child-like creativity

So it has been awhile, I know. One of the requirements of a class that I'm teaching is the students must create and post to their blogs often. I figured I might as well set a good example, or at least a better example than what I have so far.

I was hit with an epiphany last night. I was looking through my old college stuff and found a sound design project I had done. The remarks from the professor declared how unique and creative the sounds were, and I remember how much I liked them myself, but last night I wondered if I would create the same thing now, given who I am and where I am in my life today.

The thing that struck me the most is how naive and almost childish my thinking was. When I sit down to compose, I feel tense, as if I need to hammer out this monumental thing, whereas back then I didn't seem to care so much. Get the project done, have fun, do something cool. That's all, no real pressure.

We've been listening to They Might Be Giants in our household lately. Now that they've released some kid's CD's the whole family likes them (instead of just me). They inject an obvious character into their songs. Each song has an appealing amateurish feel to it, similar to the style of Strong Bad's email. It is as if each song was improvised, there is no delusions of grandeur, no pretentiousness, just fun, creative, goofing around. It is very child-like and refreshing.