Suddenly Love is - SAC Challenge Week # 4 The Cliche

There are two kinds of people in this world...

Those who write a cliche into their songs, and those who write many cliche's in their songs. (Check out this collection of TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE movie clips)

An original idea is extremely hard to achieve. Take the image above for example. If you look up love in Google images, you will find countless pictures of silhouetted couples kissing... Although we love great ideas, and new things, we feel comfortable ordering the same food, buying the same clothes, telling the same stories to different people day after day.

My father always told me "That good guys finish last" "You only live once" "If the shoe fits...wear it" "Dont hold your breath" "Quit while you're ahead" "Better late than never" "It never hurts to try"...and "never play leapfrog with a unicorn"

K that last one wasn't his...in fact none of them were, but when I hear or read these expressions, I think of him. A cliche is a very powerful tool in writing, and Christopher Ward "Hit the nail on the head" when he spoke of the importance of a cliche in a hit song. Upon further research...every hit song has a cliche in it...if not many. Think of the ironic cliche of Nickelbacks Rockstar. Nickelback who rose to fame and impacted so many singers with an original voice and great tunes...and then...cliche after cliche song that has turned most of the music world against them. This very song here lists all of the cliches around being a rockstar...which Chad Kroeger now has (hockey rink inside his house in the bastment...studio out back) and of course 56 million views on the video alone. Cliche's work. The big challenge is writing something original around the cliche that makes it stand out.





So for me...this week...I listened...I read...I looked around...and settled on a familiar cliche starting with "LOVE IS". Christopher himself used this in a hit song for Alanah Myles. Brilliant...so why not start there...I thought. Also sticking with last weeks journey...I decided to start this song with the chorus

Suddenly Love is

Chorus:

Suddenly Love is, love is just a place

Suddenly love is love is just another word that you cant explain

Love is love is just a face

That you can't erase 

Verse:  

Lips press down on a cigarette

light another up and you take a breath you

cough and close your eyes and  focus

Climb into the car in the parking lot

Look into the mirror with the same old thought

will anybody even notice

Foot to the floor, and the race is on

Try and get away from a ticking bomb

Drive into the dark before the world it closes (Chorus)

Chorus:

Suddenly Love is, love is just a place

Suddenly love is love is just another word that you cant explain

Love is love is just a face

That you can't erase 

Lost in the riddle of the radio

Heart beat pounds against your throat

Its hard as hell to See the signs  

Flashback  flickers, painful pictures, 

Time is quicker, everytime you wait...for the right..

Time..

And the red light, turns white...You can't stop...

or change your mind...You are caught between 

the faded yellow lines... 

  

Bridge:

Honestly its Hard to breathe,  I see your ghost

Slip into a  memory, cant let go

Honestly Its Hard to breathe breaking glass, the empty street,

the faded past is Out of reach, fear is taking hold

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I tried to use as many cliche's as possible without stepping on the potential of the song. They are bolded above.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and listen to the tune.

"Until next time" "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" "Another day another dollar" "Always look on the bright side of life"...and blah blah blah.

Cheers everyone
North

Strong - SAC Challenge 2014 - Week # 3

Getting out of the box can be a difficult process. We as people are constantly finding ourselves in daily routines. How we wake up, what we wear, the way we brush our teeth, the path we take to work, where we stop for coffee and the words we greet people with...it seems like everything in our lives is a pattern...and breaking that is no easy feat.

This week's song did take a different path that the rest of my other songs in a long while. As most of my songs have extremely simple instrumentation...(acoustic and voice...or piano and voice), I thought it would be good for me to pick up the electric guitar and try my hand at rocking out a little more.

A friend of mine (Jith Paul) is putting together a movie called Clean Slate, and he asked me to write a track for it. I took the inspiration from his story and put this song together. The screenwriter (Paolo Della Malva) has a girl struggling to get up on stage. She is hiding out in the bathroom with her friends and band mates trying to coax her up to perform. Stage Fright...a real thing, as I am sure some of you can probably relate. Putting ourselves out there is not an easy thing, especially if we are singing something that we wrote ourselves. Eyes judge...just a fact of life...but I digress.

So...the song is called Strong.

