Paying Homage To Your Gods
by James

"We are completely original"

I can not tell you how many bands have made that statement to me, and how many times I have listened to their music, only to immediately find similarities with three or four other big bands currently on the market. I also realize that, when they say it, most bands intend to imply that they are unique and do not sound like any other specific band. However, being distinctly unique and completely original are two very different things, and it bothers me, to no end, when a band that sounds like Korn with a different singer labels themselves as being completely original. As far as I am concerned, there was only one completely original musician and that was the first cave man that got a kick out of tapping out a beat with some rocks. Everyone else since him has had at least some form of musical influence that guided the directions they have taken with their art.

I'll start by explaining what I mean by influence. A lot of people shy away from saying what bands influenced them; they are afraid that people will dismiss them as a clone band, before they ever take the time to hear their music. This is certainly an understandable fear, as there have been many times when I have passed on checking a band out because I wasn't keen on the influences they listed for themselves. However, when a band tells me they are completely original and I listen to them, only to find out they sound exactly like Deftones, I am disappointed, to say the least. Every band has influences, and I am a firm believer in the ideology that those influences should be embraced and celebrated, instead of trying to deny them under the guise of being "completely original". The goal should not be originality, so much as uniqueness. System of a Down is not completely original, but they are a unique blend of so many different styles that the end product does not resemble any other particular band that came before them. The same thing can be said of bands like Mudvayne, Primus and Dying Fetus. These bands all do things that have been done many times, before, but they do them in a way that no one else has ever done them. It's like taking a factory car and adding chrome rims to it, in order to make it stand out. It still resembles every other car of the same model, but that one little touch makes it instantly distinct from the rest of the pack. Unless you design and build every part and piece to that car, yourself, you still will not have a completely original car. The same philosophy can easily be applied to music. Unless you thought up every chord on your own and played it on an instrument that you invented, the chances are good that one of the riffs you "came up with" popped into your head because of a song you heard four years ago, in a bar, and forgot about. Most good, true musicians are comfortable with admitting that they often take other people's music and twist it into their own vision. I hold a great amount of respect for those people. To me, the mark of greatness is doing what you do, well, and doing all that you can to sound unique. However, to disavow your obvious influences is a slap in the face to the musicians who worked so hard to create the music that inspired you to play, in the first place.

So, next time a band tries to say they are completely original, I hope they will step back and really think about what that statement means. Do not be so afraid to say, "Hey, we were heavily influenced by Mike Patton and his work with Faith No More, but we are not trying to copy them." People will respect you more, for it, and, who knows, you might create a few more Mike Patton bootlickers, in the process.