Please help me get past an obstacle to fulfilling my dream.

In My Humble Opinion
1

I wrote my first Cthulhu carol three and a half years ago, as part of a gift to my brother, a very cool guy. It went with a statue of an Elder Thing I had made.

After Christmas, I posted the Cthulhu carol lyrics in one of my favorite places.

The next year, I made my brother a sculpture of Cthulhu himself, and I wrote some more Cthulhu carols to go with it. I posted pictures of the statue, and I know I posted more lyrics, although I can’t find the post, because I remember Sunspace saying “You’re doomed.”

I wrote some more last Christmas, because I just couldn’t help myself.

Somewhere along the way, I remember one of my Doper brethren suggesting that I record the songs. I blew it off at the time, but as time went by, I started to think, well, why not?

So, in the interest of finally doing something that mattered a lot to me; and of having a meaningful accomplishment instead of just a lot of ideas; and of topping my last several Christmas presents to my brother who is awesome and also hard to buy presents for, I booked a studio, found a really talented engineer, found a terrific keyboard player, (on Craigslist! What are the chances?) and started to make my dream real.

Okay, now today, the engineer emailed me that he had found a song on YouTube that was basically my same idea with different words. I am so bummed out. It was my idea, I really thought it was original; I don’t know if maybe the other person got their idea from me, but it’s certainly possible. (one of my less scrupulous friends who is a consummate musician but ethically-challenged may well have scooped me.) I am feeling like, what’s the use? I’m not the first anymore. --and hating myself for procrastinating.

Please, please, say something to counteract this viewpoint if you can. I have invested so much time and trying and money into this thing, because it is my dream.

2

Aw, shit. It was from back in the 1980s. So much for my brilliant idea. I feel like shit.

3

Well… at the risk of adding insult to eldritch injury, the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society has two Christmas albums. Perhaps that’s the source of the one your engineer found.

Why not get in touch with them? Maybe they’re doing another album, or maybe they’d like to include yours somewhere on the site. I believe it’s run by enthusiasts and hobbyists. Perhaps you could join.

4

Moved it for you, Brujaja.

5

brujaja, while I suspect you’re not the world’s answer to Maria Callas, do you think Dalí was the first guy to paint a Crucified? There’s two of his in this page (warning: link has music), plus a bunch from other people. Should he never have painted the second one because he’d already painted one?

Only cos someone did it before doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing. Otherwise, nobody would be having sex… :wink:

6

Are you trying to get rich off of this?

Are you trying to carve out of name for yourself?

Or are you just looking to have a good time and share this feeling with other people?

Listen, the engineer is a jerk for popping your bubble. Maybe this wasn’t his intention, but I don’t understand why he felt he needed to point out your YouTube “competition”. If you had made this discovery on your own, it probably wouldn’t have bummed you out so much. Do you think the engineer was comparing your work with the other guys…perhaps in a negative way? Do you think the other guy’s song was just as good as yours? If not, then your ego is firing up for no reason. And if the other guy’s song is comparable to yours, then try to accept it as a challenge.

Every artist needs something to push them. This is yours.

You could either let this dissuade you from doing what you want to do (which wouldn’t make any sense IMHO), or you could channel your negative emotions into the creative process. “I’ll show them!” is a great motivator.

7

Gee you’re a harsh judge. Perhaps you unwittingly did something that has already kind of been done before, but you pale into insignificance compared to thieves like this:

The 5 Most Famous Musicians Who Are Thieving Bastards

5 Great Men Who Built Their Careers on Plagiarism

5 Famous Inventors (Who Stole Their Big Idea)

Be proud of your achievement. Your problem is just your brain trying to trick you into sticking with the status quo and giving up. Check out Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art.

8

No, not at all. If I were, I wouldn’t have to fake the soprano parts. :cool:

It’s not something I’m doing because I am a great singer. I am not. I am an adequate singer. The whole thing, to me, was the idea.

It’s kind of taken all the fun out of it, finding out that it’s been done.

Twice.

9

Christmas music has been done to death - but why not try something else?

A number of years ago I amused myself in a really dull job by rewriting large parts of the catalogues of classic groups to incorporate a Cthulhoid perspective. I might still have a copy on an old PC somewhere. I think I was half-way through Queen’s Greatest Hits I when I found a better job.

Start with Abba. They were always good value.

*Do you hear the dholes, Cthulhu?
Remember long ago the stars were just like this.
In the ebon dark, Cthulhu,
You fled from Hastur to Earth bringing terror from afar
Did you hear our quiet prayers
That sought to rouse you from your dreaming in the deep?

Oh, there was something in the air that night,
The stars were right,
Cthulhu.
So we made a human sacrifice,
Rl’yeh would rise that night,
Cthulhu.

And then we read the Necronomicon
Until our sanity was gone (it fell from our heads)
And now our dread lord is here for
To reign forevermore
Cthulhu.*