Throwback To Those Not So Good Days

Hey,

I’ve mentioned before that I had a questionable taste in music when I was younger. I wasn’t being facetious. I listened to some really crappy music. So, the other day, I was thinking about the old stuff that I used to think was amazing and how it is the exact same stuff I’m rallying against now. Then, I thought, why not highlight exactly how terrible my choice in music was. This blog is for music: the good, the bad, and the over-processed. Therefore, tonight, I present my Junior High Playlist.

 Brace yourselves, y’all.

“Midnight Romeo” by Push Play- This song makes me laugh simply because it was the first song that introduced me to sexual innuendo of any kind, like “You’ll be the lock/I’ll be the key”  or “Tonight your dinner’s free/what’s in it for me.”  I didn’t pick up on that stuff at first but then later, I was like, “Whoa, did he just say that?” I suppose, if nothing else this song motivated me to make sure I’m going Dutch on dinner dates. Lyrics aside, I’ll give myself credit; this song does actually feature real instruments, including an obnoxious triangle. And it’s catchy enough that I see why I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Yet, that doesn’t excuse the shallow lyrics and lack of musicianship. Silly Bella.

“Thinking Of You” by Katy Perry – The worst song on this list. She’s try so hard on this song…oh my goodness. She sounds like she’s trying to be Dido, Ke$ha, and Jack Johnson all at the same time and it fails…massively. The whole song is about some sick love triangle between the dude she’s dating and how she’s thinking about another guy. Original. I mean, if the song was well-written or at least featured some elevated diction, I could respect her feelings and the song, but it just sounds so “Taylor Swift in a coffee house” that it falls flat. Not to mention, Katy is straining her voice which gives the song a weird feeling, though I suppose I’d take that over the massive auto-tuning she requires now because all her songs are written in the upper registers where her voice cannot reach. Oh, music industry…

“Ain’t No Other Man” by Christina Aguilera - I used to love her stuff back in junior high as it was about the time I started running hardcore and her music was pretty motivating. She has a good voice, I’ll admit that much. Essentially, though, this song is just about how some dude is like the best thing she’s ever had, making her point with poor grammar and clichés (He’s “bad,” guys! Sexy!) Not the worst on the list, but bad enough. J

 “I Can’t Do it Alone” by 3OH!3- 3OH!3 used to be very popular when I was in junior high, with “Don’t Trust Me” (Who could forget that Helen Keller line?) and “Starstrukk.” Now, they’re not really that popular and it’s understandable considering their newest stuff sounds like Skrillex and Adam Levine’s ugly lovechild. (Translation: their new stuff stinks). However, this older song is kind of techno meets pop, but it works. They’re not really trying to be anything other than loud and truthful, I suppose, but the beats are sick and the lyrics are strikingly beautiful , all things considered.

“I Write Sins Not Tragedies” By Panic! At the Disco- Yes! Good job, younger me. I remember the first time I heard this song when I was in early 8^th grade. I was listening to the radio and they were doing a “Blast From the Past” thing and this came on! I had never heard this song but I couldn’t get Brendon’s memorable voice out of my head nor the very unusual violin section’s rhythmic plucking. I was hooked. Still, to do this day, I love this song. It’s not my favorite out of all their music, but it’s in the top 10 for sure. Between the complementary guitar lines, Spencer’s steady drums, and Brendon’s ridiculously glorious vocals, it’s still gives me goosebumps when I listen to it. J  

 That’s it for this week!

Until next Friday,

Bella

Lyrics Part Deux

Hey,
Welcome back to second installment of the new series I'm starting on lyrics! Last week, I compared Mutemath and Katy Perry and the depth of their lyrics and this week, I am going to explore the songwriting phenomenon of good songwriting versus good line writing.

Now, what exactly do I mean by that?

In essence, some songs are well written while others have one stand-out line with a bunch of meaningless lines. I do not, by any means, expect all artists to make every single line of every single song the most amazing things ever. I'm being realistic.

Do you remember a couple of years ago when "Airplanes" by B.O.B ft. Hayley Williams came out? Every single thirteen year old drama queen and her best friend would change their facebook status to "Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky/are like shooting stars/I could really use a wish right now." Yes, I admit that is a pretty creative line; I'm impressed. However, the rest of the song is just about B.O.B whining about trying to be discovered and gain notoriety and blah-blah-blah. It's crap. Especially compared to that one line.

That is a prime example of good line writing.

Next, let's look at an example of good songwriting, "But It's Better If You Do" By Panic! At The Disco. This band is known partially for the fact that all of their songs are freaking amazing and partially because their lyrics kick some major butt. Ryan Ross, who wrote this song and eventually left the band, is a relative lyric genius, maybe one of the great songwriters of the 2000's. Still, Brendon Urie filled his role after he left and is doing a brilliant job. I digress.

"Now I'm of consenting age to be forgetting you in a cabaret
Somewhere downtown where a burlesque queen may even ask my name
As she sheds her skin on stage
I'm seated and sweating to a dance song on the club's P.A.
The strip joint veteran sits two away
Smirking between dignified sips of his dignified peach and lime daiquiri

And isn't this exactly where you'd like me
I'm exactly where you'd like me, you know
Praying for love in a lap dance and paying in naivety
Oh, and isn't this exactly where you'd like me
I'm exactly where you'd like me, you know
Praying for love in a lap dance and paying in naivety

Oh, but I'm afraid that I
Well, I may of faked it
And I wouldn't be caught dead in this place."

