Does your music provide something new?
Too many artists are playing stale music; cliched lyrics, cliched licks and riffs, and cliched outfits. Ok, so the outfits don’t make a band, but it’s a hard question some of us have to ask: does my music provide something new? Years ago, I played in a band with some friends that sounded like rip-offs from cheesy 80s hair metal, minus the hair (except one of the guitarists, who had one heck of a fluffball). Had I liked playing in the band a bit more, it would have been much harder to admit: we were playing stale, cliched crap.
It’s hard to ask, and it’s harder to answer, but it’s something you’ve got to do, and do honestly. Take a tough look at your music and if you feel compelled to defend something, then your question is answered. If it’s fresh and exciting material, there will be no doubt. You’ll know it, because you wouldn’t have heard it before.
Your first instinct will be to brush past the question with a “of course it’s not stale!” but avoiding the hard truth is the worst thing you can do. What have you got to lose if you ask? Nothing - you will gain when you start thinking about the kind of music you want to be making. And if you don’t ask? You’ll lose a lot more, such as the prospect of an audience.
So, are you providing something new? Is your music fresh, exciting, and a relief from the barrage of cloned marketing rubbish that hit the airwaves on a daily basis. Go on - ask yourself.
October 17th, 2007 at 11:00 am
[...] this December though). This simple decision alone has left the recording industry reeling from the ramifications of Radiohead’s move. Even though the band is not the first one to really explore the avenues of self distribution [...]