And seeing how the event takes place in a bar, I went with more Rock than usual approach. I started writing the chorus first this time...normally I let me verses lead me to the chorus. I also built the song up from drums instead of music. Created the beat that I wanted...added in some bass...and then started creating the rest of it off that.

Lyrics normally come first or at the same time as my music...but this time, I waited and recorded the song and created lines over top of it. I did however have some melody in my head as it is near impossible for me to write without some kind of melody hook driving me forward.

Have a listen to the song here.

Tell yourself the fear it helps
The final bells are ringing clear as hell
Its time to get your shit together
its now or never you gotta face

Close your eyes And take a breath
count to ten and do your best to let it go...let it go

Pre:
Everytime you fall behind,
You look inside to find the reason that you wont...back...down..

Chorus:
Oh..you gotta get strong, you gotta get tough
You gotta get better than ever and love
What your gonna do, when you give what you got
to the world in front of you.
Love the life to live it long
To fight the fight...you gotta get strong

Verse 2.

Look into,the simple truth and try and find a way to get it
You gotta take a chance and let it, let it change your point of view

Hit the brakes and count the days, and just forget your last and past mistakes,

Let it go 

Chorus:
Oh..you gotta get strong, you gotta get tough
You gotta get better than ever and love
What your gonna do, when you give what you got
to the world in front of you.
Love the life to live it long
To fight the fight...you gotta get strong

Bridge:
Life is counting all the faces,
all the seconds we've all wasted
Life is counting all the space-

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Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog.

Feel free to comment.

All the best 

North Easton

-never stop writing.

Just Go Out - SAC CHALLENGE 2014 (Week #2)

 If you learn to keep in the shadows, not stare too long, and wear an interesting hat...people watching is a pretty easy thing to do. The interesting hat is so that when people catch you looking at them, they notice the hat first. And when they look back at you, they think you have noticed them looking at your hat...it's pretty much clear sailing after that. I know this from my countless days of being a private detective...well...sitting in front of the T.V. and watching private detectives. In fact, I can say that most of the cool knowledge I have obtained in this world comes from guys like Magnum P.I., Simon and Simon, Remington Steele and Angela Lansbury...yes...i just said Angela Lansbury. This lady was cool. And with all respect to Sir Paul McCartney...him and her kinda look the same (look it up) which brings us back to people watching.

So ten minutes of writing in 5 separate locations can  certainly get the brain moving. I think once you get past the literal and start letting the imagination and senses take over, songs exist around us in everything. The lives of people you don't know can be as fascinating as you would like them to be. Why someone is acting the way they are?...the conversation they could be having with each other? (check out Tina Fey and Steve Carrell in Date Night for more inspiration), the thoughts they could be having in their heads...watching people argue, or reach out for each others hands...a child looking up to a parent hoping for a treat in a store, the reaction the parent gives back...a guy riding his bike in the snow...the smiles and frowns of the people caught in traffic.  It truly can get your brain and heart wrapped up in a bunch of cool scenarios.

For me, I settled on a situation I watched unfold while enjoying a cup of coffee in a local coffee place...(no brand names here without compensation). There was a girl sitting by a fireplace reading a book, the look on her face was not a happy one.

I could not see the title of the book which got me thinking even more. She was near the window and kept looking up from her book to the outside. When I looked around the shop, I could also see a young guy in a suit waiting in line texting on his phone. A common everyday thing I have seen many times. It got me to thinking about these two and the lives that they wish they could escape to. 

And...in true songwriter form...what if their lives connected in another place further down the line?

This is what I came up with.

JUST GO OUT - NORTH EASTON

She sits by the fire, hands on a cup
Face in a book, soaking it up
Cant find the look that somebody took away from her
Eyes on the page, mind in the past
it was a heart break that led to the crash
And its hard not to let the inside change your day

Chorus: So just go out...take a walk
Let the sunshine change your thoughts
Just go out...Stop the clock and run away
Just Go out...and let it go, its time to bre-athe life in nice and slowly
Find another way...just go out today

He waits in a line, fixed on his phone
Talking to someone, while standing alone
Stuck in the same old, tightrope, blindfold...digging for some change
And he's tired of the push, and the feel of the weight
On the inside he's ready to break
And he cant understand why everything stays the same (chorus)

Bridge Life is...waiting..
Try and save it
Dont look away

SHe's under a tree, hands in the grass
Face in the clouds, wind on her back
She looks like a girl who's got the whole world in motion
ANd then he comes along, wearing a smile
She sends it right back with a whole other style
He can tell that the belle has the rest of her life wide open (chorus)

For all my Canadian Songwriting Compadres...keep writing...I am loving what you guys are all doing. It's a blast listening to each of your stories unravel. And for the love of god...STAY WARM.

