Thursday, 21 June 2007
Monday, 28 May 2007
This Man is a genius - Jeff Lynne
Jeff Lynne is a great songwriter, a brilliant record producer and an amazing musician.
He produced the "new" Beatles songs "Free As a Bird" and "Real Love" and solo albums by Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Duane Eddy, Roy Orbison, The Traveling Wilburys, Dave Edmunds, Jimmy Nail, Tom Petty (and the heartbreakers) and Del Shannon to name but a few. He is also, of course, the main man responsible for all the great Electric Light Orchestra albums.
He also recently received a Q magazine lifetime achievement award.
The guy is amazingly talented and he has never made a bad record. He has a great singing voice.
Jeff Lynne rules!!!
Sunday, 27 May 2007
Creativity - an Itellectual or spiritual process?
I have just read something that has cheered me up no end. It is a realization that could hopefully be the first step in the breaking of my writers block.
I have just started to read a book called "Walking in This World - Practical Strategies for Creativity" by Julia Cameron (Page 6, paragraph 2, line 3).
The sentence that has caused this realization within me reads "....creativity is a spiritual rather than an intellectual endeavor!" (Page 6, paragraph 2, line 3).
This has to be true, when you think about it, because when you are being creative, you are using and engaging your intuitive nature, not your intellect. A creative act is one that is more spiritual than intellectual. Any kind of analytical study or adopting of hard and fast rules to a creative act makes it formulaic and full of complicated theory. In that sense painting a picture or composing music is not formulaic as mathematics is. Maths does come into these things in some ways (musical tempo, chord intervals etc) but songwriters like George Michael and Peter Gabriel have stated in articles that they compose much better songs, when they follow instinct instead of blindly following music theory. What sounds, looks or feels right is always going to have more artistic value to the creator than something that is created using a formula. There are, of course, the rules of harmony and some chord sequences that are used repeatedly, but these rules are used much more loosely by rock musicians than classical musicians. The best artists/composers are actually those who have the vision and talent to know how to break the rules convincingly, without anyone knowing about it or spotting it.
This shouldn't have been such a revelation to me, but it seems so obvious now. It has been a real epiphany for me to suddenly realize and understand this fact. Like a sudden "seeing of the light", as it were.
Many intellectual people are not very creative because their minds are restricted by facts, knowledge and theories. Intellectuals are theorists who follow scientific theories and factual processes that cannot be changed or altered. 2 + 2 = 4. 2+2 can only = 4. If you give ten mathematicians a mathematical problem, they will all come to exactly the same answer (assuming they all get the correct answer). Whereas, if you ask ten artists to draw the same house they will all paint a slightly different picture. Truly creative people are more "free-thinkers" whose minds are free to imagine what COULD be POSSIBLE whether or not it actually IS POSSIBLE. If you ask ten songwriters to write a song called "The Power Of Love", for example, they will all write ten totally different songs.
I have always thought, when I have seen a great painting or heard a great song, that it comes from some sort of cleverness of the intellect. However, it seems to me that it has much more to do with cleverness in the sense of knowing how to utilise and use your intuitive gut feelings to create something without engaging (too much) conscious thought.
I think I have said enough. My head hurts now.
I THINK this makes sense to me.
I have just started to read a book called "Walking in This World - Practical Strategies for Creativity" by Julia Cameron (Page 6, paragraph 2, line 3).
The sentence that has caused this realization within me reads "....creativity is a spiritual rather than an intellectual endeavor!" (Page 6, paragraph 2, line 3).
This has to be true, when you think about it, because when you are being creative, you are using and engaging your intuitive nature, not your intellect. A creative act is one that is more spiritual than intellectual. Any kind of analytical study or adopting of hard and fast rules to a creative act makes it formulaic and full of complicated theory. In that sense painting a picture or composing music is not formulaic as mathematics is. Maths does come into these things in some ways (musical tempo, chord intervals etc) but songwriters like George Michael and Peter Gabriel have stated in articles that they compose much better songs, when they follow instinct instead of blindly following music theory. What sounds, looks or feels right is always going to have more artistic value to the creator than something that is created using a formula. There are, of course, the rules of harmony and some chord sequences that are used repeatedly, but these rules are used much more loosely by rock musicians than classical musicians. The best artists/composers are actually those who have the vision and talent to know how to break the rules convincingly, without anyone knowing about it or spotting it.
This shouldn't have been such a revelation to me, but it seems so obvious now. It has been a real epiphany for me to suddenly realize and understand this fact. Like a sudden "seeing of the light", as it were.
