| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Broken Face |
Posted - 12/14/2004 : 20:29:44
Hello all
I'm trying something out to see how effective it will be. Call it "method songwriting" sort of like method acting.
Basically, for the next week, i am permitting myself to only listen to 5 albums - any music i don't put on is fine (ie. in someone else's car, or at the pixies show, etc), but my stereo will only be rotating five discs. I want to see if this will influence my writing.
Basically, i have a sound in my head for my next project that i've started, but i feel like i need to really focus this next week to get the tunes where they need to be. So i took 5 CDs that sort of had a similar vibe, or just something that would help me focus and set them as the players in this experiment. They are:
David Fonseca - Sing Me Something New
Joe Henry - Tiny Voices
The Bad Plus - These Are The Vistas
American Music Club - Everclear
Frank Black - Brian's Focus Mix
(1. Sing for Joy, 2. Stupid Me, 3. Cold Heart of Stone, 4. Honeycomb, 5. St. Francis Dam Disaster, 6. My Life is in Storage, 7. Valentine and Garuda, 8. Selkie Bride, 9. Southbound Bevy, 10. Dark End of the Street, 11. I Will Run After You, 12. Blast Off, 13. Violet, 14. The Last Stand of Shazeb Andleeb, 15. Manitoba)
I'm interested to see if anyone else here has done anything like this before for their craft, be it songwriting, acting, prose, etc. I'm also interested to see if everyone thinks this is dumb or not. Thanks! |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Homers_pet_monkey |
Posted - 12/27/2004 : 09:13:32
Bloody hell Vigor, that is quite an undertaking. Cool idea though. Good luck.
Help me! He keeps making me post!
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| vigorstrength |
Posted - 12/27/2004 : 09:09:30
I like to listen to crappy music from mp3.com , iuma.com , and others
Unsatisfying songs inspired me to create something better.
I love 4 track recordings, while pop radio gives no stimulation.
I'm about work on this huge project:________
I bought the Beatles Complete Scores book and downloaded every MP3 song written.
With some theory training, I'm going to write/record a song that is similar to each. Getting an idea for each feel, groove, scales.
It'll be quite a learning experience that'll last a long time.
Rock over London, Rock on Chicago. |
| Homers_pet_monkey |
Posted - 12/27/2004 : 09:08:24
Oh dear, that's not so good. At least it only 'almost' did. Phew.
Help me! He keeps making me post!
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| Broken Face |
Posted - 12/27/2004 : 09:04:17
Queen is one of my guilty pleasures - "Fat Bottomed Girls" - what a song
and for the record, the experiment sort of worked - it helped me focus more, but it made me almost hate 5 good records
-B-B-B-Brian
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| Homers_pet_monkey |
Posted - 12/27/2004 : 07:45:55
Also an interesting theory. Time to get those Queen albums out.
Help me! He keeps making me post!
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| remig |
Posted - 12/27/2004 : 07:33:31
Maybe you should try the contrary: Listen to crap only might make you want to produce music you would love.
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| Homers_pet_monkey |
Posted - 12/27/2004 : 07:22:03
Good luck with this experiment BF, hope it produces something you feel was worth the attempt. If not then hey, at least you tried. It's good to take to songwriting from a different angle now and again.
Maybe it's because of the amount of different bands that I listen to, that my songwriting ideas are all over the place. Can't really pin down a single influence coming through.
Help me! He keeps making me post!
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| El Barto |
Posted - 12/15/2004 : 21:03:14
Kurt Cobain said he wrote About A Girl after listening to the Beatles non-stop. I have this song I've been working on for a while called "The Sandbox," which is a tribute to Brian Wilson and childhood...and it's heavily influenced by Pet Sounds/SMiLE.
I guess I just wasn't made for these times. |
| NimrodsSon |
Posted - 12/15/2004 : 14:47:15
I have a theory that if you listen to everything an artist listens to and nothing else for a long time, you'll be able to write songs just like that artist. For example, if I want to make the next Pet Sounds, all I have to do is listen to Phil Spector and Beatles records for the next six months, and, voila! out of nowhere I'll start writing and producing (with the aide, that is, of several thousand dollars worth of studio time and session musicians) some of the greatest songs ever. Of course, I haven't tried this yet and have no proof that it will actually work, but one can always dream...
ˇViva los Católicos! |
| Newo |
Posted - 12/15/2004 : 10:11:51
I do the same thing writing too, I have a menu I stick to. (at the moment it´s Azazael by Isaac Asimov, Giles Goatboy by Barth and Heart Of A Dog by Bulgakov). I know when I´ve strayed from my theme when I find myself ploughing joylessly through books and picking another immediately after finishing one.
--
Maze rats dreamed of mazes, according to the latest studies. Maze rat scientists dreamed of rats. I was dreaming of cheese. |
| kathryn |
Posted - 12/15/2004 : 07:38:40
Brian, I like the moniker "Sir Mikeabye," very clever. Back on topic...
I have employed a similar technique when writing, where I limited myself to only a couple of authors and I started dreaming passages from their novels.That sort of thing. I like to think it helped.
I think your experiment sounds worthwhile and promising. Let us know how it goes.
P.S. The Brian Focus Mix sounds righteous!
 I still believe in the excellent joy of the Frank |
| Broken Face |
Posted - 12/15/2004 : 07:22:25
david's cd is the best! its fantastic!
anyway, the sound i'm going for sir mikeabye is a mellow-ish, jazz tinged indie rock. not that any of those cds are that description, but i think if you mashed them up and took the newly formed pulp thats what it would be like.
-B-B-B-Brian
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| n/a |
Posted - 12/15/2004 : 03:17:30
Brian, It´s an honour to see that the first one is David Fonseca, I think that if he could imagine that there is someone in the States that likes so much his music, he would be very proud!
i've never done good things
i've never done bad things
i never did anything out of the blue
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| ObfuscateByWill |
Posted - 12/15/2004 : 03:07:10
I used to, um, make music. Surprised to have made a little money with it a few years ago.
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I would listen to mostly industrial/electronic/drone artists. Kinda the genre I was into.
Suggesting:
Thobbing Gristle - Heathen Earth
Paul Schütze - The Annihilating Angel
Alvin Lucier - Music for a Long, Thin Wire
Dead Voices On Air - Hafted Maul
Glenn Branca - Symphony No. 2
 Take a bite of the chocolate coffin. |
| Sir Rockabye |
Posted - 12/14/2004 : 20:42:48
I can't say that I've ever employed a method similar to your own, but the thought is intiguing. Because I'm only familiar with two of the above mentioned five artists, could you maybe elaborate on the sound or vibe that you're striving for through this process?
I will never say the word procrastinate again, I'll never see myself in the mirror with my eyes closed. |
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