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Question: Why is Mike's music so good? :: Total Votes:22 Poll choices Votes Statistics Meticulous craftsmanship. 10  [45.45%] Divine Inspiration. 8  [36.36%] Drugs. 2  [9.09%] Luck. 1  [4.55%] It is [i]easy[/i] when you are God. 0  [0.00%] Nah. He's not [i]that[/i] good. 0  [0.00%] It's not Mike. He's just Milli-Vanilli-ing for a guy named Dwayne. 1  [4.55%] Guests cannot vote

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Sweetpea Group: Members Posts: 1476 Joined: April 2007 Posted: Sep. 06 2008, 00:49 What's your theory? -------------- "I'm no physicist, but technically couldn't Mike both be with the horse and be flying through space at the same time? (On account of the earth's orbit around the Sun and all that). So it seems he never had to make the choice after all. I bet he's kicking himself now." - clotty Back to top

moonchildhippy Group: Members Posts: 1807 Joined: Dec. 2004 Posted: Sep. 06 2008, 02:23 I don't know the answer to tis, but I would say most deffo master craftmanship, and possibly Divine inspiration, I know some of Mike's music has been inspired by religion/spirituality, when I say "religion" I mean it in the broadest sense of the word.  About the drugs I'm unsure, I can see it can enlighten the mind if done very occaisionally, but drugs can also destroy the mind. I know many  years ago I ate five space cakes, and had a major panic attack. Take the Late Great Syd Barrett as an example, maybe LSD enhanced his creativity, but also destroyed it in the end.       About Mike being God, he isn't God , but the Son of God, as he looks like Jesus. Maybe we've had the second coming of God in 1973 with the release of Tubular Bells.  I think the Gods and also Godesses , as Divine is female too, are all aspects of one higher being, whether you call God God, Vishnu, Ganesha, Ra, Cerrunous, Mithras, Osrisis, Odin , Thor etc. -------------- I'm going slightly mad, It finally happened, I'm slightly mad , just very slightly mad If you feel a little glum to Hergest Ridge you should come. I'm challenging  taboos surrounding mental health "Part time hippy" I'M SUPPORTING OUR SOLDIERS BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!! Back to top

Ray Group: Members Posts: 857 Joined: Jan. 2000 Posted: Sep. 06 2008, 03:17 1       Experience and experimentation Do anything long enough or for an intense amount of time in a short period and you get good at what has already been done by other.  You start to play about and look for new things to interest you. You move from copy mode to inovation mode.  (no not the guitar!.  Younger people do this much better than older people.  Mike hit this point very young so was very inovative.  He was also lucky and in the right place at the right time.   2    Drugs Once you get some significant income you start to have the ability (financial) to experiment. You then apply this to what you are good at  - oe in some cases you try to do what you are good at whilst under the influence of some drug and it either works well or you fall off (so to speak). 3     Success and Funding If you have been sucessful early on with being inovative then you have significant funds to invest in continuing inovation.  Inovation is expensive and most people cant afford to be inovative with their life once they have lots of regular expences.  With a high income when he was young mike was able to buy the equipment and the expertise (where he needed it - didn't he have a japanese guitar teacher) or spend the time doing it himself. 4    Marketing If you want to keep selling something you need to market it. Finally - you need to have a natural ability, call it gifted if you like.  But sometimes someone who has a significant ability in something actually ends up doing that thing.  I think Mr Oldfield has a significant ability to come up with tunes and luckily he ended up doing that.  Whether he thinks of them all himself or is influenced by other music drugs etc., doesn't matter to me.  He also liked classical music - so when he nicks bits and uses them for an electric guitar tune no one really notices too much.  And in the end who cares if it sounds good.  However, someone who is that good at one thing will probably not be so good at other things.  Almost mild Autism - the brain can only do well one thing and piles all the ability into that, but other areas suffer. Who likes his music If a study was undertaken into serious listeners of Olfields music.  And i'm talking the seriously scary listeners who like all of the music but like 80% of it a very lot, rather the ones who like some of it a bit.  I think you would find there is some link.  Probably either  they assimilate (is that the right word) with Mike - ie loners, a bit different, because they are like that in the first place rather than they want to be like that.  The sounds strike a chord (! in the brain of the listener and cause a response.  Now if Mr Oldfield's brain has some certain way of working (as discussed above) and he plays with the sounds until they strike chord (so to speak ) with his brain.  Then those with a similar characteristic will have the same effect, you know what i mean (:)) Brain-a-gasm, a - bloody hell i need to hear that again - feeling. It could also be that it is really clasical music - which is mesmerising sometimes, but without the screechy violins and stuff - just a nice raunchy guitar playing a cool tune.  But i think there is more to it than that. Eric Clapton is pretty good on the guitar - but when Oldfield plays a really good bit, it stands out much more than EC, in my ears anyway.  I think this is due to item 1 above.  Inovation - Mike has a very unusual and distinctive style of working the strings with his nails and playing more than one tune at a time almost.  You brain has got to be messed up to do that (:)).  So probably you have to be a bit like to that have that response when you listen. Of course you can alway be someone who listens and just enjoys it.   So not a cloth eared nincompoop but somewhere in between. I think colour blindness is similar. about 20% of blokes are colour blind.  You do the colour blindness test and you don't see the same numbers as the person testing you  - you sometimes see completely different numbers.  They can't see the numbers you can.  But they are in the majority so they see the "correct" numbers.  Theoretically you could paint a picture in colours that 80% of blokes and 100% of girls (girls are not colour blind they just carry the gene) can't see but any who are colour blind can see. Ray   -------------- Looking out over the harbour in Peel....... Back to top

