It has lately come to my attention that my most recent tracks I've been TRYING to put together absolutely suck.
I actually attribute this to having learned so much in comparison to when I was a simple high school sophomore just dipping my toes in music production...
 
But now I use compressors, I use EQ, and I simply can't find or make those key sounds, chords, progressions, tones, and whatever else, the way I could back then.
 
I can't make MUSIC anymore. I can't mix well, I can't write meaningful songs, and I don't get my own ideas.
Everything is so convoluted and NOTHING has helped change things back.
 
Maybe I peaked too early. Maybe I've run out of the really good ideas. Maybe my mind is so full of production that it's in the way of making things. (Maybe I'm digging for sympathy!)
 
I actually wish I could've stayed ignorant.

I'm 42, I've been writing music for the biggest part of my life, and I've also experienced my fair share of uninspired phases, a few of them which seemed to be the result of too much self-consciousness.
 
The good thing is that eventually, one outgrows self-consciousness. One day you realize that you're actually writing, playing and having fun again. 
 
Artists DO need a bit of ignorance. I mean, how else would one dare put lyrics down on paper for posterity after reading Shakespeare or Baudelaire... How does one even dare pretend to write music after hearing something like Bach's St. Matthew Passion?
 
But making music is expressing oneself, and that need to express oneself has a way of taking precedence over all the rest and make one forget about everything that could get in the way.
 
So don't despair. Just keep at it. :)
 

Go back to basics.  Just worry about one phase at a time.  When you're writing lyrics, don't think about how you are going to record the song, or mix it.  When you are recording, set aside writing and mixing, etc.
 
Try to go back to mixing without using *all* the plug-ins.  Limit yourself to one or two.

I agree with both comments above. 
When you get into a funk, try to write a song that you know is going to suck. I mean just do it as fast as you can with at least some attention to detail.  Write the melody fast, write the lyrics fast, mix it fast.  Then give it a day and see what you have.
There have been so many times I can't count where I started testing a plugin or jamming and I just let it all happen without any regard for the end product.  What I get is something half way decent. 
 
So don't take anything serious and just go for it. Finish it and post it. I bet there will be others that like it and/or give you good tips to make it better. 

If you're creative guy getting into a writing funk is unavoidable. I've accepted the fact that it happens and I will eventually find my way out. I guess because we're always trying to better ourselves, our music, writing, mixing, whatever, we put some pressure on ourselves. One of the things I do is to dive into the hundreds of idea snippits I have recorded over the years. There all over the place. On my phone, handheld recorder, cassettes... Usually, I find an idea in the haystack that I have long forgot about and it will spark creativeness again.
The main thing, for me, is that it has to sound good my acoustic and nothing else. I never think, "well, this part will be saved, or sound good when I mix it." Good luck. You will find your way out. "You will find your way out" I think there is a song in there...

This makes me curious... How long can a creative funk last??? I'm doing fine with creating jazz and orchestral music, but I'm not sure what the missing piece is that will revive my desire to create things.

/existential
Consider all of the things you do to the music in Sonar, as layers of clothing that are weighing you down. Perhaps it's time to strip naked and dance around the fire?

davdud101
This makes me curious... How long can a creative funk last??? 

You don't want to know just how horribly long, trust me... ;)
 
When going through a dry spell, I usually go through the dozens of bits of unfinished music on my hard drive to stay busy and keep me in the mood and/or try to write something very specific, as an exercise. This could be anything - a pastiche, a song in the genre of this or that guy, a study, or maybe there's some kind of chord progression or shift in tonality that I want to try and understand, so I'll try and work on a piece like that. 
 
None of that stuff is inspired, but more often than not, I suddenly realize that I'm back at work on something that is. Not too long ago, a fellow forum member reminded me of something Picasso used to say: Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.
 
 

You are probably trying to put large logs on a dying fire.  When the inspiration dies out, it needs to be fueled with small, insignificant projects.  Write a jingle, a melody or a meaningless song.  Just make sure you complete it and do it regularly.  It is what all composers are taught and it works.  Once you get the fire burning hot again, use it to write better music you can be proud of.  
 
To paraphrase Virgil Thompson.  It is important to keep regular appointments with "the Muse,"  if it fails to come, it isn't your fault, at least YOU were there and YOU were ready.

This happened to me after extended periods of learning theory and then again as I started getting into "proper" recording concepts.
 
It may SEEM like you've lost that old touch or inspiration but really you just need to let the new concepts settle in and take hold. The theory stuff for me made me feel like I knew it all and was just repeating the same crap over and over (and I kind of was) but slowly over time the stuff I started really twisting the stuff I had learned into all sorts of crazy ways. It made my old hack stuff that was original and cool all of a sudden much easier to write/understand and perform and I was able to really expand on my style.
 
As far as engineering, for the past few years all I've been doing is learning abotu production concepts and I've barely gotten anything recorded/mixed when before I did not know a damned thing and manage to put together a full album, an EP, some singles and a bunch of other stuff. Seemed I was WAY more productive before and back then it seemed like I was doing a really good job (everybody liked my mixes and I even got some stuff on the radio and got offered free mastering of the full album by a BIG name mastering dude because he liked it so much). In the past few years I've only put together a couple completed tracks and honestly didn't think I did such a great job (and really that stuff could have been much better). So WTF? What went wrong? Where is my productivity and skill from before?
 
Well I've gone back and listend to some of my earlier work and it is TERRIBLE in comparison to what I've been doing lately. So I've made massive advancements with my engineering skills but it is hard to see the forest for the trees when you've got chimpunks trying to crawl up your butt. Now I'm getting a LOT faster and more inspired with my engineering/production stuff so just like with the theory stuff this is starting to really pay off. I'm not completely lost as to what to do all the time and I can make calculate/educated decisions instead of just guessing and hacking away HOPING I may stumble across the sound I want.
 
Now I just need to DO it... over and over again. My frustration and self doubt are fading away and that confidence is starting to show through in my work. I'm certainly still a loooooong way off from where I'd like to be but I can see the path getting clearer.
 
So seriously don't give up. Maybe take a break to avoid burnout but you've expanded your skills and that will ALWAYS benefit your end product.
 
Cheers and good luck.