I Swear This One's A Hit

When I get in the groove to write a song, nothing can take me away. I put everything aside and I write that song. It usually just flows from my pen tip on to the page and translates itself into the melodious ringing of my amazing guitar. When I emerge from underneath the sheets of soiled papers, scratched out and scattered across my bedroom floor, I always feel so accomplished. 'Look at what you just created!' I tell myself. 'You're a genius.' Then I run down the stairs of my house, usually tripping and falling, to serenade an unwilling spectator - usually one of my brothers. After the rush of exhilaration leaves me, I save a copy on my computer and never play it again.

Ok, maybe I'll play it a few times more to try and get the rush of accomplishment again. I am terrible about writing down the chords for my songs so I have to practice over and over in order to remember them.

However, I have yet another huge fault. I am usually so taken with the beauty of what I have just created that I don't even think about what I could change it to, or how I could expand it. In short, I never revise. While yes, you can get a fabulous song in the heat of the moment, if you take the time to revise and edit, you can turn it into an even more powerful song. Take for example these lyrics I had written several months ago:


I'm not even sure what I'm s'pposed to say.
My life is one mystery inside of each day.
How am I s'pposed to cope after what has been done?
Do you expect me to just walk out into the sun?

The sun well it's great but it's still really cold
Just like the lies and the truth I've been told.
The answer is there somewhere but so far away
And I'm getting tired of living this way.

Well it's hard enough to set it straight
When I don't know where to begin, where to wait.
And I'm tired of people saying be strong and tough
Sometimes all I need is some warm, gentle love.

That's how I left it. It's not that great although at the time I believed that it was. Today as I was doing an assignment for my music class, I brought these lyrics up and revised them. This is what they look like now:

I'm not even sure, what am I s'pposed to say?
My life is one mystery inside of each day.
How am I s'pposed to cope after what has been done?
You expect me to just walk out into the sun?

The sun well it's great but it's still really cold
And it's just like the lies and the truth I've been told.
The answer is there somewhere but so far away
It's more than exhausting to exist in this way.

Crooked life history is hard to keep straight,
When trying to soften this irrational fate.
I'm tired of people saying be strong and tough
At times I require a little wholehearted love.

Quite an improvement, I believe. When you word things in a more interesting way its easier to keep the attention of your audience. I love songs with hidden meanings, double meanings, double entendras, you name it.

For instance, check out these lyrics to 'Good People' by Jack Johnson.I love this song and what he's talking about. Not only is the rhyming quick and addictive, the song points out some great things while being somewhat sarcastic in nature.

Although the above lyrics in green may not be a hit, they are much better than the lyrics in blue. So to go back to the very beginning, how did I discover I had such a bad habit to begin with? Well, I was reading this site: http://blog.songtrust.com/open-mic/whats-the-quickest-way-to-kill-a-song/.

If you are a music geek like me, subscribe to these people!! They have so much valuable information and can really open your eyes to some things. I signed up for their newsletter, and so should you. Wouldn't it be better to have something other than spam and emails from crazy relatives in your inbox?

And then after you subscribe and sign up and maybe block that relative, go back and look over your old songs. See if you can't find something that can be reworked and reworded. If it's something from several years ago, your fresh eye and new experiences may help you analyze what's really there. Never settle just because it's close enough!! You could be holding the next hit song in your hands! Write, write, and re-write.

Now I'm almost afraid to open up my old songs...but I'm going to in case I turn out to be a one hit wonder.

May the frets be with you.

A (Very) Brief Bow To Country Music

I don't like country music. I make no bones about it. The Eagles, Jimmy Buffet, and a few other oldies are as close to country music as I will get. The rest I prefer to poke with a stick from safe distance. I don't really know what it is. Maybe its the over use of tractors, trucks, beer, and women. Maybe its the all too familiar twang of men in possession of deep voices that make them believe they are reborn cowboys. Whatever the reason, it's just not my cup of tea, and if it is yours, no amount of sugar will induce me to swallow it.

However, country music does have a lot it offer in the artistic sense. It is one of the oldest forms of music and one of the most popular. Even if I don't particularly care for it, I can recognize that it still has artistic and musical value. So for this reason, I am posting this link to pay my dues to these rather awesome opening lyrics. If I could create such an interesting, raw first line such as these, I would be very happy.

