One Hit Wonders

Recently someone told me that there are quite a few people who have taken photos of my work and posted them on the website Instagram. Not having an Instagram account I was curious to see not only the quality of the photography but at what stage of the poster's life the photos had been taken- as in, how ripped down or covered the pieces were by the time they had been discovered. I used a friend's account login and began scanning the photos with #morley. First off, I was really impressed with how good many of these people are at snapping photos. Secondly I was surprised how many people/places/things/inside jokes have the name/word Morley in them. I guess Morley guitar pedals really help you kick out the jams. Thirdly I was surprised to find that the most popular slogan I've created is "Forget How Much It Hurts And Try Again". I've only ever put up one of those posters (some time last year in fact) but somehow it's spread significantly as there is probably 50 photos of it on the site. I decided to print up a bigger version and post it up for those who may not have seen it as well as to take a better photo of my surprise "hit" for myself.

It's always interesting which sentiments are more effective than others, and I couldn't predict what will strike a chord if I tried. Personally, I think this is a good thing. Limited awareness of what connects with people means there is less of a threat of pandering to them and of trying to recreate the same positive reactions over and over again. If one simply follows their creative instincts, staying true to whatever it is they set out to do before people started watching, chances are that their work will continue to be relevant and if nothing else, they will find the process more personally satisfying. It must be awful to be a band that writes a hit song only to spend the rest of a career trying desperately to do it again and again. I think nearly all real greatness comes either in the form of an accident or, more often- from something true and sincere and a little bit magical. I'd rather chase the latter ignorantly than hope I can recreate the events that led to the former any day.