This title is more memorable than you think
 

Hi!

What a great community! I'm an up and coming musician who's been writing music his whole life but never took it seriously until a year and a half ago when a near death experience kind of opened my eyes to what's important and I quit my engineering job to pursue a life of music.

Beginners luck got me to some huge studios and working with some great people but unfortunately, I'm not yet good enough. I can write great songs and have an ear for quality but can't sing very well yet and can't play without making a ton mistakes.

But I'm on it. Whether this is a brilliant or utterly stupid decision remains to be seen but so far....its the latter :(

But I'm on it. And I don't intend to quit :)

Hi!

hi ! yep. this site is awesome

seriously? u quit ur job?

preety much same conditoin, here, too......im not familiar with any musical instrument + i dont think i can sing...... but i write lyrice..... just need someone to play fair with them ^_~

Welcome aboard! To use an old question: Off the top of your head, what are your top five desert island albums?

Hi! I did, but in fairness, I hated my job. I got paid a lot to do nothing and I know that in today's economy that's a careless thing to do, I didn't do it lightly.

I was faced with a predicament: what would you do if you only had 4-5 months to live? At 28 years old, that's a tough question to face. What would you answer with? But I'm healthy and free of that now btw :)

And listen to me, don't let anyone tell you you can't sing. There is NO such thing as talent. Anyone can become good at anything, just hard work and practice. Maybe you can't sound like some singers out there but that doesn't mean you can't sound good...or great. The right practice techniques can go a long way. If you'd like, I can show you some links to great daily practicing :)



My taste in music is a bit more controversial. It doesn't matter to me who's popular and who isn't, who's writing the song, the marketing, the technique, it doesn't matter if they're mainstream or not....none of that matters. Just the music and how it communicates to me.

That said :)

1. Achtung Baby! - U2
2. Viva la Vida - Coldplay
3. This is War - 30 Seconds to Mars
4. Kirite - Mitsuda
5. Dark Beautiful Fantasy - Kanye West

Are you, by any chance, 14 years old?

No. But this is why it seems to be controversial; it seems to be a problem for some people (especially in the music community) that some of my all time favourites are mainstream bands or musicians.

I have worked in the music industry for over a year now and I've been lucky enough to be invited to some of the biggest studios in the world. I'm musically educated and I know more about mixing, mastering and producing than some who've worked at it for years. I understand music, the making of it and the history of it. Once you move from the audience to the production to the backstage, you begin to stop judging music for everything but its own merit.

I'm trained and I've explored every kind of music. From motown and jazz, to shoegazing and stadium rock, from Baroque to gangsta rap, from icelandic experimental to j-pop, from Afrikaan gospel to broadway showtunes. I get Pink Floyd, I get Bruce Springsteen, I get David Bowie and Queen and Jeff Buckley, Robert Smith, Neil Young, Ewan MacColl, Zepplin, Coltrane, BB King, Beatles, Cat Stevens, The Who, Hendrix, Marley, Davis, Beethoven, Schonberg, Eno.

I get them and I appreciate them. But I can't help what I like; only be honest about it.

That doesn't make your musical tastes more 'refined' or more 'mature' than mine. You'd think a forum like this one would understand that and be more open to discussion than to being derogatory.

I never said it did. I'm merely pointing out that your all time favorites bear a striking resemblance to what a teenage girl's all time favorites might be. You're the one with an inferiority complex because you happen to like bland, commercialized pop music in the face of a community that you perceive as having somewhat wildly divergent tastes in experimental and exotic genres. I never said that was a bad thing either, I just implied my humor at the idea of controversiality in your taste. I'm glad you "get" so many artists, for no other reason other than that I can only assume doing so must enrich your experience as you rock out to Coldplay.

Ok. Thank you for posting.

Why so defensive?

First you preface your top5 by stating you don't care about marketing or mainstream popularity then list off 5 mainstream, heavily marketed acts. The only controversial element to your tastes is how you chose to present and justify your choices. -You- are the only one to presume this forum was packed with elitist snobs.

Relax.

Regardless of that, what's your main angle into music? Are you looking to become more of a performer or producer? How are you making a living in the industry if as you've said you can't really sing or play an instrument that well? How substantial was the idea of being a musician prior to that near death experience?

Why is this list controversial? It seems like everybody and their mother loves that Kanye album (I still don't understand why, but that's just me). I've never heard of 30 Second to Mars or Mitsuda though. Who are they?

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

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

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? ;)

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.

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!