Heroes of Crawlspace Art: Pablo Picasso

Music Production Advice Part 2

Part 2: Rap music

1. No creative drum machines!  If the beat isn't danceable or catchy as hell, it's already over.  Hardware usage has seen an increase with certain sub-genres (trap music high hat attack), and this will date the sound very quickly.  Get a good loop going, use quality drum sounds, and then press forever.  
2. Use as many effects as possible!  Rap music is constantly re-inventing itself, hyper-creativity is a must.  Effects, weird sounds, insane bass, and more.  Everything, except too much drum hardware. 
3. Lyrics.  Ok, this is a hard one.  I know what I like: Funny/clever word play, catchy hooks, weird topics, and a good diss here and there.  Not a fan of the profanity, violence, etc, but extra positive lyrics tend to be terrible.  Find a balance here.  Andre 3000 is a good mentor on this one.  
4. Last but not least, listen to Herb Kent on V103 for soul sampling inspiration.  He is a living legend!  He will play the hits, but also digs in the crates.  Do not research Northern Soul music, it is bullcrap.  

Music production advice

I'm an amateur musician, but what I really want to do is produce.  Since nobody cares, I will dish on some of my oblique strategies:

Part 1: Rock music

1. No creative drumming!  No excessive hardware usage, no excessive percussion, and no weird time signatures.  Same applies to bass.  The back beat should be spare and tight.
2. Serve the song and melody first. Guitar wankery will be abolished.  All keyboard solos will be destroyed (I'm looking at you, Ray Manzarek).  Effects pedals are permitted, but it'd better improve the song or piss off, Metal Zone.
3. Lyrical content and vocals are important.  Here's a short list of AVOIDS: Anything remotely Michael Stipe inspired (bad beat poetry), crybaby emo crap, cookie monster anything, and vintage bluesman posturing (unless you're ZZ Top or JJ Cale, notice the two-letter trend?). 
4.  Lastly, do not conceptualize the music upfront.  It can turn out good, but too much thought kills the artform.

Next up: Rap music

Crawlspace Artist: Amanda Dalton Innis

"Hobbit tree day" painting by Amanda Dalton Innis.  Czech out her joints at: http://amandainnis.com/home.html