Being at work constantly means I’m always trying to write while far away from my instruments, which is easy enough to do by scribbling in a notebook or singing into my own voicemail. The problem I keep running up against is that when I finally sit down with a guitar, the words I’m writing don’t exactly fit into their intended places.
It’s frustrating because , I’m not sure what I’m missing. It reminds me of trying to solve math equations: I understand the concepts in algebra, but I still end up with a lot of wrong answers.
It’s fascinating, though, because I’m not sure where these things are getting muddled in translation. Memory is imperfect, so that’s a good suspect. I also think that I’m prone to writing little bits in different keys, and then I have trouble transposing them all into the same key later.
I feel like songwriting should really be more like building with Lego: the size and shape of the music you need should be apparent from looking at the lyrics. But for a person without a functional grasp on musical notation...well....
The Jesus & Mary Chain - Just Like Honey
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Three Big Problems for Creative Productivity
1. Working 2 jobs. It is Tax Season, after all. The easiest way to get one-on-one time with me is to either be my wife, or come have me do your taxes.
2. Getting a Kindle. Sure, I’ve read more books in the last month than I did in all of 2006, but at what cost?
3. Getting Sick. In that kind of amorphous way where you just don’t feel right for about ten days.
Now, I’m feeling better and honest work on the songs has resumed. My co-worker Kate has also commissioned a song for her birthday, which is less than 2 weeks away. So, I’m crackin’ on that one. I wrote a lot of lyrics on the train this morning. Some good, some so awful I’m not sure I should sing them. I’ll probably discard the part about how “We gonna get retardy like it’s your birthday.”
The Weakerthans - Leash
2. Getting a Kindle. Sure, I’ve read more books in the last month than I did in all of 2006, but at what cost?
3. Getting Sick. In that kind of amorphous way where you just don’t feel right for about ten days.
Now, I’m feeling better and honest work on the songs has resumed. My co-worker Kate has also commissioned a song for her birthday, which is less than 2 weeks away. So, I’m crackin’ on that one. I wrote a lot of lyrics on the train this morning. Some good, some so awful I’m not sure I should sing them. I’ll probably discard the part about how “We gonna get retardy like it’s your birthday.”
The Weakerthans - Leash
Monday, January 24, 2011
Here’s where I get in trouble
The life cycle of a blog looks like this:
First, there’s an ambitious start. Big plans! Regular updates! Content content content! Success is inevitable and deserved.
Almost immediately, there’s a sudden and complete stop. No more posting, little or no explanation. This break is followed by a series of posts that let the readership know: this break is only a temporary one! We’re going to be back! And there’s going to be huuuuge changes! Amazing content? Special guests? Regular features? All of those! WE ARE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING.
It doesn’t go well from there.
My plan for this blog is to skip a lot of that. I’m just going to try and deliver something that all of my loyal fans and customers can read from time to time. I’m also going to keep writing these songs--which, in general, is going REALLY well, when I get time to work on it.
Soon, I’ll post one of the finished demos.
Guided by Voices - The Official Ironmen Rally Song
First, there’s an ambitious start. Big plans! Regular updates! Content content content! Success is inevitable and deserved.
Almost immediately, there’s a sudden and complete stop. No more posting, little or no explanation. This break is followed by a series of posts that let the readership know: this break is only a temporary one! We’re going to be back! And there’s going to be huuuuge changes! Amazing content? Special guests? Regular features? All of those! WE ARE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING.
It doesn’t go well from there.
My plan for this blog is to skip a lot of that. I’m just going to try and deliver something that all of my loyal fans and customers can read from time to time. I’m also going to keep writing these songs--which, in general, is going REALLY well, when I get time to work on it.
Soon, I’ll post one of the finished demos.
Guided by Voices - The Official Ironmen Rally Song
The Concept
My iPod touch bit the dust yesterday. When it happened, I quickly cycled through those five stages of grief you always hear about. By the time I hit “acceptance,” I decided there had to be some way of tricking people into buying me a new one. That’s where you come in.
For $10, I’ll write a song about you. Haven’t you always wanted a song about you? Here’s your chance. I’ll hook you up with one. When it’s written and (roughly) recorded, I’ll send an mp3 of it to you.
For $15, you can tell me who to write a song about. It can literally be anybody. Go nuts! I could write a song about your wife! Your arch nemesis! Your high school wrestling coach! The possibilities are endless.
To sweeten the deal, I’ll send you all of the songs once the project is finished. This is going to take a while--30 songs is more than I’ve written in the last 2 years, but part of the fun here will be to crank these out as fast as I can while still creating something worth listening to. I’m also working fast--if you have a deadline, let me know and I’ll accommodate you.
Email me at BrianRiggins at gmail dotcom or comment on this post to request a song. Money can be sent my way via cash, check, or PayPal’d to CYBEROY at aol dotcom, an email address I’ve had for so long that I think it can buy cigarettes next year.
Wish me luck.
(Teenage Fanclub - The Concept)
For $10, I’ll write a song about you. Haven’t you always wanted a song about you? Here’s your chance. I’ll hook you up with one. When it’s written and (roughly) recorded, I’ll send an mp3 of it to you.
For $15, you can tell me who to write a song about. It can literally be anybody. Go nuts! I could write a song about your wife! Your arch nemesis! Your high school wrestling coach! The possibilities are endless.
To sweeten the deal, I’ll send you all of the songs once the project is finished. This is going to take a while--30 songs is more than I’ve written in the last 2 years, but part of the fun here will be to crank these out as fast as I can while still creating something worth listening to. I’m also working fast--if you have a deadline, let me know and I’ll accommodate you.
Email me at BrianRiggins at gmail dotcom or comment on this post to request a song. Money can be sent my way via cash, check, or PayPal’d to CYBEROY at aol dotcom, an email address I’ve had for so long that I think it can buy cigarettes next year.
Wish me luck.
(Teenage Fanclub - The Concept)
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