October 8ths

10/8/1968            

(Beatles Studio Diary)            

By 1968 standards this was fast going. Two new songs started and finished, with no overdubs to follow, in one session, albeit at a 16-hour one. It was as well that the Beatles kept toothbrushes at the Abbey Road Studios for pre-breakfast use. It must be no coincidence that both were John Lennon songs. It had latterly become clear that the particular composer of each Beatles song was setting the pace for his particular number in the recording studio and although there were times when John too might spend days or weeks on just one song, he was still prone to making his songs instant. Session tapes at Abbey Road largely revealed Lennon as a man in a hurry, “Quick, quick, to red lights on, let’s go, let’s make a record!”            

[10/8/2024: If you’ve been writing and recording long enough you can’t really categorize yourself as a McCartney or a Lennon in terms of how you approach any particular piece. Since songs are easy relative to scored pieces, it’s easy to say that you wrote it in 5 minutes. The Beatles were a performing band, so it would be easy for them to find riffs and hit “record”. It’s the arrangements and the production vibes that can take a long time. Then there’s the kind of song where finishing it rides on the idea that something that hadn’t been working will soon find a resolution. That’s because they have in the past, where the incubation period simply needed patience. I find that also happens in visual art, where there’s a logjam of some kind, then the resolution comes to you on a walk. You could have been stumped for weeks or months. This happened with Topanga Corral.]    

10/8/2009            

What was “cool” before modern culture made a word for it? For instance, what was the equivalent of the rock star experience in the 17th century?   


 

 

 













 10/8/2019

Hopperesque


 

 

 

 















10/8/2024            

Some artists never even think of repeating their own work, but it is a good form of exercise that tones the creative muscles. I revisited a video that was made post-Outside album by Bowie. He was saying that he was recycling his albums from the 70s. You wouldn’t think he’d be doing that with Eno around--Why make a new painting you made before and make a system that makes 77 million of them? 

[10/8/2025: AI-generated art is evidence there’s no stopping postmodernism, where anyone can become anything regardless of expertise, or even an archetype for doing something, such as artists who don’t have the Artist archetype, and are rather Magicians or Warriors].            

***            

It’s interesting to observe how a player’s technique changes over time—and to think about other ways you’ve changed. 
            
A few days ago I was watching a recent concert by Sting (Sting 3.0), and then watched some Police concert footage from 1979, and I realized that over time a player’s technique can drastically change. Back in 1979 he played quite differently, using a pick on fretless. In the 90s he went back to a fretted bass and used a different right-hand technique, even doing some slapping. I’ve observed it in my playing as well where I’m playing differently now than I was even a year ago. I tend to approach the bass based on the other instruments I might be playing more, such as acoustic guitar or keyboards.            

I’m also continually changing the way I write music. The way I write now is different than it’s ever been, but is interestingly a combination of all the things that I’ve done cumulatively, and now sometimes includes AI-generated content. Sometimes your technique and approach change so radically that you can’t recall how you played the way you used to. It changes like a singing voice can change over time. Sting’s voice is stronger than it’s ever been, but the bass playing has moved in the other direction.            

What you value also factors into your approach: being more interested in writing will change performance and your production strategies. After I finish writing a song, I’m much less inclined than I used to be to endlessly tweak with sounds, but now more likely to tweak the sound I can get from my hands. If I’m focusing on the writing I can become almost indifferent to how I’m playing and go for a functional track subdued in a mix. The instrument itself also changes technique, especially if the instrument is difficult to play because of high action of other physical impediments. I watched a video recently where the bassist was playing with a snapped A-string. You could actually adapt to it and your playing would evolve if you only used 3-string basses.             

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