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Will it be "good"? Probably not. but once you free yourself of that expectation, it becomes a whole lot easier. Will it be a fun, challenging, and unique way to capture who you are (both creatively and as a person) within a certain season of your life? Yes. Even if its not "good", you'll like it (like a parent with an ugly baby or someone with a mean cat) and appreciate the fact you did it later on in life when you're able to revisit that past self.
Jan 29, 2024
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Throughout my whole life, I had awful music teachers. I had a piano teacher that made me sit on my hands because he was frustrated with the way I played scales and a music teacher in primary/middle school that gave me so many anxiety attacks that my doctor finally gave me a note so I didn’t have to go anymore.
I was told so many times throughout my life that I had no music talent, discouraged from going further than scales but all of those people (teachers!!!!) were wrong. They just couldnt fathom that I had a different musical brain than them.
When I was 23, I ended up having to move back home from LA after my job rescinded their promise to sponsor me for a visa. I was depressed and heartbroken and lonely. I went to school for writing but didn’t want to write anymore so I ended up opening GarageBand on my iPad.
I was inspired by all the things I could do on it. I suddenly felt like I was entering a new world. After making a couple beats, I started moving everything over to the laptop version of GarageBand. I bought big headphones, a cheap usb mic and a keyboard off of a guy from Craigslist and continued to tinker. One of my favorite things to do at the time was to download karaoke midi tracks of popular songs I loved, import them into GarageBand and change the instrument until I felt like I was making something new. I would then use my shitty mic to wail on top of it.
I used GarageBand for years after that to make tons of songs that I just uploaded to SoundCloud without thinking about it much. Eventually I got a controller/sampler and access to Ableton and thats when the fun really started.
My love for music making snowballed after that, I amassed more gear and skill and eventually made an album after a couple years. I was obsessed with making it and while I feel really whatever about it now, I don’t feel whatever about the experience.
Music has allowed me space to express parts of me that there are no words for. The best thing I can impart is to take advantage of this. There are some things that you can only explain with a kick drum or a sine wave or a really hard bassline.
Music is still a huge part of me! I made another album after that first and now I’m working on my next project. I recently reincarnated myself (everyone in the ~industry~ advised against this but I’m a different person now) and I’m excited to see what’s in store for me. I don’t expect to make money or become famous but music feeds my soul in a way nothing else can.
Have fun!!
May 4, 2024
and reminding yourself that your art is gonna be rough around the edges for a while. and that’s okay:)
Jul 4, 2024
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I’m still early on making music — but this is it:
I️ played like drums in middle school and then fell out of like “performing“ until adulthood when I️ decided to start DJ-ing. I️ loved that so much I️ was like I️ feel like I️ can make my own things like 6 months ago and I’ve just been making small shitty 2 minute things for myself every day.
For me it’s kinda meditative? Like usually no one hears the songs I am making (besides my partner) but it’s really just for me. No clue if any of them will ever reach a record or be on Spotify, but I️ feel like it’s making me greater appreciate music in general.
May 4, 2024
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I don't know how well this actually answers your initial question, I think it's more of a counterpoint to some of the stuff people have already said, but here it goes.
In the past (prior to social media or search engines) specific styles, specialized knowledge, and niche awareness actually took effort. You had to go out into the world and find a scene, be accepted, participate in it, contribute to it, and learn from others with specific knowledge within the specific sub- or counter-cultural scene. It took time, effort, and experience to craft an identity. Nowadays people cycle through various identities and trends like commodities because it takes no effort (they're sold to them by social media algorithms, influencers, brand accounts, etc.). It comes to you in your phone without you ever even having to leave the house or put in the time to discover it or participate in it (you just follow specific people or subscribe). You can be a passive observer or consumer, not an active contributor. As a result, you're not invested or tied down and committed to that core identity. You can cosplay depending on your mood or who you want to momentarily convey yourself as, because it's easy. Essentially, being a poser has become normalized. An identity is now something to be momentarily consumed and affected, rather than grown, built, and developed over time.
Granted, it's always been different in regards to "mass" culture and popular trends (both in the past and now). Those are impossible to miss and were always monopolized by specific trend setting institutions, but always by the time it gets to that point, the actual initial counter- or sub-culture that inspired it has already been coopted and has started to disintegrate under the weight and attention of mass consumption.
Feb 18, 2024
It's an action deserving of its own nickname. My cat's name is Gomez, but when he crosses his paws like this, he turns into Hodgkins Plumpersocks.
Feb 2, 2024
Oatmeal raisin cookies don't get enough love. As a kid, my palate couldn't appreciate their subtle flavor, but thankfully oatmeal raisin cookies we're rehabilitated for me later in life. I now see the error of my ways, and am trying to evangelize about them, and rehabilitate them for others, by making this recipe.
They're great cause they're not too sweet, so they feel appropriate for both dessert and breakfast. They're also like a blank canvas of oaty brown sugar goodness that you can then imbue with whatever add-ins you want (thus turning one recipe into a plethora of variations). My personal favorites are semi-sweet chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and roasted cashews.
Feb 26, 2024