I’m not a computer guy. I know enough to set up and run my website, operate my recording software, and basically do what it takes to get by. When a problem pops up with my recording computer I only know the basics to get things working again. I have to tell you, when these problems pop up when I have to work on a project it absolutely kills my creative flow. Nothing is better at destroying creativity like having to deal with technology. It makes me want to SMASH MY GOD DAMN COMPUTER TO PIECES!!!!
Technology is such a double-edged sword. It can help bands record their own albums in their own homes when they’re on a budget. However, the flip side to this is that the marketplace can get flooded with albums by bands that now have the means to release an album…any album…on their own.
Technology can help us quickly record music and edit out the mistakes, tune vocals, quantize drums, fix mistakes in the guitar tone after-the-fact, and so on. However, this is now allowing lots of mediocre musicians to pass themselves off as being more competent than they are.
The band, Rings of Saturn, recently got into a lot of trouble over allegedly recording their songs at a slower speed then speeding everything up to make it sound like they were these shredding virtuosos.
So, technology can sure help musicians out but, man, it sure is an awful bullshit filter. It’s kind of like MTV: basically anyone can be seen and heard no matter of the quality in content.
One of my problems these days is having a recording computer that has a mind of its own.
I actually have two recording computers: one at home where I work on my own projects, and the other one is at my planetarium where I record voice over tracks, podcasts, and do audio editing.
Both of these computers were built for me and both of them have a litany of problems I’ve had to get fixed over the years.
I had my planetarium computer built for me and it was sold as having everything I needed. However, I later found out that the operating system wasn’t legit and it was built from used and discarded pieces of hardware. So I had to get the operating system issue fixed. But when that was fixed it caused a whole list of other problems. Certain VST instruments aren’t being recognized, for example. It was also told to me that one of the hard drives is set at a certain speed which forces the other hard drives to work slower.
It basically resulted in making my job a lot harder than it should be. Want a good time? Try fixing a computer that isn’t giving you any output when you’re thirty minutes away from your voice over artist coming in to record. Because people on a tight schedule want to sit around and wait for you to figure out why your computer isn’t working. (I got it fixed in time, by the way).
These are all issues I had no idea to look out for when buying the computer.
My home computer is even worse.
Do you know how frustrating it is to be working on a project and getting the Blue Screen of Death half way into it? Do you know how many times I’ve been working on a video project to have the project lock up and stop responding? It’s just the most frustrating thing.
I don’t think creative people are wired to deal with this.
It’s like going to the gym to work out. You’re an hour into your routine and then your girlfriend shows up and wants to chit chat with you. After talking to her for 10 minutes you’re now cooled down and have to get back into your work out.
Computer problems just destroys the flow.
I’ve had so many times where I’ve gone to record something at a studio and I’ve had to wait around while someone fiddles around with a computer issue.
“Why am I not getting any sound?”
Ugh, figure this shit out before I get here.
Since I’m not a computer guy the only thing I can say about this whole problem is this: If you’re getting into recording your own material and using computers make sure that everything is set up right.
Make sure you have legit software and make sure you have the right hardware for not only what you currently need but what you might need in the future.
“I didn’t think I’d use that much hard drive space.”
Didn’t ya?
I’m in the beginning phase of making a live laptop setup for myself and I’m going to make sure that I get the right laptop for live gigs. I want to do something like Zoe Keating does but with bass guitars and keyboards. The laptop won’t ever be hooked up to the internet, it will have the right kind of graphics card and more than enough memory. I’m going to talk to several people and do research to make sure that I’m getting the right thing. All my software is going to be legit and not pirated.
Because in the long run it pays off to have an actual working setup that won’t litter you’re creative flow with constantly shifting problems.
So this has been a kind of negative post. How do I get back into the creative flow when things go wrong?
Well, when the shit goes down and my computer is acting up I do what I can to fix it. Then I walk away from it for a while. Whenever my computer starts flipping out on me I first take steps to fix the problem. When dealing with computers the fix will usually take a while. Use that time to step away from it, cool down, and think of a better solution.
The most recent problem I had was that I was getting the Blue Screen after several minutes of working.
So I reboot, get into Safe Mode, and take a look at what I’ve got. I uninstalled some new programs and reset my startup options back to normal.
I then moved a lot of big files I no longer needed on the computer to an external hard drive for back up.
While this was going on I drove to work to get some files I needed off my planetarium computer. This gave me some time to cool down and figure out what I was going to do if my current line of action wasn’t working.
When I got home my solution seemed to do the trick. Computer was working fine so I got right back into it and started working on new music.
To get your creative juices flowing again after a frustrating setback you should always do what you can to fix the problem but take a few minutes to step back and cool off.
And don’t start drinking. Drinking never helps anything.
I work with this one guy from time and time and when he has a computer issue he’ll go smoke a cigarette, come back inside after about 10 minutes, and then he’ll fix the problem. He just need that time to cool off and reflect.
I also find it helpful to take a walk or shower.
Taking a hot shower always clears my head. When I’m working on a new project I usually go a couple of days of intense work. I don’t leave the studio, I rarely eat, and I don’t take care of myself like I should. Taking that shower after being cooped up and frustrated in the studio sure is a good way to bring me back to reality and get my head together.
I think maybe later I’ll explore the avenues you can take to really get the juices flowing – not just how to recover from frustrating computer issues.
So, don’t destroy your computer in a fit of frustration. I’ve actually punched a laptop so hard one time that it broke the hard drive. So, yeah, that made problems worse. Don’t do that. Don’t act like me and put your fist through things when you’re pissed off.
If only I could take my own advice.
