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Jesse Adams
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10/2/2009 6:32:18 PM
I've been accused on a couple different occasions of having self serving music...
... to that I say, YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT. Will somebody please explain to me how that is supposed to be a bad thing? I don't think anyone is going to save the world by writing songs.
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Lars Mars
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10/2/2009 9:47:48 PM
Self serving music? Is there such a thing?
Who came up with that one Jesse? It sounds like the old Bolshevik condemnations like "personal and bourgeois"
Did you do something to p.o. the commies (other than coming from rural Indiana, I mean).
If so, you must be doing something right!
Keep up the good work and don't let the humorless comrades get under your skin.
Glenn
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The Man With No Band
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10/3/2009 9:01:28 AM
Jesse you self serving bastid ! ... Ha ! .... At least your not doing drive through music ... and I'm not sure the world is ready for full service music anyway ... No time to check the air in the tires ... check the oil ... or wash the windows ...
Drive on my friend !
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Richard Scotti
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10/3/2009 10:55:44 AM
---- Updated 10/3/2009 10:57:47 AM
Jesse,
Dylan was accused of the same thing especially when he stopped writing protest songs. But he had reached a point where he felt that he could express himself more honestly by writing autobiographical and personal songs. He no longer wanted to be seen as a social leader and that he had written protest songs simply because it was popular at the time. He didn't really believe that songs could save the world or influence the powers that be. He instead plunged into the subconscious and the world of the mind where all of life's mysteries dwell. He was extolling the virtues of individualism and turning away from the concept of collective thinking with it's monolithic way of looking at the world. Jesse, your music is exactly what it should be because you are the master of your own musical destiny. If, as the hippies of that time believed, we are all one, then serving one's self is the same as serving others. We are all human beings and our joys, sorrows, needs and desires all spring from a very similar source. When you're writing about yourself, you're writing about other people too. Don't internalize the words of your critics. If Dylan did that, he would have stopped writing after many people said that one of the best songs ever written, Mr. Tambourine Man was a "self serving song".
Jesse-your songs are honest, authentic and they rock. Don't change!
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HunkaFunk
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10/3/2009 10:59:41 AM
---- Updated 10/3/2009 11:14:11 AM
If one claims they're not playing music for themselves first...it is probably not true. Every endeavor we undertake is inspired first by our desire to undertake it! And besides, everyone is a critic. Don't listen to that crap. Keep doing what you love, writing what you feel, and please yourself first (my 2 cents worth).
TF
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Jesse Adams
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10/3/2009 11:58:51 AM
Thanks guys, and I could not agree more. I don't worry too much about peoples criticism, especially of this nature, because it usually comes from someone who doesn't know my material and is just throwing out insults to hurt me either because they don't like something I said or don't like my style. Besides there will always be people out there putting you down no matter how great you are.
I was just curious as to who would try to make a case that "self serving" music was somehow a negative trait.
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Jeff Allen Myers
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10/3/2009 12:05:22 PM
The term makes no sense....
You write and play the best music you can, you try to record it the best you can, you hope people like it as you choose to share your music...
Self serving never comes into play..I don't understand the concept.
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chrysesofia
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10/3/2009 12:18:22 PM
the only thing i can imagine is meant by "self-serving" is the fact that you are very upfront about wanting to make a living off your music and that is how you seem to define success. a lot of musicians/writers who are more purist about the art of songwriting would define success differently ... can people relate, does it get across, or even having nothing to do with an audience at all, does it express what you needed to say. and a lot of artists who define success by less commercial standards might look down on any more commercial motivation, such as yours appears to be. ~ but you can only take that as a "criticism" if you feel you need their approval. do you want the approval of artists, or do you want the approval of a purchasing public? by your definition of success, it would be the latter ... so you're under no obligation to pay any attention to what the artists have to say. but, just so you know, those voices will probably not go away, because they may feel threatened ... that your commercial motivations somehow corrupt their efforts to keep music art-based.
am i making any sense? of course i haven't heard your songs yet, so this is all theoretical.
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Jeff Allen Myers
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10/3/2009 12:49:28 PM
You make good points..
However, Jessie seems to care about the quality of his music, I don't get the sense he is overly commercial . I think he would do it even if he knew there was no chance at making money. I can't speak for him, its just an observation.
Making a living at something you love is a goal we should all have...sadly it's not always possible.
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The CODE
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10/3/2009 1:26:13 PM
Self Serving Jesse?
Well...YOU Gotta like it before you put it out there!
ROCK ON>>>
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Jesse Adams
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10/3/2009 9:47:41 PM
chrysesofia, yes you are making sense... but I'm actually a little offended you think I'm driven by money. That could not be further from the truth. Of course I want to make a living off of music, by that I mean it's what I want to do with my life because it's what I love to do more than anything in the world and it makes me happy. Not because I think there's potential to make money. 200 years from now I want to be remembered by my music. I don't expect to ever have a lot of commercial success, but if I could get by creating music and doing what I love instead of working some lackluster job I only deal with because I have to make money to survive, I'd be the happiest guy in the world. I'm tired of working for some schmoe who doesn't want to reward me for my hard work. I want to be my own boss.
