How many times have you been watching something on TV when suddenly there is breaking news and the network or even the local affiliate cuts in? We hear this happen on terrestrial radio too, where they interrupt the originally scheduled program to tell you about a developing story.
That’s a good analogy for what it takes for me to break stride with the weekly blog on this website. Meaning, I (or a guest writer) will write and publish something original that serves the creator community – from music creators to podcasters to authors to YouTubers, actors, filmmakers, and more. It might be tips or observations or firsthand experiences or strategies and so on.
But in other words, this is not a “every Monday we publish music reviews” blog.
Behind the scenes, though, what you as the reader don’t know, is when a song gets submitted for review consideration and it gets green-lighted for such, that’s a stop the presses moment. Whatever was being planned for your leisure consumption on the next Monday is going to have to wait because there is a track that is worth your time to read about and listen to.
In this week’s case it’s “Red Flags” by Mustang Legendary King.
Here’s the beautiful thing about music discovery. Chances are good that you’re going to get turned onto an artist you’ve never heard of and a great song of theirs, which opens the door to, “What else have they done?”
In the case of this single, just released two months ago, I liked it enough to want to write about it. At a time when we live in such a copycat society, this track has an original sound. Not to contradict myself by making comparisons, but at the very beginning it felt like Jason Mraz, yet then I got worried that it was going to be rap or hip hop. Later, I felt a little Imagine Dragons. What that all adds up to is that you can’t put it into a box. It’s not a song that “sounds just like (insert artist here).”
I was also impressed by it having good production too, allowing me to clearly hear some great lyrics that, sadly, so many listeners will connect with.
You say it’s “just a friend” who’s texting late
But your story’s got holes that I can’t take
You’re sweet when you want, but you disappear
Leaving me drowning in doubt and fear
Hats off too for good use of tempo for a troublesome topic. I’m glad this song wasn't overproduced. In fact, just to do a little deeper dive into what was done, there’s nice vocal layering here.
We hear all the time about the healing properties of music. This might not be a song that offers such a remedy, yet don’t we many times turn to music as an escape? To work through our problems? So many times, on my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast a guest will say that they just want the audience to feel something when listening to their original songs.
If you listen to “Red Flags” and it’s relatable, even though you might be filled with angst, it still moved you, right? And thus, Mustang Legendary King got the job done.
I would say that that’s a great barometer for whether your song is ‘successful.’ The applause when you perform it live is one thing, but the comments that people make to you in one-on-one conversations after your show is a much better indicator than, “We all clapped because you’re supposed to.”
And when a blogger stops their regular pattern to gush about your newest single, voila! You’ve moved someone else, which is what you set out to do when you first started writing the song.
Bravo to Mustang Legendary King too for taking on an uncomfortable subject. No one likes to be in the situation that the song describes, but it would be naïve to think you’re the only one going through it. Quite frankly, an easy way out would be to suppress it and not write about it, but kudos to the artist for facing it head on.
For more than twenty years I have been helping indie music artists, authors, actors, entrepreneurs, podcasters, filmmakers, small business owners, and more. What challenges are you having in your creator career that I can lend some insight to? Connect with me so you can take advantage of all my experience, and I can help and keep you moving forward.