Aug 18, 2017
John Rich's Songwriting Tips #82
Obviously, I've been getting a little jaded lately. I mean, Big Kenny and yours truly, the Rhinestone Redneck Playboy, are still putting it down (Check out our latest hit, "California!"), but things have slowed a bit on the songwriting side. Have you seen my name on the credits for many hit singles lately? Nah. I mean, don't get it twisted. I'm still living the pimp life hard, son. I still light my Cubans with twenties. But you know… things are different in the ville.
My newest advice is going to be the hardest I've ever given, because it goes against everything I stand for. Like me or not, you know I work hard, write hard, drink hard, and f… never mind. I don't settle for mediocrity. But here's what I'm telling you, based on the trends I see on Music Row.
Settle for mediocrity. If you normally write songs with wit, depth, story, and emotion, don't do that. If you can sing like Elvis or Etta James, take it down a hundred notches. If you can come up with melodies that would make Paul McCartney swoon, stop that shit. Nobody wants that anymore. They want substandard monotone songs sung by people who couldn't place top 5 in a high school talent competition.
Find a bunch of inspirational posters online and do the opposite of what they say. F**k 110%. Give 55%. Dance like somebody is watching and ridiculing you. When the going gets tough, whine.
Write lyrics like you're in an eighth grade creative writing class and can't think of any synonyms. Just go to a party and describe what you see in one syllable words. "Me drive truck, me drink beer, me tell girl, come right here." That's a hit! Well, it's a hit as long as it sounds exactly like the other songs on the radio.
Don't strive for excellence. Don't try to leave a mark. Get it, fit in, shut up. Yeah, I'm mad. What are you looking at?
*not actually written by John Rich
Album Review: Ray Wylie Hubbard - Tell the Devil I'm Gettin' There As Fast As I Can
by Trailer
Ray Wylie returns with another heavy dose of what he's damn good for. You know the deal: gritty Texas blues, God, the Devil, philosophy, the particulars of being a musician, and lots of stories. "God Looked Around" is a retelling of the Garden of Eden story through Hubbard's trademark filter of wit and candor. The lead single and title track is as close as you'll get to commercial-sounding in RWH's world - it brings together our fearless leader with Eric Church and Lucinda Williams providing support for this world-weary anthem about life, music, and pondering the long, strange trip. "Old Wolf" is a stomping snapshot of a dive bar and its regulars, with Ray giving us his best Warren Zevon howl. My only complaint here is that there's a sameness of sound in general, and across the first half of the album in particular. A little variance in tempo and melody could have brought the record up a notch or two in my book. Still, anything from Ray is hardly unwelcome and he's consistently consistent - a legend by any standard - and Tell the Devil I'm Gettin' There As Fast As I Can gives you exactly what you need, no more, no less.
The album is available everywhere you might imagine.
Tell The Devil I'm Gettin' There As Fast As I Can by Ray Wylie Hubbard from Ray Wylie Hubbard on Vimeo.
Aug 17, 2017
Has Sam Hunt Ever Said He Was Country?
Granted, that's a really vague and non-committal quote from Sam, but whether he claims to be country or not, he does claim to desire a career in country music. Thus, "country singer."
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