Songwriting (2 Viewers)

[ann post]

Damien Dempsey will be about the only writer who'll go near the subject. Explicitly political songs that aren't cringe inducing are extremely difficult to write in my opinion.

thats assuming that a song about what is going on in ireland has to be explicitly political.

 

[Scientician 0.8]

Well my songs for the most part are about what's going on in my life, in Ireland, so my songs are about what's going on in Ireland, albeit personally. If I move beyond the personal it's inevitable it'll be political if I wanna talk about this country.

 

[ann post]

There seem to have been a load more this year, alright. Dunno why. Was talking to the missus about it and she reckons it's a pretty natural thing for people to want to write about...same deal with there being so many songs about summer / based in an exaggerated summertime world.

I agree with the missus as far as point of references go (if that is her real name) - not everyone or every song, but one mode of writing is to step into fantasyland and take notes, and fantasyland is typically based on an idealised reality. I'm quite sure i do it anyways.

Well my songs for the most part are about what's going on in my life, in Ireland, so my songs are about what's going on in Ireland, albeit personally. If I move beyond the personal it's inevitable it'll be political if I wanna talk about this country.

I know i already responded, but i didn't communicate well when i did (this would also include responses to other people, ever, on thumped). Have you seen that krautrock documentary?? (bbc4, on youtube i think) - theres a great little quote in that about music being political by not being political - check it out if you havent... Anyways, you are talking about things being either political or not political, that wasn't what i was really chasing with reviving this thread - its more about looking at 2010 as the year indie went xmas in ireland and why, when there was more shit going on in ireland than there has been in a decade - another thing to add to that is that although moods reckoned it was nice way to think outside the bosca, i thought his song to be kind of the opposite as he described above, i thought his tune was using santalogies® to describe the present.

also, any word from the minus one person?? or was that just posts naturally getting minussed in the cold weather?

 

[Moods For Mallards]

Just for the record, my song is based on a story told every Christmas in our family, involving my da's travails to get a present for my brother sometime in the early 1970s. So it's not actually a fantasy/escapist song, though I cast the aufella as santy.

 

[snakybus]

My song's about getting pissed. I went off the drink for November so I was really looking forward to getting tanked at Christmas. Thing is, I didn't really in the end.

 

[Moods For Mallards]

My song's about getting pissed. I went off the drink for November so I was really looking forward to getting tanked at Christmas. Thing is, I didn't really in the end.

You even scrammed from the karaoke night before you disgraced yourself, tsk.

 

[Deleted member 3435]

You even scrammed from the karaoke night before you disgraced yourself, tsk.

You reckon?

 

[Deleted member 3435]

You even scrammed from the karaoke night before you disgraced yourself, tsk.

...

 

[mark]

2011 is the year in which i'm going to finish more songs, and then play those songs with other humans.

 

[GO]

2011 is the year in which i'm going to finish more songs, and then play those songs with other humans.

thats the fucking spirit!

 

[snakybus]

You reckon?

Hey!

(I was gonna say that!)

 

[travispickle]

Give me some tips please for getting the old songwriting muscles working again in 2011!
I think I probably wrote one thing in 2010, if even that.
How best to start anew?

 

[GO]

Get up early..around 7.30am and start playing...
ask yer mates on Facebook for ideas..all you need is one line to set you off and if you've any clever mates at all they'll come through for ya
Even if you don't feel like it..Get up early and start playing
Dont bother yer bollix when yer tired..you'll only get frustrated(I use this time for practicing me chops in front of the internet)

A trick I do and I know this sounds foolish..but just pick up a guitar(I dont even tune it to open up the possibility of mad harmonies appearing)..start trashing a chord and just open your mouth and start singing(prolly best to do this in private if yer in any way self conscious)...dosent have to be any words..just like jam with yer mouth and guitar..if I do this I find I can knock out some semblance of a tune(might'nt be any good,but it dosent have to be)but you are way more likely to discover 2 or three notes in a row that you like doing this than not doing it..and from little acorns yadda yadda...

Oh..and sort yerself out with some MASSIVE woes...that never fails to inspire

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

...dosent have to be any words..just like jam with yer mouth and guitar.

this is how phil collins came up with Sussudio

 

[rettucs]

Oh..and sort yerself out with some MASSIVE woes...that never fails to inspire

write about the snow that never came

 

[ann post]

just like jam with yer mouth and guitar

thats how eoin mc love wrote my lovely mayo mammy.

 

[travispickle]

Thanks Shneaky, some good pointers there. I guess I'm a lazy bollix but it's the motivation factor I'm lacking right now.
I gotta get on it!!
Keep em comin folks!!

 

[ann post]

i cant write songs with ballpoint pen. I either have to use a black gel ink pen or at times i will write top of the head stuff on household surfaces with a pencil. generally though i can only write in black gel ink.

 

[Deleted member 3435]

i cant write songs with ballpoint pen. I either have to use a black gel ink pen or at times i will write top of the head stuff on household surfaces with a pencil. generally though i can only write in black gel ink.

That's very odd, ann. Have you ever tried finishing a whole song before you write it down?

Also:

Visitors found this thread etc..."site:thumped.com"

 

[ann post]

snakybus, The Scientician The Ian travispickle @Moods_For_Mallards das nugs Flux Unicron Bunny kevin gallen egg_ dudley Shneaky 6Pack Pantone247 george mcfly Bad Intentions Anthony Wilbert corksongs MDR lympog coast to coast MilanPan!c Milker

Have you ever tried finishing a whole song before you write it down?

its a good question.