JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Songwriter Message Forum Article I'm thinking of submitting

>>>> any comments would be appreciated.!!
Thanks!!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I think we've all had our fill of belly buttons, soft porn videos and same ol' commecial melodies, am I right?

Well, since the industry keeps saying they are lookng for something fresh, umm, how hard can that be since anything but a tim McGraw sob song or a Jimmy Buffet beat would be a welcome relief to me.

Yes, I love the well-crafted story songs and the entertaining Brad Paisley ditty's. Of course I do. But I"m longing for a balanced diet of a variety of styles. The one thing country music has at it's disposal that should be taken advantage of, is it's variety of styles that fall under the heading of "country". We have cross-over artists, yes. But we also have lots of cross-over songs... which proves country songwriters continue to hold the rest of the world to a higher standard.

At a time when pop music is drowning in a sea of bubble gum, sexual lyrics that will be gone tomorrow, our industry can always hold itself up to the
higher ground.

So if that's true, then it's time for the powers that decide what songs, artists, writers and singles should be promoted should stop and think and stand up and stop following the sheep! (opps I mean consultants).

Stop going for the "11 year old prodigy" or the 60 year old "he's still got it" mentality.

Step out front and be a leader, open doors to a new music the way the Dj's did in the 60's & 70's. The formula they had for picking hits was obviously a good one since they actually played what the public wanted and not what the money cruchers said to play. Why else are we still listening to 80's music? Radio listeners are left in the dust now a days.

But let me say this. I know the target demographic is 14-24 but 10 years from now the majority of the population will be over 40. How long can Brittany last in that environment? It's funny but my 16 year old daughter listens to all the latest music, sure, but she can sing every lyric to any song from 1950 to 1980. Coincidence??

copyright 2003 kay-lynn carew

Good points, kay-lynn...

What are you planning to submit this to?

Emily

I couldn't have said it better myself Kay-Lynn.Let's get back to country,not pop disguised as country.

Great post!! True most of the music today needs some realism put in it ,it's all about the money and the politics in the BIZ!1

Rather than debate your valid argument, I thought if you were planning to submit this commentary to a public medium, I would point out as a serious JB fan (not quite as crazy as the parrotheads, but a huge fan, nonetheless ), that the Margaritaville Mogul is actually spelled BuffetT... otherwise, it would just be a nice place to fill your plate as many times as you like, named after a guy named "Jimmy".

Tink
you realize I only point it out really because I made the same mistake a few years ago, when in the company of legions of Jimmy followers, I unfortunately mispelled it.

Good luck with your article.

[This message has been edited by TINK (edited 09-08-2003).]

Thanks Tink... that would have been REAL embarassing!!!
I thought I would start with MUSIC CITY NEWS... and then see what happens.

Red,
Generally I agree with you, you know that; however, I happen to enjoy belly buttons.



G

Was visiting friends on the weekend and you know what their kids and friends latest favourite band is?

AC DC!

There's a message in there somewhere.

Hi Kaylynn,

If this is to be an article, and not a "letter to the editor", you need to run spell check on it first. (Para 1, no "r" in commercial, Capitalize the "t" in Tim McGraw, etc.)

Para 4 is almost a duplicate of para 1 and the last line of para 3.

I think for a country song to be a hit it has to have two distinct elements, tradition and dynamism. Something to tie it to the unbroken line of country music before it and a sense of currency and action. In other words, a well crafted song with a title like, "W'Sup, truck" could prolly work.

dawg

John:.. funny you should say that.. because my two boys 11 and 13 LOVE AC/DC also!!

Yup that DOES say alot!!
Greydog... I had to uninstall my operating system so I don't have my Ms OFFICE BACK UP AND running yet.. but you're right.. I'm usually pretty faithful about running spell check! Thanks for the head's up!!

p.s. my kids also like Fleetwood Mac and most of the great songs of the 80's.. just like I said in the article.

so what's wrong with this picture.?? If everyone loved that music THEN.. and still loves it NOW.. how come we're not hearing anything remotely like it??? (pout)

You may be right, Red, but then again, I heard the same lament coming from my parents as my sibs and I listened to the music of OUR generation:

"They just don't write 'em like they used to..."



------------------
www.mp3.com/crisisrocks
www.dianatyler.com

Hi Red
Fred Koller's book " How to Pitch and Promote Your Songs" goes a long way to explain why so much drivel hits the airwaves.
I'm glad I read it, cuz it gave me the insight that the industry is made up of people like ourselves, who don't always get it right, and don't have total control over a very complex process either.

for example, as a trained computer graphic aritist, I recently submitted a CD to the JPF contest with the lamest of covers on it, due to life circumstances intervening before the deadline....of course I could have done much better.....

