songwriting // Posts tagged as "songwriting"
Northwest Alumni feature
The fall issue of Northwest, the alumni magazine of my alma mater Northwest Missouri State University (where I earned my degree in Mass Communication in 1995) contains a short feature on yours truly. Click the article to enlarge, or the cover to browse the entire Issuu via NWMSU’s site.
Leakage in the Folds
I don’t like to just re-post news items here (there’s no shortage of those kinds of blogs already), but I had to make an exception for one of my favorite musicians, Ben Folds. The guy booked a day in the studio, recorded fake versions of many of the songs on his much-anticipated new album, and ...
Eff Love
This is one of my personal favorite timekillers. Understanding the perverse origins of the term rock ‘n’ roll and also knowing how people are so often afraid to say what they really mean, here’s a little game: simply substitute the word Fuck instead of Love in any song title, and you probably have something much ...
Garage Renovations
The other day, a client asked me the difference between programs like GarageBand versus the software I use for audio production, Mark of the Unicorn Digital Performer . . . To me, this is akin to asking what makes that fancy-lookin’ Rolls-Royce any differnt’n my AMC Pacer, since they both gets ‘ya from Point A ...
Artists vs. Performers
This article had me foaming at the mouth. I’d long suspected this happened, but it’s the first time I’ve heard anyone go on record about it. Musical performers who take a piece of the writer’s publishing. Okay, so you’re gorgeous. You spend countless hours at the gym sculpting that perfect diva body. You have vocal ...
Formulatin’ da Funk
What makes a great song? A couple of months ago I wrote about leaving enough interpretive room to engage the listener. But that’s just one element. And I’m not referring to what causes a song to chart or sell. That’s simple: • Payola. Free merch, ticket giveaways, exclusive access, etc. in exchange for airplay.• Imitating ...
Bass-Ackwards Drums
We’re doing some online collaborative [metal] recordings by uploading our individual tracks from home studios, but the guitar riff usually comes first with us. So theyre waiting on me, but I have nothing to play to unless I wanna make a click. Will this work? Yes, playing to a click (metronome) is very common. The ...
Ghost in the Machine
Live bands who play with prerecorded backing tracks. Many conflicting feelings here to sort out. Today’s songs are far denser than those of the past. A five-piece band using up 48 tracks is very common, unlike the Beatles or early Pink Floyd who were on the cutting edge with four tracks that would get bounced ...
Composeurs
. . . some music that I wrote using Apple’s GarageBand Oh, hell no. Let’s be clear. You “wrote” that tune as much as I wrote your question: Copy, Paste. Tweaking a few loops or stringing together samples is not composing, friends. That’s like assembling a jigsaw puzzle of the Mona Lisa and calling yourself ...
Lyrics On the Nose
Ever enjoy a catchy tune and then open the CD booklet only to find the lyrics read like something out of your sister’s junior-high journal? Where has the great tradition of lyricists gone? Our Leonard Cohens, our Rogers Waterses, our Joni Mitchells? The stuff that could just as easily be published alongside Rimbaud as Rick ...
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