I don't feel I need anyone's approval when it comes to my songs. People can fuck off if they don't like them. I like them and frankly that's all that matters to me. As far as artists not liking clowns who write crap songs to sell records, that'd be me.
And Jeff, of course I care about the quality of my songs... but not because I want to maximize their sellability, but because I want to be the best that I can possibly be at my craft. Why do you think I'm always remixing songs and trying to make improvements? I don't think any song is perfect but I want to get as close to that as I possibly can.
Man I thought you guys knew me better than that. I will do this until the day that I die if I never make a cent.
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chrysesofia
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10/3/2009 11:18:47 PM
please don't be offended. since i haven't heard your music yet because the laptop audio sucks, but did visit your page, i was only going off of what you say on your own page:
"I hope to make music for a living one day. I don't want to be rich and famous necessarily, just successful. In my eyes that means living off of creating music and you know, having fancy things like my own washer and dryer."
you defined the equivalence yourself:success = living off of creating music. i don't know how to interpret your statement other than that it's acknowledging that somewhere between the music and the washer and dryer comes money. i'm not creating that association--that's just the way it works. and i don't think i'm inferring that you are =driven= by money; i'm just proposing that anyone who thinks your music is self-serving =might be= focusing on the distinction between art for art's sake--where making a living from it never enters the concept--and art that has the potential to draw a dollar, as you say would be ideal for you. thing is, i'm sure that is the holy grail for any artist, even those who, perhaps in a sour-grapey way, would never admit it. i think the aspiration is perfectly sensible, and that's the way it ought to work: artists should be able to live off their art to the extent that there is an audience that appreciates it.
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Jesse Adams
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10/3/2009 11:36:07 PM
Well I've learned a couple of things. 1) It's possible you missed the sarcasm of the washer and dryer statement, and 2) maybe I should take down my bio if it is to be perceived the way you just laid out to me.
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never never band
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10/4/2009 1:25:42 AM
my music is entirely self serving....
I do this because I'm the cleverest person I know, so if I like it must be good!
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Jeff Allen Myers
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10/4/2009 3:29:19 AM
Jesse,
That's what I was attempting to say
"However, Jesse seems to care about the quality of his music, I don't get the sense he is overly commercial . I think he would do it even if he knew there was no chance at making money."
I do believe you want them to be the best they can be, and selling them is not your driving force.
P.S. I fixed your name, sorry Bro I have a mental block :)
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Conversation Suicide
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10/4/2009 6:30:34 AM
Your NOT self-serving Jesse.
Shhhhh... don't tell anyone, but you sent me your latest CD, for FREE.
And all I'm required to do is ENJOY the GREAT fucking original TUNEAGE, and when I get some expendable CASH -- send you a FREE copy of mine.
I hardly see how somebody who's "self-serving" would pull a deal like THAT.
ANYHOO.... I get told ALL THE TIME, by my family and friends, that I care too much about my music....self-serving, as it were.
FUCK 'em.
Ya gotta do what ya gotta do, to get your SOUL laid out BARE, before the universe.
I, like you Jesse, JUST WANNA be HEARD.
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Anon E. Mouse
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10/4/2009 7:42:22 AM
Schmoozy Wanker.
-Doobious DoobieMeyer the Cat
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chrysesofia
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10/4/2009 9:20:59 AM
(1) i didn't miss the sarcasm: i see where the "fanciness" of a washer & dryer is sarcastic. (2) this sounds a little petulant, considering you elicited the assessment by putting the question out there yourself. unfortunately you can't control how readers interpret what you write in your bio, but i don't know what purpose would be served by "taking it down." eesh. be who you are, in any case: as to how people interpret it, either fuck'em if they can't take a joke, or be aware of your own sensitivities toward their interpretations.
and as far as music being self-serving ... mm ... it's hard for me to imagine how one would create music so as to make it self-serving. that's not a modifier that makes sense. so like most of the posters above, i don't even understand what that would mean. which is why i offered a possible explanation. but seems to me you need to have this conversation with those who have accused you on more than one occasion of having self-serving music.
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chrysesofia
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10/4/2009 11:38:38 AM
okay, now i've listened to everything, and i understand even less what "self-serving music" is supposed to mean ... you have some very high-quality stuff, and whatever that happens to "serve" makes it no differently enjoyable. you keep on witchyobadsef and never mind the bollocks.
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Jesse Adams
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10/4/2009 1:04:25 PM
I'm not going to take my bio down.
