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| re: Topic "Stop Looking Inward" | |
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pidunk 04:01 am UTC 06/11/07 |
| In reply to: | Topic "Stop Looking Inward" - Bright_Eyes 03:37 am UTC 06/11/07 |
Three guesses and the first two don't count about who would try to tackle these questions. I'd like to see what others think but my opinions are here. > I saw an article on the internet a few weeks ago in which > songwriter Jim Steinman was interviewed. Can't find it > anymore. I recall he said that if he were teaching about > songwriting, one of the lessons would be “stop looking > inward”. > > > This seems to go against the apparent philosophy of a > great many songwriters out there. Who seem to be trying to > look inward and reveal their true feelings or something > like that. > I thought at first I knew what Jim meant by this, but then > when I tried to write it down I realized he could mean a > lot of things. > > > What do you think he means when he says “stop looking > inward”? > There are good songwriters and there are masterpiece songwriters. Looking inward means applying one's thoughts only to themselves, and looking outward means helping to integrate that experience of yourself in context of others. The universality of Jim's lyrics come from not sharing his own experiences as much as comes from seeing what of his experiences are translateable in others lives for themselves. He considers the audience, the meaning it would have for them, which would be the reason why they would listen to it over and over again, why it would mean something to them, and why they would give a hoot about the song. Indeed many songwriters can write songs, but only a few songwriters can write songs that resonate across gender age and cultural boundaries such as Jim can. > > > Do you think it has to do with a need to write Universal > stories? Universal feelings, universal emotions, the ways passages in life are shared universally. He has that need because he has a goal to reach, of reaching listeners, and making the effort worth it that listeners keep coming back for their own sakes. > > > > > > > What might be examples of songs by Jim Steinman that do a > good job of “not looking inward”? Every song you can relate to without being Jim, is an example of a good job of not looking inward. > > > What might be examples of songs by Jim Steinman that do > not do a good job of “not looking inward”? > Any song that you simply can't understand, is an example of a not-so-outward looking song. > > > > What might be examples of songs not written by Jim that do > a good job of “not looking inward” and that Jim would > presumably like for that reason? "Happy Birthday", "Stars And Stripes Forever", "Monster Mash", "Old McDonald Had A Farm", :-) > > What might be examples of songs not written by Jim that do > a poor job of “not looking inward” and that Jim would > presumably not like for this reason? The phrase is not about whether looking outward makes a good song, but it is a formula for making a song others would want to listen to. Songwriters who give advice, give advice to other songwriters, not "advice" or statements of song taste/liking. > > > > > If Jim taught about songwriting, what do you think the > other lessons might be? Other than “stop looking inward”, > “WRITE LYRICS FIRST ” and “WRITE IN THE VOICE AND TONE OF > A CHARACTER, VERY SPECIFIC! Or maybe iconic! BUT song > speaks as the person speaks!” His actual advice to songwriters which I heard him speak in 1989, is "Be positive". You wouldn't expect that from someone who has written his songs, but there it is. > Do you think Jim has always written lyric first? If not, > when do you think he has not? When he has written no lyric. "The Storm". Or when the lyric found no melody. "Wasted Youth/Love And Death And An American Guitar". Or when he first had written no lyric and then thought of one. In the world of art, there are variations. > In which songs do you think he may have violated his rule > about writing in the voice and tone of a character? > > It isn't actually a "rule" for writing, but a rule for listening. He could be his own character. | |
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