isn’t going to make you any better.
4. Do not stop or slow down the track of the DJ before you:
Have you ever had this happen? The DJ after you is ready to go on, so you set him up with a good track to mix into as well as a good final track for your set. 1 minute into the track the next DJ slices right into his first track, not only breaking the flow, but also showing complete disrespect for other DJ’s. Even worse is when they decide to slow your record down and fade it out before it even gets started. This is poor conduct, and if you do this, you’re an ass. Let it play out, or mix into it. The DJ before you played this track to be heard, Not for you to ruin.
5. Set all DJ equipment settings back for the next DJ:
Ever had the DJ before you mess with all the EQ’s, monitor levels and cue? I have. It took me 2 full songs just to get things to a playable condition. This is just not cool & people are going to know that the next DJ sounds like crap because you screwed him over. If you need to resort to this type of behavior, you have no business in this field. For the love of God, return all mixer and equipment settings to positions that make it easy for the next DJ to sound good without much trouble. Turn the monitors down to a reasonable level as well.
6. Know how to EQ for the place you are playing:
Very often I go out and hear local DJ’s & I can’t tell you how many have no idea what is coming out of their speakers! Either the bass is so muddy there is no definition, or the mids and highs are making my ears bleed. Don’t be that person. As a general rule, I back off the mids and highs to 9 or 10 o clock. It’s better to start off a bit warm and slowly get brighter than to start off assaulting ears from the get go. If you are behind the speaker in the DJ booth and everything sounds clear to you, there is a good chance things are too bright. The more places you play, the more you’ll get a knack for what sounds right.
7. Play for room size and crowd:
Consider the size of the venue, the crowd, the time you are playing & the style of the DJ’s before and ahead of you when choosing your set list. Do not practice a “one set fits all” mix & THEN pursue a gig. There is a reason why some tracks are considered “big room” tracks. They don’t work in smaller rooms. Your “Tiesto” set is not going to work at your local bar. Grittier music with less reverb tends to work better for smaller rooms, while lush reverbs and big melodies tend to do much better in big rooms.
8. Understand how sound works:
Understand the flow of sound well enough to avoid redlining & overdriving the soundsystem. Rookies tend to crank the DJ mixer to max, then turn up the amp. Wrong move. Work backwards. Whatever is immediately hooked up to the speakers (most likely the amp) will be turned up to a healthy level. Next, the master on your mixer. then adjust the trim and faders, and for Laptop DJ’s, set your computer volume. Each time you work your way back, make sure everything is in the green. If you see it hit the red, back it off before going to the next piece of equipment. If you follow this general rule, you will be plenty loud and have clean sound.
9. Do not make song requests to other DJ’s when you aren’t playing:
This is just not cool. Even if you don’t like what the guy is playing, telling him what he should be playing is not ok. On the other hand, it does make sense to let a DJ know when they are clipping the system or that maybe hard house at 9:30pm at a minimal party isn’t going to work. That is much different than saying “here, play this, everyone will like it”. The only time this is ok, is if they lost their record bag or they are struggling so hard that they ask for your help. Otherwise, leave him alone and let him/her do his/her thing.
10. Plan to show up early and stay for the party:
Do not show up to a gig 30 minutes before your set & leave 30 minutes after unless you have another gig the same nite. Doing this shows that you are all about you and don’t support the scene you are in. People notice this type of behavior. If you show interest in others, it is much more likely that they will show interest in you. Hang out, have a drink, mingle and dance. That’s really what these events are about.
11. Point out equipment flaws to the next DJ
Ask the DJ before you if there are any issues with the soundsystem or equipment and share that information with the next DJ. Sabotaging a DJ to make yourself look better is so juvenile. If you aren’t able to rely on your own skills to build your reputation, quit now. Do your best to make the party great for everyone involved, not just you.
12. Do not, I repeat Do not play a peak time headliner set if you aren’t the headliner.. Period!
This should go without saying, but if your aren’t the headliner, you should be playing your role. Not everyone is a lead character. Learn to play the best supporting role you can. If you only like peak time music, either find a way to get yourself headlining slots, or better yet, educate yourself by listening to more music. Great DJ’s listen to and appreciate a LOT of music. Showing up with your 10 biggest tunes isn’t going to cut it. Big tunes don’t make a great set. Proper placement of mellow tracks, chuggers, surprises & the occasional big tune is going to make you sound much more professional. All those tracks you are chasing down from other DJ’s are the smaller tracks your overlooked that sound huge when played at the right time.
13. High quality files only:
Do not play low quality mp3′s if you are playing through a proper soundsystem. You’ll just sound like crap in comparison to the DJ’s who have high quality files. If you are playing mp3′s, make sure they are 192 or above. Preferably 320. If the sound system is amazing, realize that you’ll likely be able to tell the difference between a wav or aif file, & an mp3. Your low quality files are probably fine for your friends backyard party, but Quality is especially important in the clubs. Collect accordingly.
