songwriting —
For your Sunday evening dose of introspection, songwriter Marty Funderburk writes about the personal and professional perils of living solely on the right side of the singer/songwriter slash. Money quote:
You see, there are two classes of songwriters. There are artists, whose names and faces are known throughout the industry, who happen to write
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Talking about (and reading Joel Lindsey on) Dan Fogelberg reminded of that famous line of his, “my life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man,” from “Leader of the Band,” about the influence of Fogelberg’s father on his life and music.
The psychological and emotional density of the line is fairly self-evident, but […]
Via Joel Lindsey, a story that makes you think twice about just how much of a songwriter your favorite singer/songwriter really is. Money quote:
“How can someone look in the mirror and know they didn’t do something and their name is on it? For money? For credit? It’s a lie.”
This being the music […]
The various discussions about songwriting that have cropped here and elsewhere recently bring to mind a point that often gets lost in the cut and thrust of analysis, argument, and debate about a particular lyric’s merit or a given song’s artistry. Namely: lyrics are only half of the equation (and some times less). Music – […]
Ron Ronsenbaum explores the lyrical complexities of country music about cancer. This is not just good writing, great analysis of lyrics, and even better culture criticism. It’s proof that good lyrics stand up to scrutiny (and that, contra some of you who become so exasperated with my “over analysis paralysis,” I’m not the only guy […]
Martina McBride’s new cd includes what is perhaps my favorite song right now: “Anyway.” It begins:
You can spend your whole life building
Something from nothin’
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway
You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway
[Chorus]
God […]
I see that songwriter Sue Smith has just reupped her URL claim on the domain name for Write About Jesus, the annual songwriters conference she coordinates in St. Louis. Thus do I surrender my fledgling hope that the clunky name might give way to something more … well, writerly (even the acronym – WAJ – […]
As you probalby know, one of my preoccupations is demystifying the creative work of songwriters and otherwise doing my meager part to make songwriting more understood and appreciated for its art, craft, and economies. In that spirit, let me recommend two recent posts by the A-writer (and sometimes B-writer) Sue C. Smith: one on the […]
The sales success that Signature Sound’s latest project is already enjoying has me wondering if there might be longer-term ramifications on the quality of top-shelf songwriting now that a group without a singer-songwriter on the payroll can pretty much name that tune when it comes to what they choose to record.
Here’s what I […]
Too much A lot has been said about Gerald Crabb ebaying a Singing News #1 plaque for “Don’t You Wanna Go.” I was mostly content to let people talk themselves through this one — until I read a comment that suggested gospel songwriters who don’t hang on to every last piece of hardware their best […]
