Song TOPIC #1 ???

[GregB]

I applaud @john for trying to keep us all motivated with occasional Writing Challenges.

Alas, with my own dinosaur reflexes, even if I was in the mood,  it would be a long cold winter of the soul before I could generate any meaningful response that I would be willing to push into the Songstuff spotlight.

 

Instead, I would be far happier to offer an existing song (if relevant) in response to any topic that gets raised.  For example, I have songs specifically about climate change, the environment, mental health, surveillance, the daily grind, orgasm, war, childhood dreams, my home country, stalking, etc., etc..   Note - specific topics other than  love/infatuation and heartbreak.    

[PS. I went to a songwriting feedback/critique workshop several years ago.  Of the 30 or so attendees, 95% were under thirty.  As the baton was passed around the circle for individuals to each play their song to the group, they ALL introduced it along the lines of "I wrote this about someone I had just met ... " or "I wrote this about breaking up with ... ".   On one hand this proves the universality of a subject/emotion that touches us all but, to my mind, you have to be a genius to say anything new or interesting about it.]

 

Any general interest in this approach?

 

Greg

 

[john]

Hey Greg

 

Thanks for the applause!

 

I think it is good to challenge yourself at whatever age. Songwriting, like painting, book writing, playing an instrument or any other creative task is a never ending pool of learning, if you wish it to be. With all creativity, when we thing nothing is new, there is nothing to be learned etc. We plateau, and we stagnate. We lose the joy of the activity, and we stop that activity altogether. We might move to a new way of creative expression, after all, I have not met a creative who doesn’t thrive on the discovery of a new method to vent their creativity.

 

The trick is to keep it fresh. To keep it new. Songwriting only feels old when we let it get that way. Our relationship with creativity is very similar to our relationships over all. It is the journey of love. In the early days of a new romantic relationship, it’s constant, frenetic, you can’t keep your hands off each other. You are constantly in touch with each other, you are constantly in each other’s thoughts. As the relationship progresses the kind of love you have progresses past that. It calms. You begin to see each other’s habits and faults. Many who were keeping up an image begin to relax and show more of themselves. The nature of love changes. The nature of passion changes. It takes effort to keep it going. If you value the relationship, that effort is mostly easy, if you don’t, the effort can become wearisome. It rots on the vine. However, if you treasure that relationship, you do the work. You keep it fresh. You keep it interesting. Enticing.

 

That is exactly how you keep creative activities engaging. You keep them fresh. With songwriting that is the same as romance. You keep it spicy by trying new things. Trying new writing methods, new song forms, new genres, new topics, new ways of speaking. You can even experiment with new partners (songwriting doesn’t get jealous and it doesn’t suffer from feelings of inadequacy). The symptoms of neglect are however very similar. You get stuck in a rut, and some even fail to perform, claiming this has never happened before… (ed. Am I taking this analogy too far? Lol).

 

You get the point. Keep it fresh. Get frisky, even risky with your songwriting. Keep the joy. There is no songwriting viagra.  

 

 

Cheers

 

John

 

PS I have no problem with members sharing their old songs that fit the brief… though I would ask that they mention it in their post… however, the challenges are there to challenge and to help keep it fresh. Old songs are useful to other members, but not much use to you, maybe.

 

PPS I wrote a longer PS where I extended my analogy. It was pretty funny but WENT TOO FAR. LOL I deleted it!

 

[GregB]

8 hours ago, john said:

 

>> There is no songwriting viagra.  

 

... so there's no way to stiffen my resolve?  

 

>> Our relationship with creativity is very similar to our relationships over all

 

... well, THAT explains a lot ... I HAVE been married for 44 years!!  😂😎

 

Greg