MAB Q&A

Always a gentleman with an obvious love of songwriting and poetry. One of the good guys. I liked Ott very much and will miss him. Along with that go my heartfelt condolences to his family for their loss. 

http://songtown.com/the-10-co-writing-commandments-for-songwriters/

R.I.P Ott. Ott was a great Songwriter in a lot of Genres.He will be missed here but his music lives on.

That was a great link Yrral! thanks for posting it.

phil g.

Ott will be missed here at the ramp. He posted positive comments on practically everyone of my songs. It takes a hell of a nice guy to do that for my music. I did a simple 1+1 cut of one of his poems and he sent me a copy of his book of poetry, Love or Lust. He said if I wish, rewrite them any way you like if you want to record any of them. Not many will give that much freedom with their work.

Rest in peace ,Ott.

Hi Phil ! We are going to be in the villages on the 22nd to party with the Boogie Brothers at City Fire. We are arriving on the 20th ,maybe we'll get together and do trivia night again and win this time !

Dan, I guess you're talking about April? Since March 20 is long past. I'm headed to Nashville April 12th and will be back the 15th. Mailing in my taxes on the 16th. So, I should be able to make it down there. THANK GOODNESS, it should still b e daytime this time so I don't get lost in those stupid round abouts! LOL So, which night and what time is the trivia night? Not that I will probably be a lot of help though. Would be good to catch up again. You still got my phone number, right?

phil g.

Hey Phil ! We are presently in Gatlinburg drinking too much of the goofy grape. Tell Carol to call my wife she lost her number. If it works out we can all get together and have some fun. Hell , bring old dog' I'll help him out meeting a desparate widow woman.

JK dog but I will buy your beer up to the 1st 24 ! HA !

Aka Lunatic  soup   :)

Hey Dan, will have Carol call Charlene. But, what night and time? I don't remember from last time. Seems like it might have been a Wednesday? I think the trivia started at 6pm?

phil g.

John W! How's things "down under"? Are you going to be able to make the bash this year? Right now, unfortunately, it's looking like I won't be able to make it this year. I'm saving my $$ for the Frank Brown festival in Nov. But, I'm sure it's going to be a great bash,! Even if I'm not there. LOL

phil g.

 There is barely a remote possibility of me getting there. We are planning a Uk trip at the end of the year  so Nashville might have to  miss out  for the Bash timing . 

However , its not that  much more expensive  to go via USa and back via Japan. Timing  is the major issue .
Disappointing  but thems  the breaks

Hi All

So sorry to hear about Ott.  My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Have been trying to catch up as have been swamped with design work and university teaching for 4 months.  Another 3-4 weeks and I'll be free of teaching for a while!

You mention the site is struggling a bit John.  If I can help in any way, I will.  I have a lot of bandwidth I don't use for a couple of websites I have.  I hardly use any of the bandwidth I receive from my hosting company, so if I can help in that sort of way too, happy too.  Happy to explore ideas.

Best to all.

Cheers

Nod

Hey folks! Well, from time to time I like to use this forum to list one or more current hit songs we can use to do some analysis on what it takes to write great lyrics at the level of the Nashville bar. Today, I would like to talk about Blake Shelton's release, "Came here to forget". According to Billboard, it was #2 last week, but has dropped back to #11. So, what is it about that song that got it there? It's more than just the fact Blake recorded it. First, it is based on reality. It is based in part on his recent divorce from Miranda Lambert. Second, the lyrics are very unique and catchy. Here is just 2 lines that really stuck out to me:

That first kiss was like a Colorado hit

We better keep on keepin it lit

Now, to be honest, I didn't understand what he sang the first time I heard it. The second or so time I understood what he was singing, but didn't understand it. "Colorado hit"? What's that? Then it hit me. Colorado has legalized Marijuana! And the slang for smoking it is, "Taking a hit". Clever lyrics for saying, "Your kisses get me high".

Listen to the song and see what you think.

phil g.

Hi Phil.

 Intro:  Meh!
Vocal sound : too many sound just like that or V/V
Melody  Variation between v and ch  .. meh!
lyric ; Nice word play. The strong point  but  my eyes glazed over only to be opened by the  odd line here and there

 Would I have rated this ? NOPE  Its "ordinary"  country style . I would have  turned it off if you hadnt asked for comment

Better stuff on Songramp which kinda proves  what MAB says . So much is about who knows you that  you know that  recognise the hard yards you have done etc etc .

my 2c

have to agree John W, that was sort of ordinary lol, no doubt why the spike at 2 and quick drop, only the fans, only the fans

Question for MAB,
Re writing what you 'don't'  know!
Just penned a song on the lyric forum, Brattleboro Behind and although I have referenced this place and another (with out ever being there or knowing of the places before I read up on the Amtrak website), how important is the use of the language or terms which may be used speccifically in this region if this is not necessarily to be played to the region?

