Residents interview in Tape OP

[vuzh]

at lunch today i read an interview with Hardy Fox, who works with the Residents, and there was a section of the interview that i found interesting discussing the value of time and ideas. i thought i'd type it in here, because i know there are a few friends of mine that might get something out of it.
this segment is not so much about the Residents themselves, it was just something that got me thinking.

...The Residents believe the amount of time it takes to create is part of the project. They consider the amount of time that something is worth having put into it.

How does that manifest musically then?

You may think you have a really great idea, but if the time allotment for it exceeds the quality of the idea, then it's not a good idea. You just thought it was a good idea! But it might be a good idea for another time because technology makes it possible. Time is really important to the Residents.

That's right, because a lot of time has elapsed since they began making music over thirty years ago and the concept of mortality seems to be a theme throughout their music as of late. So now it's about "Let's get something done."

Right. They're aware of their ticking clocks. They have a certain amount of time to get to do what has to be done. And they do believe that they have more ideas than time to complete them. Therefore, you can't spend too much time fussing over an idea.

But then there has to be a balance found over not just getting something recorded / produced just to get it done. In other words, not half-assing an idea.

Well, one has to determine how much time an idea is worth. An idea in which too much time is spent becomes a half-assed idea. It's like if you would want to have a concert on the moon, it could possibly be accomplished in time, but that becomes a very bad idea. You have to keep some sort of reference. You start working on it, and ideas expand, and you start to get a sense of what the requirements are. They just believe that time is an element to be factored.

Okay, you're on the scent of a trail and you have seen it come to fruition. You got the idea, you see the golden pearly gates, it's tangible, but it could take x amount of time - but you're on the trail...

The quality of the ideas go up so time allotment goes up, as you start sensing the motivation it takes to accomplish. It is not an objective science.

But has that happened?

Many times. A lot of times you have an idea but you don't realize what the idea is until you're kind of halfway through it. Then you have to calculate what it takes. You should never build a house that you won't live in long enough to actually enjoy, no matter how fantastic it's going to be. The point being that all projects have to be finished in a timely fashion unless they weren't good ideas to begin with. Once you get the feeling that it wasn't a good idea to begin with, then it can just be abandoned and you accept it. It's like reading a book that's no longer good but it started good. You don't have to finish reading the book just because you started it.