Q: quick question. you talked in one of the earlier questions about using a sophisticated hierarchical randomness in your method to produce your work, like using somewhere a random number generator to choose what to do. could you explain it in more detail (how the hierarchy works), and why you needed this to be productive for yourself?
A: i've used it for different things, and it works differently depending on what i'm using it for. but the main reason i use it is to help make decisions when i know that any decision would be right. one of the most important things i've learned is you can really make something out of anything. this is one of the most important things that i've realized, and it applies to songwriting, making videos, anything. and it's great news to realize this, but if you are also responsible for choosing what thing to do, it often undermines your confidence. think of it this way: the great news is you can make any piece of trash into something great. sounds exciting, right? but what if you're allowed to choose which piece of trash to use? you won't be able to think clearly. because part of the reason it works is because you know you have to be stuck with that thing, and you have to figure out how to make it good. if you're allowed to choose what thing to start with then you're just going to constantly question if you're working on the right thing and you're going to get cold feet on every project immediately because you're not sure if it's the right project, and you won't have any brain power left to actually figure out what to do on the project because you will be busy second guessing whether it's the right project. so that's why it helps to get all your choices into a list and make a firm plan to do whatever project is decided by the randomizer. one of the main places i've used this is when picking what songs to record. i've written hundreds of songs throughout the years, and there are so many left to be recorded. so usually when i put out a song i pick from this list. every song has tiny reasons why i think "oh that's the wrong song for right now" but if you have that attitude you're never going to be comfortable picking a song. i always try to 'actually choose the right one' but my confidence in the decision collapses every time, and i have to randomize. as a result i have recorded some songs that i probably never would have chosen otherwise, but i was able to make them into something good because i wasn't questioning the entire decision while trying to make the thing. i think a lot of artists use randomization in various ways when they feel there are too many choices. i also often get a random word suggestion as a starting point for writing tweets