Sir Swagalot

2y

i love these kinds of discussions

i agree 100%. you can be the flashiest guitar player ever, but that doesn't equate to you being an artist. that's why you see mfs like Stevie, MJ, and Prince being brought up as the GOATs because they were able to be both insanely talented and creative

shaleirose

2y

I think you can have talent without creativity, but I don’t think you can have creativity without talent.

For example, Charlie Puth has talent, but he’s not very creative.

But you can’t really name a successful musician that is creative without also being talented, because I think being creative is a talent in and of itself

thotty2hottie

2y

i agree but would alter this slightly to say that you can have creativity without the talent, however in order to realize your ideas into medium, be it music, paintings or whatever, you need some talent.

technology has opened the doors for a lot of people who might not have so much talent but have great ideas. things like autotune and whatnot allow creatives to bypass some of the talent that might have previously been necessary

shaleirose

2y

Exactly, this the best thread I seen in a minute

Shoutout OP

X7JQ9L2MF4A8Z

2y

exactly, this is why i personally think prince is the greatest to ever do it

he literally was a seamless blend of multi instrumentalist, music knowledge, creativity, boundary pusher and an absolutely phenomenal voice

literally no one else did it like him

shaleirose

2y

Do you consider creativity itself a talent? Or are you thinking more of technical skill/knowledge?

shaleirose

2y

I think you can have talent without creativity, but I don’t think you can have creativity without talent.

For example, Charlie Puth has talent, but he’s not very creative.

But you can’t really name a successful musician that is creative without also being talented, because I think being creative is a talent in and of itself

designing

2y

Out of curiosity, is there even a way to develop your creativity?

Do artists like Charlie Puth just need to experiment more and test out what works for them/resonates with people more?

Also, how are you basing someone’s creativity? Is it their impact, how many people enjoy their work, a combination, or something else?

designing

2y

Out of curiosity, is there even a way to develop your creativity?

Do artists like Charlie Puth just need to experiment more and test out what works for them/resonates with people more?

Also, how are you basing someone’s creativity? Is it their impact, how many people enjoy their work, a combination, or something else?

Sir Swagalot

2y

creativity comes from inspiration. if you're not inspired, you're gonna put out a mediocre record

shaleirose

2y

Also this discussion of talent vs. creativity is a big reason why I always say Abel > Bruno whenever that topic is brought up.

Bruno has all the talent in the world, but I don’t think he’s that creative with his gifts.

The Weeknd, on the other hand, isn’t the most technically gifted singer in the world and can’t play as many instruments as Bruno can, but he’s super creative with his approach.

This is why, to me at least, Bruno revitalizing old styles comes off as a cover band sorta thing, but when Abel does it he puts his own unique identity into it and injects new life into whatever sound he’s bringing back

designing

2y

Out of curiosity, is there even a way to develop your creativity?

Do artists like Charlie Puth just need to experiment more and test out what works for them/resonates with people more?

Also, how are you basing someone’s creativity? Is it their impact, how many people enjoy their work, a combination, or something else?

designing

2y

Hmm, but can’t you argue most (if not all really) artists are inspired by something and they produced what they felt at the time?

Yet, some artists’ works seem repeatably “bad”, even though they enjoy and are possibly trying new things

designing

2y

Out of curiosity, is there even a way to develop your creativity?

Do artists like Charlie Puth just need to experiment more and test out what works for them/resonates with people more?

Also, how are you basing someone’s creativity? Is it their impact, how many people enjoy their work, a combination, or something else?

shaleirose

2y

I think creativity its’ basic level is the ability & willingness to deviate from the standard and push yourself to try things you haven’t before.

It can manifest in several different ways, but I think it always boils down to challenging yourself with each record.

For instance, on The 1975’s new album Matty Healy challenged himself to incorporate the exact same guitar rhythm into most of the songs but have it fit each respective song in a unique way:

Charlie Puth lacks creativity because he never goes outside the box of cookie cutter formulaic Top 40 music, and there’s no originality/personality in his music whatsoever.
His songs sound like templates for other, more interesting pop acts.

Creativity doesn’t always have to be something super avant-garde and experimental, it can be something as simple as what Matty & Co. did on their new record

designing

2y

Solid points and totally agree.

I guess it really comes down to whether the artist is willing to venture into the unknown (so to speak) or not.

Need to check the 1975, never listened to them, but you got me curious

Sir Swagalot

2y

not necessarily. there's many artists who put out s*** because they're forced to from their labels. not to mention if you're an artist who tours all the time and are burnt out from that lifestyle, you still gotta make that follow-up to stay relevant. it's not as bad as it was before thanks to the internet, but we've seen it time and time again over music history.

i agree with the 2nd point. sometimes an artist is inspired to take a risk and it ends up being seen as a failure. but at that point you can't deny the artist's creativity, because they took that risk and were passionate about what they made.

take Speedin Bullet 2 Heaven for example: it's hated by a majority of people but you can't deny that Cudi tried and had a vision for that project

rayray

2y

I feel like being creative is a natural gift that comes from within, not even to be cliche. You can’t really teach someone how to be creative. You just sorta have it. It can be developed through your perspective of what you enjoyed as a kid to pre teen etc. it really just comes down to the person. Every creative lietrally cannot answer this question. It’s just in them. You can obviously add taste and develop and better your self creative wise with studying the greats within and outside of art/your craft

X7JQ9L2MF4A8Z

2y

what the f*** is this yo

designing

2y

You’re right. Sometimes they have to put some scraps together due to the nature of their contract or whatnot.

At that point, should artists delay what they’re working on though (if no set timetable)?

I was actually thinking of SB2H too lol. Good example of doing something different, even if the general reception isn’t there. But if you’re always thinking about the audience, are you truly an artist then?

Sir Swagalot

2y

i definitely think artists should delay their project if their heart is not in it. if you rush an album, you risk the chance of putting out a subpar project. but some artists don't give a s*** sadly, and they'll just put out a project for the money

i think if you want to cater towards an audience, you need to have some sort of balance so that it wont compromise your creativity.

this is a random ass example, but the Black Album by Metallica is an album that comes to mind whenever i think of s*** like this. they were able to make radio friendly music without stripping away what made them great in the first place

1887

2y

Pretentious ass thread.

Calling artists uncreative or untalented based on your taste while they have millions of fans who fw them is some braindead take. The music just not for you and move on.

Fries

2y

The guy's an actual genius theory-wise, no joke, the stuff he does with harmony in his tracks is amazing from a technical standpoint, but the songs all suck ass

The album that was from was nominated for AOTY at the 2021 Grammys btw, he also produced on the new Stormzy album, he has this bizarre level of industry clout because he's friends with Quincy Jones, at the same time tho he genuinely seems like a nice guy, I don't outright hate him but his stuff epitomises what I dislike about theory-nerd music