I spent some time this evening listening to rough tracks for my band's next album. It kind of depressed me--not because I think it sucks, but because I had high ambitions for it being something beyond anything I'd ever done. More time went into it, more overdubs, more effects trickery, better collaborators. We have spent maybe 18 months, on and off, working on these songs and getting them recorded digitally in a well-equipped professional studio.
Then I decided to listen to a live recording of a show I played with a previous band in perhaps 1992. This recording was made by putting a boom-box cassette recorder (with internal mic) in the back of the club and pressing "record."
The boom-box recording is not very well mixed but sounds weirdly good to me. My drumming sounds very precise on the live tape; inventive and lively.
I think my time may have been better then. I may have come up with more interesting drum parts. On the other hand, my touch has improved, I think. My ear has slightly improved, and I can now play the guitar passably well. The songs I write by myself are certainly more sophisticated. But overall, I'm not sure whether I've taken more steps forward, or more steps back.
When you look back 10 or 15 or 20 years, do you think you've progressed across the board? Or maybe have you lost some aspect of what you think you had when you were younger?
― The Mad Puffin (The Mad Puffin), Saturday, 29 July 2006 03:32 (nineteen years ago)
My songs are FAR better now than they have ever been. And they improve each day. Songs I wrote 3 years ago I barely can stand to perform, 'cause they just seem so poor. The songs I wrote 13 years ago are noodly and dull and stink of the odor of geekly wankism. The songs I wrote 20 years ago I no longer have available for comparison.
― Shoes say, yeah, no hands clap your good bra. (goodbra), Saturday, 29 July 2006 03:52 (nineteen years ago)
Oh god, this is a great question. I am putting another band together right now with some people that I worked with 10 years ago (and once for a one-off gig in 2003 - some ILXers actually saw that one!). We're going thru some old recordings - a gig, some rehearsals and a couple of demos to see what might be good to resurrect, and I have to say that we were absolutely SHIT HOT! I haven't thought of the band or the songs really since we split in 1996, and I am really surprised how good we were. I have been playing a lot of guitar recently and trying to expand my style - more improvisatory, better solos etc - but listening to these tapes I am surprised how good I used to be. There's something to be learned from this, but I don't quite know what yet - maybe I've taken some steps backwards too. I will post more on this soon.
― Dr. C (Dr. C), Saturday, 29 July 2006 08:15 (nineteen years ago)
Well, this goes to show that compression and processing ruins the real sound of a band.
ESPECIALLY a drummer.
See if you can get a listen to the un-mastered tracks.
See how your drums sound.
I guarantee it sounds more like your drum set.
― The GZeus (The GZeus), Saturday, 29 July 2006 18:37 (nineteen years ago)