Posted on Tuesday, 15th September 2009 by Stephen
That’s what they tell me on YouTube. “They sure as !@#$ don’t write &#*$ like this anymore!” Or some such statement. Is it true? They also say that fairly new stuff like Oasis’s Don’t look back in Anger is genius. I know that’s not true – Noel Gallagher said so himself. So what gives? My conclusion here would be that YouTube users in general have no idea what makes music great. I’m a YouTube user too, so that sucks! Of course, since the advent of the internets, more and more artists are getting publicity (sweet!), which means the truly good artists stand out less (lame!). However, the whole concept of “popular” music is still relatively new, which gives me hope. Perhaps over time, people will feel the same about this decade as they do about the 60’s and 70’s. (The 80’s are not helping my theory.)
So to my modern musician friends: Write with soul. Sometimes exploring new territory can mean the loss of a solid melody. Not good! Be transparent, but look outside of yourself for inspiration, not inside.
Posted in Music, Thought | Comments (2)
November 17th, 2009 at 9:18 am
Good songs are constantly being written and there were a lot of bad songs back in the day. It’s just that the bad songs are for the most part forgotten. The problem these days is that there is so much music that it’s hard to stumble your way toward the good stuff. People that have no musical talent can still record a song and put it on youtube. In a way, I think that’s ok, too. I applaud giving everyone a chance to express themselves, but let’s not forget that some musicians are more gifted than others and some songs are just plain bad songs.
I agree with you so much when you advise to “write with soul”. That, my friends is the secret.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Thanks for your input, Lou! If anyone would know, you would. I always enjoy listening to your music, as you know. http://www.myspace.com/louwray936