Mar
13
Updated the T-Rex song. Added some piano(not sure if I like it), and added a somewhat monster lead in the beginning, during the choruses and over the solo.
Mar
02
I’m working on a song that’s a sorta an ode to T-Rex. I’m still missing the lyrics and a solo.
Feb
27
I’ve been working on one song for over 20 years. 20 years.
It’s in the key of E major, although it didn’t start there. It started in D, like most of my songs and then moved up.
It’s been stuck in my craw for the past several years. The conventional wisdom would be that I should give up on a song that has dragged on for 20 years, but I just can get it out of my system. Not sure what it is, but I can’t let go of it.
It’s not that it’s all that special either. I mean it’s fairly repetitive and in my opinion, kinda boring. It started, like most of my songs, as a riff on my Telecaster; a quick 1/5/4 romp in the key of D (now E). Over the years the song has morphed into several different incarnations. The latest version is very Americana influenced with an E/F#m/A/B progression through the verses.
The chorus has remained unchanged in 20 years. I guess that’s why I can’t give it up. I’m such a sucker for a good chorus lick/riff.
Oh, BTW, the song is called “I get”. You may ask “I get” what? LOL. That’s part of the problem. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to get out of this song.
Feb
27
Well Google could solve that mystery in 3 seconds, but I choose this title after my favorite Bob Dylan Song of the same name. For me, Absolutely Sweet Marie is the perfect pop song. I’ve cloned many of its structures in songs I’ve attempted to write.
It’s also in my favorite key of D major and there’s that whimsical Bb bridge/lift that happens twice in the song. There’s also the blatant sexually-themed lyrics:
Well, your railroad gate
You know I just couldn’t jump it
You know it gets so hard to see
I’m just sitting here
Beating on my trumpet
With all these broken promises
You left for me.
Feb
27
I’ve decided to create a songwriting blog to track my moods and opinions regarding the craft. I’m not sure what to say about songwriting, after all it was Elvis Costello who quipped that “writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” However I wanted a place I could go to keep track of my experiments and musing over the art form. Well, calling what I do an art form is a bit of a stretch, so let’s call it an “activity.”
Anyhoo, here goes my first post. Let’s see where this takes me.
