Matthew's Thought Of The Day

I know I've been negligent. Please allow me to repent in part by sharing my thoughts.

When a band enters a studio for an indefinite period of time, how long is too long? When should we drag them kicking and screaming from the production desks and vocal booths to demand our unfinished album? Perfection is an indulgence which is endemic to our artistic community. I do not say this disparagingly, I say it with the sympathetic authority that only comes through experience. Years have been wasted whilst I toiled away on an analogue multi-tracker, polishing an album that, contrary to my delusional self-belief, was not going to change the world. The truth is, most musicians simply cannot refrain from re-writing, mixing and fine-tuning their creations. In so doing, they fall into that obvious trap: nit-picking. Nitpicking must be the most deadly ailment that a songwriter can be struck down with. It replaces natural inspiration with sterile mechanics. By tediously reworking our material, we cut out the heart of our music.

Never will we be able to completely rid ourselves of this tendency, which looms over us like a hungry spectre, devouring our musical brilliance. Perhaps however, in becoming aware of its continual presence, we can try to salvage some of the magic