style option anxiety

[famous beagle]

Ok so I'll listen to a song like "Airbag" from Radiohead's OK Computer and think, "that's awesome, I need to get some experimental, artsy stuff like that going."

Then a few days later I'll be listening to "Tumblin' Dice" by the Stones and think, "now that's just about as good as rock 'n' roll gets right there. I need to write a good ol' rock 'n' roll song like that."

Then I'll hear something folkie, like Dylan, and have the same reaction.


So I end up writing these songs in somewhat different styles. I mean, there are a few connecting factors I suppose, but ... I don't know.

Does this happen to anyone else?


Do you think it's more important to try to fuse these elements into your own style, or should you just write a rock 'n' roll song if you want, even though it may not have a place in your normal repertoire?


Thoughts?

 

[mjareo]

I like being able to pull some different styles in. I am not always the best at doing so, but I think that we will all put our own little flavor to whatever style seems to take best for a particular song.

 

[sweetpeee]

So I end up writing these songs in somewhat different styles. I mean, there are a few connecting factors I suppose, but ... I don't know.

Hi F.B.,

Can't speak for everyone,but yeah, this happens to me a lot. It takes me years sometimes to get inspired just to actually record a tune. One example is one of my closest friends is a drummer and I played him the only original he's ever heard me play in the 20 plus years I've known him. I had it on a Korg DAW and it was just a rough draft. I still had the click track barely audible in parts of it and told him I wanted to do it over but I was in a rush to record it because it was a gift to a girl. He was saying stuff like "I like the way the beat fades there" and "I can picture the drums here" I said "it's not that type of song...it's an acoustic song.

In truth it kinda ticked me off that he was saying it. There was no drums on the track AT ALL! just a barely audible click. This showed me clearly that you have to deal with #1...YOU!! Who the hell cares what anyone else thinks. No matter what type of songs you write, if it comes from an honest place, people will know it. I hear what your saying though, it's tough to play different styles and gain acceptance of a wide audience because most people are narrowly focused when it comes to listening to their music, and if they do listen to a lot of different stuff, they probably listen to whatever mood their in...music-wise.

I have a 60 gig ipod with everything from Bach and the Beach Boys to Craddle of Filth and Audioslave. But I wouldn't put those type of extremes on my own CD. Part of me wants to do acoustic stuff, part of me wants to do metal, part of me wants to do orchestration. What I may end up doing is doing enough material for a CD of each catagory, take the best of them and then try to combine them somehow. Actually if you aren't going the Indie route, an A&R man would select the songs for you.

Another thought I had was to use the same musician's in one band but use different names for different types of music. Another thought that occurs to me is that no matter what your influences, eventually, your own voice comes through. I get that type of vibe from Beck.

J.P.

 

[famous beagle]

So I end up writing these songs in somewhat different styles. I mean, there are a few connecting factors I suppose, but ... I don't know.

Hi F.B.,

Can't speak for everyone,but yeah, this happens to me a lot. It takes me years sometimes to get inspired just to actually record a tune. One example is one of my closest friends is a drummer and I played him the only original he's ever heard me play in the 20 plus years I've known him. I had it on a Korg DAW and it was just a rough draft. I still had the click track barely audible in parts of it and told him I wanted to do it over but I was in a rush to record it because it was a gift to a girl. He was saying stuff like "I like the way the beat fades there" and "I can picture the drums here" I said "it's not that type of song...it's an acoustic song.

In truth it kinda ticked me off that he was saying it. There was no drums on the track AT ALL! just a barely audible click. This showed me clearly that you have to deal with #1...YOU!! Who the hell cares what anyone else thinks. No matter what type of songs you write, if it comes from an honest place, people will know it. I hear what your saying though, it's tough to play different styles and gain acceptance of a wide audience because most people are narrowly focused when it comes to listening to their music, and if they do listen to a lot of different stuff, they probably listen to whatever mood their in...music-wise.

I have a 60 gig ipod with everything from Bach and the Beach Boys to Craddle of Filth and Audioslave. But I wouldn't put those type of extremes on my own CD. Part of me wants to do acoustic stuff, part of me wants to do metal, part of me wants to do orchestration. What I may end up doing is doing enough material for a CD of each catagory, take the best of them and then try to combine them somehow. Actually if you aren't going the Indie route, an A&R man would select the songs for you.

Another thought I had was to use the same musician's in one band but use different names for different types of music. Another thought that occurs to me is that no matter what your influences, eventually, your own voice comes through. I get that type of vibe from Beck.

J.P.

Thanks for the response; it's good to know that I'm not the only one.

I think you may have it a little worse than I do if part of you wants to do metal. The one saving grace that I have is that most of the bands I like tend to use the somewhat vintage-sounding, half-dirty guitar tones (Beatles, Radiohead, Wilco, Coldplay, Ryan Adams, etc.). So I'll be thankful for that!

 

[espskully]

It's a big problem for me. I love and am influenced by such vast genres that I find it hard to buckle down and focus on any 1 genre. Right now I have a country tune, metal tune, blues tune and AAA type tune in the works. It can be hard being eclectic.

 

[up-fiddler]

Yeah, but it helps us grow...

It's a big problem for me. I love and am influenced by such vast genres that I find it hard to buckle down and focus on any 1 genre. Right now I have a country tune, metal tune, blues tune and AAA type tune in the works. It can be hard being eclectic.

I think the great thing about varied influences is that they carry and spill over into one another and we get better as a result. (Just me thinking again...shrug)