Do you like listening to your own music?

Teetonetal

Was listening to a few of my old bands yesterday. I only really enjoyed the stuff one band did - it was clever, inventive and different. In truth it was the only really good band I've been in. Yet we got zero interest. The rest of the stuff was either generic, badly played, badly produced or just boring.

Then had a spin through my sound cloud and was a bit. Hmm. there's not much of interest going on there. 

Found it all a bit depressing. Music is cruel. I love playing, performing and recording, but it's almost always completely unfulfilling.

GavRichList

I personally need to listen to our stuff from time to time to focus on areas of improvement... but it's important to remember that you can't really "listen" to your own music in the way that anybody else can as you always hear the process as well as the end result, even if only subconsciously. 

vasselmeyer

I can only listen to two of the bands I've been in. The others are mostly live recordings and demos and there are too many mistakes or are too badly recorded for me to take any pleasure in.

I enjoy listening to an originals band I was in about 20 years ago. We were on the end of the  Madchester scene and we had members with al sorts of different musical backgrounds: indie; blues; rock; pop; reggae. The material was interesting to play and decently recorded but we never got beyond anything other than very early A&R meetings. 

My last band was amazing fun to play in. It was classic rock covers but we had a great vocalist and an awesome drummer and it was raucous, loud fun. It was played well and it was  entertaining for both us and the audience.

I think the "fulfilling" bit is right, but a lot of it is downt to the association you have with when the misuc was created, not necessarily to do with the music itself. From my classic rock band, no-one else needs to hear our version of "The One I Love" or "20th Century Boy" recorded off the desk at the Dog & Duck but I enjoy listening to occasionaly it becasue it was so much fun in the band.

digitalscream

Nope, can't stand it. In fact, the only song that I actively want to listen to was never recorded.

All I hear are the mistakes, or the bits that we improved with gigging.

Teetonetal

@GavRichList I think that's very true - especially if the band is still going. Otherwise I suppose it's a way of making sure you learn from experience. 

@vasselmeyer I guess listening to music brings back memories of cool gigs and good friends which is nice in a nostalgic way. But I think by unfulfilling I mean more that I've sunk so much of my life and money into music yet have all but achieved nothing with it beyond a 2 year period where everything came together. Sure I've earnt some money and played some biggish gigs but it's essentially been a lurching from one failed project to the next. 

I'm depping for an old band in a couple of weeks at a big gig near St. Moritz. Listening to the stuff is depressing. I think there are good songs but a singer who is not up to scratch (which is why I left). So I know the comments in advance will be cool sound but nothing will come of it (by that I mean repeat bookings) and the struggle for them will go on.

guitarfishbay

To an extent I don't see any point in writing music you don't like.  

Getting a good recording that translates what you like about a song is different and quite tough though.  For a lot of people who self-record there's always going to be an element of regret with older recordings, as your own skill set will improve over time.  

digitalscream

guitarfishbay said:

To an extent I don't see any point in writing music you don't like.  

I think there's a big distinction to be made between liking music when you write/record it and liking it a year or two later.

Teetonetal

digitalscream said:

guitarfishbay said:

To an extent I don't see any point in writing music you don't like.  

I think there's a big distinction to be made between liking music when you write/record it and liking it a year or two later.

Absolutely. At the time I loved the stuff!

Roland

digitalscream said:

Nope, can't stand it ... All I hear are the mistakes, or the bits that we improved with gigging.

Whenever we video a gig I to watch and listen the whole way through, just the once, to identify things which need improving. I know the songs too well to find the music interesting.

axisus

I'm a bit of a saddo, I love listening to my stuff! Usually I'm thinking "wow, I can't believe I played that!" - not because it's any good, I am thoroughly average at best, but because it exceeded my expectation. This is especially true when I have improvised and it came out well (once again, by my standard!). Bear in mind that I am just a bedroom guitarist and not a real musician!

