mr dave

^30 Seconds to Mars is Jared Leto's band. Though unlike other movie star fronted rock bands this one hasn't crapped out yet.

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GuitarBizarre

Of course, like other movie star fronted rock bands, this one is predictably terrible.

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1moretroubadour

You're right, I walk into these conversations more defensive than I need to. You don't seem at all judgemental about it so it must have sounded very weird how I presented it. I certainly didn't mean to imply the forum was packed with elitist snobs and I love meeting people who not only explore a wide variety of music but are also open to appreciating other's tastes.

But in my experience, for the most part, listing that list off for the non-musically inclined leads to people agreeing or understanding (after all, these bands are well known and commercially successful) while the musical community, for some reason, decide that this robs you of credibility and opens you to ridicule. 'Oh, from a guy who likes Coldplay!' or 'You have the tastes of 14 year old girl' or whatever. With posters like anticipation up there who decide to be offensive, snobbish and elitist about it, I'm sure you understand that this kind of reaction is not unrealistic.

That said, its not fair to judge the majority of good people here by the actions of a few unhappy people. I'm sorry, I didn't mean any offence to anyone

My main angle with music is songwriting; mainly composing, although the best songs I think are arranged and their lyrics put together at the same time, to build one another, I think.

The thing is, I want to create a project that can tackle digital piracy. Not that I want digital piracy to end; not at all, I think 'piracy' is the best form of marketing in the world. Its word of mouth marketing at an exponential level, similar to how Facebook and YouTube have established themselves. I like the idea of giving out full 44.1 quality music for free officially...but at the same time provide a reason to buy the album, not out of support for the artist, but for a more practical and straightforward reason. It might sound overly ambitious, but I really think what I'm trying to do can change the music industry right to its foundation.

Nevermind the fact that the first person to crack the digital piracy problem is looking at a ridiculously lucrative return.

The idea I have is solid and its got me a lot of support and attention. My music, I'm told at least, is very accessible, marketable, and, well...people really respond to it. My idols are U2 (early U2 - as in Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby - that kind of melodic, stadium rock) and Brian Eno (my personal Elvis).

The problem, or atleast something I didn't address until recently, is my ability to perform it. Everything's in place, but if I can't captain it or become a central part of it, I could lose control of it very quickly. So step one is to get better. I'm confident in my writing and piano playing skills (albeit with a mistake here or there) and I'm learning guitar but all that can be replaced with proper instrumentalists if need be. And I need to try my hand at vocals, to see if I can become the center of this. If I can, sky's the limit. If I can't, then plan accordingly; find a singer, take a more background mixing/producer role.

But I have to try for myself to see my limits and what I can do, you see? And that's where I am now. I've started up a channel on YouTube to get some feedback and test the waters and I'm taking lessons to see what I can really do.

A lot of this, however, could turn out to be a fool's plot. I've saved up quite a bit from my work and I have a few part time jobs (not engineering related) to sustain me but I'm banking my whole future on this now. And I have to. After you're faced with your mortality, you begin to question what impact you wanted to have had in the world. And I haven't made that yet, I kind of let life, reality and pessimism get in the way. I'm going to try and follow my heroes now, as impossible as that may sound. I hope you can understand

And as for the other part of your question, I had always wanted to make music but as a hobby. I made songs for myself, for friends...it was really for the joy of it. I'm the kind of guy who watches a movie or reads a book and if I'm really moved, I need to rush to piano and see what I can make of it. Never really considered it as a career before.

Things are a bit unstable but we'll see what happens now


The reason I really like the new Kanye album is that its more than the sum of its parts. Usually in popular music, albums are just playlists: a collection of songs. But these songs work together to create a self contained world, a story. Its diverse, personal and universal at the same time. Kanye is well known for his pride and arrogance but he turn on himself and its a fascinating breakdown. But it all comes to tastes in music and I can understand if it doesn't appeal to you. That's just the reason why I enjoy it.

And 30 Seconds to Mars' this is War does the same thing I think. A story of about a soldier losing faith in a war he signed up for the right reasons and takes him another way. Vox Populi is so vivid and epic in its scope and sound and I love how they got their fans involved in the development of the album!

Although saying that they haven't bombed yet is a bit cynical, no?

mr dave

I'm too lazy to multi-quote properly. So, first off... relax... I can see where your top5 could be seen as controversial but it's when you present them as controversial that it steps into tween-drama land. From the sound of things you prefer well produced, straight ahead album oriented rock, it's not everyone's cup of tea but whatever.

Totally in line with your logic on the 2nd bit here too, especially composing and arranging in tandem to produce the optimal result.

And we most definitely all need to experience our own limits in our own ways too. Best of luck though, it's a vicious industry from more than a few accounts.

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1moretroubadour

Good advice and fair enough

And thanks! I know what you mean. But some things you gotta see to believe and some things you gotta believe to see. We'll see what happens!