My facebook horoscope for Jan 1, 2013. I really hope so! I read this as I was working on the wording of my song “Devil” that I wrote last year (Haha last year as in 7 days ago), anyway. You can listen to the opening (sans vocals) here:

Here is the reworked wording of the chorus:

“Yeah I really don’t mind, 
yeah I really don’t mind, 
that you’re not going to heaven 
and we still can be friends”

Well I don’t know if that’s true
but if God thinks just like you (then)
I would rather meet the devil 
In my heart of hearts I know that

Just because my lifestyle
makes you think that I’m vile
doesn’t mean we won’t be neighbors 
in those clouds up in the sky

And all I know to be true
is that the hatred in you, 
makes you nothing but a devil 
in your heart of hearts.

So anyway, this also comes on the same day Fantasia Barrino said something homophobic and used religion to back her up. So at least I know this song will be timely, if nothing else. :)

In addition to looking up song structure, I’ve also been listening to inspirational songs for inspiration for a song I’m writing about inspiration. Yeah, I know.

Lovely. There’s just no other word for it. Here’s the original, which actually is much closer to the kind of stuff I write:

I guess I’m old fashioned. In my songwriting, at least. What the songs are about… are quite different… LOL.

This is more of The Beatles I love. And speaking of quartets I love…

Fun Fact #2: When I list inspirations, Boyz II Men and Tori Amos share the list with Peter Gabriel. Eclectic.

(Shut up, this is a good song. You have to admit the first time you heard it you liked it. It was the 700th time you heard it that you wanted to kill yourself. Also, R Kelly’s wild frantic inspirational fist shaking and 90’s hot wardrobe is enough reason to watch this again.)

I have this fear when I write music that my songs all sound the same, or that the threads that hold them together are too close. I mean, I basically write songs that all can be either classified as “longing” or “melancholy”. The mood never changes in this head of mine. So, as someone who didn’t go to school college for music, I’m doing my own research on alternative song structure.

I always say (to myself) that you really don’t need to go to school to become something in the artistic world (save for things like architecture, where it’s helpful to know how to keep a building from toppling over). I mean, it helps if you went to Julliard— or RISD (Where I went), but sometimes, $120,000 (you heard me, and that was in 2001) is better spent on… not spending that money at all.

Also, I feel like learning song structure is good and all, but writing from the human side is just as important as the theory side. Without one, you’re a poet, and without the other, you’re a mathmetician.

Anyway, onto the inspiration:

Surprisingly, I don’t like this song. But, its one of the first structurally unusual songs in popular music. And I appreciate it’s history.

(Using Jazz components in other genres)

Fun Fact #1: If you google foxy lady, everything but this song does comes up.

(Injecting Soul music into Pop)

This was like, MY FAVORITE SONG growing up. I only recently dissected the lyrics to discover it is all about obscene sexual acts. It’s called “Sledgehammer”, and yet when I would sing it around the house, my extremely conservative parents said nothing. I see you, Peter.

(12 bar blues form)

Where did she go? Release another album already, miss. 

Example of a Through-Composed song. Also, an example of a song that is awesome. This song is kind of their Bohemian Rhapsody, isn’t it? Like… an epic novel of a song? Does that make sense? 

(Because of industrial noises as percussion, and I need more upbeat inspiration)

I don’t remember this scene in the beginning. I’m kind of loving it. Oh, the 80’s.

(Strangeness, frankly. And long songs)

I’m thinking of doing a cover of this. It kind of speaks to the whole gay marriage thing if I sing it. And I like that. Also, the strangest song (also by her, of course) that I’ve ever found beautiful:

Love it. Also, I love this:

And I don’t care what you think about that. LOL. This is a good example of sampling and using Old Hollywood style strings (something I use a lot) and if anyone knows how to perform a sad song, it’s this chick. And she’s releasing an album tomorrow. And yes, I’m excited.

More melancholy. Cancao Do Mar is actually a revival of Fado music, which I looked up, and “In popular belief, fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor, and infused with a characteristic sentiment of resignation, fatefulness and melancholia (loosely captured by the word “saudade”, or longing).”

!!!! 

What did I say the two words that characterize my music are?

How about that Amy Adams! Totally unplanned. 

concept cover for ep

So I like this song sketch I wrote so damn much I finished the lyrics before I fell asleep last night, and they seem coherent enough. I’m moving full steam ahead with laying the instrumental part of it down and I’ll probably record the singing at Golden Sound Studio which is shockingly right in my backyard. Anyway, without further ado:

Foul Play

V1:
If I tell you what I’m thinking,
you won’t like the way
that you look when you realize that
you have painted me in grey
I don’t see only me deserving
as I can’t say the betray
was one sided, glass house broken
we both commit this foul play

V2:
How I disappear like ice on
A sunny summer day,
And I see your sadness changing
Evaporates right away
Cause it’s not two inside misery
It’s happiness as one
I know that once this is spoken
We’ve reached the end of our run

Bridge
My mind won’t stop
each tick on the clock
creates a thought
that I cannot say
[Normal] 

My mind won’t stop
each tick on the clock
creates a thought
that I cannot say
[Singing Round: 8] 

V3:
As we gather up our lives to
Admit and purge decay
I forgive you, please forgive me
Before we go separate ways,
And if I tell you… what I’m thinking, now
You’d feel compelled to stay
I’ll stay silent, like I always do
Committed to this self foul play.

© Joseph Lamour 2012

I think since Foul Play is a new (very new) creation of mine instead of one of the first ones I wrote I would have less difficulty accepting someone telling me it stinks. I don’t think it does, but Nickelback thinks they’re awesome… so you never know. Nevertheless, I’m not exactly writing music for anyone but only to prove to myself I could do something like this and I tried. And that’s one of the big points of doing difficult things you love, right?