Your Songs Should be Original – And So Should You

As a songwriter you work so hard trying to come up with original ideas for songs.  You sit in songwriting sessions for hours, for days, trying to come up with a hook that will make yours the next big song that hits radio.  You wake up in the middle of the night to jot down something that somehow crept into your mind.  You don’t want to forget it when you wake up because it’s going to be great for that next song you’re going to write.  Sometimes when you’re driving an idea comes to mind so you frantically grab your smartphone to sing into so that the voice recorder app will preserve it for when you can sit and properly develop it.

These are the lengths that guys and gals go to so that they can come up with the one something that no one else is doing.  Or at least they try to.  After all, in a roundabout way my blog last week ended with some compliments that – if you read between the lines – implied that it was nice to hear something different, something original for once.  Finally I thought I was hearing something that everybody else wasn’t doing.

After all, comedian Jim Florentine – who was the guest on milestone Episode 200 of “Now Hear This Entertainment” and whose podcast I listen to every week – is even always reminding listeners to be a leader and not a follower.

So, it amazes me when I see posts on social media that look like a template that you take and change proper nouns in.

For example, I see so many artists who are about to release a new song (or EP or album) and the post always says, “Can’t wait for you guys to hear it.”  Duh.  Of course!  Everybody says that for every song they release.  We know that there aren’t songs that you release where you’re thinking, “Eh, I’m not really that excited for y’all to hear it, but I’ve got to put something new out.”  Here’s another place where flexing your creative muscle applies.  WHY can’t you wait for people to hear it?  “I wrote about (topic)” or “I recorded it (unique location)” or a new style of music for you or “My first release since (date or year).”  Talk about someone notable that you worked on it with or another element that people will be interested in.

Similarly, whether it's the new material or not, when you’re going to be out performing somewhere, don’t use the phrase, “Come thru.”  Again, you’re writing that because it’s the ‘in’ thing to say, but in fact, it conjures up images of a drive thru.  I hear that and I think of walking in one door, listening to one song, and walking out another door.  “Come for the food, stay for the music” is an expression that’s more descriptive but also assumes you’re going to stay.  Don’t say, “Come thru” if you want them to stay.  (And why wouldn’t you want them to stay?)

Speaking of being out performing somewhere, please have some variety to your set.  I was out two nights ago and the person who was the entertainment at the place I was in could've used some lessons in making up a setlist.  It really kind of dragged the mood down with seemingly ballad after ballad after ballad, not to mention far too much use of a loop station, which stretched the songs out way longer than they needed to be, and thus made it all even more depressing.

Talk about this blog with other readers and other NHTE listeners in our Facebook group!