Songwriting 4 – Making It Great
Friday, December 21, 2007 at 09:31AM I am truly amazed at the amount of uninspired drivel that is passing for songwriting right now. We’ve been dumbed down to such a level by the media that I feel a personal responsibility to address it. I realize that the perception of art is a very personal thing and that everyone has their own opinion, but I put this to you: if you’ve never seen Michelangelo’s David or any other sculpture and someone shows you a stone that they’ve slightly rendered to a familiar shape, you might be amazed by the object and the ability of the renderer. But after you have been exposed to a magnificent piece of work like the David, are you going to be amazed by a barely recognizable piece of stone which an amateur has flung himself against in an effort to make a noticeable dent?
I was doing a benefit for the victims of Katrina, along with several dozen other artists and the player before me was Laurence Juber (www.laurencejuber.com). He chose to perform an instrumental version of Lennon’s Strawberry Fields, on one guitar. It was truly magnificent. He managed to distill the entire recording that we all know into a one guitar piece. As the song unfolded, I recognized what a great piece of music it is and then was brought up abruptly with the realization that that was once the bar by which we measured a song; the goal we set for ourselves, “try to write a song that great”. Now we seem to celebrate mediocrity.
There was an article in the paper the other day about Mary J Blige and they quoted a lot of her lyrics. I am referencing only her writing, but I was amazed at the clichés, the lack of any depth and the outright banality of the work…and we’re celebrating her writing? The further damage is that someone coming up is going to use that work as a goal, to try and get that good? Shoot for the moon; shoot for the stars. Go out and find the most powerful resonating words you can. Compare your work to that. If it pales by comparison, then go work on it some more.
Here is what you don’t want in your lyrics:
a phrase you’ve already heard in someone else’s song;
a cliché that has been used in too many songs already (I would like to point out that all these rules would be general ones, and that you can break them if you do it in an original fashion. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan took a cluster of clichés and strung them together for a very effective piece of satire, “the kid will live and learn, as he watches his bridges burn, from the point of no return” from “Babylon Sisters”. In this instance, they were acknowledging that these were clichés and they were stringing them together for that effect perhaps).
a phrase that is awkward to sing.
accents on the wrong syllable
false rhymes (words that don’t really rhyme—you can find a real rhyme if you try)
So listen to everything and learn from it all, what to do, what not to do and compare your work. If you love an artist, then put your song up against theirs. Is it as good? And don’t think that because they are famous it isn’t fair to compare. If you write a song and put it out there, it is now going to be compared to other songs, whether you like it or not. And perform it in front of other people in a place where people listen to songs. You can tell when something works by the way they respond.
Read all the poetry that you can. As a matter of fact, just read all you can. I get so many ideas from a turn of phrase that someone else put together in some published work. I even get it from listening in on other people’s conversations. I remember getting the song, “Rhythm of Your Lies” from a conversation at a check out stand. This guy in front of me was saying, “I knew she was lying. I know her too well. I know the rhythm of her lies”. As he said it, I knew it was a great phrase and I wrote it down as soon as I got back in my car. And I went right home and wrote the song.
Which is another thing I recommend to you. The muse doesn’t always show up. When she does, respect her. Put aside the mundane thing you were going to do and follow that idea. I have friends who will simply not refuse it when it shows up. And how many times have you had a great idea and then thought, well I’ll write down the idea and come back later. And later, you no longer have the key to open the idea up. I understand how commitments have to be met, but how many chances at great songs does anyone get?
Reader Comments (9)
Yeah. What spooks me about the trend toward mediocrity in songwriting is that the companies that throw all their promotional might behind the Mary J. Bliges (who is a brilliantly emotive singer and performer, IMO) of the world actually have a vested interest in keeping their product mediocre. It sounds sort of counter intuitive, I guess, but if they can train the masses to operate on the least common denominator it insures their survival in the long run. Eventually (actually, already), they won't have to try to create a truly artistic product, because the average music listener won't know the difference.
A similar trend can be seen in the way TV has expanded to the ultra small screen of Ipods, where the quality of the viewing experience has achieved an all-time low. The companies that benefit from the new technology are betting that each successive generation of consumer will have a higher threshold for mediocrity.
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wow chris, what a dismal future such a commitment would deliver. btw, i was addressing the lyrics and not her performing or singing. tho i must admit, those lyrics certainly didn't intrigue me enough to WANT to hear her new recording. i have heard that her shows are wonderful, but i don't believe anything critics say anymore...unless they are praising me...then i believe every word &). i hope that what people and corporations are doing is demonstrating to the masses what to expect when dealing specifically with them. there is no question that we've been dumbed down to a tragic level. read goodwyn's "team of rivals" and see how engaged and informed the general populace was when lincoln was running for president. we get the music, tv, and governments we deserve i guess.