yanouch65 Group: Members Posts: 680 Joined: Feb. 2006 Posted: Sep. 06 2008, 04:59 I think Ray is right... -------------- Ray said : "it is a shame you don't play" manintherain said: "You´d better ask Mr. Y who was first" yanouch65 says: "I am in love with Scotland" Back to top

Philippe Tavares Group: Members Posts: 1613 Joined: Feb. 2005 Posted: Sep. 06 2008, 07:20  I voted for Divine inspiration ! It's clear he has a gift ! ... One day , on the forum of my sequencer ( Synapse audio Sofware/Orion 7.5 ) a guy said to me : " Why are you still to talk about Mike Oldfield ? This is already the same with my neighbour , he thinks Peter Gabriel is God ! " I replied : " Tell him he's an idiot !!! Peter Gabriel is only an angel , Mike is God !!! " He didn't continued the thread ; i don't know why ! Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Sep. 06 2008, 09:49 I'd mostly resume it to one item: he has great ideas and the courage (and means) to put them to practice. The world is filled with people who have great ideas but are too shy/nervous/restrained to execute them, and with people who have no ideas so they just do the most basic thing that satisfies their ego. To me, pulling off an album like Amarok is similar to - using xkcd as inspiration again - managing to climb up the down escalator, without giving a damn about all the folks looking at you funny. But among the items, I chose "Meticulous craftsmanship". I'm one of those sceptical bastards who thinks this talk about "Divine inspiration" is just a convenient shortcut for something far more complex and that the thing about "energy" and "spontaneity" and "sincerity" in music is just a layer added unconsciously by the listener and that conceals the real meat of music which is melody and arrangement and all that goes with it, so there. (P.S.: a guy named Dwayne? Would that be Dwayne Coyne? JESUS IS AT MY SIDE WONDERING WHAT HE WILL FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIND) -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

Sweetpea Group: Members Posts: 1476 Joined: April 2007 Posted: Sep. 06 2008, 14:54 What a lot of interesting responses. Pressed for time at the moment, but I'm kicking myslef for not including one of the simplest and most basic of options... "Supertalent". Which I think would cover some ideas expressed by Ray and Sir M? -------------- "I'm no physicist, but technically couldn't Mike both be with the horse and be flying through space at the same time? (On account of the earth's orbit around the Sun and all that). So it seems he never had to make the choice after all. I bet he's kicking himself now." - clotty Back to top

