If you’re reading this then you know I’ve covered why the
music scene in my area is in shambles, well today I have something to say about
songwriting. There once was a time where people loved to hear original music,
songs people had written for many different reasons set to music they wrote for
that particular piece. Sadly those days have disappeared, now it’s the same
overrated and overused crap that people want to hear all the time. I’m not
saying that good old fashioned music played by instruments that people have to
take time learning how to use is gone it’s just stuck in a deep ass rut right
now.
Now let’s get something straight I’m not here to tell you
what music you should be listening to or criticizing your choice of music,
music could be anything from beating on a trashcan lid to virtuoso guitar
wailing over a singer with an 8 octave range. This rant is going to be about
writing songs and if you have written any songs that are halfway tolerable then
you know as well as I do that it’s really fucking hard to write songs. Not only
do you have to make sense you have to hit a key demographic and make your words
mean something to them, I say key demographic because no matter how hard you
try you’ll never write a song that applies to everyone. People are all
drastically different and there is no way to make words and music that speaks
to all of them.
A lot of people tell me the Beatles wrote music for everyone
which is completely false because like a lot of people I don’t care for the
Beatles. They laid the groundwork for modern rock music but as times change
people also change and so do music trends. Take Justin Bieber for example, this
little Canadian kid wrote some riffs and a couple of songs that appeal to teen
girls and blew up like dynamite for it, but on the other end of the spectrum
you have people like me who write for themselves and don’t care about
popularity all that much (the first single from my album is called I’m Glad You’re
Dead for crying out loud). When writing a song there are a few things worthy of
remembering, write for a certain kind of people, write like you would think, and
don’t expect everything to be a hit.
Writing for a key demo is better than thinking you can take
on the world with your music because most of the time that key demo will spread
to people who would have never listened to your music because of word of mouth
alone. When you write like you would think it puts more sincerity into your
songs and even if everyone hates them at least you know you’re being as real as
you can, and it doesn’t matter if you write death metal or comedy rock
sincerity still counts. You should never go into this expecting everything you
brain shits out will turn into gold records, there is a reason albums have
filler songs. If a group or artist tried to sit down and write an album of
nothing but hit songs it would take years upon years and it still only has a 50
percent chance of succeeding maybe even less than that. Many bands try this and
run the risk of the entire genre that they fall into shifting into something
else entirely.
If you think that you’re music can’t be defined by a genre
you should really just quit now. There is a reason we have labels for different
kinds of music, its so people can find it easily and describe it to their
friends. Sure there have been a lot of offshoot genres and even some made up
ones but these artists understand that being labeled means people are listening
to them and not throwing their music in the trash. And if you’re thinking you’re
the one who will get famous without selling out or being labeled then you’re
living in a god damn fantasy world and someone should hit you with a brick
because that thought process is fucking insane.
The title of this is anyone could have written that song
which after reading my insane ramblings you know that is a bullshit statement. People
have distinct writing styles and a lot of times with modern music 4 or 5 people
have to pool their resources to write one song and it may come out sounding
like shit to everyone. If you’re out there reading this and you continue to
write songs on your own without consulting with other people and they don’t
sound too shitty then you have my respect. Writing a song on your own is so
hard that I often contemplate not writing anymore songs because I get blocked
up and pissed off at myself when something doesn’t come out right, but that is
what haunts all songwriters.
I just want to take this time to be a sleazy promotional
tool and say that you can buy my album Beautiful Depression at
rosslacey.bandcamp.com and thank anyone who has the patience to read my
insanity. I hope you come back and tell your friends about the crazy dude on
the internet that rambles about music and shit related to it. Also while you’re
praying for me make sure you include your friends that you think might be going
to hell, I don’t want to be the only one down there with a kiddie pool.
