I get teased sometimes about how often I listen to my own music1.
But here’s the thing: You have some songs you like more than others, right? And the more you like a song, the more often you listen to it, right?
Well, if I’m going to bother writing and producing and releasing music, I’m going to make it my ideal version of what a good song or album should be.
So, using that logic, I should be listening to my music more often than not.
I see some musicians and authors talk about how they never reread their own novels nor casually listen to their own CDs, but why would you bother investing that much time and energy and love into a product that you yourself don’t enjoy spending time with?
Doesn’t make sense to me.
And if those critics and teasers create any content of their own, such as blog posts, videos, poems, whatever... I find it hard to believe they never go back themselves and watch or reread those works.
But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m just an egotist.
1 I could easily rectify this situation by turning off last.fm and my skype mood messages linked to iTunes. But I find the conversations that occasionally arise from whatever song I’m listening to at the moment to be more interesting than the teasers are annoying. So the interesting conversations win, for now.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I LOVE IT when you blog
ReplyDeletegets me all hot and bothered
-Todd
I personally can't stand listening to my own music, but that's mainly because down to my voice rather than because I wrote the song. For example, I'll happily listen to Bill's cover of Rebirth but I'll quickly skip to the next song on iTunes if any of my covers come on...
ReplyDeleteI do listen to my work now and again, but it's never in a relaxed setting. I'll sit down and listen to the tracks and do nothing else. If I tried to read a book or something like that, I'd just be totally distracted.
"but why would you bother investing that much time and energy and love into a product that you yourself don’t enjoy spending time with?"
ReplyDeletePersonally, I just find it impossible to give myself to new projects if I'm constantly sinking myself back into old ones.
You have to let go, after a point.
I think people don't like to listen/read their own work because maybe they tend to pick out mistakes or something. I'm like you though. I've written lots of poems that have been put up on various websites and I love to reread them. Anyway, interesting conversations ftw and just take the teasing with a grain of salt.
ReplyDeleteWith writing, the harder I work on it, the more I personally enjoy it. So I will go back and read.
ReplyDeleteBut when I used to sing, I couldn't listen to the demos 'cause I could always find little flaws and it drove me crazy. All I wanted to do was go back to the studio!
And after I make a vlog I've worked hard on, I watch it once before I upload it (just purely to watch. Not critique), but after that, I think it's just too vain to watch myself.
So it depends.
I go back and read my own writing all the time. I'm with ya.
ReplyDeleteListening to my own creations (whether it's songs or podcasts) has usually made me feel rather self-conscious. But I seem to be getting over that. I was out for a walk last week and I had my iPhone set to shuffle, and one of my songs from last year's RPM Challenge played in between two other "professional" songs. And as it played I thought, "You know, this actually sounds pretty good." In the future, I'm definitely gonna spend more time listening to my own stuff. Not just for quality-control purposes, but maybe even for my own enjoyment.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason musicians and authors don't like to listen to or read their own work maybe doesn't have so much to do with them not liking it, but them being afraid they won't like it. Since by that point everything is done, there's nothing they can do about if they find something wrong. It's out there already and they can't fix it.
ReplyDeleteI like to go back and read things I write, but I think it might be different if it were actually published.
I go back and reread my blogs and personal writing sometimes. The weirdest thing about it is that I often find that I wrote better years ago than I do now. It's a weird push to make me write better.
ReplyDeleteSo since I'm basically appearing out of nowhere I thought I'd say something quick. I've been a 5AG fan since they started and a vlogbrothers follower since then too. I'd heard your name floating around and when I ordered stuff from DFTBA but it wasn't until someone mentioned your VEDA channel that I paid any attention. Watched and enjoyed the VEDA videos so I came to the blog (I love blogs). Just finished reading all the posts. I feel super inspired and also seriously awed, which are both great feelings. Makes me want to set some YouTube and blog and writing goals and just go crazy!!!
ReplyDeleteOn the actual post subject I think it's perfectly fine to be enthralled by your music, we are after all. :)
I listen to my own music a lot. Like, A LOT. It used to drive my mom crazy, it drove my roommates in college crazy and it currently drives my girlfriend crazy. And I use the same logic you do: I'm going to write music that I think sounds good, so, by default, I'm probably going to enjoy listening to it.
ReplyDeleteI can't see reading or listening or watching ones own work for entertainment purposes. I write and I'll go back and re-read old work to edit it, or to reevaluate it but I don't do it casually. Maybe this is because there is not more mystery, no hidden meaning, nothing left to discover in something that you yourself have created. Also, every time I go back and look at a piece I find dozens of things I want to change, even if its a piece that has allready been published and is therfore presumably 'finished'.
ReplyDelete