One of the most important parts about a music is its sense of place. Where does the music take us when we hear it?
Beauregard Higgins, of Beauregard and The Downright, is an excellent songwriter. His song “Atlanta Anthem” is a love song explicitly set in Atlanta. In the song Beauregard name-checks various Atlanta venues (Star Bar, 529, etc) and elements of the community to create a song that is unique to his experience of Atlanta. “Atlanta Anthem” was recently featured on The Sugarshack Sessions. Check it out here. Here’s some of the lyrics from “Atlanta Anthem”: “It’s a Friday night down at 529 watching Jungol play for the very first time. Wearing body paint under the black lights totally tripped out and glowing like fireflies. Got caught by the door guy pouring whiskey drinks. He grabbed me by the sleeve and said “son, you have to leave”. I just stared at him and kept my stupid grin. I told him we’d be friends and he let me go back in”. Of course, the cool thing about place is that it is different for everyone. For instance: my version of Atlanta wouldn’t have the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood in it--I might write instead about Candler Park. Today write a song about place with music and lyrics that reflect your own unique experience of that place.
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The second verse is one of the hardest pieces of a song. Don't let the challenge of the second verse deter you. Here are a few tips for writing that second verse.
One common mistake people make is that they write a second verse that doesn't add content to the song. Their second verse reiterates the ideas presented in the first verse. Ask yourself where could this song go that would be rewarding for you as a listener? How can you add depth to your song with a second verse? What content can add to the story? A quick way to create a shift in your lyrics is to use transitional words like "well," "but," "and" "so" "if" and "now" to begin your second verse. These words indicate that there is additional information to add to what the singer has already told you. Try using these tools to write that second verse. Modest Mouse frequently uses these keywords to move between sections in their songs. Here's an excerpt from their song "Satin in a Coffin" that uses these transitional words: Verse: You were laying on the carpet like you're satin in a coffin. you said, "Do you believe what you're sayin'?" yeah right now, but not that often. Chorus: Are you dead or are you sleeping? Are you dead or are you sleeping? Are you dead or are you sleeping? God, I sure hope you are dead. Verse: Well you disappeared so often like you dissolved into coffee. Are you here right now or are there probably fossils under your meat?” Although vague, the second verse gives us a better idea about the "you" from the first verse." They often were impossible to find, like sugar pouring into coffee. The second verse expands on the ambiguity of the first verse but provides a narrative thrust for the next chorus into the bridge (which also begins with a "well.") Perhaps your first verse takes place in the present. Your second verse might take place in the past. If the first verse is about a troubled relationship, the second verse is about the good times. Try writing a song today that successfully uses "well," "but," "and" "so" "if" or "now". Maybe today's song will only contain a few of these transitional words–or maybe it will have all of them. Let us know how it goes! Mountain Party's "Your Kind" blends their DIY mystique with a fine dusting of chamber pop. The song's chilly kiss off of "don't you tell me now" is completmented by a melodic calliope and a brooding violin. Lead singer Justin Green joined me for a brief chat about Mountain Party and the importance of a good hustle. Download a copy of "Your Kind" on Bandcamp for free!
