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Curious Question
We are living in tough times. Corona. Riots. Haters. Statues are coming down. Sex abuse in the catholic church, and others I'm sure. And so many other problems in peoples lives. Drug addiction. Depression. On and on.....
Jackson Browne wrote about nukes. No Nukes album. Bob Dylan.... The Times They Are A Changing. Richie Havens.... Freedom. And many, many others. Who here is writing originals about these tough times all across the globe.?? And here at home, in America. As I go down my list of 22 originals I find 6 that I named because of the times we were in, at that time. I only play original instrumentals. I sometimes write lyrics but I have only 2 with guitar parts. The names of those 6 tunes are.... Katrina.(2005) Domestic Violence.(2007) Otto.(2017) Shield.(2017) Deep State.(2019) Riot.(2020) Anyone else out there that sometimes takes this approach to your playing/song writing.??
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Play it Pretty Last edited by Kerbie; 07-17-2020 at 02:57 PM. Reason: Removed topic. |
#2
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As far as Big time artists---
There are many protest songs showing up on You Tube by some fantastic artists. Molly Tuttle has new music that is not bluegrass/country; Ice-T has some biting rhymes, etc. You just can't hear anything worthwhile on commercial radio. Dylan, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, James Taylor have new music but "the Man" seems to control the airwaves and there are no record stores to go to. |
#3
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There you go.
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Resources for nylon-string guitarists. New soleá falseta collection: http://www.canteytoque.es/falsetacollectionNew_i.htm |
#4
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I don't write social/political/protest songs, but forty years ago (mid 1980's) I wrote a couple:
1. The Nuclear Storm 2. Modern Man |
#5
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Both of my last two songs were of that nature;
-Let's Stay Apart Together:A COVID-19 Waltz -Tulsa, Trump, and Testing Back when I wrote on a more regular basis, I rarely played in the 'topical' sandbox, but both of these arose from ideas that nagged and poked at me until I wrote them down and recorded them in order to get them out of my system. Perhaps if I had been busier with other things and the news wasn't so repetitive given the current situation, they would have just faded from my mind on their own.
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Jim Regan (and/or, The Headless Folkie) Seagull 25th Mahogany and Spruce Yamaha Silent Guitar SLG200S |
#6
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Quote:
I think that songs that come from real world situations often kind of write themselves. I also compose tunes, and those usually come from a more personal level, since it's usually an emotion or feeling that frames the tune, rather than the story that develops in a song. Two of my songs that resulted directly from world events: Bernie Made Off With The Money" "The Tale Of Stormy Monday" |
#7
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OP here reporting back. Interesting replies and I found this out.... I'm not alone. I like seeing the titles. Thanks everyone.
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Play it Pretty |
#8
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I wrote several songs during these crazy times. Songwriting has replaced social media for me. I don't play these outside of my own home for not wanting to offend anyone.
Impeachment Blues Angry Man Welfare Queen |
#9
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Interesting...and appropriate question.
I hope I am influenced by what goes on around me, and am inspired to appreciate, record, and share my thoughts. I am an instrumentalist only so what I communicate is all about perspective... I wrote this on 9/11/01. Ugh. What a day. Yes these are the times we live in and hope I can accept the things I cannot change. I have Hope! D P.S. The Dali Lama said about Covid 19. (sic) "If there can be a cure, there is nothing to worry about. If it cannot be cured, there is nothing to worry about." |
#10
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Hi, folks. While we encourage creativity on the AGF, please be mindful that topics like politics, even in song titles, can lead to more flammable posts.
Thanks in advance.
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LarryK. AGF Moderator |
#11
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Kind of a related, but a thread ‘aside’,... I was at a Bill Frisell show in Chicago many years ago, and the US and allies had just invaded Iraq. As he was going to do an encore, Frisell went to the mic on stage and said, “we’d like to do a protest song.”
The band then played Burt Bacharach’s ‘What the World Needs Now Is Love‘. He played it again the other day -
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Martin 000-15SM Martin OM-18 Thinline Partscaster Fender American Standard Stratocaster Gretsch G6120T-1960 |
#12
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I've always loved Bill Frisell, and that's just another reason.
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"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen. |
#13
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I have written a few topical songs and my notion of them is that many are what i call "throwaways". After the subject is no longer current, no one much wants to hear them. The best have themes which are enduring.
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The Bard Rocks Fay OM Sinker Redwood/Tiger Myrtle Sexauer L00 Adk/Magnolia For Sale Hatcher Jumbo Bearclaw/"Bacon" Padauk Goodall Jumbo POC/flamed Mahogany Appollonio 12 POC/Myrtle MJ Franks Resonator, all Australian Blackwood Goodman J45 Lutz/fiddleback Mahogany Blackbird "Lucky 13" - carbon fiber '31 National Duolian + many other stringed instruments. |
#14
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For me the true test of good songwriting (even if about specific event, or point in time) is being timeless
Dylans "The Times They Are A-Changing" being a good example It's almost scary and depressing how current and profound Still's "For What It's Worth" Is................... This is an original I wrote , not a protest per se, more a simple observation about human perspective, with the chorus lyric "Or to justify the means " being unfortunately, still current
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Enjoy the Journey.... Kev... KevWind at Soundcloud KevWind at YouYube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...EZxkPKyieOTgRD System : Studio system Avid Carbon interface , PT Ultimate 2023.12 -Mid 2020 iMac 27" 3.8GHz 8-core i7 10th Gen ,, Ventura 13.2.1 Mobile MBP M1 Pro , PT Ultimate 2023.12 Ventura 12.2.1 |
#15
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My instrumental, "A Hymn for Change" from April '20 is related to the COVID-19 virus. I think that's the first one I've done which relates to current world affairs.
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1993 Bourgeois JOM 1967 Martin D12-20 2007 Vines Artisan 2014 Doerr Legacy 2013 Bamburg FSC- 2002 Flammang 000 12 fret 2000 McCollum Grand Auditorium ______________________________ Soundcloud Spotify Mike McKee/Fred Bartlett Spotify playlist |