JPF Home Page Forums Week 37 MP3/Lyric Pick: "The Grind"

The Grind 3:30
http://www.substudiomusic.com/TheGrind.mp3

I keep trying to tell myself that this is just a phase
I continue to sell myself on hopes of better days
I'm just a prisoner who's shackled and restrained
A victim of the system with the lifeless and mundane

Under the weight I'm drowning
Transparent cage surrounding me
Nothing can save or stop me from sinking
Sinking low, sinking slow

I can't stand the grind
It's like I'm doing time with a ball and chain
I didn't see the signs I drove a hundred miles the other way
I can't stand the grind
It's like I'm doing time with a ball and chain
Need to get a life before it passes by hope It's not too late

While I'm thinking clock is ticking out of my control
One more bad decision and I'll never leave this hole
Our desperation changes what we do in life
Living with a choice we made does not make it right

Under the weight I'm drowning
Transparent cage surrounding me
Nothing can save or stop me from sinking
Sinking low, thinking go

I can't stand the grind
It's like I'm doing time with a ball and chain
I didn't see the signs I drove a hundred miles the other way
I can't stand the grind
It's like I'm doing time with a ball and chain
Need to get a life before it passes by I need a change of pace

I can't stand the grind
It's like I'm doing time with a ball and chain
I didn't see the signs I drove a hundred miles the other way
I can't stand the grind
It's like I'm doing time with a ball and chain
Need to get a life before it passes by hope It's not too late
_________________________



There have been a number of divergent opinions given about the music to this song as well as to the lyrics. Whether the music "sounds current" is of no importance to me. First of all, it doesn't sound "dated" but it does sound a bit retro and I'm sure on purpose. The retro sound would be great for certain films and TV shows. I have a student who fronts a band who does all original seventies type music so they can get away with great melodies, harmonies, rhythms and lyrics and not have to be country. So paying homage to a time when harmony and melody were very important apparently works well in this song because there's tremendous variation between sections, harmonically, melodically and rhythmically. There's so much craft in the putting of the words and music together, that to my mind, that simply screams "commercial." I'm not known for trying to make things "commercial;" I'm much more interested in their being good, emotionally impactful and relatable and authentic. Well, the craft in this song achieves all of what I've just listed much more easily than a song that merely has a strong hook that repeats endlessly or is upbeat or has a happy ending or any of the myriad of other things music industry personnel dream up so they can try to second guess what people want and keep their jobs. They have rules for being "commercial," but when you think about it, "commercial" just means that enough people hear it and like it that it sells. Underneath it all is good old-fashioned craft: how do the words fit the music? Is the melody made up of memorable, rhythmic sequences over harmony that sounds inevitable yet not predictable? Are all the sections different musically? Does it say something authentic that people will relate to? Does it say it in a way that's visual enough for people to remain interested? Does it say it in a way that draws the listener into the experience? Or is it something "written" around a "good idea" that lies there like a lox that no one will care about? This song does so many things right. Sure maybe it's a little obtuse at times-- when he says "thinking go" I interpret it to mean possibly suicide which I don't personally like in the song, but that's just a personal preference, not a criticism. My creative opinion is that it can stay. Unless he simply wants to be clearer and doesn't mean that.

I have one nit about the melody, which is mostly very strong. In the pre-chorus, Mike seems to be singing a major third when the chord is minor and I can't figure out what that's happening. It sounds like the singer didn't write it and didn't understand it was minor, but that's impossible, right? That is Mike, I believe.

I keep seeing you guys concerned about demographics and what's going to appeal to whom and for what reason, I would like for you all to read an article I wrote, which became a chapter in my book called "If you're doing it for the money, you probably won't make any." It's on my website, but it's a little hard to find, so if you want to read it, you'll have to go here: http://harrietschock.com/author/money.htm. The point of the article/chapter is this: If you're thinking about what will sell while you're writing, you're not communicating, you're not INSIDE the writing process. You're off thinking about something else. The integrity (not the definition meaning moral, but the one meaning undivided completeness) of the piece will be lost. I'm not sure what scenario he was thinking of when he wrote "The Grind," but I can think of one that makes all the lines make sense. Consider that a guy is an artist of some kind and his father thinks he should go to school to become an accountant. Now there's nothing wrong with that. Some of the best musicians I know are also accountants and they're not scrounging for money every month; they're making a good living and doing music too. Someday they'll do only music. But this is not the scenario I am discussing. This person did what his father wanted, became an accountant but is simply working for someone else at that and not simultaneously pursing his art. The fire that feeds his soul is gone and he's trying to run his life by going through the motions. He saw the signs (to his art) but he drove a hundred miles the other way. Now he's a victim of the system (of living from paycheck to paycheck) and he works with people he considers lifeless and the job is mundane. Everything makes sense with a story even remotely like this one. I do think that "Nothing can save me or stop me from sinking" is accurate, although it really bothers me. But as someone wise once said, "Art should not only entertain, it should disturb and inspire." Well this disturbs me, but it also inspires me to think and feel. And there is some comfort in the simple "downness" of a down song...at least to the other people who are going through it and don't feel so alone once they hear it. I generally like a bit of hope or enlightenment, but I think we get the enlightenment when he admits his choices put him there. Speaking of his choices, I'd prefer "Our desperation changes what we do in life/Living with a choice I made does not make it right." First of all, it's "choice" not "choices" so just one person made one choice and that one person is the singer. Secondly, it's a little less preachy that way. In a way, this song could be about being in a bad relationship, as well. Not all the lines apply but anyone in one will relate to enough of them and it will resonate.

I keep coming back to the craft in this song. There's internal rhyming--and rhyming at the end of lines and where the musical sequences indicate a rhyme should be. And when I say "rhyming" I mean actual rhymes. Not simply the same vowel sound. The internal rhymes are a bit more relaxed but the ones at the ends are all very good, when not "perfect rhymes." Rhyming has become so lax that sometimes I'll have to ask a writer where the rhymes are in a song. Then he answers "sail" and "take" or "price" and "fly," The vowel being the same seems to be enough for a lot of new writers. I might suggest that writer go listen to Randy Newman's new CD which has all "perfect rhymes," according to one of my more meticulous and brlliant students. I'm not that much of a purist. I'm not a Broadway person. But come on...."sail" and "take"? The point of a rhyme is to create emotional impact at the end of the line and deliver the emotional promise of the music. "The Grind" delivers on that promise by rhyming everywhere it should and by doing it well.

I constantly see songs with the same chord changes in the verse and chorus, or pre-chorus and chorus or maybe the same basic rhythm patterns of the melody. The rhythm of the melody is extremely important. This song has all three sections musically different. If you listen to only one thing, listen to that. What a breath of fresh air.

I agree with Brian that it would be good for everyone on this wonderful board to say what he or she likes about a song. That's a very good learning experience. It's a muscle that really needs to be built, because if you know what's good in good writing, you can adopt those practices. To develop a lot of rules about what to avoid can cripple a writer. I think the differing opinions expressed here are all worth reading, but I think it would be especially helpful if you all said what particular thing the writer is doing which you like and which you would like to implement in a future song. There's a lot to learn about how to combine words and music in "The Grind," as well as from many other craft points I've mentioned and no doubt, some I've missed. I'm not talking about copying subject matter or musical style. I'm talking about the very thing that separates good writers from great ones and amateurs from professionals. If you can learn from someone who's doing it right, why not? If something isn't your cup of tea, then find something else to learn from. Don't force yourself if you don't like something. We all have different tastes. But something with a lot of craft, if you also like it, is the perfect thing to study.