wooza
Joined: Apr 24, 2006
Posts: 1618
Ithaca, NY
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Posted on Jan 29 2007 07:28 PM
Jake mentioned this a little while back in the Shallow End:
JakeDobner
I'm listening to The 'Verb's CD. Is that wrong? It is such a great album. I want to mail copies to everybody... but then they wouldn't buy them when they came out. I know it sounds pretentious/ostentatious but I really love how our album came out. It's just cool to have a CD.
I was wondering, just out of curiosity, of those of you here who have recorded or even released your own material, how much play does your own music get out of your whole personal library? I've had similar sentiments to Jake's since I've recently started trying my hand at writing my own songs. I used to play lots of covers I learned by ear, but now that I have a couple personal songs under my belt I almost exclusively play those because, well, I like them.
Surely you guys here must fancy your own tunes, you can't deny it. Do you ever have a day where you're just not feeling the ipod and say "screw this, I'm listening to my own stuff"? How often does that happen? (It's happening a lot with me, because I'm an overexcited amateur.)
Oh yeah, no modesty allowed. Embrace your narcissism. 
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DannySnyder
Joined: Mar 02, 2006
Posts: 11050
Berkeley, CA
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Posted on Jan 29 2007 07:51 PM
When I first write a new song that I think is good, I become obsessed with it and listen to it over and over for maybe a 3 day period. This also helps me learn it as I can't always have a guitar with me. After that initial period I ease off and eventually stop listening to it altogether. Hearing it at band practice is enough.
— Danny Snyder
"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo
Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta
Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party
Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF
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bigtikidude
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 25547
Anaheim(So.Cal.)U.S.A.
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Posted on Jan 30 2007 12:11 AM
I break out the Moby Dicks(9 songs I did with AdrienfromCHUM,Insects drums, Bill From the Glasgow tiki shakers, and Billy from the Detonators)
about once or twice a year. I play like a mess, but the rest of those guys are amazing. its good enough to give me and Baja Marty goose bumps on a few songs, so its pretty good I guess.
Jeff(bigtikidude)
— Jeff(bigtikidude)
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SurfBandBill
Joined: Mar 15, 2006
Posts: 1487
San Francisco
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Posted on Jan 30 2007 12:59 AM
It's interesting that you say this... I just listened to a rehearsal recording of The Lava Rats as I was reading tonight. I will make an important distinction:
I usually listen to my own music with a very critical ear. I seldom listen to it for sheer enjoyment. It seems that when I listen to my own stuff I am picking apart the sound - do things work as well as I once thought they did? Does the structure need tweaking? Am I happy with my tone? How is the tempo? All sorts of thoughts like that. Especially as we are approaching the thought of recording the new disc, I have become hyper-critical of my sound and the sound of our songs as a whole. I find it helpful to go back and pick apart the songs, because I can't devote enough of my mind to do so when I am playing. The Rats used to be pretty meticulous about recording practices along the way, just so we could all listen back to what we liked and didn't like.
Don't get me wrong - I LOVE our music. I would listen to it regularly if I weren't in the band, but I think as a guitarist and a songwriter, I dont' "enjoy" listening critically as much like that, and therefore don't listen to my own recordings all that much.
~B~
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diceophonic
Joined: May 20, 2006
Posts: 2174
PacNW (Vancouver, Wa U.S.A.)
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Posted on Jan 30 2007 01:16 AM
Being the soul writer, producer, engineer of The Verbtones I tend to burn out from new songs rehearesed many times and studio takes and recorded so I would have to give it a break for a few days and come back to it with a fresh ear and listen back to the recorded new song or old songs and think damn that get's my hair standing, as a writer I always strive my hardest of not writing fillers I want the rest to be as good as the opening song down to the last track and the most important thing about writing is the story and in surf I know that's not a thing to do it being just an instro but the song has to have catch's a story and that it is going somewhere from the beginning of the song to the end, in simple terms a catchy song  and a job well done when it's all done and mastered because it's forever sealed when released to the public for years to come a time capsule of the feelings and times when that song was written and recorded.
