It’s been too long, I know. Silence has compound interest. My habit is to declare bankruptcy every few months and hope for clemency.
An interesting bit of advice I read several years ago: “Proudly exclude some people. Know who you are, and have the confidence that somewhere out there, there’s a little niche of people that would like your kind of music.” I wouldn’t put it so provocatively, perhaps, but it’s a corollary of the mantra I keep using these days: Just make the music you would want to listen to. My definition of “good” might be different from that of certain music critics, or of certain DJs, or of that oh-so-elusive clique of listeners who are somehow just cooler than I am. Maybe they’ll dovetail and maybe they won’t. But the only compass I can use is my own.
Finally got around to watching Meeting People Is Easy (nominally a documentary about Radiohead, but barely — take the Radiohead aesthetic and apply it to film and you get the idea). I find myself once again intrigued by this phenonemon of stardom. Namely: good god, who wants it? Buzz leads to hype leads to backlash, and the last thing anyone’s worried about is the number it does on your psyche, what all that scrutiny does to you as a human being. Not to mention how much work all of it involves. If I think two radio stations and an in-store before the show is a long day, I ain’t seen nothin’.
Partway through that Radiohead film comes the voice of one of the band members (paraphrased): “You read a hundred good reviews and one bad one, and somehow it’s that one bad review that makes the most sense to you.”
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 98 15:53:38 -0800
From: Mom
Subject: I had a dream…
I had a strange dream this morning: you were recognized/awarded at some kind of music event as the promising new songwriter of the new century, or something. Tons of accolades were piled on you. Besides feeling proud, I was desparately searching for some solid ground for you to stand on. And one theme keeps popping up: don’t drown in the sea of praises and admirations. Look for people who are around you because they care about you or your work, not your glory. Search out those who can teach you. Learn from them.
I guess this pretty much reflects my fear of where your music endeavor might lead you: the vice and folly of mankind’s dark side. On the one hand, if you’re not successful, you’re nowhere, and you feel lonely/rejected. On the other, if you’re successful, you’re subject to the influence of the worst possible intention/behavior. How do you find a happy middle ground between the two?