Songwriting (1 Viewer)

I must be the exact opposite of you so. I've been writing fairly consistently for the past 3 years or so, but I definitely write a lot more if things are going bad in life which, ironically enough, they have been for the past 4 or 5.

Not that life has been all bad, it's really good too, but there's been enough badness going on to the extent that I'm literally haemoraging music most of the time. The only problem lately is that I've fallen out of the habit of writing lyrics, which is a whole other kettle of fish.

Anyone got any tips for getting back into lyric writing?

My advise is to regimentally write everyday for a period. Write anything, knowing full well that none of it will ever be used at all. The practice of actually putting words together is something which once you fall out of practice becomes daunting very quickly. While I was writing my thesis for example I was writing lyrics, short stories and posting extensively on here, writing became almost relaxing and it was really easy to connect my brain to my fingers, I also got better at typing which was handy. Think of it as training, once you are in the habit of writing you start to make progress at actually expressing yourself properly and once you start to write every day it becomes much easier to discard things which aren't worth continuing with, things you produce during a bout of writers block start off as life rafts and ultimately become albatrosses.
 
My advise is to regimentally write everyday for a period. Write anything, knowing full well that none of it will ever be used at all. The practice of actually putting words together is something which once you fall out of practice becomes daunting very quickly. While I was writing my thesis for example I was writing lyrics, short stories and posting extensively on here, writing became almost relaxing and it was really easy to connect my brain to my fingers, I also got better at typing which was handy. Think of it as training, once you are in the habit of writing you start to make progress at actually expressing yourself properly and once you start to write every day it becomes much easier to discard things which aren't worth continuing with, things you produce during a bout of writers block start off as life rafts and ultimately become albatrosses.


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sorry washingcattle, i'm just bored in work
 
It's great.

but keep in mind the stuff I read and listen to.

What was your thesis in washingcattle?
 
Thanks I is John!

I had gotten into the habit of writing most mornings from 9am-9.30/10.00am but I lost it once the summer kicked in. It's been hard to get back into it with the little man being off school for the summer, but, y'know what, I think I'll just have to start doing in the mornings again regardless of the distraction. Once the brain is relatively fresh, I'm sure I can be frying some eggs and jotting down phrases as I go... hopefully.
 
My thesis was on American suburbia embodying the "non-other" in visual culture.

i.e

1201803100image_web.jpg
= Normal

african-american-family-J248-09-6LG.jpg
= Other

Why this remains prevelaint in modern culture (sit coms, adverts and especially horror movies being the worst offenders) and why it's totally bullshit.

Thanks for asking.
 
I'd rather not it was very very long it's about race and gender but essentially in writings on visual culture the "other" is defined as anyone who is not white, of western european heritage, male, hetrosexual and middle class. Everything else is viewed in opposition to this because this is what is extensively presented as (for want of a better word) "normal". Essentially a tiny minority which represents a supposed moral majority. Visually the american nuclear family and it's place in suburbia is the iconic image of this normalness it was built by the "mad men" in the 50s and we still use it today.

Watch some ads on telly (or more accurately be bombarded) even if they're irish/english/spanish/wherever ads they'll still feature this white suburban middle class nuclear family.

Conclusion wise, money now tops race as the issue in modern western society and that the fall of the mortgage system in the states emphasised that the whole white middle class supremacy was built on borrowed time and that the "non-other" normality is on it's last legs econimically at least, and finally that modern cities will all be like L.A.

Having never heard a single good word about L.A I live in fear. If you're really bored you can read it in the library at iadt Dun Laoraighe.
 
Seems fair enough but I'm not sure where 'male' fits into this. Surely if the nuclear family is the representation of normality it includes women and girls.
 
so riddle me this thumpedeers

WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY

Were there so many christmas songs from indie bands this year. Either i was paying more attention to everyone else, or it seemed that everyone was doing it. I dont think a day has gone by in the past fortnight that i haven't seen between 1 and 3 new xmas songs arrive. maybe its facebook and the twitters making things more accessible, or maybe its a big shift in the mentality of irish songwriters. for a while i thought of it as a recession hysteria - anything but writing a song about anything that was happening here in ireland. so, woman/man up and post on this thread if you have any theories about why/how/or how i'm just massively wrong.
 
I've noticed the same thing...I reckon people are just trying to create a bit a fun for christmas....
 
I wrote my Christmas song because I was absolutely terrified of confronting the actual situation as it stands. The snow, the IMF, the poisonous miasma of public life in Ireland, wrangling over child abuse: I couldn't handle any of it, I turned to Santy.
Then everyone else did the same thing, fucking wagons.
 
Ah yes but feminism creates an opposition to "maleness" and the assumption about the nuclear family is that it is a patriarchal entity.

Oh jesus it's all coming back to me ........NNNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!!

just re-reading there, your thesis still sounds interesting, educational.

I wrote my Christmas song because I was absolutely terrified of confronting the actual situation as it stands. The snow, the IMF, the poisonous miasma of public life in Ireland, wrangling over child abuse: I couldn't handle any of it, I turned to Santy.
Then everyone else did the same thing, fucking wagons.

well i was overwording a bit in my 'question' post there - but this is kinda what i thought, not specifically about you or your song, more 'across the smorgasbord', i.e. i wouldn't be accusing people of actual hysteria just because they made a christmas song. I mean realistically, the recession songs have been pretty shit compared to the christmas songs, but the feild of reference is bigger.

also, who ever minused my question there, why?? care to explain?? or is it dissent by secret ballot, freemason stylee??
 
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 wrote mine because I had the time but mainly because I woke up one morning with a good idea. And fuelled by the thumped Christmas song I was determined to see this idea through.
 
I wrote mine because I've always wanted to but always left it too late. (still never got to work on it on laptop but i'll find time this weekend.)
Anyway the Thumped/Christmas fm thing provided the potential platform to show and tell so that was a mind-focuser...that and the general discussion around 'an anti-x-factor no.1'...that really got annoying.
 
for a while i thought of it as a recession hysteria - anything but writing a song about anything that was happening here in ireland.

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.
 

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