-North

When you get Knocked Down...you get back up!

THE S.A.C. Songwriting Challenge -Week 1

When the winter months wreak their havoc upon our streets, our skin, our slippery shoes and salt covered cars, what better way to soak in the social scene by starting a weekly quest with a whole slew of creative Canadian Songwriters. 42 days from now, there will be a flood of new songs in the hands of us all, and I have to say...that's pretty damn exciting.



Here is my first song of 6 that I will write in this program followed by my assignment. Feel free to comment.


LYRICS

Have you every been waiting for someone to stop and tell you to come back, 

And just like a car crash, You hold on for your life

Have you ever been holding on to something so close, 

You suddenly let go,Your fingers they said so, And so you said goodbye

Chorus:   When you get knocked down you get back up

                Get dealt a bad hand...you Change your luck

                When you get pushed round you rise above and try again..

                Suffer a setback, you look ahead
                Think of the good things and leave the rest

                Who knows what might come or happen next ...When you try again

Have you ever been hanging around with your hand in your pockets

Whenever you talk its like a rocket hitting everything you face

Have you ever been somewhere alone, like a crowded room standing like stone

And you hit the floor and try not to break (chorus)

Bridge:    Have you ever been Scared in your life 

                Has it ever been too hard to fight

                Have you ever been falling and calling out as if somebody might help

                But there's no one else (chorus)

Titles normally come after the songs I write. I learned early enough that for a commercial purpose, the title should be in the song. But not every song needs to be one that everyone wants to buy...or even recognize by its name. And thanks to Shazam...we can pretty much figure out the title of any song in less than 10 seconds. That being said, 90% of the songs I write now have the title in the chorus...either first line...every line...or last line.

Here are a few I came up with this week.

MY TITLES

Where did all of the good things go

Talking Tables

Long Way Down

One More for the Road

Try Again 

MY OPENING LINES

1. "Where did all of the good things go...disappeared down the long and lonesome road" - this song opens with the chorus in my head. (a song of reflection perhaps, what we miss, what has changed)

2. "Ten thousand conversations with a good friend made of wood" - Talking Tables (this can be written from the tables point of view...or a series of little stories that all add up to the chorus)

3. "Somewhere in some other city, She is sitting on a train waiting for the last day of her life" - Long Way Down (the idea here is again a collection of a couple peoples lives who fall hard)

4. "Pour me one more for the road, Show me a sign that you don't want me to go, talk with your eyes...tell me with your smile...everything is fine...everything is ok." - One More for the Road (a goodbye song)

5. "Have you ever been waiting for someone to stop and tell you to come back" - Try Again (in the times that we get knocked down, we must find a way to get up.)

THEMES

I kinda covered the theme in the little descriptor after each opening lyric. 

As for artists who have inspired me along the way, and of course the rest of this weeks assignment.

INSPIRING TITLES
.

Banana Pancakes - I know this has to be a weird looking choice for an inspirational title, but Jack Johnson captures something here in this odd little pick of language. I am constantly searching for great lyrics and compelling songs in the everyday experiences that we all go through and to be able to make a memorable song with a preposterous title is quite a fantastic feat in my opinion. With a combination of laid back chill feel, some unforgettable lyrics and an underlying relatability to the things we would love to do more often...this song hits home for me and inspires me to write everytime I hear it. 

BANANA PANCAKES - JACK JOHNSON

Bohemian Rhapsody - If you had never heard this song, and you read the title...how could you not be intrigued by what the hell it was about. This song does not follow the structures that most songwriting classes, teachers and books dangle before us. Instead, it is a string of songs intricately woven together in hook after hook. From Opera to rock song, screaming solo's, spot on Harmony and "Mama...just killed a man"...are you kidding me...inspirational from start to glorious finish. Just for fun...have a look at this video to understand the impact this song has on anyone...in any walk of life. 

