Original Music
“There’s no such thing as original music anymore. Everyone is undoubtedly ripping someone else off.”
A musician friend of mine told me that a while back and it’s always stuck out in my mind. I’m not sure if I agree with it or not – I guess I see both sides. Oasis sounds like The Beatles, The Beatles were influenced by Elvis, Elivs was influenced by Hank Snow…and on and on.
I suppose it all depends on your interpretation of the word original. I’ve always thought that you can’t have an original unless there is a copy or another version. For example, KFC had to change the name to original chicken only after they created extra crispy. You don’t hear them saying original mashed potatoes because there’s only one…right?
If you support the same logic, then it suggests that original music is the first version of music that has been copied in some way. I had to re-read that sentence to myself a couple of times to fully understand it. And after I did, I can say I feel comfortable agreeing with it, but there’s definitely more to the story. How can one decipher what is the ‘first version’ of a song? If I write a song with a simple chord progression, am I copying whatever European musician created it back in 40 AD? If I use the lyric, “I love her,” is that being copied from artists like Whitney Houston, Frank Sinatra, Yoko Ono, and the Beatles who have all used those three words in succession?
Classical pianist, Chris O’Riley says, “The best musicians, period, are those that assimilate, refine, and regurgitate in a creative way everything they hear. So you have a musician, who is writing music that could not have been written at any other time in history and yet takes into account all that has come before it.”
Maybe I should look as original music as any work that is pieced together by an individual’s own inspirations, influences, emotions, and creativity. If that’s the case, then I absolutely disagree with the quote at the top of the page. I’ve always liked to think of the best musicians as song engineers. Those who have the ability to take different aspects of their life; love, heart ache, triumphs, and tragedies and mix those emotions with the musical influences that have moved them throughout their lives and design sometime new and fresh. Something original.
Studio (8/14/09)
Woke up this morning looking forward to getting back into the studio. My last visit there wasn’t very productive. I shouldn’t say that, it was productive as I learned what I DIDN’T want to sound like. I spent four hours and a couple hundred bucks – only to get home, listen to the tracks and say, “I hate the way that sounds, I’m redoing it.” Over the past couple of years, I have discovered that I am similar to most musicians in the sense that we’re all perfectionists. I can always sing it or play it a little bit better. That’s why it’ so important to have someone in there telling you, “That was a great take, let’s keep that one.” 
The last visit was nobody’s fault but my own. I should have practiced my tunes more extensively before I went in. But I wasn’t going to let that be the case this time. I skipped my coed Volleyball game and my men’s league hockey game Thursday night to stay home and work on some of the tougher parts. And it paid off. Walking into the studio this evening, I had a calming sense of confidence. Tim and I work on three songs tonight: Kasey’s Song, Coming Home with Me, and Okay. I think they turned out great. I’m about half way done with the CD now. I’ve let a couple of close friends preview some of the tracks, and the feedback I’ve been receiving has been awesome. I really think this album is going to be great. Keep checking back for updates.
Blogging
Over the past year or so, I’ve really gotten into reading other people’s blogs. Not entirely sure why, I guess I just like to know what people are up to. I suppose that’s why social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace are so addicting to me. I’ll catch myself browsing the pages of friends I haven’t seen, talked to, or even thought about in years. I’ll read their info to see what they do for a living or check out the pictures of their new friends and family. I’ll start reminiscing about what they were like in grade school and wonder if they’re still the same old glue eating kid I use to know.
About a year or two ago my sister started blogging…which is crazy. My sis is not what you would consider a computer wiz. She’s more of a spiritual wiz (we’ll get into that in a later blog). She has trouble seeing the screen, types by plucking, and has never quite figured out how to upload pictures from a digital camera to her computer. And there she was blogging about her life. And she was great at it. She stayed pretty consistent at it for awhile, but has since kind of gotten away from it. I really hope she starts it back up. I enjoyed it.
Now that my website is completely up and running, I’ve made a personal commitment to start blogging on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis. I’m sure I’ll touch on everything from friends and family to music and hockey. If you’re interested in my blog, I encourage you to enter your email address in the right hand panel and subscribe to my website. It’s really easy. And once you do, you’ll get an email whenever I post a new blog or a show.
Pleas, feel free to post feedback. Talk to you soon,
JT
Welcome to JohnThomasMusic.org
Greetings all!
Thanks for touring the official website of John Thomas Music. Take a look around and see what you think. I’m still tirelessly working on getting my new album done. It’s taking a lot longer than I would have ever expected.
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See you soon,
JT
