Chapter 2: Anybody could have written that song.

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.