Re:Where do you set the bar? - 2008/02/23 07:41I set the bar pretty low this year as it was going to be much more of a solo effort. I was thinking acoustic guitar and vocals kind of stuff. The problem is that the bar keeps going up as I go and now the project has turned into a mix of solo stuff, internet collaboration, and a couple of weekends of "You have a song you want to record? Get over here because a few of mine are sounding flat and I'm ready to tag out".
For a serious answer, I just try to do the best I can in the time alloted. It means a lot of late nights, but they're fun late nights.
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substars_ben
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Re:Where do you set the bar? - 2008/02/23 07:41hey all. this thread is rad. i'm probably going to be more long-winded than I intend it to, but this is something i've thought about a lot.
I mostly want to surprise myself. I think my bar is set at doing something whose fidelity and aesthetics and crafting would comprise something I'd want to listen to. I think I'll have a step back in songwriting here, a step back in recording quality there, but as long as I'm stretching myself in some other fashion (hot bass lines, idiiosyncratic structure, rapping or no vox instead of singing), I'm okay with it. So in that record, I guess I don't have a bar; that comes on a case-by-case basis.
I get embarrassed about stuff all the same sometimes, but, you know...I'm kind of a slacker, and I'm not going to be the guy who plans to finish with ten days to spare for mixing, or who can nail vocals on the first take. So maybe my bar involves being willing to accept the trade-offs for what they are, and not beating myself up or not bothering to try and push the envelope.
As for the people who finish on 12:35AM on Feb 1, I admire them. I wish I could just let whatever came to me come out. I'd probably even end up with more truly great stuff that way, though I sure wouldn't ever have the patience to sift through all the crap I'd make in the process to find it.
(whiskey and coke here...i'm checking out other people's tunes tonight and relaxing in anticipation of a big recording day tomorrow!)
(but i'd rather drink with happy wanderer gary myself)
Post edited by: substars_ben, at: 2008/02/23 07:43
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tangmo
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Re:Where do you set the bar? - 2008/02/23 08:34I'm quite used to making compromises with perfection and with the notion of perfection because (much as I hate to admit it) I'm not perfect.
That said, I spent the earliest parts of my primitive listening last year just trying to see where I fit in on the great RPM suck>>>doesn't suck continuum. After fooling myself into believing that I didn't suck so horribly next to at least some of the artists I heard, I went about the month doing my best to not suck. Coming in a close second was 'finish the project!'.
While this may sound like the vainest of statements, I've found myself unable to write anything that sucks. By this I mean anything that I (not my biggest critic, but my largest audience) find to be sucking. So for me, the bar is set at some point that I actually WANT to finish the song.
Of course, much/most/or all of what I write/perform might actually suck when experienced by others either subjectively (I have nothing but contempt for your type of music and feel you deserve to have your bits hacked off for exposing me to it) or objectively (I kinda see where you were going, but is it too much to ask you to actually 'hit' your notes instead of landing glancing blows all around them?)...but if the Great I AM thinks it sucks, there's not enough horses in Wyoming to drag me through the pain of finishing it.
Do I like it enough to spend time and energy to make it the least imperfect I can? That's my bar.
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Eschertron
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Re:Where do you set the bar? - 2008/02/24 03:10After having completely revised my notion of what my contribution to the challenge was going to be; after shelving ALL the 'songs' I planned to write and produce, I found myself wanting to do stuff that I wanted to do... ie, write music that I will still want to listen to when I'm done mixing and mastering. So I have all the material recorded that's going to be (unless I find big holes that need to be filled), and as of this afternoon, some slap-dash no-reverb-no-limiting-not-balanced hideous mixes that I can use to evaluate my progress. Uneven? Yes. Cross-genre? You bet. Am I happy with it? Not yet. I am not at the point of allowing anyone else to hear what I've done. A week from now will I have fixed everything that needs to be fixed? Of course not, only the Great I Am has that kind of power and time. Will I be happy with the shot I took? Will I have gone OVER the bar that I set?
I'm pretty sure that the CD will be in the mail
The main thing is being part of this amazing community, feeding off of the vibe that emanates from the boards. Doing the challenge IS the challenge, and whatever compromises I make are the trade-offs for working with a deadline.
For the rest of this evening, I'm gonna relax and give my ears a breather. Cheers!
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Now it's time to set another bar. Gin and Tonic anyone?
I am in on the G&T. But I want to drink it with bad egotistical Gary. Right, got the gin here and the tonic...over...here. Ok...If you're like me, and I know I am, let's talk about me. Shall we?
substars_ben wrote (but i'd rather drink with happy wanderer gary myself) He's here too, grab a seat.
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Either that or join me in a fine single malt. Or a Guinness, whatever you have nearest...
Cheers,
Gary
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templaar
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Re:Where do you set the bar? - 2008/02/26 01:17I've probably put about 15 hours in tops due to young kids, demanding job and divorce avoidance, so I've necessarily set the bar just below ankle height. Even so, there've been couple of things where I've thought "actually that bit has potential to be developed" - that's all I hoped for.
I think that's a long way of saying "Just do your best, lads"
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mparker
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Re:Where do you set the bar? - 2008/02/26 09:54The bar is set reasonably high for me in terms of musical performance and songwriting, as these are things I've been doing for years now - though a lot of the songs wouldn't make the cut normally I see this as just time constraints. I haven't had time to do the usual amount of arranging which is where a lot of them fall down IMO.
However, the bar for my singing is that it shouldn't completely suck. I'm probably the world's worst singer and my normal singer dropped out of the challenge at the last minute. But I resolved to myself that I would finish the challenge regardless, and it looks like I will, even though it may be painful listening at times.
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