But practically everything humans do is done with other people in mind. We are social primates after all.
If you really didn’t care what other people thought about you, why not take the bus into town wearing a dressing gown and slippers? Why shave, or gel/style your hair? If you really don’t care what other people think, I mean, you wouldn’t give a hoot, right? But people do act certain ways because they want to stand out and fit in at the same time. We all care what certain people think of us.
I don’t see how writing music suddenly escapes these rules. Now, if you are keeping your music private and not playing it to anyone, then OK, that’s an exception (in a minority I’d imagine). But then again, people often write with an imaginary audience in mind. They are writing music based on what people have enjoyed in the past, as a reference group.
So, to me, it just seems a bit redundant saying “we write music for ourselves”. Well of course you do, but that doesn’t mean you’re indifferent to outside critics and negative opinions.
I agree with mr dave, that the level of “not caring” can get a bit semantic. When a band says they don’t care about what the critics say, they may just mean they don’t take it to heart, or get obsessed about it. But it’s funny, some of them never articulate it that way, they just say “We don’t give a **** what those hacks say”.
Can any of you demonstrate how musicians who perform music publicly are not seeking validation? How is my assumption flawed?
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Originally Posted by Pedestrian
You seem to overlook the artwork aspect. You don't seem to think that people join or start bands because they love music, and it has inspired them to create it for themselves.
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Yes, but why do they love and enjoy music? Go deeper.
For instance: your brain, what you perceive as nice/fun/enjoying, evolved that way because doing those things had an evolutionary advantage.
Why does sex feel great? Because engaging in that behaviour typically leads to the passing on of genes (that’s what it's designed for).
Why do sugary and fatty foods taste good? Because sugars and fatty foods were very scarce back on the savannah and were in high demand.
If people enjoy music and being creative, these are not things that exist in a vacuum. There are reasons why we enjoy them, and they are almost always social in nature.
Even if an artist was releasing music anonymously, that sense of inner fulfilment at being able to deliver something that other people enjoy is being driven by a need to be liked by other people. You don't have to be visible, but inside you know what they liked was made by you; you caused that feeling and derive pleasure from such.