14. Know your songs:
Do not play tracks you just purchased. If you haven’t had the chance to give the track a proper listen & know the basic structure of the song, you better hold off on that one. A mix will always sound better when you are familiar with the songs you are playing. You will have a much better flow, and the crowd will notice.
15. Update your catalog often:
You don’t want to rely on all of your old songs. Depending on the style of music you are playing, people may want to hear something familiar, but also be shown what is new. They are paying for you to show them something fresh everytime. Even if you are playing your own productions, you are going to have to add new songs to your set & find a different way to present it.
16. When your set is done, let the next DJ play:
Do not overstay your welcome. If you were given a 1 hour set, play for your hour and let the next guy play. Make sure to play a proper song to set them up as well. Booth hogs are amateurs & a sure sign you won’t be asked back. Don’t do it.
17. The Golden rule:
Don’t tweet about how shitty the DJ before or after you is. Even if he DOES suck, show some class. You can tell your buddies privately if you have to, but don’t broadcast how much better you are. If you truly are better, it will be evident without words.
18. Read your audience!
If what you are doing isn’t working, make a transition to another vibe. There is no point in alienating your audience by strictly doing “your thing”. Then again, if you are an opener, don’t think there is something wrong because you don’t have a packed dancefloor. People need a few drinks to loosen up. You are there to set the mood, not blow the roof off the place. Act according to where the night is heading.
If I have missed any, feel free to comment below. Lets teach the rookies how it’s done.
Happy music making!
Jason
ps – Here is a mix of mine if you’re wondering what type of stuff I play. it’s a bit older but what the hell:
http://musicsoftwaretraining.com/share/djmixes/jason-timothy-august-2010.mp3
P.S.S – Don’t forget to comment & tweet (down below) & “like” (up above).All your feedback & support is appreciated!
Is technical talent truly inspiring?
Is technical talent truly inspiring?
I watched a live performance of Shadowplay by Joy Division from 1978 on Youtube the other day. The performance was raw, the playing was amateur and the vocals were out of key and..
it was still amazing.
I proceeded to read the comments below and was pleasantly surprised that 90% of the comments were also praising the performance. Only one person mentioned the lack of technical skill and everybody jumped down his throat.
Then of course everyone was dogging the Cover version of this song by The Killers basically calling them a bunch of hacks. Now technically speaking, The Killers version could easily be considered better. It was sonically recorded and mixed better, the instruments were well played and the vocals were on key.. but nobody cared. Now I’m not here to say The Killers are shit, but rather I want to explore why bands like Joy Division, Bauhaus and The Cure are practically worshipped despite their lack of what some would call musicianship.
Why are bands like these so well respected despite(or perhaps even because of) a lack of technical talent? What is that magic formula? Why is it that we excuse their lack of technical talent and in fact rate them much higher than bands that clearly have better musicianship?
Some of you reading this will simply say these bands are completely over-rated or popular for being popular in the underground. I’m going to have to say that I believe there is more to it and I would like to explore this a bit deeper.
Being a proud non-musician myself, I enjoy the idea of mucking about on an instrument like a curious child. If I already felt I knew everything there was to know, I probably wouldn’t be very interested in making music. I suppose what I do mocks people that slave over their instrument of choice, but I don’t think that is the whole picture. I, in fact, have slaved over music, but the things I am interested in are how to convey a vibe.
Sometimes pure talent shows little humanity.
Often times talent is something you hide behind. Nakedness and vulnerability can evoke much more emotion. I personally think it takes bravery to stand up on a stage with little but a handful of chords and some ideas that you want to get across.
Don’t get me wrong, there are times when you need talent to convey a complex idea and those are amazing moments, but those moments are not driven by the desire to “show off” talent but rather to get across your message as accurately as possible.
There is also something to be said about having pent up emotion and being a bit frustrated that you can’t express it accurately. I think I can hear this in bands like Nirvana and Joy Division. Those bands were very vulnerable and spoke for so many who were afraid to speak for themselves. Those who were afraid of their own normality. We can see ourselves in those who show themselves, warts and all.
It might be safe to say that those who are true fans of music don’t base what is good on pure talent but rather on how the music hits them whether it be Mozart, The Who or Velvet Underground. I think it’s likely that “musicians” might get off on complexity for complexities sake because having the skill to learn it can be an ego boost in the same way as mastering a difficult video game. However, music is in a completely different field altogether. Some of the best music defies logic. Sometimes the words are nonsense and the simple parts that construct the song is laughable yet we still find something intriguing about it.
I like to think that there is more that goes into music than just the instruments and vocals. I think there is something that gets recorded between the notes that weaves through the empty gaps. A sort of “ghost in the machine”. I believe emotion and intention comes through the music and those subtleties are picked up by those who really “listen” and “feel” the music.
Although all of my examples in this blog are talking about live bands, I think the same “ghosts” can come through in electronic music as well. All instruments whether played by hand or programmed are soul-less until the soul is injected into it.
I am beginning to get into another tangent, so I will simply leave you with this Joy Division video. I hope it intrigues you to reconfirm or re-evaluate your attitude towards music and the shallow definitions of talent.
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Happy Music Making
Jason
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