The First Album

Before they made it (the benefit of anonymity)

When I’m listening to a famous band’s first album - the one that made them famous - I like to remember that when it was created, the artists were unknown, more or less. They were pouring their creative energy into a project, and pushing against gravity to bring their work to the public’s ears.

Subsequent albums had likely different pressures: “do it again” “do it better,” which were probably much more annoying but probably less staggering than anonymity.

I tend to like bands’ first albums more. I think the state of mind has a lot to do with it. The first album tends to be a purer artistic statement. It’s untainted by other voices, to a lesser extent perhaps.

Anyhow, all this is to say, don’t feel bad for not having made it. You’re in many ways in a better position to make work that matters to you and the world. You’re not tempted to copy yourself, and you’re forced into creative growth and exploration.

Enjoy it while you can?

Money’s nice to I guess, but sometimes you can’t have it all. I don’t envy those in the public eye at all. They have their rewards, sure, but it’s also a gilded cage - they need to keep doing the thing that got them there, or face the terrifying prospect of starting again.

What is the opposite of fear? Maybe this is the benefit of creative anonymity.