— -Kyle
Beyond The Surf YouTube channel
Beyond The Surf Instagram
The Verbtones @ Instagram
The Verbtones @ Facebook
The Verbtones @ bandcamp
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pointbreakspy
Joined: Aug 24, 2006
Posts: 204
Newcastle... Australia
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Posted on Jan 30 2007 04:36 AM
i record my own stuff, mix it and try to master it, so i hear it dozens of times before i leave it alone(usually unsatisfied with the end result) then i listen with fresh ears a couple of months later and think, that's a wrong note, shoulda faded it out earlier, blah blah.
months later still i listen to my music, shuffled with the songs i admire most and realise i have a long way to go, but i still get a kick out of it, or a laugh.
adam
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WR
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 3832
netherlands
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Posted on Jan 30 2007 04:42 AM
I'll listen to my own demos to learn the songs and/or to see what can be improved. for a few days. more serious recordings, I 'll listen a couple of times, and move on. I get bored cause Ive heard them more then anyone else allready.
non-surf:
In former bands I have made demos for songs we never got to play cause the band split up ... I sometimes come across tapes of half finished songs, and upon listening, they don't even ring a bell. just a WTF is this? yet I can hear it's me... weird. Ive also recently come across a bunch of have-finished songs we 'd never played, and put a few on my mp3 player.... enjoying that while commuting... "Kelly's got a gorgeous body, 'cause she's doin' diet coke." hey, it was funny at the time, okay? ...ahh, differnt times, when songs needed lyrics.
WR
— Rules to live by #314:
"When in Italy, if the menu says something's grilled, don't assume it is."
https://www.facebook.com/The-Malbehavers-286429584796173/
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NoisyDad
Joined: Mar 04, 2006
Posts: 215
West Hartford, CT
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Posted on Jan 30 2007 05:41 AM
I write songs that I would want to listen to - at least that's what I tell myself.
In the 80's, I was in a band called the Broken Hearts and we made a 9-song LP which had 3 of my tunes on it. I still like to hear 2 of them. The third one just didn't turn out how I envisioned it - my fault for listening to the engineer who had his own ideas about the production.
My present band has 2 CD's - half the tunes on each are mine. We're self-recorded and I believe we've gotten the hang of production over 14 years. Some of the tunes are still in regular rotation on my mp3 player.
Now with the surf/instro stuff I've been writing, I record at home so I can labor over arrangement and details as long as I like (or don't). I can usually get an end result that I'm happy with if I work at it.
I guess I'm less shy about digging my tunes myself than I am about sharing them with others (outside my band). My heart was pounding when I uploaded "Bongo-Shmongo" for the SG-101 comp - I had no idea how people would react. I appreciate the feedback.
— http://www.aquatudes.com
http://www.facebook.com/theaquatudes
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spskins
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 3770
tn
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Posted on Jan 30 2007 10:37 AM
I always avoided it, especially after recording, mixing, and mastering. Enough already!!!! Now that we can't practice, I'm forced to go to the basement at work with my sticks and play along with my mp3 player on the cushions of a desk chair. One arm is the hi hat, the other is the ride, butt cushion is the snare and other drums.
— http://www.satanspilgrims.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Satans-Pilgrims/8210228553
https://satanspilgrims.bandcamp.com/
http://www.surfyindustries.com
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MikeG
Joined: Mar 29, 2006
Posts: 309
Springfield, Oregon
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Posted on Jan 30 2007 11:11 AM
^Substitute an ashtray for the highhat and that's pretty much exactly how I learned to play drums.
After spending a bunch of time in the studio, I get a little burned-out on the songs for awhile, but then I really do like most of my tunes so I'll end up listening to 'em eventually. The one thing I haven't tried is gettin' it on with the wife to my own songs, that's just too freaky.
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dp
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 3546
mojave desert, california
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Posted on Jan 30 2007 11:33 AM
most of my stuff is sort of "diary-like": each tune seems to represent a certain time or feeling in my life. Even cover tunes seem to reflect my interests at a certain time or place. Every now and then, I pull out some old tunes on cd and give them a spin. it's kind of funny to me when I can't remember how i played or recorded a certain bit: have to go back a decipher and re-learn my own tunes.
like someone else mentioned earlier in this thread, when working on new stuff, I get a little obsessive and listen over and over for a period of weeks while tweaking and recording parts. Eventually, for some reason I still don't really understand, the tune will be "finished"... then I move on to the next new thing, the next obsession.
-dp
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beelzebozo
Joined: Mar 02, 2007
Posts: 96
Las Vegas
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Posted on Mar 04 2007 05:25 PM
The only time I listen to my own recordings is when I have to relearn a tune. My band will record a session the we cut and paste a song together with protools. Learn the song from that. The only time I hear my recordings anymore is on a jukebox when I am out drinking. I have spent so much time with those songs. In the future I will listen to my recordings to remember the good ol' days but for now i don't.