Eseentially  what I am asking the universal theme and common neutral language(does this exist lol) versus a colloquial tongue requirement, or is it a case by case basis...

Maybe it is a little bit like the obtuse reference to Colorado Air, would not have gotten this in a million years


Arty

Hey Arty, good to hear from you, thanks for the question.

Regarding the Blake Shelton song, "Came Here to Forget":

Music:  The music was unusual but overly repetitive and monotonous.  I didn't find the melody very interesting or aesthetically pleasing.

Music/Lyric Combo:  The song struck me as having too many words jammed into it given the relatively slow pace of the music.  This made it hard at times to follow what is being said.  This rapid-fire style of singing is rather common nowadays, but I don't care for it much.

Lyrics:  (1) Though ostensibly a "pain song", the lyrics were more angry than sorrowful.  I guess it's not "cool" to feel pain in response to a breakup anymore--just wrath and revenge.  (2) There was an interesting dichotomy between (a) the drunken, happy amorousness that the man and woman in the bar were feeling towards each other and (b) the brooding hatred (amplified by the music) that each felt towards their ex's.  (3) Some cliché phrases (e.g., "misery loves company" and "thick as thieves") were unnecessarily thrown in.

I don't know exactly why this song "worked".  I guess it's doing something that the younger crowd likes.

So having those little "elbow moments" which are phrases and terms that you might have to listen to two or three times to understand, are what makes the memorability factor of the song.

Bond EYE, you would then have to write Melbourne Victoria as MelBUN lol

Just reminded me of a discusssion when I wrote my first song for 'Nashville' got a great tempo going after Big Ed said play it as fast you can but the twist in the story was the lover who left was actually the mother, written to delibertaely misrepresent the fact.of course, had talk of incest and you cant do that...

Interestingly when I look at the two songs my "Brattleboro Behind" and Blake's "What I cam here to forget" it is an emotive truth that is being discussed and take away the location per se (or language) and it could be anywhere in the world it is or has happened.


You're the pilot Doctor, setting it down                                              (Flying Doctor I would hope down here in Aus)
Landing on the highway in an outback town

Really liked these lines, so much more real for me than the common landmarks of the bridge and opera house in some place I dont care for LOL

Australia is such a poor singing word four sylllables and the stresses on the AUStraLIa

Your reminder of ELBOW MOMENTS is timely was the best advice given way back when, still try and include at least one in some aspect whether in the concrete or sensory image or turn of phrase - as with all aspects of songwriting does not mean I achieve it every time of course.


Arty

Saw this posted over at jpf: 
http://recordingexcellence.com/guides/songwriting-cheat-sheet.pdf ; -- Looks pretty good to me, but use at your own risk!

That was a really good, very interesting article Kevin! Thanks for posting!

phil g.

Hey! Where is everybody? Just wondering. Hope everyone is OK and just too busy to post.

Big Ed,
   You are correct that there have not been many posts lately. I think it is due to the time of year. People are busy playing gigs, gardening, going on vacation, that sort of thing. The last I played was at a venue called East Of Austin in Villa Rica, Georgia.
I am set up, along with three other musicians, to perform at a Senior Center on May 12th so I will miss Ramp Fest. If this event of mine is successful it may become a yearly event.
I would love to have a Songwriter Festival right here in Georgia. You never know what the future will bring but it doesn't hurt to plan ahead. I have enough songs already written to go back in the studio and start recording my fourth CD.
Eddie R

I guess there are posters  and those that  react to postings.. The latter   more numerous than the former.
No new postings no reactions.


So here goes. The state of the music.

I saw a post quoting Don Henley  about country  music and what it is or should be..

 I think one of the issues is the over emphasis on genre and what  it is  or means.

Its all Music ( I can think of exceptions )  and commercially  its about what provides dollars  .. or doesnt.

If you aren't into the dollar  side then it doesnt matter wtf  your genre is. Just write and play  your thing . The audience will tell you if its  good  or  "on message"

If you dont care what the audience thinks then the bathroom is a good play to play or plenty of eateries where they want background  sound.


Does it really matter what   style/genre  you label  your music? Labelling might even  deter potential listeners.


"“I know that life and culture in this country is changing. It’s becoming less and less rural and more suburban and urban, but that doesn’t mean that the pillars, the foundations of real country music have to be watered down and turned into formulaic pop music that spouts faux country cliches about pickup trucks, dirt roads and beer,” Henley said to Hey Reverb last week. “There’s a deeper well to draw from than that and some of these young songwriters ought to be dipping that bucket a lot further down into that well than they are today.” Perhaps it’s his status as a country music outsider that gives Henley such obvious clarity on this point."




 

Let's face it, modern Mainstream Country is more like Pop Rock than what we think of as Traditional Country. The big difference is the singer having a Southern accent and sound. That seems to make it Country now. LOL!