A defense of stupid ideas!

[pklima]

I think stupid ideas are better than good ideas in the realm of music, and here's why. On another forum, someone posted:

I've come up with zillions of stupid band/music ideas while drunk and/or stoned. Should "stupid" ideas be left in the realm of ideas? Does it seem more or less stupid once the idea is realised?

Having experience getting away with incredibly stupid things like hip-hop covers of country songs and drone-doom covers of jazz standards, I replied:

On a practical level, i think leaving stupid ideas in the realm of ideas is foolish.

I think it's a lot easier to succeed in music with a stupid idea than with a good idea. Lots of people have good ideas and try to turn them into reality, so you've got a ton of competition no matter where you turn. Lots of people also have stupid ideas, but most decline to carry them out, or only carry them out as jokes, so if you take your stupidest ideas completely seriously and implement them with effort, you're quite likely to succeed in some small niche.

[El Bajo]

Just look at the mainstream pop industry! I wish I couple write some of those stupidly catchy one hit wonders so I can sit back and let the money roll in, particularly xmas songs seeing as the holiday season coming.

I'm totally not into dance/trance/garage music (I like metal) but sometimes I think if I wrote one of those tracks with some degree of musical knowledge that I know DJ's don't have I could make millions!!!! But thats just a silly idea, which is why I'm stuck in a dead end job!

[Sizlack]

One of the biggest hurdles however, is getting the rest of the band to go along with your idea.

[JohnMCA72]

My opinion: I (like most musicians) "know" too much, especially about what is or isn't "good", what should sell/appeal to audiences, etc. That's why it's important to test ideas. Some that I've thought were bad, have turned out to be surprisingly good when subjected to people who didn't know they were supposed to be bad, & vice versa.

JM

[makaky]

Back in 82, some music teachers made a bet. Stupid music with toy instruments. some of you might remember that mini Casio keyboard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZviYm...x=0&playnext=1


It was an instant world hit and the got very very rich.

[nutso42]

Originally Posted by makaky

Back in 82, some music teachers made a bet. Stupid music with toy instruments. some of you might remember that mini Casio keyboard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZviYm...x=0&playnext=1


It was an instant world hit and the got very very rich.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BritPicker]

Originally Posted by Sizlack

One of the biggest hurdles however, is getting the rest of the band to go along with your idea.

That's right... if they don't wanna even try your idea, or just do it in a half-hearted way, then even a good stupid idea will sound, well, just stupid.

Luckily for me, as main writer for my band, the guys suspend judgment, maybe roll their eyes, think here we go again, and try it out.

Usually something good comes out of it, even if we reign in the initial idea a bit. It's easier to 'tone down' an idea than work it up.

Like the time I told the guitarist not to listen to the bass-line, just let the guitar feedback and play itself. Bass-line was in Fminor, guitar was just using open strings. Completely atonal! We ended up keeping that idea for a whacked-out solo part. If we'd thought about it we'd not have done it.