As for music, my hope always lies in knowing that "roots" music is the wellspring, the repository of American culture, as well as all those cultures that make up the North American fabric....

My impression is that since country music is in some kind of crisis at the moment, the roots movement will win out....the execs have to be noticing that so called "Americana" ie roots music is growing as fast as so called "country" is declining.

So what I am happy writing, and what I feel will have to prevail is a broader kind of country, using more " Memphis" chord changes, more "soul" more "rootsy" influence, and more intellegent content.

What if it doesn't sell? So what, I'm happy with it!!

Time and again the roots will well up.

I am reminded of a radio show in which the host tried to bait an English symphonic conductor by asking him to give an opinion on rap music.

Without missing a beat the learned conductor simply statee " people have been reciting verse to drum beats for millenia"

nuff said


regards

Peter

Taos NM

Hmm. It's a nice sentiment. But I just don't buy it at all. The music business is listed under business first, then music. It has always been that way. Manufactured pop has been with us since the forties at least. The fifties and sixties were probably the worst periods for outright manipulation. And add to that the shocking racist treatment of Nat King Cole and Bill Bojangles (whom Fred Astaire admired but who never had a serious chance, being black).

Warming to the subject, I think the average musician probably has a better chance of surviving - artistically and economically - now than at any other time. Seriously.

Of course, when I turn on the radio I get tired of the same commercial pap too. But if it all went back to the country writers you're talking about - I'd hate it even more (sorry guys, one man's bread and all that)!


Michael


------------------
Michael Leahy
The Accidental Lyricist
http://michael-leahy.indiegroup.com

Kay-Lynn:

This thread was started with your statement, "Step out front and be a leader, open doors to a new music the way the Dj's did in the 60's & 70's. The formula they had for picking hits was obviously a good one since they actually played what the public wanted and not what the money cruchers said to play."

Yep, those were the good old PAYOLA days, particularly the late 50's and 60's. I remember them well. Talk about money crunchers getting their way! Dj's did play what the public wanted, but the Payola was usually what determined the choices.

Phillip

Phillip,
You are probably quite correct about the payola, yet I tend to think such efforts of promotion were directed largely towards the biggest stations. Given the current situations, I'm left to wonder if payola was so bad!
At least where payola was concerned, you had serious efforts of promotion going on, crooked as they may have been. Also we had radio stations which had live DJs and program managers who were critically aware of the listeners and their tastes. Call-in song requests were the norm for nearly any small to moderately sized station.
At another level, if somebody is promoting a concert with artists new to a given area, why should it currently be illegal to pay a station to play a few songs by these artists in an effort of promotion? Is such a thing truly a caustic assault on all that is decent and righteous? I think not. Generally a radio station is selected for promo because of the listeners' tastes, thus such promotional efforts could easily benefit all parties.
Now we are locked out. No access. Yet, access has been gained only by the huge conglomerates who have purchased the radio stations, and thus play the music which is most beneficial to the corporate structures they affiliate themselves with. No DJs pushing anything, no feedback, potentially one PD making decisions for the airplay of 15 stations across the nation simultaneously.
Rather than being partially bought and sold, the majority of radio stations are now simply bought...selling nothing other than their own goods.

-GP

You said it better than I did GP! Thanks! "may I quote you?"

GP:

The Wal-martization of America has set the bar for successful merchandising. The music industry simply followed the leader. That's business!

GP:

The Wal-martization of America has set the bar for successful merchandising. The music industry simply followed the leader. That's business!

Redness, as long as it doesn't land me in jail..sure! LOL


Oh..Knute.. as far as the Wal-martization of the world...Sam Walton had a vision, and that vision included Americans selling American-made products, providing the American consumers with as much value as possible...essentially giving them what they wanted for the best price possible ,yes..at a massive scale rendering massive profits. In Sam Walton's death, many of those ideals were lost, sadly.
Where might a parallel be drawn which shows conglomerate radio and it's commercial cohorts are providing listeners (customers) with what they desire? And for the best value? Would it be shown via CD prices? Concert ticket prices? Digital disc jockies? Song requests?
Sorry.
I'll opt to not acknowledge corporate success as being equal to corporate corruption. They often go hand in hand, yet they are not one and the same.
There is something left to be said for the human experience of radio, and until we all have binary implants which make us all subject to the keystokes of the Grand Programer, the corruption and corporatization of the arts is nothing short of sin itself.

Walk ye, away with your almighty dollar, and let thy peasants dance in the glee of your absence.
-gp

GP:

I must assume that you base your comments about Wal-mart and Sam Walton on their public relations releases and commercials. You might want to read "In Sam We Trust," by Bob Ortega, to get the real story. Nobody, but nobody, knows the true story better than Bob.

