MEETING THE IMOVEABLE OBJECT
I live a pretty charmed life. I have been around the block in every way you can imagine. I am at a point where I do pretty much what I want, and have a great existence. I do what I love. Talk about, teach about, write songs and all things music and am paid for it. Very lucky. So much of it is great but every once in a while it is not so great. That is what this is about. In all of our discussions about the current state of songwriting, getting our songs out there, trying to participate in the music industry, I pretty much have to beat the drum about "writing with younger artists." The reason is that for songwriters, it is now ALL an INSIDE business. There are really no pitches any more, no services, or pluggers that are going to make our dreams come true. And particularly something done from the comfort of our living room. If you want to get someone to record your songs, you better be writing with the artists. There is nothing left.
But writing with artists is NEVER as easy as it seems. The younger people, the milinnials, are the most self focused, selfish, self absorbed, sometimes out of touch people there is. You see them, constantly on their cell phones, constantlhy walking around totally absorbed, playing Pokemon Go, tuning the world out. It is all about THEM, and what they are doing AT THIS MOMENT! Tough crowd to try and work.
And when it comes to WRITING with them, a lot of times, that is just not going to happen. But that is another thing we all have to overcome. What separates the amateurs from the Professionals. Of course it is always better when they COME TO YOU, because they respect you, seek you out, whatever. But that also doesn't guarantee anything. I call them "VALIDATORS" because they are just looking for a pat on the back and someone to tell them how great they are.
It doesn't happen to me that often but sometimes does.
Recently I had a younger person, under 20, who did a day tour with me. She brought her Mother along and we had a pretty good time. She is beautiful, good personality, sweet overall, and her Mother is wonderful. But then.... there was her music.
She played song after song after song, about 20 of them. They were ALL THE SAME SONG. The chord pattern were exactly the same. Her lyrics (what I could understand of them), were about the same things. Boys. What you expect from younger people, especially girls. As I would listen, make notes, and after each song would note that it was EXACTLY the same as the song before. She kept saying "I don't agree." And would go on to tell me that "The pop world is like that.." Yes it is. That is why it is so BAD. When people talk about how all country sounds the same, they apparently have not listened to pop and rock radio in the past 20 years. It all sounds just alike. But even pop has something to it, engaging hooks and at least things you can sing to. The big songs always have the huge sing along part, and while the lyrics might not be Shakespear, they do have some things that set them apart.
Most of the time when I hear songs from this age group of people, (Like on EVERY WRITERS NIGHT AND OPEN MIC)
it's mostly the same thing. The grooves are identical. The chord progressions change every half second so you can't understand any melodies, there is nothing consistent that allows you to hang onto anything. There are no hooks to speak of. And they all sing like they have a mouth full of cement. They also will have four and five verses.
That was this girl. And she was SO SURE she was in the ballpark, I finally had to kind of be the bear in the situation. I told her that she really didn't have any songs yet, would really need to co-write more, and really need to get out of the same old thing. She looked at me like I was an idiot, and totally wrong. So that is how we left it. I didn't even try to write one with her because I don't think she is there. She is going to have to find out a lot of things first. This was her first trip so it will take a while to sink in. I hope she doesn't go broke before then.
This is pretty much the same with almost everyone of that age group I meet. They are SO POSITIVE they are going to "MAKE IT." they don't really understand what the current business is and is not. They are the same people that take "Ancient French poetry" as a major in college and then can't figure out why they can't get jobs. And live in their parent's basement.
Oh well. We try. But I did want you to know for those of you who try to "give advice", make some positive comments, or try to get them to work with you, and hit that "immovable object," don't worry. We all hit it sometimes. Even me.
MAB
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