Claire Did It
This is for me. I am mostly whining, and you will not likely find it interesting. If however, you do read it all, um... sorry.
Creative differences.
I wasn't looking for a band. When a friend and his friend asked me to join theirs, however, I was excited. I'm still excited. But... I was asked based on my voice, and some songs I wrote and sang for my friend ages ago. You know, when I was still writing. It comes to pass that as the singer I am also to be the lyricist. Okay, that's fine. However, until I get inspired to write something new, we have to use my old stuff. I hand over lyrics and melody, and expect my two band mates to fill in the rest. In some cases, all I have is poetry or lyrics that don't even have a melody, and I hand those in as well. You get the picture. Tonight, I stumbled across something about which I'd forgotten, and my friend, the one who invited me to join Claire Did It, asked me to sing it for him.
SO. First he wanted to change the meter, citing that the meter was too hard to follow. I sang it acapella, and the rhythm s syncopated, so it seemed odd, but understandable that he didn't know it was in 4/4. Then he wanted to change most of the melody. Also fine. I'm not married to the melody, just the range. The song has two octaves, goes up and down a lot, and that to me is important. The specific notes do not matter to me. Fine. Then he wants me to change the lyrics. Not gonna happen. I told him I'd rather just write an entirely different song. I worked on that one for two years, it's very personal, and I won't change a word.
I am aware that the chorus is trite. That's deliberate. It's meant to be sappy and over-romanticized. The verses, on the other hand tell a story of one woman's ups and downs, and hopes for finding love. She grows from someone who is afraid of sharing her vulnerability, and whose fears are validated, to someone who is ready to trust someone with her love forever. I really like it. I like everything about it, the meter, the syncopation, definitely the melody, and most especially, the lyrics. After all, I am the woman in the story.
Here's my real complaint:
He, who from now on shall be referred to here as MuthaFuckin' Sunshine, or Shine for short, had as his sole complaint that the lyrics really didn't sound original enough. Well excuuuuuse me! Who the hell can make a song about love sound original anymore? There's a reason certain words come up over and over again when discussing certain subjects. It's because everyone can relate to those feelings with those words! Those words are universal! I told him for me the lyrics were perfect because they reflect exactly to the letter how I felt when I wrote them. If he thinks my lyrics are too unoriginal, then why has every band he's been in done covers? Why doesn't he write something if he can do better?
He can't.
He wanted me to make the chorus darker, lyrically. It's not a dark song. Even the sad parts are hopeful, and it has a happy ending. Making it darker wouldn't make it more original. It would make it more about him. He cannot relate to aligning romantic love with hope or happiness. I don;t want to go too much into his details here, but he just can't. So this sort of thing sickens him. He actually said something along the lines of,
"Every asshole thinks everything they shit out is the second coming, and it never is. It just isn't. "
Dude. What the fuck?
Creative differences.
I wasn't looking for a band. When a friend and his friend asked me to join theirs, however, I was excited. I'm still excited. But... I was asked based on my voice, and some songs I wrote and sang for my friend ages ago. You know, when I was still writing. It comes to pass that as the singer I am also to be the lyricist. Okay, that's fine. However, until I get inspired to write something new, we have to use my old stuff. I hand over lyrics and melody, and expect my two band mates to fill in the rest. In some cases, all I have is poetry or lyrics that don't even have a melody, and I hand those in as well. You get the picture. Tonight, I stumbled across something about which I'd forgotten, and my friend, the one who invited me to join Claire Did It, asked me to sing it for him.
SO. First he wanted to change the meter, citing that the meter was too hard to follow. I sang it acapella, and the rhythm s syncopated, so it seemed odd, but understandable that he didn't know it was in 4/4. Then he wanted to change most of the melody. Also fine. I'm not married to the melody, just the range. The song has two octaves, goes up and down a lot, and that to me is important. The specific notes do not matter to me. Fine. Then he wants me to change the lyrics. Not gonna happen. I told him I'd rather just write an entirely different song. I worked on that one for two years, it's very personal, and I won't change a word.
I am aware that the chorus is trite. That's deliberate. It's meant to be sappy and over-romanticized. The verses, on the other hand tell a story of one woman's ups and downs, and hopes for finding love. She grows from someone who is afraid of sharing her vulnerability, and whose fears are validated, to someone who is ready to trust someone with her love forever. I really like it. I like everything about it, the meter, the syncopation, definitely the melody, and most especially, the lyrics. After all, I am the woman in the story.
Here's my real complaint:
He, who from now on shall be referred to here as MuthaFuckin' Sunshine, or Shine for short, had as his sole complaint that the lyrics really didn't sound original enough. Well excuuuuuse me! Who the hell can make a song about love sound original anymore? There's a reason certain words come up over and over again when discussing certain subjects. It's because everyone can relate to those feelings with those words! Those words are universal! I told him for me the lyrics were perfect because they reflect exactly to the letter how I felt when I wrote them. If he thinks my lyrics are too unoriginal, then why has every band he's been in done covers? Why doesn't he write something if he can do better?
He can't.
He wanted me to make the chorus darker, lyrically. It's not a dark song. Even the sad parts are hopeful, and it has a happy ending. Making it darker wouldn't make it more original. It would make it more about him. He cannot relate to aligning romantic love with hope or happiness. I don;t want to go too much into his details here, but he just can't. So this sort of thing sickens him. He actually said something along the lines of,
"Every asshole thinks everything they shit out is the second coming, and it never is. It just isn't. "
Dude. What the fuck?