Your Friends’ Music Sucks, But You Don’t Have the Gut to Tell Them 101
When we’re surrounded by creative environment, it is highly likely to pass on the creative juice onto one another. For example, almost all of our friends do music, so why don’t we give it a shot. The case of bandwagoning sometimes work and sometimes doesn’t. When you listen to your friends’ music for the first time, because they’re not in it for passion, it sounds…err…not really good. As a friend, you want to support them, you really do. As a fellow musician who have just started their career, it will be a great idea to be successful together. But then again, their music sucks. Here’s the things you can do to shovel a little bit of reality albeit harsh.
- Is it only you or everyone else also think that this band are in a bad shape?
Create a peer to peer kind of workshop, ask them to join in. It is far better if the person you’re criticizing is open minded. They will know the strength and weakness of their record. It might be the vocalist’ unstable performance, the mixing and mastering gone wrong, or the arrangement that sounds so weird when they are put together. Do not act holier than thou, because there is nothing worse than being told by a person with this trait. They might be defensive at first, but listen to their explanation well.
- Is it money that causes the problem?
Your friends might have a brilliant idea about their music or record, but let’s all admit it. All great idea (mostly) takes a lot of money, and they just can’t afford it. They can’t rent a proper recording studio, can’t hire a proper sound engineer, etc. So the result is somehow a catastrophe. Tell them to take it easy, do not rush things. With the cost that they have now, it’s better to polish their live performances while gaining new experience here and there.
- They sound good in record, but a pain in the ears when performing live
A great live performance could come from two things, either they have a strong showmanship or they have a lot of experiences. If the band is relatively new, then maybe they need more stages. Instead of shutting their chance altogether, ask them to play more and more. Let them practice and find their groove on the stage. It might help them a lot, but if they are still hopeless after lots of stages, then don’t worry. Even Lauren Mayberry from CHVRCES is constantly mocked for her shaky, out of pitch live performance. Lipsync anyone?
- It’s only you who thinks this band sucks, so what’s the problem?
Different stroke for different folk and it might apply to this case. Maybe you’re just not into this glam rock thing they’re doing. Maybe, you have not expanded your music horizon wide enough. Your playlist might be filled with too much pop, so this music sounds wack. Or maybe on a subconscious level, you are jealous that everyone likes your friends’ music better than your own band. Then, you might keep your opinion to yourself. There is no need to tell your friend their music suck, keep the hatred out of your system and let them be.
At the end of the day, they are still your friends. Opinions might differ and taste might not be similar, all we need as an independent musicians is supporting the scene we’re living in. Encourage them to be better, help them by introducing their music to new people or environment. Isn’t it a great idea to thrive together?
