Writing vs. Waiting
I just wrote a completely different set of lyrics to a song that I wrote a dozen years ago. When sequencing the album it was a part of, I realized I had to many of one kind of song- mopey coulda, woulda, shoulda numbers and that this balance didn't reflect the sort of work I wanted to put out.
Although I couldn't articulate what was wrong with the mix of songs I had at the time, I knew I experienced an uncertain feeling whenever I listened to the sequence. I thought the problem was my vocal approach. After trying to sing one of the doomed songs a few dozen time, the slow realization that the problem was with the writing took seed. It's impossible to sing a poorly written song well. This also happens when the lyrics don't jive with the tone of the music.
Sometimes you write something where the emotional tone is off- Georges Moustaki once write that good songs must feel true emotionally. Something hasn't jived between the lyrics, vocal melody and chords. Perhaps you feel as a singer that you can't fully own the rage that you've written- it's not in your palette or perhaps it's not true to your life experiences. I'm finding myself more and more ditching whole sets of lyrics when this happens.
Anyways, it's the metacognition that pays off. I rewrote several completely new lyrics for the exiting music (keeping my all-time favorite albums in mind as a reference) and felt that I got the right balance of the kind of songs (first person narratives, prayers, work-chants, cathartic rants, etc.) that I'd like to hear on an album I'd buy. I put it on the shelf for a little more time to make sure I still feel this way later.
Some people feel that songwriting is some mystical non-reflective process, but as Suely Mesquita pointed out on the book we collaborated on, there's really two parts to creativity- the unconscious/inspirational part, then the learned, experienced, editing part.
Although I couldn't articulate what was wrong with the mix of songs I had at the time, I knew I experienced an uncertain feeling whenever I listened to the sequence. I thought the problem was my vocal approach. After trying to sing one of the doomed songs a few dozen time, the slow realization that the problem was with the writing took seed. It's impossible to sing a poorly written song well. This also happens when the lyrics don't jive with the tone of the music.
Sometimes you write something where the emotional tone is off- Georges Moustaki once write that good songs must feel true emotionally. Something hasn't jived between the lyrics, vocal melody and chords. Perhaps you feel as a singer that you can't fully own the rage that you've written- it's not in your palette or perhaps it's not true to your life experiences. I'm finding myself more and more ditching whole sets of lyrics when this happens.
Anyways, it's the metacognition that pays off. I rewrote several completely new lyrics for the exiting music (keeping my all-time favorite albums in mind as a reference) and felt that I got the right balance of the kind of songs (first person narratives, prayers, work-chants, cathartic rants, etc.) that I'd like to hear on an album I'd buy. I put it on the shelf for a little more time to make sure I still feel this way later.
Some people feel that songwriting is some mystical non-reflective process, but as Suely Mesquita pointed out on the book we collaborated on, there's really two parts to creativity- the unconscious/inspirational part, then the learned, experienced, editing part.
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