Studio Archetypes

The studio is a joyous, volatile, creative, dream making, dream crushing microcosm of life that reveals the simple and deep layers of all who participate.

Day one is happy. But by day three or four or forty, true character comes out.

If you’ve been in the studio perhaps you know who some of these people are and which ones you are…

When’s lunch guy
Lets skip lunch guy
I brought my own lunch guy
I already spent my per diem guy

Don't leave me out guy
Always right guy
Let's not fight guy
I hate you guys guy

Speed it up, energy guy
Slow it down, feel the groove guy
I don’t put click in my mix guy
I play the same thing either way so I don’t care guy

It almost sounds too perfect guy
We need to tighten it up guy
We’ll fix it in the mix guy
One more take, one more take, one more take guy

The mix is weird guy
Always talking while listening to the mix guy
All the mixes sound the same to me guy
We need to start over guy

Candle guy
Coffee guy
Special chair guy
Hair guy

Making music is a gift guy
We only have till Thursday guy
It’ll be fine guy
Runs studio intern ragged for his own selfishness guy

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Music And Memories

First Monday of the month, new Hum Love playlist on Spotify and Apple.

The music we love is tied to memories. The music we were listening to was new to us, it was good, we tie it to what was going on. So when those songs come on later in life we get to relive the memory…which makes the song even better.

It isn’t that you aren’t making memories that are just as sweet these days but chances are you’re not listening to as much new music to associate with your new memories. 

Making your own playlist on a regular basis helps with that...more new music in your life being tied to your new experiences and then, memories.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Getting What You Want

‘I know what I don’t want’…that’s usually the first step. It feels good to have some sort of direction.

‘I know what I want’…that’s the best step. It can take a while to get there but it’s worth the commitment.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Cleaning Up Spotify

I love clicking around on Spotify but as artists have released more music over the years in different formats, it’s getting a little messy.

The song is released as a single, then it’s on the EP, then on the album, then re-released as a single with acoustic versions and remixes, then on the deluxe album…Each one of these releases getting it’s own heading and time stamp.

And since it’s the biggest song for the artist it appears at the top of the page in the Popular section. 

Underneath the Popular section are the artist full length albums from newest to oldest and then underneath that, the time line starts over again with EPs and singles from newest to oldest.

Confusing? Yeah, it’s a bit of a scrolling/information nightmare.

The most common information I want to have quick access to is…when did an artists most popular songs get released and what’s the corresponding single/ep/album?

So a few suggestions to clean and clear things up…

-a button next to each track that pops up the artwork for all the places the song appears (I know you can click the three buttons and select ‘go to album’ but that doesn’t solve the problem)

-put all releases into one overall timeline AND/OR give artists control panel where they get to decide what their timeline looks like

-when an artist releases a single and it also appears on a subsequent ep or album, the artist has the ability to remove it as a single from the timeline

-if the the song is listed in the artists Popular songs, the artist can choose which artwork (the single art, ep art or album art) is shown next to the song title at the top of the page.

»» The better line which should have concluded yesterday's post: This time is next time's last time.

I thought of it today. Too good not to include.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Next Time's Last Time

Getting asked back is one of the highest compliments.

But getting asked back doesn’t happen by being really good bothering the promoter eight weeks after your last gig there.

It doesn’t happen by focusing on getting asked back.

It happens by putting on a show that isn’t concerned with next time but rather lighting the full stick of dynamite, pulling the pin and letting it fly, turning it up and tearing off the knob, shakin the lakes and rockin the docks. (I grew up in Minnesota, I heard someone say the lakes bit when I was a kid.)

Getting asked back means you were incredible last time.

This time is next time’s last time. Make it incredible.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Daily Loops

If you take a few minutes to think about the things that are new to your daily loop over the last year or two (or ten), it will remind you that you can add or remove things to/from your daily loop.

Here’s a few to get you going…

Fifty pushups

Writing a two sentence note to your spouse

Flossing

Taking a deep, thankful breath as you walk out the door to work

House shoes

Music while making dinner

Lighting a candle after dinner

Writing down a good idea

No more fried food

Phones stay out of the bedroom

Speaking with a friend on the phone

Moisturizing

Our days are fairly predictable. It’s why the most common answer to “what’s new” is “not much”. We do a lot of the same stuff over and over. So pick some stuff you like. Pick some stuff that makes a change.

You’ve added stuff before. You’ve dropped stuff before.

You can do it again.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple