Editor's Note: Down with Ego
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Kylee Swenson Remix Editor
I don't run out and buy every book sanctioned by Oprah's Book Club, but my mom decided I needed to read Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth, so she sent it to me. The first chapter was difficult for me to get through. My wall of skepticism went up with all the lofty spiritual thoughts coming at me full speed. And frankly, from looking at the picture of Eckhart on the back cover, I thought he might be a cult leader. No way am I aligning myself with any Nike-wearing, vodka- and phenobarbital-drinking weirdos waiting for the alien ship to arrive.
Then, I started to get into what he said about the human ego and how it sabotages our happiness. How true. Celebrity is everything. Fame and money are the big prizes in life. So much so that we find ourselves wasting time obsessing over promoting ourselves rather than actually making music and improving our songwriting, playing and production skills. Fifteen years ago, none of this viral-promotions stuff mattered. No one spent an hour Googling themselves and getting depressed when they realized that they weren't more famous today than yesterday. Seriously, what are we doing?
It's about balance. In this issue's “Band Aid” column, you'll read about the importance of viral promotions. If you want your piece of the pie, if you want your music career to go anywhere, you have to get onboard. It's true, and we have to accept that if we want fans. But as a society, our dysfunctional need for public exposure is at such a fever pitch it's making us neurotic. And it's getting in the way of creativity. It's easy to get caught up in the hype: Guess who got 10 billion plays on MySpace today?! How did that band that just formed last week already get a feature on Pitchfork?! Did you see that so-and-so is playing 45 festivals this year?! The only remedy for this is to gain awareness that the ego is fretting and beating you down and to know when it's time to shut it off. Time to ignore its pleas and begging for attention.
MSTRKRFT's Jesse F. Keeler and Al-P are two guys who have the hype machine behind them, but without the time and dedication they put into their music, they wouldn't have any of that. When they started their vowel-less project, MSTRKRFT, it was originally just intended as a Toronto-based studio where they'd record other bands and do remixes. They were so focused on their work that the quality of it did the talking for them, and as a result, the hype machine demanded MSTRKRFT, the band. It's a good lesson: We need to relax and do what we love to do. If you don't meet your ego's expectations for fame, remember that the search for recognition and celebrity often brings unhappiness, not to mention regrets for your rocking-chair days later in life when you realize you didn't enjoy the journey. Better to be somewhat content than constantly torturing yourself. So turn off your Web browser and turn on your DAW.
Editorial, Advertising and Business Office: 6400 Hollis St., Ste. 12, Emeryville, CA 94608, USA; tel. (510) 653-3307
Also publishers of Electronic Musician
Acceptable Use Policy blog comments powered by Disqus
| Want to use this article? Click here for options! |  |