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY VIDEO - QUEEN

I shot the Sheriff - Who doesn't like Bob Marley. I'm not a die hard fan by any stretch, but song titles that push the boundaries of acceptance, not only inspire me, but get noticed by people even before the needle hits the record. Um...or the finger pushes down the black play button...er...we swipe across our screens and stream an mp3 on some server somewhere. You get my point. Doing this in a tasteful and hooky way is pretty damn impressive in my opinion.

I SHOT THE SHERRIFF - BOB MARLEY

OPENING LINES

.

Don Mclean has one of the most recognizable, greatest songs of all time. American Pie. From start to finish this song encapsulates great writing...but I lead you into a different direction for opening lines.

"The Grave that they dug him had flowers" - Don Mclean

Their is a soul in the singers that I admire. A heartbeat that can be heard in every nuance of each word being sang. Adam Duritz has a feel that gets inside you. Their are not very many people who have not owned or still own the album August and Everything after. His opening line in the song Round Here...gets me every time.

"Step out the front door, like a ghost into the fog where no one notices the contrast of white on white" -Adam Duritz (Counting Crows)

For my third choice of great opening lines, I choose one of the best songwriters alive today. A legend and an enormous amount of recognizable music that paints pictures in your mind whenever his lyrics smack you in the face. The Boxer

"I am just a poor boy tho' my stories seldom told" - Paul Simon

When it comes to themes in songwriting, there are always common ones that come back time and time again. 

Party Songs
Friends and Family

Me against the world
Me against myself

Love, love and more love.

TRACY CHAPMAN 

Here is a woman who has soul in every little finger. Her hit "Fast Car" was a summer song for me when I was just a wee lad. Escaping the everyday.  Her pain can be heard in the lyrics of her songs and in the voice that carries them with. 

Rebellion - "Talking bout a revolution"  

Fear - "Cold Feet"...fantastic. 

Thats it for me this week folks. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, and listen to my song. I look forward to hearing you all. From what I have heard already...there are some pretty talented people in this challenge.

Till next time. All the best...

Cheers
North Easton
www.northeaston.ca

Letting go of the Lapbar

My feet ache as I shift my weight from one leg to the other. I patiently stand there in the hot summer sun, staring at the backs of people heads who are staring at the backs of peoples heads. A lineup, a waiting game for the next ride that will send me soaring up and down, left and right, over and over as my heart battles my voicebox for room in my throat. 60 minutes traded for 2. Seems fair! The climb up the clickety clack tracks, the rush in the final seconds before we inch over the top and scream down the other side. My hands clenching the bar at first, mind racing against the thoughts of peril vs pure adrenaline bliss. Stomach tightens as it swirls back and forth against the force of gravity, eyes watering, cheeks pressed back and a smile carved into my face like words in stone...and then in the blur of peripheral vision, my tightly clenched fingers begin to relax...my eyes open wide as I lift my arms to the sky and truly soak in the roller coaster ride before me. I become one with the speeding cart across the rails and the adventure truly is one I own...forever.

According to Albert, the only source of knowledge is experience. So when I took on the great journey into the mind of Mr. Pat Pattison, (the songwriting guru who walked 63,000 songwriters through the 6 week course offered through Coursera)...I was completely captivated. As a father of 6, a music teacher, and the husband of a wife finishing up law school, I was slightly intimidated by not only the course, but the idea of a weekly blog inspired by the Songwriters Association of Canada. But why not...let the roller-coaster ride begin.

Rusty fingers and tongue tied words fought to keep up with the concepts dangled before us all. The simplicity of Box thinking and the new revelations of all the parts of your song intensifying and strengthening the chorus. A bunch of new friends we made, all asking the questions that help bring the point of the song to the surface.

Diving into the unstable waters of week 2, I happily held my breath and tried to stay under as long as possible. Gathering new tricks of the trade before coming up for air. As an avid movie watcher, I often pull emotions, camera angles, intense situations into my songs, and with Pat holding a cheat sheet up at the spelling Bee...it became so much easier to bridge these two mediums together.

