Motivation

MattCoops · **Posted:** Mon Oct 20, 2014 5:10 am

What do ya'll do to stay motivated?
I got a small stack of vinyl next to my turntable. And when i run out of money to dig, i throw some wax on and tune my ears in to listen for stuff yo sample. Most times i just jam out and listen but when something jumps out at me i chop it up.
Lately i been spending more ti.e st the bar than listening to records.
I guess it's a lack of motivation.
But the bar eats up a huge chunk of my earned revenue that could be better suited to buying records. Especially with the way that I drink. WhatI got a taste for the pints of black. I'm a big Guinness fan. And at 5 bucks a glass, multiplied by 17 of 'em, Whatit's a hinder on my wallet.
So I thought about it, and tomorrow I'm going to bring 5 bucks to Salvation Army and see what records I can score in their dollar bin.

But what keeps ya'll motivated?

Listening to the stuff thst's posted here gets me wanting to create.
Listening to Wu shit, RZA-produced tracks.
And I'm glad to see Lord Beatjitzu back around and puttibg out tapes.

medearis · **Joined:** Sat Jun 21, 2014 1:17 am **Posts:** 361

For me, the best motivation is just living some gawt dang life with no obligation to be creative.

Between all the things I do for myself (jazz bands, writing, painting, making shitty beats), I also do a lot for other people (special education teacher, volunteer coach for the Special Olympics, family, ladies, needy friends, etc). Many of my daily interactions with the kids fucking blow my mind... they've helped me become aware of many life-textures.

I stay motivated by remaining as active as I can be, saying "yes" to a few things I know I probably shouldn't and chasing 'round what ever the daily muse is. Making your music should be not only a release but also a way of making sense of the shit happening inside/around you. Never make it a chore, and you HAVE to EXPERIENCE to be able to communicate that experience.

(and the homies here making that right & proper grimey shit - the "your music" section here is potentially deadly :lol:

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adapter pilot · **Posted:** Mon Oct 20, 2014 5:37 pm

Nicely put. Priorities or not, just living recharges me. If I spend too much time thinking about how to get a sound,what could be changed, what about this song, I get stuck. When I detach and go about my busy life, I return to stuff relaxed and fresh.

medearis · **Joined:** Sat Jun 21, 2014 1:17 am **Posts:** 361

@Pilot - Being able to detach yourself like that is hyper-important. Not talking about emotional detachment here either but the interpersonal energy. You just gotta shake it up some times.

When I play in Street Fighter tournaments (especially out-of-state ones), and I lose the first game... I go back to the character select screen (even though I'm not picking any one else). This gives me time to consider what adjustments I need to make, how the dude sitting next to me adjusted to me, what my on-screen body language looked like during certain set-ups, etc. It's a very important part of the competitive mind-set and I think that it is a healthy perspective for every daily-grind, competition or nay.

That shit being said, I think just sticking your neck out and asking about something like this shows it's importance to you. I've noticed that, for me, if I spend too much time pushing on one, tiny thing then everything AROUND it suffers... there for crippling the main point anyway. Try to grow a bad ass orange tree and you'll quickly find out that it doesn't matter how great the seed if the soil/water/sunlight aren't up to par. Fix those then you can plant ANY orange seed you want and probably get some juicy mo' fuggas!

janglesoul · **Posted:** Mon Oct 20, 2014 6:52 pm

I think it's a good idea to shake things up every once in a while. You can't drink from the same well all the time. Vary your workflow. Get off from a new starting point, another machine, instrument, field recording. Break rules. Make smth you didn't expect you could. Death metal-heavy, twee or glamourously gay. Have fun, make it matter. Express something, reveal something, put something at risk. Expose... etc. Be naughty, do what's not allowed - creative mischief (there's a great book called that).

Or just take a break and come back fresh.

hseiken · **Posted:** Tue Oct 21, 2014 1:17 am

http://stoney.sb.org/eno/oblique.html

Try an oblique strategy card.

noDDy hEAded fREak · **Joined:** Sun Dec 23, 2012 5:00 am **Posts:** 406

i really just look at my creative motivation as "sometimes you are feeling it.. sometimes you are not"

having a planned out tape idea typed out on my computer motivates me when nothing spontaneous is coming to mind. i recommend writing down ideas for tape themes, or beat ideas etc and taking a look at it to potentially stir up some motivation to make tracks.
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janglesoul · **Posted:** Tue Oct 21, 2014 7:37 am

hseiken wrote:

http://stoney.sb.org/eno/oblique.html

Try an oblique strategy card.

I received a little box from Mr Eno last Friday.
http://www.enoshop.co.uk/product/obliqu ... Strategies

QuiVive · **Posted:** Wed Oct 22, 2014 2:23 am

Lots of stuff keeps me motivated, work mainly though, the 40 a week i spend at a job im not all that fond of makes any and all time outside of work seem really important to utilize productively. Plus the endless parade of shitheads, tweakers, and basic morons i deal with at work gives me plenty of emotional residue i need to let out in a positive way. Skate sessions with the homies always spark creative juices, also lately when sampling isnt sparking anything listening to records i would normally sample and playing synth parts inspired by those records into my sampler has been rekindling me.

Motivation

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