So now that Mariano Rivera has retired, Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” is out of work and with it, sad to say, Metallica too. If you didn’t see the Sportscenter video, it’s really pretty funny. But that’s not the point of this article. I’m going to address the general issue here and while we’re all having a good laugh at the expense of that immortal metal band, there is some very real truth here.
Very few things stand the test of time.
Sure, you can look at classical music and here it is hundreds of years later still being played by orchestras all over the world.
How many people do you think will still be playing The Rolling Stones hundreds of years from now? My gut tells me, not many.
But isn’t that pretty much the way the world is? Nothing really lasts long these days. Most gadgets are manufactured with built in obsolescence. Look at your phones. Don’t you get a new one every two or three years or so? I’m an old dinosaur so I’m keeping my LG until it dies. But most people aren’t like that. Things get old real fast in today’s world.
And music is no different.
Remember the days of “Dark Side Of The Moon” by Pink Floyd? Do you have any idea how many weeks that album was on the charts? Try 741 (some say 736). We’re talking 15 years (from 1973 – 1988).
Granted, there haven’t been many “Dark Side Of The Moons” in recorded history (actually there haven’t been any others) but music tended to hang around back then more than it does now. We get tired of things very fast these days.
I think part of the reason is because we live in a faster paced world than we did 25 years ago. Information is now available at the touch of a button or a mouse click. Want to know where the closest Chinese restaurant is in your neighborhood? No problem. Just whip out the old iPhone or whatever it is you’re walking around with these days.
There is virtually nothing you can’t get within seconds, depending on how good your Internet connection is.
Anyway, because we live in a faster paced world and can get things more quickly than ever before and because we have access to so much more than ever before, we tend to bore with things quickly simply because there is something else new just seconds away. The choices we have for entertainment are mind boggling. I am a video game junkie and have yet to scratch the surface of what’s out there. Forget new. Did you know that there are Atari 600 emulators out there so that you can play all your old favorite Atari games? I once spent almost a whole day just playing Pitfall II.
So how can anything stay new and appealing in a world with millions of choices and new ones coming out every single day? It’s very hard unless you have something really, really special.
Having said all that prelim stuff, what about your music? Are you trying to create something that is going to stand the test of time and be played hundreds of years from now? Good luck with that. You have about as much chance as I have in dating Angelina Jolie. Forget that I’m married. That woman wouldn’t even look at me a first time, let alone twice.
In my opinion, and this is ONLY my opinion, you are better off writing to make a living. In other words, write in the moment. See what the trends are. See what’s popular. Ride the coattails of a new genre if you can. Be on the cutting edge.
Years ago, that would have meant adopting the new style of movie orchestration that is so popular today. You know what I mean. Everything is so big and over the top, with blaring horns (lots of overdrive on them) and screaming strings with lots of high EQ. Superhero scores of today are massive. There is just no other way to put it. I don’t remember which movie it was that started the big over the top scores but once it came out and was a blockbuster hit, all the others followed. Now, it has become standard Hollywood.
Maybe Hollywood movie scores aren’t you scene. That’s cool. But whatever your scene is, keep your pulse on where that scene is going today. What’s commercial? What’s really hot? What has been phased out? Is the scene itself still viable?
I hate to say this, but if your musical style is 70s prog rock, you’re going to have a difficult time getting any of that sold today. It just isn’t popular anymore. At least not with the masses. Sure, it may always have a small cult following, but you’re never going to make a living off of it. At least not now.
Does this mean that you have to sell out? Of course not. You can pick a style of music that you enjoy (certainly you enjoy something that’s contemporary) and put your own signature on it. This can be done in a variety of ways. Probably the easiest is to maybe feature an instrument that isn’t normally featured in that style. Look at what Kenny G did with the sax. In fact, he created his own line of saxophones called (drum roll please) Kenny G Saxophones.
If you try hard enough, you can always put your own signature on the music you’re doing. I’ve done that to some degree even having a royalty free music site. If you listen to a lot of my non classical stuff, you’ll notice a definite 60s Bubble Gum influence, even in my dance music.
Truth is, if you are true to yourself, whatever kind of music you’re doing, the real you WILL come out. You just have to be smart and let it come out in something that the masses currently like. That combined with something a little “new” will have them sit up and take notice. They may not ultimately like it, but at least they’ll listen.
And that is half the battle.
For The Love Of Music,
Steven “Wags” Wagenheim