You obviously don't really forget how to play the old songs; you just don't have to spend so much time convincing yourself that you remember them. Way less mental energy is spent swimming around in lyrics you've already written and chords you've already played.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the ease of recalling past experiences and creativity when one allows themselves to be naturally engaged rather than forcing memory.
Jeff Tweedy's quote emphasizes the idea that while we may think we've forgotten our past creative expressions, they remain within us, just waiting to be accessed. It suggests that much of the struggle with creativity lies not in the act of recalling our past work, but rather in the unnecessary mental effort we exert trying to convince ourselves of our forgotten abilities. This appeals to artists and individuals in creative fields, reminding them that their experiences and talents are always accessible if they let go of the pressure to remember.
In practice
In a speech to aspiring musicians, you could use this quote to encourage them to relax and embrace their artistic journey.
Stop trying to treat music like it's a tennis shoe, something to be branded. If the music industry wants to save money, they should take a look at some of their six-figure executive expense accounts. All those lawsuits can't be cheap, either.
Treating your audience like thieves is absurd. Anyone who chooses to listen to our music becomes a collaborator.
I think of guitar players in terms of doctors: you have the doctor for your heart, the cardiologist, then one that works on your feet, your leg. But I believe George Benson is the one that plays all over. To me, he would be the M.D. of them all.
Every scene, even the commonest, is wonderful, if only one can detach oneself, casting off all memory of use and custom, and behold it (as it were) for the first time; in its right, authentic colors; without making comparisons. Cherish and burnish this faculty of seeing crudely, simply, artlessly, ignorantly; of seeing like a baby or a lunatic, who lives each moment by itself and tarnishes by the present no remembrance of the past.
I am part of a light, and it is the music. The Light fills my six senses: I see it, hear, feel, smell, touch and think. Thinking of it means my sixth sense. Particles of Light are written note. A bolt of lightning can be an entire sonata. A thousand balls of lightening is a concert.. For this concert I have created a Ball Lightning, which can be heard on the icy peaks of the Himalayas.
It's a bit naff, but there is something exciting about pulling a bit of pottery out of the ground that's 2,000 years old.
Know what the old masters did. Know how they composed their pictures, but do not fall into the conventions they established. These conventions were right for them, and they are wonderful. They made their language. You make yours. All the past can help you.
One morning, one of us ran out of the black, it was the birth of Impressionism.
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