Ray Group: Members Posts: 857 Joined: Jan. 2000 Posted: Sep. 06 2008, 15:04 Quote (Sir Mustapha @ Sep. 06 2008, 14:49) JESUS IS AT MY SIDE WONDERING WHAT HE WILL FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIND He is definitely not at my side...... For one i don't have religeon as one of my hobbies Two - it's Ramadan in Dubai, 37 degrees and 100 & 57% humidity. three - ........ Who needs a three ... that should be sufficient to make sure he is safely in the middle of Brazil hiding under a large tree with a fresh coco-nut. -------------- Looking out over the harbour in Peel....... Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: Sep. 06 2008, 16:56 Meticulous craftmanship get`s my vote also.But divine inspiration from whatever source that may be is definetly in there also for me.Supertalent is good yeah I like that, of course he`s got that in abundance.And he`s unique you know there`s absolutely nobody like him.Which is quite sad in one way because I think well he`s been around for 35 years now and he`s somehow pretty much in a field of his own still. As far as success goes luck certainly plays a part.So you know without that initial hit with Tubular Bells who knows what would have happened?But Mike was obviously so driven back then.I mean ridiculously so when you think about it.He felt he had a point to prove I think like he was`nt being heard.Or through his own emotional failings or whatever he felt he had something to express through his music.Maybe he did`nt even realise he was doing that I guess.But think how stoked he must`ve been when all those ideas started to come together for the very first time. I know Mike once came out with this quote that he thought only 10% of his fanbase truly understood his music or something.I think he was kind of refering to it on an emotional level as well.I mean in one way I kind of want to think well fair enough no one is going to know better than him.But in all honesty I can`t even express how Mike`s music has made me feel sometimes.And I`m sure there are many people on this board who probably feel the same way.Where`s the clickable smilie for emotionaly wiped out that`s what I wanna` know?..     Yeah that`s not it I know but what can you say sometimes?As Alan D used to kind of say on here Mike`s music breaks down the barriers and crosses over the genres.It cuts to the quick as well on an emotional level.It`s thought provoking and sometimes complicated in rock terms.But there`s no bullshit if you like.And he`s not scared of being positive or uplifting or blimey a whole host of emotions that so many composers would`nt go near with a bargepole.But to me it`s like nothing phases him somehow.His music flows and he goes with that flow unconditionaly sometimes. Ray raises some very interesting points about who likes his music as well of course.Which I dare say a number of people will probably identify with to a degree.I mean I`m not going to deny it I can identify with some of that myself.Whether that`s actualy played a major part in me loving the music of Mike Oldfield or not I don`t really know.But "Brain-a-Gasm" I think there`s definetly something in that,I would`nt deny it at all in fact. Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Sep. 06 2008, 20:40 Quote (Ray @ Sep. 06 2008, 15:04) it's Ramadan in Dubai, 37 degrees and 100 & 57% humidity. (...) Who needs a three ... that should be sufficient to make sure he is safely in the middle of Brazil hiding under a large tree with a fresh coco-nut. Well, geographically, the middle of Brazil isn't too different from that description of Dubai, so he'd rather be close to the ocean, I think. "Supertalent" might be too generic a term, but I really like that word, for some reason. Basically it would be that, along with the willingness to let that supertalent completely loose and free, unrestrained by conventions of "song" and such. It's the talent itself in its purest form. -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

Scatterplot Group: Members Posts: 1981 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: Sep. 07 2008, 02:40 Because he had very high expressive and technical abilities as well as a high IQ. He came along at a time when "English Art Rock" was at it's best, so he went in that direction and improved on what was out there. He came from a musical family. And he had a very active/creative imagination. He wasn't afraid to break rules(rules set by people like Doctors of Music who say things like "resolve a work in a minor scale with a major chord at the end). He was cool. But mostly, he WORKED HARD to do something well. Making recordings and being profficient at an instrument(s) takes hard work and time..... Jimbo -------------- We raise our voices in the night Crying to heaven And will our voices be heard Or will they break Like the wind Back to top

The Caveman Group: Members Posts: 2178 Joined: Jan. 2008 Posted: Sep. 08 2008, 07:48 I went for the craftsmanship.Even his simplest stuff is put together with such care and attention to detail.The fact that he takes so long to record anything is testament to this.Ok some stuff i don't particualry like but it will still be well written,well played and well mixed.He isn't god and apparently he doesn't do drugs anymore (although he himself admits that drugs DID play a part early on)but he is incrdibly well put together.Emotionally his music is very very deep as well.That's why i listen to his stuff so much i guess.I have a huge collection but,short of my blues stuff,there's nothing with so much depth to it. -------------- THE COMING OF THE GREAT WHITE HANDKERCHEIF IS NIGH. Back to top

Olivier Group: Super Admins Posts: 1868 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: Sep. 08 2008, 12:28 Off topic, but the question reminds me of this hilarious episode of Extras with Ian McKellen. "How do I act so well?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43sbtkQM6zc Back to top

Sweetpea Group: Members Posts: 1476 Joined: April 2007 Posted: Sep. 08 2008, 15:30 Mike: 'How do I play guitar so well? What I do is... I put my fingers on the strings... here, and here. See? Then I... play the notes that are in the tune. You're confused.' -------------- "I'm no physicist, but technically couldn't Mike both be with the horse and be flying through space at the same time? (On account of the earth's orbit around the Sun and all that). So it seems he never had to make the choice after all. I bet he's kicking himself now." - clotty Back to top