Jeff I knew what you were saying, I was just trying to further clarify my position. I guess I was just surprised I could be perceived as plastic. It goes to show you everything is open to interpretation. EVERYTHING.
chrysesofia, thanks for checking out my stuff and for the station add. Sounds like you totally got "State of the Union?". Thanks for the kind words on your station as well. :)
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Jesse Adams
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10/4/2009 1:05:57 PM
Phlegmie I don't think it's possible to care TOO much about your music, is it?
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Conversation Suicide
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10/4/2009 9:13:35 PM
---- Updated 10/4/2009 9:23:47 PM
Hell NO!~ You fuckin' care A LOT, and it shows in the craftmanship, excellent songwriting, composition, exocution, and ability to collaborate.
And the quality. Self-serving? Maybe, but that's the muse's fault, not yours.
'Cause it enriches people's like, when it's QUALITY choons like Jesse Adams....
If YOU don't care about your music, and believe in it, a HELL of A lot, with all the passion and energy you can muster, then how the fuck is anybody else gonna give a shit?
Make no mistake, you da MAN, Jesse.
And that's REAL, not just a schmoozy lick to your anus.
Now I gotta go PRACTICE with Steven Butt (our new KILLER guitarist), and a guest musician, my oldest son Josh of Greater Than 6' 7" Productions.
I get to work on improving my quality, to try and get to a Jesse Adams level, AND spend time with my son!!!!!! What's better than THAT, eh?
Keep doing your amazing thing Jesse!
-pHLeGm
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Slimdog Productions
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10/5/2009 1:07:26 AM
Jesse, you make GREAT FUCKING MUSIC!!! If people wanna buy it and you make money from it, so be it...I'm like you. I would love the day where I could wake up in the morning and just make music and not have a real job. It's not a job when you love to do something. Most of us here DO have that blue Google checkout next to some of our songs...Don't let people make you think that you are when you know what you are not (Did I say that right? I had to reread that about 10 times and still not sure... Haha.)...Keep doin' you Jesse.
Slimdog
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weAponX
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10/8/2009 11:14:15 PM
Better Self-Serving Music than Self-SerVICE Moosik!
Actually ALL musicians are self-servers, even relidjiss ones. Everyoine has an agenda, an axe, a Bomb, some spittle, some vomit, some H-Bombs.
The impo(r)tent thing is, how the Mooosik make other people FEEEL. If it makes em feel GOOD, well them it seres YOUR purpose and also serves the porpoise of the person who is Listening to it... And so there is Gratification, and self gratificaton, at the same time.
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Conversation Suicide
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10/8/2009 11:20:32 PM
ha... ahaa. yup.
well said, Slimdog and WeaponX.
Glad to see many of us are on the same page!
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weAponX
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10/9/2009 12:02:38 AM
Hey Phlegm... Have you had a chance to look up "The Canton Mudders"? - My friend, his band is very similar to yours, except for the Joss Whedon theme
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Anon E. Mouse
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10/12/2009 12:46:36 AM
Oh that foolish phlegm guy.
If it's NOT an IAC Artist, I'll be he won't be listening to "The Canton Mudders" anytime soon.
Pretty pathetic, isn't it?
Such a wanker, that phlegm guy can be.
Jesse Adams, on the other hand, now THAT's an artist that will soon be going somewhere... Possibly on MY page, with all the famous, worldwide know Artists.
Seriously.
-Doobious DoobieMeyer the Cat
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Jesse Adams
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10/12/2009 3:46:40 PM
Thanks guys for all the kind words of support. Let's hope I can actually make it somewhere with my music... to be honest, I think you guys have more faith than I do.
It's LUCK I need now...
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fly on the wall
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10/12/2009 4:04:16 PM
I don't actually believe anybody accused you of having selfserving music. That's just stupid. I think you made that up as a half assed concept to get promo for yourself here. Weak. :~D
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Jesse Adams
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10/13/2009 12:50:56 PM
Haha, you have a pretty active imagination Fly I'll give you that.
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Anon E. Mouse
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1/22/2010 5:24:55 AM
---- Updated 1/22/2010 5:33:20 AM
Well Mr. Adams,
I say SCREW those who say that you are self-serving.
In the animal world, we would just screw them right in their very own
self-serving butts.
-Doobious DoobieMeyer the feline-booty screwing Cat
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Jesse Adams
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1/22/2010 12:19:48 PM
Once again, life after death! I will live on forever.
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Jesse Adams
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1/22/2010 12:20:44 PM
Oh and I am completely self serving with my tunes. I write them for me and nobody else.
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Bümdoser
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1/24/2010 2:42:07 AM
my best self serving songs came up spontaniously while masturbating
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Jesse Adams
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1/24/2010 6:14:54 PM
You too?
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Conversation Suicide
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1/24/2010 11:31:34 PM
Hookay.
not wackin' the pud.....
but, YES,
Naked.....in the shower....using Mouth Guitar/Bass and Drums....
Self-serving indeed, eh?
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