Like most songwriters, I thrive on rhyming. The dance of the language and sound that twists and turns as it burns a picture in the listeners mind. The rhymes they link the words, make us think that what we heard is not only important but real, phrases that make us feel resolve as we solve the story line, the state of mind, the point of view or just something new that no one else has said. I fed on week 3, and got caught up in the free thought of perfect vs family, additive, subtractive, assonance, and consonance and will probably never again write a lyric without the chance to hear it in another way.

The windows into the minds of my fellow songwriters in Canada and beyond was my favourite part of the entire adventure. Reading conversations, reviews, ideas on direction...hearing the doubt shared by others, the hopes, the desire and passion as it came out and seemed to inspire everyone I chatted with. I learned more from you guys, than from Pat himself. I throw my thanks into the ring and if you could see my smile upon reflection of these past weeks...you would know!

I am not the songwriter I was at the beginning of this course. I think most of the other writers would agree with me that we have all changed the way we look at writing, and every day that passes by I personally realize how little I know about everything on this planet...and that kind of excites me for the journey ahead. So let go of the "lapbar" put your hands in the sky and scream.

In closing, and to sum things up with a quote from a very famous Doctor.

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

                                                                        -Dr. Seuss  

One More Reason To Change

What was my expectation of the exploration and the information offered in this free online course?

Inspiration...education...and a combination of dedication and relaxation that would escalate my new creations and provide new foundations that would alleviate previous frustrations of standing still...so with little hesitation...i clicked ok!

And the ride has been everything I hoped so far...

Do you remember these bad boys?

There were over 7000 injuries and 4 deaths reported from these "JARTS" in the 70's and 80's. Launch em skyward and land them in a cheap little yellow ring. Horseshoes for the risk-takers. When the recall came, my family did what any well respected family would do...kept them and tested the boundaries.

The greatest things in our world today have come from exploration. Someone had to cover the ground first, cut through the trees, sail across the water, have an enormous lawn dart pierce right through a bare foot. The early Pioneers of invention and discovery...so chopping through the forest of Pat's videos this week has been a journey well worth taking. The coverage...the insight...the simple complexity of a worksheet to help collect thoughts, rhymes, structure and weight to the lyrical component of a song is brilliant.

If you are anything like me...at one point...songwriting was an absolute artform that could not be touched. The precious product of released creativity had to stay pure in its form. Whatever came out lived on the paper, in the mind and the heart of the song forever...a trophy on a shelf.

For me, it wasn't until 60 songs in..that my thought process in writing started to change. Writing a story about a song I was going to write...and then shrinking it down to a song using only all of the best parts.  Tapping all of the senses to think about an object...What it looked like, smelt like, tasted like, felt like, sounded like....involving Metaphor, Simile, Personification, Alliteration...and what a transformation this compilation of presentation has demonstrated to this writer. I tip my hat to the man and the classmates who have removed some of the wool from my eyes during these late night mornings. With shiny new tools, and a few that needed a little Silvo to bring back to life...I am excited for the days, weeks, months and years ahead, and the new creations that will find their way out of my heart and mind.

Assignment #5.

It all starts with boxes.

BOX 1

The song opens up on a girl running out of a house...late for something. Angry that she is running behind. She hears her own words in her head...guilty conscience...kinda like nails on a chalkboard. She heads in the same direction she always does, down to a bookstore where she frequents...not to buy books, but grab her cup of inspiration...caffeine rush, before she begins the day. She notices the same people, drinking coffee as they always do. Talking softly. This day plays out as it always has...seemingly nothing changes.

Enter Chorus:

One more reason to change, even the same old story needs a different ending.

BOX 2

Location..bus stop. Making small talk with the others waiting for transportation. Faking a smile while in her mind she is screaming out. Everything that happens next...she knows...Everyday is like the rest. She never thought that anything could last forever...but this seems like it is.

Enter Chorus:

One more reason to change, even the same old story needs a different ending.

BOX 3

The breakdown...staring out the window reflecting on a way to make it all change. (the music follows this sadness a little...less instruments more free lyric with soul) When you are tired of playing it out...close your eyes and rewind...Take a look at it all in a different way...and then...come to the realization and resolve...

Final Chorus:

One more reason to change...even the same old story needs a different ending.