Sweetpea Group: Members Posts: 1476 Joined: April 2007 Posted: Sep. 09 2008, 01:43 Quote (Ray @ Sep. 06 2008, 03:17) And i'm talking the seriously scary listeners who like all of the music but like 80% of it a very lot, rather the ones who like some of it a bit. We aren't scary! At least, I'm not. And I'm almost positive Sir Mustapha was joking about the sacrificial lambs. -------------- "I'm no physicist, but technically couldn't Mike both be with the horse and be flying through space at the same time? (On account of the earth's orbit around the Sun and all that). So it seems he never had to make the choice after all. I bet he's kicking himself now." - clotty Back to top

Major Gowen Group: Members Posts: 83 Joined: June 2008 Posted: Sep. 09 2008, 02:17 I’m afraid I subscribe to the slightly hokey theory that certain people are blessed with a gift or talent, and they’re put on this earth to make our lives more enjoyable. And Mike Oldfield is definitely one of those people. The talent he has, of being able to translate his ideas/emotions into music that changes the lives of like-minded souls, is something that, in my opinion, comes from some place else. Not sure where it is, but it’s indefinable in terms of everyday understanding. Sure Mike isn’t the only one of these people, but he comes under this category. He's not a god, but he's gifted. But as well as the divine inspiration bit, I would say meticulous craftsmanship and this seems to come from his early years. From reading his autobiography I was taken aback by the sheer dedication he put into learning the guitar, at a very early age. I think this has to do with the generation he comes from, the post-war, pre-technology generation when, to use a well-worn cliché, they had to make their own entertainment. No internet or computer games when young Master Oldfield was a kid! So he could devote his time to playing and playing and playing. And what you got many years later, with Tubular Bells and all that followed, was the result. I agree also that Mike’s personality has informed his music. Whatever demons he’s had to deal with, it’s invested his music with an emotional quality that few other artists I can think of possess. Plus the way he’s 'gone about it' - unlike many of his peers he’s never seemed bothered about being part of the music business. Despite being an artist who sells lots of records, there’s still this image of someone who’d rather stay at home and tinker about than play the industry game. You never see Mike taking part in any of the Q/Mojo award love-ins and this 'outsider' aspect gives his music a bit more humanity. Compare him to Pink Floyd for instance – while I like their music the whole corporate air they give off puts me off sometimes. Also I find it hard to listen to their classic works due to the bitterness and rancour that’s surrounded the band for years. In comparison, Mike’s music is more straightforwardly honest as you get the feeling his intentions are roughly the same as they’ve always been. Back to top

TubularBelle Group: Members Posts: 1487 Joined: April 2004 Posted: Sep. 10 2008, 21:09 Yes i think I would have included 'trajedy'. I know that is not the right spelling. Or 'emotional hardness' and that is what I would have voted for, but the next closest item on the list was 'drugs'. Both these things are mind altering and only those people who do not have 'normal' minds, ie: they focus an exceptional amount on one particular skill, such as writing music or guitar playing, can achieve these levels of skill. Mikes personality comes across as very lazy to me in other areas, even in relationships, he seems to be only since Fanny making the real effort there. So I think had it not been for Mikes mindset in his early years, he would never have achieved his level of talent. As Ray said, anyone who spends that much time devoted to one thing, quickly can do what others can do and then wants to do something new. -------------- I hate getting up early. I didn't even realise there were two 6 o'clocks in one day! Back to top

Sweetpea Group: Members Posts: 1476 Joined: April 2007 Posted: Oct. 29 2008, 14:29 People have mentioned personality and life experiences, and that's made me think about the changes in (or the evolution of) MO's music. I recall someone saying that TSODE was such a surprise to him, at the time, being entirely unexpected. My view is different, of course, having arrived at the party late. I suppose an 'after-the-fact' perspective may be more fair, in some ways, but I feel that I've missed out on a big part of the fan experience; I missed following the artist's journey as it happens. -------------- "I'm no physicist, but technically couldn't Mike both be with the horse and be flying through space at the same time? (On account of the earth's orbit around the Sun and all that). So it seems he never had to make the choice after all. I bet he's kicking himself now." - clotty Back to top

Tati The Sentinel Group: Members Posts: 3360 Joined: Feb. 2002 Posted: Oct. 29 2008, 16:39 There's something Mike's music has got that other artists don't have,the only thing I can say at the moment is the fact it's high addictive. -------------- "But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014 "I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011 Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4770 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: Oct. 29 2008, 19:36 I think we say music is good simply when the emotions that are being offered match those that we want or are able to receive. Back to top

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