Sam's goal was to become the world's largest retailer and buying American was NEVER a part of his business plan. Selling for less and less and less was his game plan from day one. That is the plan now, as well. Nothing really changed after Sam's death except that he can no longer stop by his stores and say Hi to his "associates," a congenial term he "borrowed" from J.C. Penney.

The only difference between Sam's ambitions and those of music execs is that the music guys are going for a monopoly the old fashioned way through power, not by low-balling their way to total control of an industry as Sam envisioned.

Remember that Wal-mart ad where they saved a North Carolina sweater factory from having to shut down and saved American jobs by doing so? Well, shortly after that ad was aired, the contract with that factory was cancelled and the sweater contract was sent abroad in typical Wal-mart fashion.

I liked Sam, personally, and since he and my uncle and their wives shared a bungalo in Arizona during WWII, I got to meet Sam several times before he died. He was All-American, no doubt, but buying American, if it wasn't the lowest price available, meant nothing to him, period.

Sorry to stray from the thread a bit, but the Wal-martization of America and the music business do have much in common.

[This message has been edited by Knute (edited 09-12-2003).]

Okay... we'll go with everything you stated, since you knew Sam Walton personally. ( a two-minute sigh, here)
If the conglomerates which connect radio stations, record companies, and concert sales at the hip were to begin a price cutting war, purging themselves of un-needed staff in order to create a sleek, effective business model, at the same time in an effort to offer the public what they desired at the best prices possible, then you'd have a decent comparison. Instead they use their monopolizing strength to gouge every music consumer they can, while limiting the goods offered.
Ya know, I didn't bring up Walmart... I'm talking about people, their expressions, arts, being human, and the pursuits of musical entertainment.

What simply does not matter to me is the suggestion that business is business, because it only speaks of greed and concern for no one. Such is NOT the essence of music and the arts, and I will never accept any policy suggesting that it's fine and acceptable to ignore basic human values and needs along the way to your next fleet of Hummers, particularly if your goals effect a nation.
You may have a Masters degree in business..but you'll not sell me so much as an attachment for my electrolux today.
If indeed you are convinced and approving of all notions supporting the concept that business is business, then I would only guess you have spent a great deal of time feeling huge amounts of guilt, followed by great, (albeit successful), efforts of self-justification. The only problem remaining is the fact there is no justification for injustice.
The world of radio, the artists, and the people do suffer a great injustice from corporate strangleholds. Debate that if you desire, but I'll sleep fine this evening with or without it.
-gp

GP:

Limiting the goods offered is what both Wal-mart and the music business have as the ultimate goal. Both want to determine what you buy.

Hey, I didn't vote for Bush, I'm a Democrat, and I do believe social conscience should have its just place within our capitalist system. Truth is, it doesn't.

Writing your congressman probably won't help either. Money talks louder than reason.

Ok, I'll jump back in for a minute. With regards to music business and politics...<<

Why are the highest paid people the ones dealing only with money and greed? When people like caseworkers, teachers, child care workers, who actually AFFECT the course of a a person's LIFE... get paid peanuts?

So children are NOT our most precious national resource as so many politicians keep doing lip service to, are they? Money and Power is. Why do honest, hardworking people of integrity get paid crap? Answer: Because if all they wanted out of life was money and power they would be called politicians.

I may not be able to change the politics of the United States, but hopefully the American public can change SOMETHING. If we can't change anything then "for the people, by the people" might as well be erased from the Constitition.

I just finished watching some 20/20 segment on the trashy clothes that 12 years olds are wearing because they all want to look like Christina and Brittany. The joke was told that... "what's left for the prostitutes to wear??" I found that actually pretty profound. But since we don't value parenting, teachers, values, virtue, modesty or ethics.... this is the country we are ending up with. (sigh)

I think it's time we start pushing the line, as artists, in the direction of great SONGS and ARTISTS that need to be heard. Obviously it's extremely INFLUENCIAL... in teenager's buying habits....so why can't it be used to explore are INNER feelings, thoughts etc and not just "see how hot my body is.. have sex with me"... But since the pop stars have all but had sex with full nudity on a video...there is not going to be much more line to cross or SHOCK value. (p.s. the Madonna kiss was totally inappropriate and discusting, geesh... )What's next, sex with animals???

I also didn't appreciate the soft porn of Faith Hill in the Breathe video. It felt like a slap in the face that country music had to "stoop" to that type of video when the song was already a hit. Are artists so "unsure" of their talent that they have to be sure to throw enough sex into the mix.. just for good measure. (well, gee, if they hate the song at least I look good and all the guys will watch me half/naked).

