ideas before songs or songs before ideas?
 

After not getting the desired from people close to me I'd really appreciate some feedback and ideas from people here. I've been having a bad time with music lately for reasons too numerous to go into, but coming up with songs has been hard. It's kind of like if I sort it out that I'm not quite sure what the product is going to be... And nobody is quite in the place that i am - nor do they have to deal with it. So when i eventually come up with a couple of things I can't get anything out of them. It's like they expect the things to be fully realized before they are anything (and that's the problem, even then it might not feel worth it.) So, the ideas are up on www.purevolume.com/davesulk I'd just be interested to know if anybody gets anything out of them - when ultimately they arent structured how they would be or have effects on them as they would have if they were done.

I suggest just jamming while the recorder is rolling and building/editing from there.

Yeah.. Why not develop both at the same time?

Personally, I have a million good ideas, but it's harder to write a song than to come up with a good idea, so I just write a song and use some of my ideas where I see fit. It was a hard thing but ultimately a good thing when I had to go: It's okay to use a similiar structure as another song you like. The first rule in making good music is to know what good music is, after all.

I don't have that kind of band though. The people I play with are incapable in that respect... and i'd be hard pushed to find anyone who is.

Ah, there's my problem too. I've only found one other friend/musician that can imagine music like I do.

Chicken Porno is alright. It's a question of finding musicians who can get something out of it. These songs aren't terrible, they incomplete. Hawk it around the area until you find someone who can be bothered to turn up for a 'jam'.

It's a total bitch - though I too am thinking to join a kind of noise rock band and play bass with them a while in the new year which could be fun.. Like to play other people's stuff that I actually consider interesting and good - i feel quite lucky to find that and see how that goes for a bit.
But that's what the problem is - that I feel like I have to do everything and it has to be so just so... refined and all that. It's a frustration when right now im pretty confused as to the type of stuff I want to make. Thats why the ideas are there, stuff like that chicken porno come very easy to me - but i thought it was a bit cheesy - the awful drum machine doesnt help. Theres a feeling i should be doing something heavier and more progressive and shit, but that stuff comes naturally - so what is one to do?

I play in two bands. I'll post links donw below so you can check them out if you wanna.
Pretty much the same around here - "I feel like I have to do everything and it has to be so just so... refined and all that."
It's been like that for some time now. Actually since when I started.

My answer to you is - go for what you feel is ok to you. Whatever it is. Don't just hold it back. If you want to write off a tune and build it completely - do it. If it's just an idea - try and work it out from varied and various perspectives.

I wrote a lot of songs just by myself in both bands. Sometimes my bandmates loved them. Sometimes they didn't. Either way I kept going. sometimes I just halt my flow and go like "let's write altogether from this idea I have". Sometimes it's just the urge to write and create something entirely by myself.

Right now it's a trippy period for me. I tend to compose a lot of idea like I am piling up material for the future. So I have tidbits of structures and songs here and there. Some stuff I really like, some things I just don't know what to do with.

Yesterday was a good day becuz once again I was jamming out to some loop I had and BANG - all of a sudden I came up with a whole thing. Which is good in a way, helps me being more confident in my writing capabilities.

So - again - go for whatever you wanna do, you have all the time to rethink it later. But if these ideaes you have don't lead you nowhere, try something different.

I started playing when I was 17. I am 25. I couldn't imagine I could write a lot of things but damn... here I am and I think with something like... 50 songs written for each band? Maybe more, with the outtakes and all.

If interested: www.dahliaindaco.com - www.recsoftheflesh.com

PS: sometimes I do get totally stuck. My advice is - in that case do something else (a walk outside, taking pics, writing, whatever you like). Sometimes I feel it like it's a kind of a riddle, a puzzle. But it's not always right to insist. Let inspiration breath freely.