Let's hear it for homework procrastination! I should start working on a paper for 'Film & Politics' soon. And there's a Latin test in the morning that I just know my vocabulary isn't ready for. Word to the muthafuckin Romans!
But instead of making forward progress on my schoolwork, I'm listening to music and tapping out my rockstar life for various people to surf over. I picked up Butthole Surfers' "Wierd Revolution" the other day, based on the fact that Electriclarryland is high on my list of favorites. I've gotta say, Wierd Revolution is pretty incredible. Pisses me off that the record label had them shelved for so long leading up to that album's release after they failed to follow up the commercial success of 'Pepper.'
I'd love to talk to Gibby and Paul about how they write and record. Their last two albums have some really great, surprising moments that seem more a product of spontaneous fuck-all-edness than carefully planned songcrafting. As a songwriter and a recording artist (I use the last word there quite loosely) I tend to struggle between those extremes; like I can never feel that I have the correct balance of inspiration and perspiration. There's a part of me that wants to grab the microphone, slap an equalizer and a pitch shifter on it, and freestyle a song beginning to end. I have to wonder if the song will retain relevance better in the long run if I just make it up as I go, call it good, and walk away.
The other extreme, I suppose, would be to try a musical/lyrical version of 'The Waste Land', editing and re-editing until the only way to disguise self-concern is to constantly reference your influences. I'm a big fan of 'The Waste Land', so sometimes this is actually appealing.
The happy middle has a lot to do with being relaxed and self-confident. When I can just chill and not worry about creating a masterpiece everything tends to come out better. I wrote lyrics to a song while my bandmate and I were rehearsing some other stuff, lightly revised it a few days later, did the final sequencing around the new lyrics, and all of a sudden the song was done. It's not the greatest thing I've ever done, but it means something to me; I think it expresses the emotion I want it to. As random and impersonal as the lyrics came out, they actually have a deeply personal thread connecting them; a connection I didn't plan on, but was glad to see nonetheless. Somewhere between freestyle and revisionism lies the place where you can make a statement to yourself about something and later realize that you were actually telling other people about yourself.
Or maybe I'm just crazy.
But instead of making forward progress on my schoolwork, I'm listening to music and tapping out my rockstar life for various people to surf over. I picked up Butthole Surfers' "Wierd Revolution" the other day, based on the fact that Electriclarryland is high on my list of favorites. I've gotta say, Wierd Revolution is pretty incredible. Pisses me off that the record label had them shelved for so long leading up to that album's release after they failed to follow up the commercial success of 'Pepper.'
I'd love to talk to Gibby and Paul about how they write and record. Their last two albums have some really great, surprising moments that seem more a product of spontaneous fuck-all-edness than carefully planned songcrafting. As a songwriter and a recording artist (I use the last word there quite loosely) I tend to struggle between those extremes; like I can never feel that I have the correct balance of inspiration and perspiration. There's a part of me that wants to grab the microphone, slap an equalizer and a pitch shifter on it, and freestyle a song beginning to end. I have to wonder if the song will retain relevance better in the long run if I just make it up as I go, call it good, and walk away.
The other extreme, I suppose, would be to try a musical/lyrical version of 'The Waste Land', editing and re-editing until the only way to disguise self-concern is to constantly reference your influences. I'm a big fan of 'The Waste Land', so sometimes this is actually appealing.
The happy middle has a lot to do with being relaxed and self-confident. When I can just chill and not worry about creating a masterpiece everything tends to come out better. I wrote lyrics to a song while my bandmate and I were rehearsing some other stuff, lightly revised it a few days later, did the final sequencing around the new lyrics, and all of a sudden the song was done. It's not the greatest thing I've ever done, but it means something to me; I think it expresses the emotion I want it to. As random and impersonal as the lyrics came out, they actually have a deeply personal thread connecting them; a connection I didn't plan on, but was glad to see nonetheless. Somewhere between freestyle and revisionism lies the place where you can make a statement to yourself about something and later realize that you were actually telling other people about yourself.
Or maybe I'm just crazy.
melanthine:
You always crazy, yo.