Becuase it makes money and you call it a BUSINESS that makes it ok? I guess that's how all the prostitutes get away with THEIR business too.

Patsy Cline is probably discusted with all of them. I know I am.
(sorry for rambling on again) LOL


[This message has been edited by redwriter1 (edited 09-12-2003).]

hey Red!
Are you sure you aren't a Canadian? chuckle...as a Canadian living in the U.S. I can assure you that your comments are the common view of many of us, and are on the money.

However, in my earlier post in this thread I tried to point to the fact that the "roots will well up" or whatever lame way I said it.

Behind that statement is the notion that while it's really tough, frustrating, downright annoying etc to have to see and endure the abusive culture we live in, it's good to try and stay focused on the positive as well....nothin lasts forever, even the current state of affairs.....we can only hope that some of us, enough of us, stay true to our vision and values that there is always an altenative to the current madness.

Too often I see people giving up and not developing their talents, despairing that its useless, a waste of time etc....

If we can't step up to the plate with viable alternatives, we don't have much standing to complain....so keep on keeping on...be a small light where you can.....empires crumble, and hopefully instead of the barbarians taking over when that happens, perhaps artists will one day rule (maybe unrule would be a better term, as in unruley)

Anyhow, I am glad there are people like you who still can feel passionately about the mess we are all in....I just want to encourage you to stay strong, stay true and don't let the bastards get you down, to use an old expression.

As for hookers, while staying in the low rent part of Nashville (nuff said) I made a point of talking to some of them and the various and sundry dealers, pimps and homeless people. You know the area I mean.

In a sense they are victims of exactly the things you so correctly analyze, and I learned to see them as human beings too, in fact as far more honest folks than most of the pillars of society we are taught to look up to. Honest in the sense that they cannot affort the luxury of pretense.

Forget WalMart etc...that's just us middle class folks whining in my opinion....how about a society that allows single women with kids to fall through the cracks to the extent that in most of the motels surrounding Nashville, among many other cities, there are women and kids living by the week in small rooms, with mom having to go and turn cheap trucker tricks in, when I was there, 100 degree heat, because agencies, churches, etc had not helped them when they most needed help.

Don't even get me going on this !!!!

Anyway, Redwriter, I am glad you, and many others still are paying attention, and can see through the smoke and mirrors of the pop culture and media......hang in there.

regards

Peter

Taos NM

Peter, let me tell you what I do each and every time I travel abroad and return to America, the land you describe as "the abusive culture we live in." I KISS THE RUNWAY!

Sure, I have my beefs, and Walmart and all it represents heads the list, but America is far and away the greatest society on earth, even with its pop culture and media.

Canada, by the way, is way down on the list.

Hey Knute,

I think you are getting me all wrong.
I was adding to the discussion about what was wrong....I'll be the first to add lots of good points to a thread about what makes USA great..

Way I see it is just like songwriting...they say a "hit song isn't written, it's rewritten"....in the same way IMHO a great country needs revision and to be reinvented from time to time...which involves looking at its faults, which hopefully can be corrected, just like the song.

Oh and speaking of lists, Canada has stood #1 for many years running on the UN survey which measures a ton of things which measures the quality of life for the average person....many of which indicators are similar to core American values by the way.

hope you are having a great day

Peter

Taos NM

Peter, I am quite aware that Canada ranks high in several UN surveys and I even own a share in a property at Sauble Beach, Ontario, leased from the native indians - that's a switch. Still, while Thomas Jefferson, a slave owner, was preaching the virtues of social justice, Adam Smith was expounding on the virtues of capitalism.

As the centuries have passed, Smith has had a more profound effect on America than Jefferson. Perhaps that is because it is very difficult to be an "average person" and achieve the glorious American dream at the same time.

Karl Marx despised mediocrity, yet his followers developed communist and socialist nations that drowned in it. American capitalism often erects seemingly insurmountable barriers to success, but for those undaunted few who manage to crash through those barriers and finally reach the other side, America does offer the best rewards.

I too symphathize with the homeless mother who sells her body to feed her kids after she feeds her habit.

I think selling sex in virtually all the media, including ours, is deplorable.

I also think selling God on the radio, TV and even on CD's, particularly on Sunday, should be a crime.

America can be better, much better. But whose plan shall we follow? Your plan, your grumpy neighbors plan, the family that lives on the estate just outside of Nashville's plan or the unemployed worker's plan?

Having recently reached the big 60, I've seen a whole lot of plans come and go.






[This message has been edited by Knute (edited 09-14-2003).]