Voodeedoo

[NOTE: This is posted on my real blog too, at my Blogspot.]

Whenever I listen to music, I can't help but think how they made the song and what came to the artist's mind before making it. Listening to abstract electronic music, there are a lot of blips and bloops here and there that really make me wonder how they came up with it. However, just the fact that I'm wondering how they came up with it makes me feel bad, because when I was little, people asked me how I came up with things [I used to draw and stuff]. Now it feels as if I lost my imagination and rely on other people to motivate me or get my creativity going.

I know this isn't true however, but still. Eventually all those little blips and bloops turn into something more than just that, but actually become part of the song. I mind-sing to it [it's like singing, but to noise and in your head]. Then I think to myself how the song would be if that sound wasn't there at that moment. Would the song have it's value anymore? Would it sound very off or repetitive, or uninteresting? How did they KNOW that that particular sound needed to be put in that particular place at that exact moment? And sometimes the sounds, they have this very familiar vibe to it, the kind you'd remember until you die. They are often unforgettable. I've tried recreating those sounds but it turns out embarrassingly wrong. The curiosity of how they came up with the sounds stress me out.

I wonder if the music lessons that musical pioneers learn in their lifetime will ever be passed down somehow. Just even basic tips that aren't cliche or well known, or how they came up with building their own sound/style/technology. Kind of like Aphex Twin; he builds his own filters and things like that and out of them comes his trademark sound. What will happen with his toys when he passes away? Will his life lessons just be forgotten about?

I'm sure the knowledge of music production people like him have are far beyond what any Youtube tutorial video can dish out. They're morely focused on things like "how do you use a synthesizer in Logic Studio" and use some very cheesy techno song with pre-made loops and outdated synth sounds as a demonstration. Many people inspired by people like him also post videos on the internet, but under titles like "Super Awesome Techno Song made in FL Studio". It amazes me how low the standards and potential become when you present it that way. Aphex twin could easily have posted all his music as "homemade synth test 1" or "uber epic breakbeat song in reaktor", and they would've gained about 4,000 views, and eventually they would be forgotten about.

Speaking of presenting, I noticed the music in a lot of video games have a lot of potential. The fact that they're part of a video game makes the music not taken seriously, but if they were released as a CD or something, I'm sure they'd be very famous. I'm talking about things like the old soundtracks to games like Sonic, Mario, Ty, Super Monkey Ball, you know, your average one. Just if they had some trimming, maybe a vocal line, and a harder kick drum, then you can get yourself a decent piece. I remember hearing that Girl/Boy by Aphex Twin was once used in a diaper commercial. Wouldn't you say thats a *****-slap in the face of innovative creativity?

Without going too off topic, since I kind of forgot what I was talking about, I'll re-read my first paragraph.
...
Oh yeah, as I was going to mention: The music I make now is music I never thought I'd be making when I was first influenced. I was a hardcore trance/acid hip-hop guy when I was 11, but Warp Records got into my mind as soon as I got my hands on them twiddly knobs. By experimenting with what I can create with what I have, I get an intense satisfaction. Mostly because I often record myself hitting things on the mic, then layering them with numerous effects, because when I think about it, if I didn't hit this broken pencil against that very corner of the book at that exact angle, and didn't use this filter setting instead of some other one, then the song wouldn't be how it is now, and it would probably sound off or stale. Hell, just the thought of such a thing happening by sheer luck makes me wonder how many OTHER things that can happen that haven't happened. That thought gets me sad.

Which brings me to my point, kind of. I think. I often get motivated by hearing a complex or challenging piece of music by some musical pioneer and attempt to create music of the same. Just the fact that I'm able to create something that once painfully tormented my thoughts as to how it could be done, motivates me and provides me with the satisfaction that I'll be striving for for the rest of my life. However, though I'm sure it's possible for me to be able to create it all with the things I have, there's still a long way to go, and a lot more tormenting I have to practice myself to get rid of. Try searching for Bucephalus Bouncing Ball by Aphex Twin if you want an example of something that torments me to this day with it's professional life-long-experience sound and complexity and arrangement.

Peas,
-Jonny

PS: I realize I didn't get to something I wanted to bring up at all. I could write a few more paragraphs, but I'll make this as short as possible. The music I make now is nothing like the music I imagined it to be, even while making the song. This gives me a boost in motivation because it turns out a way I never thought it would be. I have an interest in animation, and I recently bumped into a guy called Cyriak on Youtube, where he makes all kinds of creative and twisted animations. I got discouraged and mad because I "didn't get to that idea first", which happens a lot with me and music artists too. But then I realized that if I got my own animation studio, I can create animations just like them, without worrying too much. Same thing as before I made music, I never thought I'd be so-and-so good at it, but now I am, and I feel I'm somewhat creative. If I got into animation again, I could be doing things I never imagined myself doing. That is all.