Seems to me that there's an inherent conflict between trying to involve people in your process, and losing the chance to make a solid first impression. It's tough, though, because sometimes it's in hearing your music through fresh ears and getting other insights/opinions, you find whole new approaches to your songs.
I'd like to think of music as a dialogue between songwriter and listener, and in this age of the internet, that's a real possibility. That said, I don't myself go to great lengths to listen to scratchy rough demos, so I think there is a certain amount of polish necessary to make it worth my time to listen to.
I'm bouncing this around in m'melon because I have a lot material that I haven't recorded. I have some songs I think are good, some that aren't maybe as good. One of my biggest throw-away songs without fail gets the best response when I play it live, so I'm not sure that I'm the best judge of my own quality. This is part of why I want to get more tunes out there.
The problem is, of course, that I'm a slow producer. Especially now that my new studio is at best 20% built. So... Do people want to hear more songs, even though the versions might be rougher, and maybe get a chance to provide some input on direction? I want to crowdsource things a bit, I think. Start releasing separate tracks and let people get a little creative with things. There's something to be said for mash-ups and I've heard some awesome music come out of these indirect (even unintentional) collaborations. So maybe there's room in there to bring people into my world a little sooner. If you hear something and you want to hear more about it, let me know. Let's make this into a real conversation.
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