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Aug. 26th, 2022 09:18 amSo I've been re-reading Brian Wilson's autobiography and I realized recently, when I did the math, that he was 24 when Pet Sounds, the absolute masterclass of studio recording & instrumental arranging with lyrics that speak to the experience of even today's young adults, was released. And it made me want to throw all my instruments out of my window.
Then I found out that David Bowie was 25 when Ziggy Stardust was released and it made me want to resurrect him so I can fight him.
Then I decided to look up more of my favorite albums and I found out Joni Mitchell was 28 when Blue was released, which gives me hope because it means I've still got time! I still have it in me to make a magnum opus before I'm 30!
Then, after realizing that the members of U2 and Punch Brothers were both in their 30's when they made my favorites of their albums (Achtung Baby and The Phosphorescent Blues, respectively), and that Sparks didn't make my favorite of their albums until they were in their 50's, I figured out that the moral of the story is not "don't ever look up how old the people who made your favorite albums were when said albums were released," but "just don't compare yourself to Brian Wilson, whatever you do."
(Weirdly, I don't have this when I think about everything that Chris Thile accomplished at such a young age, but since he started playing an instrument at age 5 and I didn't start until I was 11, I'm happy to accept that he was already lightyears ahead of me by that point :P)
Then I found out that David Bowie was 25 when Ziggy Stardust was released and it made me want to resurrect him so I can fight him.
Then I decided to look up more of my favorite albums and I found out Joni Mitchell was 28 when Blue was released, which gives me hope because it means I've still got time! I still have it in me to make a magnum opus before I'm 30!
Then, after realizing that the members of U2 and Punch Brothers were both in their 30's when they made my favorites of their albums (Achtung Baby and The Phosphorescent Blues, respectively), and that Sparks didn't make my favorite of their albums until they were in their 50's, I figured out that the moral of the story is not "don't ever look up how old the people who made your favorite albums were when said albums were released," but "just don't compare yourself to Brian Wilson, whatever you do."
(Weirdly, I don't have this when I think about everything that Chris Thile accomplished at such a young age, but since he started playing an instrument at age 5 and I didn't start until I was 11, I'm happy to accept that he was already lightyears ahead of me by that point :P)
