OK, so now that I have made the predicate argument that the era of big acts is at its twilight, unless you want to go Disney and be a cog in the Mouse-ine, you do have the opportunity to be a regional or demographic act in this new non-homogenized and thoroughly democratic world of music and audience and delivery.
So, how to write the hit song? Forget love as the major theme. Everyone does that, and your take isn't that special, unless you are a certifiable homicidal maniac. Then it could be mainstream rap or some twisted ClownPorn genre. Not great for longevity of the music. No one is proud of their days stoned on the couch listening to Insane Clown Posse and long for the day when.
To paraphrase "The Graduate"... I have two terms for you... Places, and other prior generation Big Artists.
Place songs live forever. Especially in the Country ouvre. I will extend my place theme to include major sports franchises. If you write songs about major sports franchises, though, make sure it is a fun riff repeatedly many times. Place songs can handle all your needs for story songs. Hell, you can even talk about love here, as long as it has a place. "El Paso" by Marty Robbins, "Amarillo by Morning" by George Strait, "LA Freeways" by Guy Clark, "Ventura Highway" by America, "Do You Know the Way To San Jose" by WTFK, and "Wichita Lineman" and "Galveston" by Glenn Campbell are just some of the plethora that come to mind. The theme sticks deep in the head of anyone who lives there or even likes it there.
The second theme... Prior Big Artists.... is a SURE WINNER. Why? Because music has that previously discussed magical ability to transport you to a place and time in your past. Your own little time machine to the happy times. Why not coat-tail on that attribute? Love Neil Young? Write a song about listening to Cortez the Killer or Southern Man. The BeeGees? Write a song that reminisces about the summer of '77 and Night Fever. These always work. The grossest knockoff is the resampled rap versions of songs. Easy Peasy Lemon Wheezy. Not worth your musical chops. Try "Sweet Home Alabama" written in angry response to Young's "Southern Man". It coattailed Southern Man into a song played maybe a million times more than the relatively forgetten Young dirge. Or the David Allan Coe song celebrating Outlaw Country with the line "I heard the Burritos out in California could fly, higher than the Byrds", and ends the lyric with "Willie, Waylon, and Me", much to the rumored undelight of Willie and Waylon. Of course, Marty Robbins did a twofer here with "El Paso City", where he referred to a location again AND referred to his previous hit song! Bravo, Marty.
Feel artistically compromised by these pointers? Why? I didn't tell you how to write the songs at all, I just gave thematic advice. If you are a true artist and don't care about appealing to others, goodonya mate. Garages were built for that. If you hate sell outs, meaning "wow, a lot of people are moved by my songs to the point of parting with cash to see it live or buy it", well, you are just an unsuccessful sell out at this point, not a real artist, who couldn't care less.
Go forward and prosper, young Rock Star. Remember, in the future, you won't have plethoras of groupies in very town, just some towns, or a peculiar small subset in every town. Choose carefully. Your career should be something you look back on with happiness, not something that will take years of therapy to undo one night of groupie action with cross dressing suicidal vampires that have Daddy issues.
You hit it spot on - that is why "Texas Country" (Cory Morrow, Roger Creager, and Pat Green (some might call him a sellout) to name a few) got so big so quick. Of course that is why my radio is tuned to that all the time - it takes me back to partying hard in college and taking those long Texas roadtrips they all sing about, hence the nostalgia factor.
Insane Clown Posse, man you ran with a interesting crowd...We just had Lonestar beer in our cereal.
Posted by: Driller | November 04, 2009 at 08:18 AM