You Are What You Eat!

I’m sure all of you have heard this statement before... Its true, if you chug lard every day, you will become a tub of lard!



Aside from the obviousness of this phrase, there are many more levels that can be extracted from this plump fruit, fresh from the tree of human wisdom. If you read my last article, “Pablo Picasso is not an asshole”, then you will know what creativity or imagination is. Let me pamper your minds with the definition of imagination:

im·ag·i·na·tion [i-maj-uh-ney-shuh n]
noun
1. The power of reproducing images stored in the memory under the suggestion of associated images (reproductive imagination) or of recombining former experiences in the creation of new images directed at a specific goal or aiding in the solution of problems (creative imagination).

So if creativity is us rearranging all we have known, then what is known to you will only be known because you exposed it to your self. The things you expose to your self more frequently are more likely so come out of your creative output. So essentially you are what you eat, or what you eat is what you create!



So if you want to become an indie rocker, than listen to indie rock! If you want to experience death by metal, than listen to death metal! Keep in mind, that in the modern realm “genres” are very diluted. You can take parts of Bach and apply them to Krunk rap if you wish!

If you want to write catchy tunes that get stuck in peoples heads, than don’t be afraid of listening to pop music. If I mentioned, “Single Laides,” by Beyonce, you may cringe and think, “You bastard, Why did you mention that?” But behind your internal voice reading this article, I’m sure Beyonce is echoing through the chasms of your mind.

I offer you two versions of this song - the original with horrifying arrangements (feel free to listen to this for 10 seconds):



Here is the second version with the brilliant arrangements of Jack Conte and Natale Dawn from Pomplamoose (which if this is the first time you have heard of these guys, I highly suggest you view some more of their videos... I am very jealous of what these people can do)



If you want to write catchy tunes, you need to listen to tunes that get stuck in your head much like, “single ladies” or “mmm bop” by the androgynous pop trio, Hanson. Don’t be afraid of the negative social context, these songs are catchy because they are well written! Don’t listen to the cheesy pop orchestrations or the lyrics; I try to imagine the music as a string quartet, this way I can hear the power in the songwriting as opposed to the teeny bopping vomit invoking message.



If you are feeling “dry” creatively, don’t forget to lubricate your frontal lobe and listen to music! It will help you remember why you started to make music in the first place. Not to mention it will help you fill up your musical toolbox.

This concept of “you are what you eat” applies to other areas of creativity as well! For example, when I read the harry potter books, I felt like J.K. Rowling was my internal voice. Also I remember I went on a Shakespeare kick for a while and I noticed the syntax of my writing turned backwards and my vocabulary was replaced by old English.



So remember… you are what you eat or what you eat is what you create! If you are displeased with you’re creations, than start consuming new music!

Pablo Picasso is not an asshole: Introducing the musical toolbox

“Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists Steal”

For this blog entry, I will be focusing on this frequently misunderstood quote. It is widely believed that Pablo Picasso created this assholish statement, but upon further research I found that this quote is actually based off a review T.S. Eliot wrote on Philip Massinger’s work. Eliot didn't actually say this quote in the review, rather he insinuated it's meaning.



So with no evidence Picasso said it, and a paragraph by the notorious T.S. Eliot that potentially sparked this quote – I would imagine a long game of telephone actually molded this set of words into it’s current form. It doesn’t matter where it originated; it exists because a lot of people believe it does – oddly enough that’s how god(s) came to be.



For aesthetic purposes, I am going to attribute this quote to Picasso - not to purposefully shit on the scholarly value of this writing but, because his name works well with asshole. (pic(ass)(o) – (ass)h(o)le).

On the first interpretation of this quote, it may seem like your betraying your artistic nature. “Why would I borrow or steal when I want to create something new?” Well schizophrenic other me… let’s dissect what creation actually is!

Creation is you subconsciously rearranging everything you have experienced in your life. That’s right, if you are a creator of things, everything you have created has been stolen from people, places, movies, music, or whatever you have experienced in your short life. Much like the vastness of our universe, an infinite amount of ideas have been thought before. So to be truly original is almost impossible.

If you haven’t done this before, you should drive to the ocean at night. The infinite blackness of the Atlantic brings out all the stars hidden by light pollution. It’s kind of like a black light revealing seamen stains after a successful 10,000 to 1 bukkake… Think about all those glowing dots (or seamen stains) like individual ideas. As artists, it is our job to connect all these dots. Connecting the dots is essentially creativity. The better you can do it, the more creative you will be.



Now where do we get ideas? This is where our musical toolbox comes in! I stole this idea from Stephen King's brilliant book called “On writing”, which if you haven’t read, I highly recommend it. To fill up our toolbox, you want to use Picassoisim ("…great artists steal"). If you hear a section of music that really moves you, mentally throw that into your toolbox. Even it’s very small... like a three second guitar bend that fascinates you, go ahead... throw it in your toolbox.



Essentially building your musical toolbox is like honing in on what you consider to be good music. Of course the definition of “good music” is different for everyone, but if you are taking a conscious effort to find and absorb parts of others peoples compositions that you feel strongly about, then you will know better where to go and what you want from a piece you compose.

If you think about it that’s how all ideas, sciences, arts, philosophies… or just about anything has evolved. A conscious understanding of the past and an intentional rebuilding to improve it just makes a whole lot of sense in every creative feild. To be fortunate enough to have 1000’s of years of musical development to steal from is a true blessing. Now I’m not saying you should totally rip of other artists – but I am saying is you should build off others ideas to take them to new places.



So build up your musical toolbox! It will help you hone in on the path your music is naturally going to. Like a plant that faces the sun wherever the sun may be… if you are gifted at connecting the dots, developing a toolbox will help your music face the sunshine… letting the sunshine in will help you grow and in the end, that is what existing is all about!

Now lets rock out!