_________________________________________________

THE WORKSHEET

Developing the worksheet was an eye opener for sure. The idea of key words being collected and rhymes of all types being searched out while considering the families and theme of the song itself was an excellent way to brainstorm where the song could lead. I put my own spin on Pat's design as there were more words I wanted to use to fully explore the idea of my song. The words I eventually used are all highlighted in blue on the worksheet below.

  If you are still reading my blog at this point...thank you. Here is the recording of this weeks assignment. Had allot of fun with this entire process and truly feel that new doors have opened because of it.


THE RECORDING


LYRICS

verse:

She's in a hurry , Feet through the back door,
Voices they play out like nails on a chalkboard
Following Footsteps, down to the bookstore
Where she opens her mind, turns the pages inside and sees

Everybody, drinking coffee talking softly
Holding on to the same old things
Every morning, just like a tape recording
always the same, nothing will change till ya

Say what you think right now and

Chorus:
One more reason to change,
Even the same old story,
Needs a different ending

verse:
Down at the busstop,
Chewing on small talk
under the smile on her face
She's screaming her head off
She knows whats coming next,
everyday is like the rest
She never thought that anything could every last forever
and it wont till She Sees


Chorus:
One more reason to change,
Even the same old story,
Needs a different ending


Bridge
And when your tired of playing it out
Close your eyes and rewind
Take a look at it all..right...now and find..

Chorus:
One more reason to change,
even the same old story,
Needs a different ending (repeat x6)

________________________________________________________________________________

Thats it for this weeks blog. Thank you for taking the time to have a read. Leave a comment if ya can.


Till next time,

North

Back To School House Rock!

One of my favourite things about writing music has always been the freedom of creation and perspective. What one person says and means a certain way can be seen in a completely different light by another. How I sing a certain word, speak a particular phrase...I mean, who really takes the time to think about how each word inflects upon the others in the sentence? well...Pat Pattison does!

So back to school my brain went...and a further respect to the intricacy of language and the breakdown of how it all comes together. I'm probably not the only one to flashback to my early Saturday Morning Childhood and School House Rock. Hooky songs, with educational messages. (check em out if you get the chance...two of my fav's from the old days...Conjuction Junction and Pronouns...just click the pic)

At the time, I just sat in my chair and sang along, but now...all these years later, I was fascinated by the explanation and more importantly the spotlights created that now seem to make all the sense in the world.

Down to the wire, Race against the Clock, Behind the Eight Ball, Down for the Count, Weight of the World, Under the Strain, Hang on by a Thread, Make or Break, Pressure Cooker, In Over one's Head, The end of One's Rope, The Breaking Point, Under the Gun, Uphill Battle, Running on Empty, Up against it all!!!

These are all expressions that are painted in stress... the moments where we either sink or swim, fight back or fall down...they all hint at something that someone has to accomplish, go through, or endure. And the moment that Pat started talking about Stressed and Unstressed syllables, many of these expressions popped into my mind. I am fully aware that he was speaking of how we say the words in our lyrics and wasn't trying to instill these other thoughts on stress...but in my mind, they are quite closely related.

This course has been an eye opening experience to say the least. I have read many blogs, and listened to more songs in these last 5 weeks than I have in the last year. And every deadline that approaches creates a pressure, or a little stress if you will, to not only get it done, but get it done well. I found myself (like a few others that I have read) cramming once again at the end of a busy week. I have realized not only how to read stressed and unstressed syllables, but also how to gage my own stresses and unstressed moments a little better. Easter Weekend with 6 kids is a journey in itself. I took the time to create many different riddles for my children to solve so they could find each and every treat that was hidden throughout the house. Pulling an all nighter on Saturday night was not only exhausting, but unbelievably fun as I strung ribbon throughout the house for the children to unravel. So what does this have to do with this weeks course?

I completed my assignment in the wee hours of Sunday Night with cloudy eyes, and tired shoulders. Coffee stained breath, cramped fingers and a smile of my face that will not soon go away. I used last weeks song as requested so rather than share that here with those who have already had a listen...I thought it would be more fun to introduce you to my kids and a little song that was written for them. They starred in the video (as they have in quite a few of my projects) and this weekend as the snow pulled back from the grass and roads lay dry and stretched out before us...we climbed on structures, laughed in the wind, and found hidden treats far better than chocolate will ever be.

Till next time

North