THE UNWORKABLE PREMISE
One of the people I work with has recently been making great strides in their writing. Getting out, performing and taking a really hard look at their songs, performing ablitiies and their skills is really pushing them out of the comfort zone. but like all new writers that get really hitting this hard, they are making the same mistakes everyone is. One is what I call THE UNWORKABLE PREMISE.
This when they come up with songs, subject matter, titles, tone, etc. that are cliched', too negative, or just something that won't work no matter what they do. And sometimes you have to let them fall down in order to see it. As usual I try to get them to see it and why they need to pay attention, but there is always the "I'll be different" part. (Wave arms back and forth here, "Wait'll they get a load of me!!!!" This is usually followed by walking full speed into a wall and falling on their butt. I hate to say "I told you so"...But ....
A lot of times it will be the title. You can't copyright a title, but some are just plain so iconic there is no way you can do anything about it. I once had a sweet little woman from Chicago who had the title "YESTERDAY" in her song. Now that song is not copyrightable, but it has kind of been done. It is THE MOST RECORDED SONG IN POPULAR MUSIC HISTORY, and every time she sat down with anyone, including me, she said the title and they replied, "all my troubles seemed so far away..." When EVERYONE YOU MEET FINISHES THAT SENTENCE, YOU ARE NOT IN GOOD SHAPE.
UNWORKABLE PREMISE.
Likewise, having something that has been done over and over and over again, even if you haven't heard it can run into a wall. there are cetain titles that have been done since before I moved to Nashville. Every bar band seems to have a song about "Road Kill Cafe, You Kill It, We Grill It." Everybody seems to do a lot of hanging out with Jack, Johnny Walker, Jim Beam, etc." I think they need some new friends. If you put the word "COUNTRY" in a song, you are in deep woods to begin with. As a friend of mine says, "If you have to tell me how country you are, you aint!"
Another thing is current events. Whenever there is a flood, earthquake, National disaster, school shooting, terrorist event, and of course, the worst, A WAR, you are diving in deep. Writers write what they see around them. So they are watching the news just like you are. You can write them, but you don't always have to show them. Somettimes the cathartic nature of writing is a reason in itself. We feel better. But we don't HAVE to share it.
When 9-11 happened I ended up in French Lick Indiana, trying to figure out how to quit music and do something with my life. I wrote mine on Saturday, Sept, 15th. It was called "AMERICA 9-11." It featured the "Pissed off American" in all his raging hormonal glory! It featured the great lines, "All you've done (Mr. Terrorist), is PISS US OFF!!!! Got great applause for a while.
A while.
Then we turned into a divided Nation. Half the people that heard it thought I was a jingoistic redneck who should be shot myself. I quit doing the song. Got tired of division. Not my style.
If you take a stand on any issue, be prepared for push back because half the poeple who hear you don't believe like you. And now, people get REALLY VOCAL on all this. We don't seem to be able to keep our opinions to ourselves anymore. And FACEBOOK and TWITTER are destroying more careers than alcohol and drugs ever did.
The UNWORKABLE PREMISE can also reach into things that once were really accepted. If you want to do the "Fairy Tale" parade, keep it to children's stories. The whole "Knight in Shining Armor", Damsal in Distress, are passe, and no one can do them anymore because it sounds stupid and juvinile. We don't ride around in armor any more and most women I know that you tried to rescue, would probably kick your butt!
Once clever titles that used to seem funny or cool, are now treated like Leprosy. Try going up to some woman these days and say "If I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me..." When you picked yourself up off the floor, and found your testicles, you might think that doesn't make for such a good title anymore.
One of my favorite memories was a workshop I was doing in Birmingham Alabama. there were about 50 people there on a Saturday afternoon, and over half were women. when I got one of the songs I was critiquing, and saw the lyrics, I nearly lost my lunch. It was called "MY TROPHY WIFE." Yeah. We all thought that too. Now what he was trying to say was that his wife was so wonderful, he was so lucky to have her, he couldn't believe it. What he said in his lyrics might as well have talked about having her "Mounted" in his trophy room, put on display for all his friends to oogle over as she served them beer by the pool." I was watching the faces of the women over the lyric sheet and it just got worse and worse.
Nearly four minutes of agony later, as the fade came over,putting it out of all of our misery, the entire room went deathly silent. I didn't say a word except, "Ladies?"
The next ten minutes were FEEDING TIME ON THE SARENGETTI. He was pilloried by every woman in the group, they ripped him totally apart and then disposed of what was left with his bones. He had never seen it coming and I felt sorry for him. But this is what happens when you get "songwriter's tunnelvision." You get hit by a train. Or several of them.
A co-writer would have really helped him.
The point is that there are some things you just learn not to do. The UNWORKABLE PREMISE is one of those.
Have a good weekend.
MAB