James Lee— You’ve touched upon a very significant, controversial and delicate topic. I’m glad you brought this atrocity to light. I think Glenn Campbell nailed it when he said, “people today are confusing lyrics with words”. I recently tuned in to a Grand Old Opry segment where several new and upcoming “artists” with current hit tunes were showcased. I was dumbfounded by some of the alleged lyrics to these songs. Yet, their CDs are selling like hotcakes! I feel as though I’ve awakened from a long dream and missed something. The fact that these artists are sharing the same stage that once graced such legends as Hank Williams, Buck Owens, and Marty Robbins begs the simple question: What happened?
Happy Holidays,
Max
May I add freewrite as much as you can... as I have found 2 things
1. You may end up really writing after a paragraph or page or however long you free write that you are starting to write something good by merely opening up the doors of jugdement...you may find in all this stuff that may or may not be abysmal that there is a phrase that is fantastic
2.its easier to subtract than it is to add... you can always trim away the schmaltz I have found its important to save as much as you can even if you dont like it...as I said in 1. you may find a shining jewel when you come back to something you considered muck when you were creating it
I like to shop around in what I have already written but not used when putting a piece together sometimes as opposed to working on something continuously...I go back and pick and choose phrases lines whatever and form a song that way...it kind of takes the the pressure off especially when having trouble writing
2.
max and bobby, thanks for the thoughtful posts. yes, i don't know what is happening, but just when i think it's too sad, someone will write something really wonderful and everyone will get it. we can't give up, but we must not add to the problem by celebrating mediocrity our selves.
and all those tips about rewriting are not only true and valuable, but what i also do. perhaps all songwriters go thru cannibalizing and rewriting. at least they should.
James Lee…Thanks for the tips on free writing, which a is great idea. My problem is that I have lots of catchy and cool phases and chord progressions to accompany them; however, they are literally unfinished songs and exist merely as lost planets in the universe. In your “Eternal Contradiction”, I actually hear several tunes, very cleverly merged together. Yet, I am never satisfied with my attempts to splice and merge. In essence the whole is not as good as the sum of its parts. So, I end up writing another melody or middle eight that never seems to find a home. Friends have told me they actually sing these phases and melodies in the minds and I am constantly asked, “when are you going to finish it?” Certainly, one must be in the open frame of mind to create. Striking a balance between a stressful job and quiet creativity time is not always easy. There are times when I get home from work and just stare at the HD28 and Taylor and just say, “good night”. Yet I realize, the key is never stop trying. I’ll definitely take a shot at free writing and see what develops.
Thanks again,
Max
Great post!
I agree with the poor writing of today's music, however, there are a few bits of brilliance out there. I just got a new CD the other day, and haven't stopped listening to it. It is country, and by a guy named Eric Church, called "Sinners Like Me." The writing is fabulous!!! Church has written or co-written all the songs, and if you like creativity and GREAT story songs, you have to check this album out! I found it at Walmart (I know, I don't like it either but..)for only $7.99. It has 12 songs and is amazing!
Another great writer, more along the Americana lines is Chris Knight. He gets a bit of country play too, but his songs are grit and real life! Awesome. Check out "It Ain't Easy Being Me" on his self titled album.
Another writer who I haven't found his CD, but has some cool songs on other's CD is Walt Wilkins. I first found him on a Pat Green "Carry On" album for the title song and a song called "Ruby's Two Sad Daughters." Phenomenal!
A couple of other great writers/albums are: in Blues: Keb Mo-"Keep It Simple"; in Country: Bobby Pinson-"Man Like Me"; in Rock: the new Eagles CD and anything by Rob Thomas. He has written quite a few songs for several artists even Willie Nelson, who said of Rob Thomas, "I used to think there was no future for songwriting, then I met Rob. As long as he is around, music will be fine." Pretty cool comment from a "legend." Anyway, if you use evil Windows Media Player :-) you can search for any name, and it will pull up those names under the composers too. It is kinda cool to do some cross references that way.
I don't know if this is really on topic of the post, but thought I would share some of the new and/or cool stuff I had run across.
Thanks again for keeping our creative juices flowing and keeping us on our game, and not get complacent just keeping up with the "norm" or "status quo."
thanks for all the posts and thanks for turning us on to some new artists who are maintaining the bar. we must aspire to greatness, otherwise what we are doing is self abuse. not to mention what it does to the audience.
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