Well, it may not take a genius to figure out that this song is about a guy trying to forget about a girl and looks for pleasure in a strip club. It's one of Panic's more risque songs and I was hesitant to use it on here, but it's one of my favorite songs in a lyrical sense. In this song, all of the lines pack a punch of some kind. It's narrative, telling a story of a guy's experience, not just physically and emotionally and mentally. All of lines contribute to the overall tone--regret, remorse, and contemplation. Where B.O.B's track switches between Hayley's wishful tone and his bragging, swaggering, tone, it just does not flow. It's one great line smushed in between the other bad lines. With Panic's, it's a bunch of fantastic lines all put together, so that the song flows, without any unnecessary dissonance. Dissonance is a strong literary device, but B.O.B's song just contradicts.

Another example of fine line-writing is the chorus of Britney Spears' "Gasoline."
"Spark and it's like gasoline
I start burning like a machine
My heart only runs on supreme
So hot, give me your gasoline"

 Terribly sexual in nature, it's honestly just another example of someone being crafty with euphemisms. Anyways, I still see it as "good" because it's rather creative. Not to say if Panic! came out with this song I'd call it good; I'd be pretty disappointed because I know they're better that that. But, this is Britney, the woman who sings about how toxic some dude is and how she's in love with criminals (my butt, you are). So, considering this is Britney (and I don't actually think she wrote this :D), it's passable.
So, this guy is making her cray-cray and she wants his "gasoline." Hmm, whatever could that be? :)

Well, that wraps it up for this week. Next week, I will talk about the use of repetition in lyrics and try to pick some less disturbing songs.

Until then,
Bella

Lyrics Part One

Hey,

Sorry for the lack of a post last night, but I had to take the SAT at a school this morning that's about fifty minutes away from here, so I had to go to bed super early to get there on time.

Anyways, this week, I've decided to start a little series on lyrics. Love 'em, hate 'em, disregard 'em or appreciate 'em, they're a major component of music. Sometimes the lyrics are funny, sometimes they evoke an emotional response, sometimes they are sheer fluff and other times, the lyrics are the key component of a song.

This week I want to focus on the actual writers of these songs.

Songs are written by teams of people, as opposed to artists thinking and creating for themselves. Granted, some people are not able to create beautiful lyrics and melodies; some have talents in one area and not both. Fine, I understand that. But, explain why it took 6 writers and 4 producers to come up with this crap. I'm perfectly fine with bands/artists reaching out for a little help, but why does it all sound repetitious and pathetic?

Take, Katy Perry, for example. Her album "Teenage Dream" had nine producers and the title track had five writers. Contrasting directly with one of my favorite bands, MuteMath, and their newest album "Odd Soul" which had three producers (the band members) and their title track had three writers (the three members of the band). Both artists' title tracks are similar, in that they are narrative in style (story-telling) but that is the only similarity they share.

 Let's directly compare lyrics.

Teenage Dream
"You think I'm pretty without any make-up on
You think I'm funny when I tell the punch line wrong
I know you get me, so I let my walls come down, down
Before you met me, I was a wreck
But things were kinda heavy, you brought me to life
Now every February you'll be my valentine, valentine
Let's go all the way tonight
No regrets, just love
We can dance until we die
You and I, we'll be young forever
You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream
The way you turn me on, I can't sleep
Let's runaway and don't ever look back
Don't ever look back
My heart stops when you look at me
Just one touch, now baby I believe
This is real, so take a chance
And don't ever look back, don't ever look back
We drove to Cali and got drunk on the beach
Got a motel and built a fort  out of sheets
I finally found you, my missing puzzle piece
I'm complete..."

Odd Soul
"I was once a son
Now I'm on my own
Wade through every rut
And I've got myself to show

And the trials and tribulations
Seem to always track me down
I'll ride off into the sunset
And try me another town

I'm an odd soul, oh yes, an odd soul
Walking side roads
'Cause that's the only way I know
I'm an odd soul, oh yes, an odd soul

Watch for who you know
Careful what you try
Everywhere I go
I still got myself to fight

And one day my child
Ever wonders what is wrong
I won't bat an eye when
I tell her, "Daddy don't belong"

I'm an odd soul, oh yes, an odd soul
Walking side roads
'Cause that's the only way I know
I'm an odd soul, oh yes, an odd soul

One of God's own
Just trying to find a place called home."

See the differences? I know I do. Katy and her gazillion other writers detail a stereotypical fling that escalates to much more, they'll be together forever, he makes her feel younger (she's only in her twenties, what the heck is wrong with her?) and he completes her. No set rhyme scheme, no real diction I mean, yes, they chose words, but obviously not strategically, and there is too much filler repetition. (I didn't copy all the lyrics because it essentially repeats all over again). In Mutemath's song, they present a personal anecdote of trying to find themselves and their purposes on Earth. Certainly, it's quite a bit deeper than "going all the way tonight" like Katy. They actually utilize some rhymes (down/town, etc) and I absolutely adore the phrase "wade through every rut," as it shows they know how to use dark diction and careful syntax to get their ideas across.

In conclusion, though both songs are narrative, in essence, one clearly outshines the other. MM tells a deep story of looking for meaning, both relating to God and life in general, while Katy discusses a fling with a guy who makes her feel like an irresponsible teenager. Overall, it is easy to see the discrepancies between the two.

Next week, for the second part of this series, I will break down the notion of good songwriting versus good "line-writing."

Until then,
Bella