A valuable skill I've gained lately is to use different musical tastebuds depending on the listening situation I find myself in. Good music is good music, but recently I've been better able to find more value in music that doesn't necessarily push boundaries or subtly evoke the most complex unnamable emotions. While it may be that it's much easier to succeed as an independent artist by filling a unique niche, to satisfy a craving that mainstream artists cannot quench, I have begun to realize that my innermost circle of influence leans toward the more accessible sounds and arrangements, and if I want to reach them in order to reach others, it may be useful to speak their language. It's a bit liberating to think of making music in terms of whether people will enjoy it on the most simple level rather than whether it will blow away those who want to dig deeper. That doesn't necessarily mean it's easier, but I think in general it is.

    Where the new material for my album-in-progress falls on this spectrum is up for debate. I like to think I've found a place of balance where most everyone will find much in each musical moment to enjoy. However, writing a single becomes difficult in a project like this. My album doesn't need to have a single, but I have one song left to write and of course that means that I am trying to look at everything I want to do musically and figure out what I haven't yet covered in the other songs that are finished or on their way. I want it to sum up what I am about musically, but one of the things I will need it to do in the context of my album is to be the track everybody likes best right away (but no, will not be the opening track). So something that best represents my musical style, creativity, and innovation, but is also most accessible and, arguably, poppy. Sounds like some kind of ultimate song.

So striking the perfect balance on this spectrum is the suggested goal, but I don't know if this is realistic or even the way to go. Whole albums of this type of stuff that are of the greatest quality are the kinds of things that become classics, the greatest of all-time. But most of all, these types of album always have an element of progression without being too groundbreaking so as not to scare people off (at least since the early 80s, it seems). It could be that I'm overthinking things. So far my goal has been to sequence the album well and to write songs that contain what I consider to be good music while always keeping things as interesting as possible. Early response (from my own ears and brain) has been positive, so maybe I should just run with that... but now that I'm nearing the end of the creative process I want to make sure I don't leave anything too important out of the mix.