Winter Hibernation Essay No. 1
Current mood: complacent
Category: Life
File under:
"Who asked you anyway, Christopher?" (Regardless, it has been on my mind lately)
It seems that it has always been the prerogative of any self-respecting artist to be original. While it is true that as time goes on, this idea of "being the original" becomes increasingly difficult for many reasons, it is, perhaps, more important to note that being an artist of today, the quest for originality can be downright harmful and paralyzing. With every song I write I can be overwhelmed with the thought "Has this been done before?" This is, because, as history advances, the answer will increasingly become "Yes. It has." The sooner one can come to terms with the fact that history is stacked against you, then one can truly be free to create great art.
History has betrayed us all to a certain extent. Any great idea that you may come up with, people have had the luxury of time to come up with it before you. As it is true that as time goes on, future generations will be even more locked by the shackles of the simple fact that we were here first.
With the expression "there is nothing new under sun" however, comes a great liberation. I will tell you this: The ability to do something new is all but dead.
That statement seems rather depressing and somewhat counterintuitive – is it to say that nothing new will ever come from art and music? Further more, (as true to the theme of this essay) it leads to wondering if every generation has had this thought before; that they have simply gone as far as someone will ever go.
One could argue that it is obvious this isn't so, by the simple fact that people still create, and if it is as hopeless as it seems; that nothing new can come, then why would someone bother to create? Furthermore, many would be quick to challenge: "What about the 'greats' – Mozart, Da Vinci, even The Beatles?" This idea of nothing new cannot be true, for they have all created new things. In fact, to many, it would seem that the truth is the exact opposite of the above statement - the quest for something new is, in fact, the one and only thing that keeps art moving forward. I would answer this by saying not only did these greats have thoughts of futility against the goliath of originality, but also they went as far to embrace them, and with these thoughts of acceptance came the freedom to become the greats that they were.
Since forever I can remember I was told that we, humans, are all different. Much like snowflakes, not one of us is exactly alike. It is with this simple truth that the beauty of art comes alive – as long as you do something with your voice, then it will be different, because it is uniquely you. With this realization it brings to light that the above statement is not inaccurate, but rather incomplete:
The ability to do something new is all but dead, to the artist whom wants to do something new.
As a musician it became increasingly clear that certain contrivances in music are easy to see. The old cliché of musicians with perfectly quaffed hair, sitting around with a top producer and record exec and planning out their next hit single (flash and awe over substance) is one that most are familiar with. However, as my time went on in this 'business' I became entangled in another deadly trap – the quest to be different.
How can that be a bad thing? It is easy: Bad art and music does not only come from trying to be someone else, but rather, just from TRYING to be something altogether. It becomes a game of cat and mouse, where you (or I), the frustrated artist, try in vain to "chase" this idea or concept of whom we want to be – instead of spending that time trying to find out who we are.
The aforementioned 'greats' did bring something new to art and music – as we should all hope to do. However, they did this not by having the great weight of history and originality on their shoulders. They did so by a total lack of regard for what had come before; and surrendered to the fact that the very best that they could be is themselves. With this thought I now challenge myself, with every new thing I create, to not ask myself "Is this new?" but yet, ask myself: "Is this me?"

More to come.
Christopher