Great songs can transcend all of this! There are no real rules in music, and sometimes a record can be a pile of trendy new sounds and still go down in history as an all-time great. But, come on — you know which albums were made because the artist was trying to make something cathartic and exceptional, and which ones were hastily thrown together to capitalize on a sound, a moment, a scandal, etc. Any and all music is valid. Why do you want to make a record, anyway?
How many people did it take to put it together? Probably more than you thought, right? The illusion that the artist actually thought and felt the things they are singing about is an important part of selling music.
I feel okay picking on Brown a little, because… well, remember? Just one guy, in a desert. Very alone. Dressed to the nines. Timelessness, too, can be determined by a moment. Instead of writing life music for decades, if an artist creates a sensational cultural moment, even when the moment passes, they've immortalized themselves. With production, it's much of the same. What stamp are you leaving? Travis Scott made a timeless sound.
Everyone—and I mean everyone—raps over a Travis Scott type beat. They have been for the past handful of years, and will for even more. Eventually, it will become vintage, but it's not going anywhere. Wondering if Travis would have gone up during the '80s is a fool's errand because we did not have the capacity for his sound then, but I would have to venture yes because his production choices are grander experiences than some top 50 songs.
On the opposite end of the timeline, Big L is timeless to me. He didn't have the chance that Slug did to make himself timeless by literally working over time, but he did write about his time on this earth with equal candor that inspired everyone all the same. Where would punchlines be without Big L? There is a core truth to his music that floats up and is beyond explanation, but when you hear it, you know you're hearing classic, real, of-the-earth rap.
There is no one word for that feeling, but artists new and staple have spent their careers trying to summon it. Beautifully said. My question for you is, is there a difference between enduring artists and timeless artists? If you are able to endure time, to last beyond the moment for someone, won't you break through the barriers that tend to cause artists and songs to fade away?
I'm pretty certain reaching the status of an enduring artist is just a few steps from lasting as someone who transcends time. Due to our relationship with art, every artist is timeless to someone. The more I think about Saweetie's answer, the more I believe immortality is the desire. Big L is immortal. As you said, where would punchlines be without him? That's not something every artist will be able to say. The conversation then turns to influence, to how what you create not only exists outside of time but is carried into the future by those who champion what you made.
I imagine most artists want their art to last forever, not just in people's hearts but at the heart of the culture they operate within. I absolutely agree with you. Enduring is a step away from timeless, but cultural timelessness is different from personal timelessness. Every artist, conceptually, is timeless to someone. Monkeys and typewriters , you know?
You'll get the great American novel eventually. There are more concrete parameters when we think about cultural timelessness. Someone has to start the consensus for those things, though I'm not entirely sure who is on the committee. I guess for Atmosphere, I am on the committee as you are on the committee for your own artists. Timelessness, when we boil it down, is not just an emotional impact but influence.
Any artist can strike the heart of a person; there are just so many people. But not every artist can be influential. That's why everyone is trying to influence the culture. Touching the fans is sometimes just the cherry on top. Which brings up the question, what is it about some music that makes it sound timeless? In many cases, music that has content touching on deeper themes can be easier to connect with since right away it feels more personal. Music can have a way of suggesting and expressing emotions which words sometimes cannot, which is why music is often such a powerful medium of expression.
A friend of mine mentioned that music with a particular sound or mood would seem to have a personality of its own, which is a similar comment my friend Vera told me about the records she always carries with her — that certain records were like friends or companions to her.
Some records work better with others and some work really well in a very specific context. Some people talked about keeping certain records to close out their sets, and others perfect for a sunrise.
In a past article , I covered how to develop many ideas quickly, but also explained the lottery of finding a good one. This can be quite a complicated topic and in some ways impossible to pin down as a science. Despite the fact that so many popular songs can, and have been written very quickly, there is still no exact science to writing great music. First, some will say achieving a state of grace, which in psychology, is often labeled as being in a state of flow.
Many artists have, and can touch that feeling yet sadly will often rely on substances to reach it again, which is in many cases counter-productive. What exactly is flow? In positive psychology, flow , also known as the zone, is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.
In essence, flow can be characterized by a complete absorption in what one does and loses a sense of space and time. There is no shortage of studies that have looked look at chord progressions common throughout different eras, and identified a winning formula. The use of the right chord progression mixed with innovative techniques of an era will make a musical and well-written song truly stand out.
David Bowie is one artist who always had the flair to find and collaborate with upcoming, creative people to push the edge creatively. Get it done, and get a lot of it done.
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