SC: What I love about “Your Kind” is the tension between the lyrics and the instrumentation. While the lyrics are explicitly against material possessions “all you want is money / don’t you tell me now / about your diamond rings.” The message seems clouded because the music is couched within a pop song format that uses a string section. The music, in many ways, suggests the high materialism synonymous with modern pop music. Can you comment on the relationship between the lyrics and the music in “Your Kind”? JG: For sure. The song is definitely railing against the pursuit of money and materialism, but there is also an element of self-aware frustration with one's OWN pursuit. The instrumentation does reflect that I think, and it's really cool to me that you picked up on it. Originally, this was a relatively bare bones song. I asked a friend to write and record some violin tracks, not knowing how it'd turn out or if I'd keep them, and was just floored by what he gave me. I loved it. We talked about it later and both admitted that it changed the overall feel of the song, which was something he was afraid of doing but something I pretty heavily leaned into. I do feel like the song has a luxurious feel to it with the violin tracks. I guess that is why I tried to give the song away as a free download for the most part, knowing it would be weird to sing "all you want is money" and then charge a dollar for it. I guess it is up on iTunes still, but when we premiered it, it was just a Soundcloud and Bandcamp download. SC: What was your writing process like for this song? JG: Most of the stuff I write begins with just some rhythm acoustic guitar, this song included. When I like a progression, I typically stumble on a melody with some nonsense lyrics or search for a melody with a few specific lyrics in mind. With this song, I had a few lines written down, some weren't really even related to each other, and went from there. The line "the way the birds circle death" was plucked and interpolated from something I dictated to my phone while driving past a landfill in Florida last year. It just happened to work really well with the rest of the lyrics, and so I cannibalized whatever else it was meant for, I don't even remember at this point. For the instruments, I recorded it all except drums and violins, and asked my friends Gus and Robert to do those, respectively. SC: How often do you write? Do you keep a songwriting schedule or do you wait to be inspired? JG: I probably write at least a few verses or half-formed songs every month, but not on a schedule. Normally I have a pretty large backlog of unrecorded songs that I'm sitting on or saving for later. I've forced myself into being very busy all the time with my home life, running a small record label, working my day job, writing fiction on the side, and playing rhythm guitar in the band Pony League, so I have to steal time these days to really focus on Mountain Party. SC: How does your community of songwriters influence your writing? I try to let them influence me as often as possible, and that is easier now that I'm playing in a band where I'm surrounded by talented musicians. But I also end up writing stuff that is a bit different than what I normally play with other people. I think that might be why I have a hard time sticking to one style. Eddie Rascal's progressive doom pop is a melting pot of contemporary styles. "Little Johnny" begins with lead singer Mac Hunt as a carnival barker for a postmortem wasteland as he sings: "welcome to the age of the whack emcee". What follows is an imaginative narrative full of catastrophe, prescription pills, and the Sex Pistols. Mac Hunt joined me to talk about a few things from their record. You can buy Esoteric Meandering here.
SC: I love how you blend genres in "Little Johnny". Can you tell me a little about the process of writing it? Were you intentionally meshing genre, or was that a natural part of the process? MH: Thanks! The creative process behind "Little Johnny" was a real landmark period for us as a band. We were in a transition period, with a new lead guitarist, Yaar Hosseini, who had written these really heavy rock and roll guitar parts that were different than anything I was used to singing over. I've always been a hip hop fan and when Danny came in with that driving bass line I could hear the opportunity to try a more rap inspired vocal approach. We're stoked on how it came out and we're exploring that sound a lot more on our upcoming EP. SC: Your songs are place-oriented—how do you view place in your narratives? I think with my lyrics I try to set a stage for a specific moment and bring anybody listening into that moment with me. I'm an Atlanta native, I love the city. It played a big part in my formative years and I think that comes through in the pictures I try to paint in our songs. We as a band are very involved in the local music, art, and film communities, and our experiences in Atlanta are definitely reflected in anything we create. SC: How often do you write? Do you keep a songwriting schedule? Or do you wait to be inspired? MH: Our songs come to us in so many different ways, but I can confidently say we have no set schedule. Sometimes I write a skeleton of a song alone and bring it to the guys to be developed, like in "Hospital" but other times, like "Little Johnny", songs come as a result of someone pitching a catchy part in practice that we spend months turning into a full song together as a band. Those moments when we can all write something together are the best, and typically are when we write our favorite songs. SC: How does your community of songwriters influence your writing? MH: Our local community never fails to inspire, we are constantly surrounded by talent, but I think I draw more of my inspiration from the rich history of rock and roll songwriters I grew up idolizing. The mystique of the rock community caught my attention at a young age and was really what drew me to pick up a guitar and start writing songs in the first place. Now we have all fallen in love with the Atlanta music scene and all the bands and venues we've become so close to, but when I shut myself off in my head and write I still find the majority of my inspiration coming from remembering how I felt as a kid discovering bands like Nirvana or the Ramones for the first time. It made me want to write songs like that, play guitar like that, and be in a band like that. Of course my tastes have changed as I've grown up, but the inspiration is still there. |
The Sound Connector is an online magazine for songwriters. We feature songwriting challenges, monthly interviews, and the opportunity to discover new songwriters. We are interested in all things related to the craft of songwriting. Do you want to be featured on The Sound Connector? Send us your songs!
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