The problem I have is that I can only be objective for the first few listens, then my ear gets used to the mistakes.

DesVegas

An old band i was in has hours upon hours upon hours of renegaded recorded back catalougue and that, to me, is incredible to listen to, inventive, well played, fun.

The band i'm in now has one or two well recorded tunes that are listentoable, the rest is easily missable

guitarfishbay

digitalscream said:

guitarfishbay said:

To an extent I don't see any point in writing music you don't like.  

I think there's a big distinction to be made between liking music when you write/record it and liking it a year or two later.

True - but I also think that goes for all music. There aren't many albums that really stand up to a lot of repeated listening, especially if you heard it a lot the first time around.

Teetonetal

guitarfishbay said:

digitalscream said:

guitarfishbay said:

To an extent I don't see any point in writing music you don't like.  

I think there's a big distinction to be made between liking music when you write/record it and liking it a year or two later.

True - but I also think that goes for all music. There aren't many albums that really stand up to a lot of repeated listening, especially if you heard it a lot the first time around.

I'd disagree with that, there are an awful lot of albums I can and have listened to again and again

gusman2x

Initially after recording, I don't mind, but rarely after that. It's a bit like hearing your own spoken voice on a recording, it's a bit cringey. Most actors don't like watching themselves on screen.

Sporky

Generally yes - I can hear my own limitations, but also it reminds me of the process of creating it. Most of them don't sound anything like my original intention.

guitarfishbay

Teetonetal said:

guitarfishbay said:

digitalscream said:

guitarfishbay said:

To an extent I don't see any point in writing music you don't like.  

I think there's a big distinction to be made between liking music when you write/record it and liking it a year or two later.

True - but I also think that goes for all music. There aren't many albums that really stand up to a lot of repeated listening, especially if you heard it a lot the first time around.

I'd disagree with that, there are an awful lot of albums I can and have listened to again and again

An awful lot relative to the amount you've listened to?  And what counts as again and again?

I reckon I've listened to close to 1000 albums completely, the percentage that pass a high listen count (let's say 30+ times) is almost definitely less than 10% of that, at a guess.  When it starts to get to 50, or even 100 times then that number is really small, for me at least - by that point it really is your favourite stuff.  Over a lifetime sure you'll end up with a decent sized list of favourite stuff but it's still going to be a low percentage of total music you've listened to.

Given how many times you'd hear a song through writing, rehearsing, gigging, and recording it, it isn't surprising that you either burn it out at some point, or your tastes change, or you wish you'd done it differently as you later don't feel it is good enough.

digitalscream

Sporky said:

Generally yes - I can hear my own limitations, but also it reminds me of the process of creating it.

That's a big part of the reason I don't like listening to the album and EP from my last band

Bridgehouse

digitalscream said:

Sporky said:

Generally yes - I can hear my own limitations, but also it reminds me of the process of creating it.

That's a big part of the reason I don't like listening to the album and EP from my last band

You really need to find some better musicians to play with

digitalscream

Bridgehouse said:

digitalscream said:

Sporky said:

Generally yes - I can hear my own limitations, but also it reminds me of the process of creating it.

That's a big part of the reason I don't like listening to the album and EP from my last band

You really need to find some better musicians to play with

As musicians, they were perfectly fine. That's part of the problem...organising musicians is like herding cats.

Bridgehouse

digitalscream said:

Bridgehouse said:

digitalscream said:

Sporky said:

Generally yes - I can hear my own limitations, but also it reminds me of the process of creating it.

That's a big part of the reason I don't like listening to the album and EP from my last band

You really need to find some better musicians to play with

As musicians, they were perfectly fine. That's part of the problem...organising musicians is like herding cats.

You need to pick ones with an organised day job!!

guitarfishbay

Bridgehouse said:

You need to pick ones with an organised day job!!

You'd think that'd help.  


However, as soon as music gets involved often logic, and ironically, timekeeping goes out the window