So I started this blog to host my song demos, with memories of what went behind the pieces.
This is the intro that explains why I started the thing
And this is the first group of songs.
The thing is, most of my stuff is very personal, I never could master the skill of writing more universal type numbers.
So I’m thinking, who’s going to care about this? And honestly, they shouldn’t, people have their own lives and concerns. So it’s an ego-driven endeavor, and a desperate attempt to leave something behind and not allow these demos to simply die when I do.
Heck, even posting this reeks of egoism, but I went and posted it anyway… and please be honest, you don’t need to blow smoke under my skirt, I’d like the feedback, is this a dumb idea?
I have a lot of different arts on the internet, just so it’s out there. None of it gets much traction, but it’s out there. So keep it up.
The thing about art is it allows the consumer to bring themselves into it. It may or may not land on the consumer, but when it does it leaves a mark. It’s like the famous “people will find their joke” approach that MST3K used. So don’t worry about it. It can do no good collecting dust on your bookshelf, but you never know (and probably never will know) who it touches if it’s out there.
Not dumb at all! The stories behind the songs are the best part, and if you feel so inclined then I say share. If only one person enjoys them then that’s a win—y’know, that whole “it’s better to play to one person who’s into it than a room full of people who are just trying to watch the game on the TV above the bar” thing.
Putting it out there means that people will find it and you never know who it will touch.
I make digital art for fun and I have a small but dedicated fanbase online and the thing that consistently surprises me is how people will say that I was an influence on their work.
If I never put it out there that chain reaction wouldn’t have happened.
I guess what I’m saying is that you never know who’s watching
I agree with the general sentiment here: art is best when shared. By putting your work out there you are enriching the totality of human creation; it is just incremental, but all great things proceed incrementally. Humanity is a group project, no sense hiding your contribution. There is also a lot of value in relating your creative experiences beyond the music itself. Many young people look to those kind of stories for affirmation and for ideas. Your efforts will not go to waste, and I for one thank you for sharing them with the world!
Thanks for the feedback everyone, you put it in a different perspective for me. I was thinking about it one way, and now y’all have me thinking of it in another.
I appreciate it, it helps to get out of your own head and read what others have to say.
The only way I can think of it would be “dumb” if you did it in expectation of stardom, fame and fortune. Otherwise, I think everyone so far has expressed it just right: It’s win-win for you and the world.
This is as true of ideas as it is of your art!
I’ve written, IDK, fifteen hundred movie reviews on my blog which almost nobody reads. (Back in 2019, my hit counter insisted that my Rambo and Zombieland reviews got 70K hits in a couple of weeks, but I assume a bot went crazy or something.)
But over the years I discovered my kids kind of like having the reviews around, since I saw most of the movies with them. And I found that I can just randomly stab into the past pages and discover some gem I had forgotten. (Also, doing occasional reviews for a far more popular site, I have a cache I can draw from if what’s out these days isn’t inspiring.)
I’ve been meaning put up songs as well. Some original ones (including some based on B-movies ) but also just covers, because one of my kids hears songs that I play by the original artists and says, “They’re singing it wrong!”
I’ve read a couple of reviews and enjoyed them, they’re thoughtfully written (and plan to read more).
And I’d love to hear your songs too.
Musically, I’m a bit sheepish about my lead playing (I do it because I want to hear how it sounds), though Nashville cured me of that a bit (we’re more interested in how you write than how you play)
As for being sheepish, when I talk to my kids about it, I tell them the first thing is to be LOUD. Don’t worry about how it sounds because it doesn’t matter if no one can hear you.
I was never technically as good as many (most) of my peers in classical guitar, but I found that people really seemed to like it when I play. A simple piece played with feeling goes over better than a technically difficult piece played mechanically. (Interestingly, my sensei used to use me as an example the same way in karate forms. I guess I’m not very good at anything but I do it like I mean it!)
Years later people would compliment me on some performance and I realized I never had an understanding of what I was doing, i.e., reaching an audience. I was more about “this is what I’m doing, you’re welcome to listen in”. Heh.
My brother was the true musician in the family, he had a flamenco guitar, and could do the prettiest things with it, and had a clear clean voice, like Art Garfunkle. And he liked to play live, whereas I always wanted to be in the studio doing mad experiments (like getting feedback through the mic, that wasn’t an ear-piercing squeal… “Listen, I finally got it, and it sounds like an electrical wind storm!”)
I don’t use this phrase much but: it’s all good. I had a similar sibling, not as musically talented but with a great stage and acting presence who was always out while I was trying to work a four-track so I could play all the parts.
Maybe it is a dumb idea! No!!! Of course it’s not.
It’s inspiring, and shows much more initiative and rate of completion than most musical projects ever achieve in the first place.
I’m looking forward to following along, and sharing it with some music-minded pals as well.
There are very few real, actual, blogs, it seems, that I run across nowadays that have content and are homespun and from a genuine, non-cynical place of experimentation and informed freedom.
I’m looking forward to checking it out, as well as general encouragement for you and anyone else to do more.
It’s inspiring for a lazy person like me to get off their duff and actually create something on the web. I probably won’t, but you can be the vicarious conduit of good vibes.
) but also just covers, because one of my kids hears songs that I play by the original artists and says, “They’re singing it wrong!” 