Many intellectual people are not very creative because their minds are restricted by facts, knowledge and theories. Intellectuals are theorists who follow scientific theories and factual processes that cannot be changed or altered. 2 + 2 = 4. 2+2 can only = 4. If you give ten mathematicians a mathematical problem, they will all come to exactly the same answer (assuming they all get the correct answer). Whereas, if you ask ten artists to draw the same house they will all paint a slightly different picture. Truly creative people are more "free-thinkers" whose minds are free to imagine what COULD be POSSIBLE whether or not it actually IS POSSIBLE. If you ask ten songwriters to write a song called "The Power Of Love", for example, they will all write ten totally different songs.
I have always thought, when I have seen a great painting or heard a great song, that it comes from some sort of cleverness of the intellect. However, it seems to me that it has much more to do with cleverness in the sense of knowing how to utilise and use your intuitive gut feelings to create something without engaging (too much) conscious thought.
I think I have said enough. My head hurts now.
I THINK this makes sense to me.
Songwriting - "Queen of the Night"
I have come to the conclusion that the art of songwriting, is one of the most difficult arts to master, in the world.
I have had little song "fragments" lying around for absolutely ages. Little snatches of music that I really like, some with verses of lyric, or a chorus idea. But how do you write a complete, three minute, melodic pop song?
Once you have your seed of an idea, how do you develop it? How do you know what journey the song wants to take musically, and in what direction you should take it?
Very, very occasionally a song almost writes itself. If you are lucky enough a song presents itself to you like a gift from the ether or like a message from God.
I have a song that I am working on at the moment called "Queen of the Night" which has a bit of music and melody that I really love, but I can't find the rest of the song that is as good as the bit I have, but different enough to be the next verse or chorus. The melody is strong as is the lyric imagery.
I wanted to use the imagery of a nocturnal flower to represent the lifestyle of a shy and retiring human being who only comes out and shines amidst the darkness. What you might call a wall flower, but wallflowers are not nocturnal.
I found the perfect plant to use as my metaphor - something called the "Arizona Queen of the Night" otherwise known as "Cereus Greggii" or the "night blooming cereus". This plant looks dead and withered and brown for most of the year. It is a form of cacti. However, for one short night only, once a year in June, this dead-looking cactus, produces a really beautiful, white flower. People have been know to wait around to witness the blossoming of this flower as it is such a spectacle.
So I am using this flower metaphor to represent a human being who occasionally shines really brightly and blossoms if only for a very short time. This represents a shy and retiring individual who needs coaxing and encouragement to live and be beautiful.
I will battle on with this song idea as I think it really works as a metaphor for life and I like the bit of music, melody and lyric I have. Maybe I just need to listen to the song more to hear it tell me where it wants to go.
I have had little song "fragments" lying around for absolutely ages. Little snatches of music that I really like, some with verses of lyric, or a chorus idea. But how do you write a complete, three minute, melodic pop song?
Once you have your seed of an idea, how do you develop it? How do you know what journey the song wants to take musically, and in what direction you should take it?
Very, very occasionally a song almost writes itself. If you are lucky enough a song presents itself to you like a gift from the ether or like a message from God.
I have a song that I am working on at the moment called "Queen of the Night" which has a bit of music and melody that I really love, but I can't find the rest of the song that is as good as the bit I have, but different enough to be the next verse or chorus. The melody is strong as is the lyric imagery.
I wanted to use the imagery of a nocturnal flower to represent the lifestyle of a shy and retiring human being who only comes out and shines amidst the darkness. What you might call a wall flower, but wallflowers are not nocturnal.
I found the perfect plant to use as my metaphor - something called the "Arizona Queen of the Night" otherwise known as "Cereus Greggii" or the "night blooming cereus". This plant looks dead and withered and brown for most of the year. It is a form of cacti. However, for one short night only, once a year in June, this dead-looking cactus, produces a really beautiful, white flower. People have been know to wait around to witness the blossoming of this flower as it is such a spectacle.
So I am using this flower metaphor to represent a human being who occasionally shines really brightly and blossoms if only for a very short time. This represents a shy and retiring individual who needs coaxing and encouragement to live and be beautiful.
I will battle on with this song idea as I think it really works as a metaphor for life and I like the bit of music, melody and lyric I have. Maybe I just need to listen to the song more to hear it tell me where it wants to go.
Friday, 25 May 2007
My Photos
Below are some of the images I have created at my course at the Ashford School of Art and Design. The course has been very informative and has allowed me to use my imagination.
Someday I would like to use some of these ideas for CD sleeve artwork images for the band "Aeroplane Blonde" of which I am the bass player.
Someday I would like to use some of these ideas for CD sleeve artwork images for the band "Aeroplane Blonde" of which I am the bass player.
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