— 4 out of 5 people prefer Thee Swank Bastards to nothing.
theeswankbastards.com
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unholysteve
Joined: Mar 03, 2007
Posts: 7
jessup, pa
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Posted on Mar 04 2007 07:58 PM
i very seldom listen to the music i record, because usually by the time i record it i'm so friggin sick of it, it not even funnny
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danovondrat
Joined: May 19, 2006
Posts: 18
Toronto
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Posted on Mar 08 2007 03:34 PM
Since I've usually only helped write or at least play my own parts, I do get a kick out of listening to the stuff we record. But when someone hands us live footage, even if the sound is bad, I think it's hilarious to watch!
— http://www.vondrats.com
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BillAqua
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 1054
Chicago IL.
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Posted on Mar 08 2007 03:46 PM
The only time I listen to anything we've recorded would be when it's done maybe once in the car. Sadly, I spend most of my time listening to music in my car so out of curosity I like to hear what it sounds like in there. Also I'll listen to demos of to try to figure out what I'm going to play on new songs.
— "as he stepped into the stealthy night air... little did he know the fire escape was not there"
https://www.facebook.com/reluctantaquanauts/
https://www.facebook.com/TheDragstripVipers/
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skeeter
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 2063
Virginia, USA
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Posted on Mar 08 2007 04:07 PM
So far I've never been happy enough with anything we've recorded to be able to stomach listening to it. And I probably never will. Everytime I click onto our Myspace page I immediately hit the pause or stop button.
As long as other people dig it though, that's great.
— Paul
Atomic Mosquitos
Bug music for bug people is here!
Killers from Space
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ToneBoy
Joined: Feb 17, 2007
Posts: 281
Murfreesboro, TN
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Posted on Mar 08 2007 04:12 PM
After writing a tune, recording it and listening to it over and over and over again... I tend to want to pick it apart. Usually I get over it and leave it alone... For me the biggest high I've had is having another band secure a mechanical license to record one of my tunes. Now THAT was cool...
— Ron (ToneBoy)
The Mariners (1964 to Present) www.myspace.com/themarinersfirstwave
Lonzo & Oscar (1999 to Present) www.lonzoandoscar.net
www.myspace.com/lonzoandoscarcomedy
Billy Henson & Summerstorm (2001 to Present)
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garrett302
Joined: Sep 16, 2006
Posts: 51
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Posted on Mar 08 2007 04:27 PM
ToneBoy
For me the biggest high I've had is having another band secure a mechanical license to record one of my tunes. Now THAT was cool...
Whoa. That would be cool!
I have a real hard time listening to stuff I've recorded, mostly because it's all so hamfisted.
One of my most-hamfisted guitar recordings, and a lame attempt at writing a surf song, recently got picked to be in a movie! Exciting, but embarrassing as well.
Garrett
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ToneBoy
Joined: Feb 17, 2007
Posts: 281
Murfreesboro, TN
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Posted on Mar 08 2007 04:55 PM
A movie!!! Whoa is right!! Congratulations. Heck, I'd be happy having my tunes playing in the background for a acne commerical... For me personally, its one thing to feel good about something you've written but it something else to be recorded by another artist or band or even, as in your case, having your music acknowledged through commerical use. The leader of one of the bands I play with has had one of his songs recorded over 27 times by artists such as Vince Gill and The Ozmond Brothers band. He still gets this look of total gratification when someone else records his stuff. It sure makes a dude want to keep writing!!
— Ron (ToneBoy)
The Mariners (1964 to Present) www.myspace.com/themarinersfirstwave
Lonzo & Oscar (1999 to Present) www.lonzoandoscar.net
www.myspace.com/lonzoandoscarcomedy
Billy Henson & Summerstorm (2001 to Present)
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SurfBandBill
Joined: Mar 15, 2006
Posts: 1487
San Francisco
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Posted on Mar 08 2007 06:53 PM
BillAqua
The only time I listen to anything we've recorded would be when it's done maybe once in the car. Sadly, I spend most of my time listening to music in my car so out of curosity I like to hear what it sounds like in there. Also I'll listen to demos of to try to figure out what I'm going to play on new songs.
Bill,
That's actually a VERY smart thing to do -- most of us these days forget that the era of "stereos" is out - sadly, 99% of the time these days, music is either listened to on the computer, iPod, or in the car. I know all of our recordings sound WONDERFUL through those nice stereos or in studio monitors, but a bulk of people's music listening usually happens with a ton of background noise or with some amount of digitally compressing.
~B~
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