2 ms·

One that Conway didn't like much, saying (roughly) that it had all been explored and proved and other work of his was more interesting - https://www.youtube.com

One that Conway didn't like much, saying (roughly) that it had all been explored and proved and other work of his was more interesting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8kUJL04ELA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8kUJL04ELA in this Numberphile interview with him.

idiotsecant 5y ago
This reminds me a lot of the aging rockstar who hates the billboard top 10 hit that he always gets asked to play.
- smoldesu 5y ago
  If you're Thom Yorke, you use that hatred to drive you to build your magnum opus. Though admittedly, I don't know how one could iterate on Game of Life. It's simplicity is part of what makes it so great.
  - djtriptych 5y ago
    Well kinda. The Bends was next after Pablo Honey, which contained "Creep", the song Radiohead famously learned to hate. The "magnum opus" is typically said to be OK Computer, their 3rd album, 2 after Pablo. While it was certainly a departure, the band generally said they wanted a total artistic change in direction. Interesting though is the song "Iron Lung" on The Bends, which is a song about "Creep" where they refer to it as, among other things, a "total waste of time".
- a4isms 5y ago
  Yes, and both have my sympathy. Sometimes, a musician revisits their earlier work and finds new things to explore. Joni Mitchell and Ryuchi Sakamoto come to mind. But other times, a musician feels that although their earlier work may be new and exciting to you, they are finding other things more engaging today and tire of answering questions about the old work with the same rote, trite answers. Over and over again. For someone constantly seeking fresh ground to cover, this attitude is an asset. p.s. In this discussion about comedy, Louis CK talks about a tip he got from George Carlin, namely to throw the old material out after a year and start over again, forcing yourself to find new things to say about the Universe. In the same discussion, Jerry Seinfeld explains that some of his material is ten years old, and he is still finding ways to sharpen and refine it. There is clearly no one right way about this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKY6BGcx37k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKY6BGcx37k
- isx726552 5y ago
  Like Jani Lane saying “I could shoot myself in the @#%*ing head” for writing “Cherry Pie” in the 80s: https://youtu.be/dNNa8wbKGb4 https://youtu.be/dNNa8wbKGb4 I imagine there are a lot of people in this industry who feel that way about some their creations…

idiotsecant 5y ago

This reminds me a lot of the aging rockstar who hates the billboard top 10 hit that he always gets asked to play.

smoldesu 5y ago
If you're Thom Yorke, you use that hatred to drive you to build your magnum opus. Though admittedly, I don't know how one could iterate on Game of Life. It's simplicity is part of what makes it so great.
- djtriptych 5y ago
  Well kinda. The Bends was next after Pablo Honey, which contained "Creep", the song Radiohead famously learned to hate. The "magnum opus" is typically said to be OK Computer, their 3rd album, 2 after Pablo. While it was certainly a departure, the band generally said they wanted a total artistic change in direction. Interesting though is the song "Iron Lung" on The Bends, which is a song about "Creep" where they refer to it as, among other things, a "total waste of time".
a4isms 5y ago
Yes, and both have my sympathy. Sometimes, a musician revisits their earlier work and finds new things to explore. Joni Mitchell and Ryuchi Sakamoto come to mind. But other times, a musician feels that although their earlier work may be new and exciting to you, they are finding other things more engaging today and tire of answering questions about the old work with the same rote, trite answers. Over and over again. For someone constantly seeking fresh ground to cover, this attitude is an asset. p.s. In this discussion about comedy, Louis CK talks about a tip he got from George Carlin, namely to throw the old material out after a year and start over again, forcing yourself to find new things to say about the Universe. In the same discussion, Jerry Seinfeld explains that some of his material is ten years old, and he is still finding ways to sharpen and refine it. There is clearly no one right way about this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKY6BGcx37k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKY6BGcx37k
isx726552 5y ago
Like Jani Lane saying “I could shoot myself in the @#%*ing head” for writing “Cherry Pie” in the 80s: https://youtu.be/dNNa8wbKGb4 https://youtu.be/dNNa8wbKGb4 I imagine there are a lot of people in this industry who feel that way about some their creations…