Harrith Harrison and the Poorly Attempted Escape Plan

Hmm... I guess I can't really describe me, as such. It's better to start with what goes on in and around my head.

So, let's begin. To start, I'll have to say that a lot of it is probably hard to understand, and I mean pretty much all meanings of the word "understand". Inspired by the works of such odd/unique icons as Peter Gabriel, I strive to be just that little bit weirder than the people around me. I am intrigued by common generalisations and what identity really means, what does it mean to be normal? What do people expect when someone says they're crazy or mental? Do they expect they chew random things and have the native tongue of gibberish? Do they just think they'll be obnoxiously loud and give stupid suggestions? Or do they think they'll be the sort of person who has odd ideas and writes confusing stories? There are so many different meanings to so many different words, and yet most of the time we know what we all mean and we don't even notice. Think about it, take a conversation from here or MSN or something and think of every possible meaning of the sentences, you could've been talking about something else entirely without even realising it.

The one thing I can't decide upon is art/creativity. I just don't understand it, meaning I can't define it, one of the reasons being it's such a large concept. Do I like it? Do I hate it? I like it when it makes sense, I like it when it doesn't make sense, I like it when the creator has a very important meaning for creating it, I like it when the creator doesn't know why they created it. I generally don't like things when they're in a straight line, so general a concept, so bland. Take for example a song about a boy meeting a girl and they go through the process of finding out how much they have in common, going round each other's houses, meeting up after school or something etc. etc. boring boring. Why make it so normal? Why does it have to be a straight line of events? Can't it be curvy or zig-zaggy? Boy meets girl, boy leaves girl to pursue career, girl misses boy, boy becomes fairly successful, girl tries to find boy by asking a few people, boy becomes really successful, girl sees interview with boy on TV, girl finds out boy is in the general area and finds him in the local café, they meet again and start a relationship which leads boy's career downhill, boy breaks up with girl... I could go on, but I'm sure you get the point, if there's going to be a story, make it a good one. The best creative things though are the things with no line at all, fantastic instrumental pieces with weird sounds and maybe even with a weird time signature, with those you're not restricted to something someone's already written, instrumental pieces are like things we have no word for, they can mean different things to different people, going beyond the boundaries of song and on to general experience, different people can take the same experience to mean different things, we are all essentially different because if you really thought of someone you know and what would've happened if they had the same parents and upbringing as you, then you'd know that they would still be different, some parts would be the same but some parts wouldn't, it would be the same set of clothes but a different person wearing them, metaphorically of course.

There, if that doesn't help you to know what I'm like then I don't know what will.
In the form of online bios, at least.

-NEW AS OF 20TH APRIL 2009-
I can't remember if that's actually what I was like when I registered here. It definitely wasn't complete, and of course it still isn't. Some of it is true now, so it probably was then, but some things (what I said about instrumental pieces, for example) are completely different now, so it might not have been true then. Instrumental pieces are good, and so are weird sounds and unconventional time signatures, but none of these are the best creative things. It's very easy for a musician to write an instrumental piece without actually having a meaning or a story for it. It can sound good, but what's the point? There isn't one? Then why write it? If a good song has vocals, then there is most likely a meaning to it, or at least a story, sometimes both. Why write if it's just for fun? I'm a musician because there are things that I need to say, whether to myself or to other people, and I don't like it when music is popular just because it's fun. Music, or indeed any kind of art, is a strong part of the artist's identity, so writing for fun is either hiding or showing that you're not much of a person, certainly not much of a thinker, at least.

Much progress in a year's time, clearly. I now am quite a bit more sure of how I feel about art, and I can (but won't) describe myself better.
Actually, reading my year-old profile, it seems very one-sided. I seem interesting, but like I can't yet be bothered to find the answers I want. I also seem kind of boring in the way that I'd probably be very repetitive, and like you couldn't really have many good conversations with me. Whether that was the case or not, it probably isn't the case now.

That took a while, didn't it?

-NEW AS OF 13TH AUGUST 2010-
Ooh, a second bio update.

I'm much more relaxed about art these days, rather than the "art should have no smiles it should get on with it!" from before. Fun is fine. Come to think of it, it's like the contrast between the 08 bio and 09 bio has evened out. It's not unlike that at all.
I've changed my mind about art regarding a few things, and I've decided that the most important thing for art to have is a good meaning. The second most important thing is a good story. Art with either one of those alone can still potentially be good art. The third thing is accessibility, the relevant factors being different depending on what artform it is (music - ease of listening, game - ease of controls, e.t.c.). That's what I think, and I know there are people who'd disagree, but other people's opinions/beliefs on/about art are most likely never going to be exactly the same as mine so it doesn't matter.
Oh I've also written a few instrumental pieces since then as well, and my opinion on writing with no intended meaning has changed too. It's more a matter of writing something and then finding where it goes; what it is or can be about. Figuring out what themes go with it, or writing something else and then putting it in. Writing without meaning is perfectly fine. Obviously it's better when it has a place to go, though.

Technically, I think my social skills are about the same as before, which in retrospect I think was actually not that much better than when I wrote the one before that. Although, actually, I think my social gotos are either broken, incredibly dusty, or non-existent. I can deal just fine at home, but when talking to people I don't live with it just feels weird, like when you accidentally find yourself poking someone when you're back at school after the summer holidays because you've forgotten exactly how you were in front of people. ... that's never happened to you?

I'm leaving the old bios there for archive purposes. It's always interesting to look back and see how you were, whether in photographs, a relative's memory, or some form of text/writing. It's also interesting to look at the changes there've been, and the progress you've made. Not that retrospect is important as a lifelong venture, though; you can't accurately change directions if you're looking back the whole time (unless you're reversing, which as far as I know is impossible in this metaphor).

Wheesh, did you read the whole thing? I am sorry, Person.