So to all you country fans, I finally see what you see (but only in a very small amount).

http://www.theboot.com/2011/02/17/opening-lyrics/

May the frets be with you.

Come On Baby, Let Me Creep On You

Writing a love song to declare your passion is one of the oldest, purest forms of affection. From rhythmic ballad to bouncy hip hop, love has danced through the ages on the floor of song. I myself have written many love songs. Some were for my boyfriend, some were for my God, and some were for my family. I also wrote one about this amazing burger that I once had that can never be recreated or replaced. That song is gonna get me platinum, I know.

I find it's hard to write a good love song that isn't corny, syrupy sweet, or cliched to death. Saying, 'I love you forever', 'you're the only one for me', 'it was love at first sight', 'i couldn't live without you', etc, is more than likely going to make me throw up a little in my mouth. Oh god. I think I just did.

In my music class this semester, my professor showed us this awesome website, (which, yes, I will post) about how to write the perfect love song. The insight was awesome and really gave me some fabulous ideas.

And then he showed us a website with how to write a creepy, I-will-chop-you-into-a-million-pieces-and-bury-you-in-New-Jersey-when-you-refuse-my-love song. I'm not even joking.

Seriously, as I was reading the lyrics for these songs, I couldn't help but wonder, what were you thinking?!?! Well, duh, they obviously weren't. Or if they were, they were thinking with the wrong head.

So please, don't let me laugh alone. I'll even include links to the lyrics so you don't even have to look them up. And no, I am not obssessing, so stop thinking that:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alida-nugent/10-incredibly-creepy-song_b_810825.html?ref=email_share#s226089&title=All_My_Life

"All My Life": K-Ci & Jojo - http://www.metrolyrics.com/all-my-life-lyrics-kci-jojo.html

"I Knew I Loved You": Savage Garden -http://www.metrolyrics.com/i-knew-i-loved-you-lyrics-savage-garden.html

"Across The Sea": Weezer - http://www.metrolyrics.com/across-the-sea-lyrics-weezer.html

"Baby It's Cold Outside": The kids from 'Glee,' a million other people - http://www.metrolyrics.com/baby-its-cold-outside-lyrics-glee.html

"Please Don't Stand So Close To Me": The Police - http://www.metrolyrics.com/dont-stand-so-close-to-me-lyrics-the-police.html

"The Girl Is Mine": Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney - http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-girl-is-mine-lyrics-michael-jackson.html

"Invisible": Clay Aiken - http://www.metrolyrics.com/invisible-lyrics-clay-aiken.html

"Forever": Chris Brown - http://www.metrolyrics.com/forever-lyrics-chris-brown.html

"As Long As You Love Me": Backstreet Boys - http://www.metrolyrics.com/as-long-as-you-love-me-lyrics-backstreet-boys.html

"Hello": Lionel Richie - http://www.metrolyrics.com/hello-lyrics-lionel-richie.html

I think the one that creeped me out most was 'Across The Sea' by Weezer. I mean, come on....I wanna know what clothes you wear to school...I wanna know how you touch yourself...but I can't so...I'll just lick and sniff this envelope...instead. Crap. Gotta rinse out my mouth again. I feel like no matter how hard I try to brush this off of me, I can't. It's just....weird!


But. Now that you've had a taste for things that won't woo your lover, try this site -->http://blog.songtrust.com/songwriting-tips/5-ways-to-write-the-perfect-love-song/
It's got some good, practical advice that won't make you sound like a disturbed stalker. Serenade your significant other with some real meaning and appreciation, as I intend to do. And when I fail miserably and end up writing the 11th creepy love song, I'll put it up for you to laugh at.

May the frets be with you.

Songwriting

We all know that songwriting is a great love of mine. However, I've let that fall to the way side far more often than I should have. But hey, I work full time and go to school full time and no longer have a social life, so I feel that I am justified.

But.

If you're a songwriter or a musician, then you should check out this link --> http://miccontrol.com/#/micschool/why-do-songwriting-challenges/

This was a fabulous inspiration for me. Whether or not I could actually have the dedication and time to pull this off doesn't mean I can't at least try. Time to dust off my notepad and microphone. I just recently bought a sm57 microphone - one of the best mics for recording acoustic instruments. Now I have an awesome excuse to actually use it. I suggest you do the same.

May the frets be with you.