At the risk of being controversial...

[leedsquietman]

Problem with being an old fart is that you don't fall for people rehashing things, bringing hundreds of new sub genres into fashion and saying they're revolutionary. You just know that this new genre is really a rehash of z from the 1970s and y from the 1990s, made to sound like synths from the 1980s

Because you know this it makes you a buzzkill. So yes, although I was a total geek at 16 (ironically the most creative time I ever had, as the high school teacher gave my mate and me free reign over borrowing gear, which included a Tascam portastudio, AKG mics, guitars, bass, keyboards (the ROland JX3P being the best and the rest were Yamaha and Casio home keyboard tat, but the SK1 was cool). Sometimes it pays to not swear at your teacher and bunk off for ciggies, booze and snogging behind the bike sheds As for sampling, the SK-1 could sample 2 seconds at 8 bit, 11 Khz sampling frequency. The BBC Microcomputer had a MIDI program, but it kept getting nicked. Finding a BBC radiophonic effects reel on the old Revox 2 track reel to reel recorder was an ace source of samples, still much abused today.

So very little of what you are doing hasn't already been done, to a lesser or greater degree than before. I like the 'some bands call themselves experimental, when it should be excremental

Having said this, if you are making music for the teenage generation who don't know this, then you can feel energized that a bunch of ripe and soon to be legal girlies are bouncing to your music and are falling for your 'I'm a hot shit DJ/producer/musician who can make you a star - why don't you come upstairs and I can show you how ...' guff. Then you no longer feel a need to be bitter and cynical when you're up to your neck in virgin/near virgin (most of them get laid in elementary school these days with all the sex and hype and poor role models on TV) poontang.

[Starkravingdead]

I understand and agree with all these points. Basically, I don't think there's enough explicit thought put into the creation of music in general, whether lyrical or not. Although a notably different field is film scoring - then you have an aim, something to complement.

Similarly, one of the most inspiring things I have found is to write out ideas/lyrics then think about what sound would complement. This can result in something pretty unique. Of course, not genre (re)defining, but at least a notable departure.

[ethios4]

I find my best (and fastest) work comes when I am starting with a concept in mind, as opposed to simply letting the sound design process and aural experience take me wherever it takes me.

[stringtapper]

I understand and agree with all these points. Basically, I don't think there's enough explicit thought put into the creation of music in general, whether lyrical or not. Although a notably different field is film scoring - then you have an aim, something to complement.

Again, you appeared to branch out for a second and then just stopped with film music. If you think there isn't enough "explicit thought" being put into the creation of music then I must question the scope of your listening habits.