I don’t need to tell you this, but I will anyway: I need constraints against infinity. Given the time, a song of mine never has to end. There’s always a new segment, a new bass line, a new idea or vibe I can tangent-tack onto what you thought would be the merciful end. No one is more sick of my habit of too-much than I am, trust.
(The ‘h’ key on my keyboard is sticking.)
So one day I quickly swyped some personal ‘rules’ into my phone while not-showering in the shower—it’s called Recreational Fully Nude Standing, don’t look it up because I just invented it. These aren’t rules for interesting work, exactly. They’re not rules relating to quality at all. I just need to fuckin’ finish things so I no longer have to overthink about them.
(Oh, now it’s the ‘e’ key!)
In a way, it’s a form of regret, or nostalgia (the not-good kind), all this obsessing over an image, a line of dialogue, what that song could have been if only and on and on…that began so far in the past, where it should probably stay. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve driven home lost in a memory, ruminating about a would-be masterpiece I wrote ten minutes out of my mother’s womb, only to find I’m actually still parked at Erewhon, which I had mistaken for the post office because I can’t let shit go! Stop living in the past!
Here are some rules for myself to be followed as closely as possible:
1/ if a familiar, catchy option exists, choose it. it’s ok if it’s obvious/unearned
2/ songs should to be under 5 minutes, preferably under 4
3/ chord progressions should be as simple and repetitive as possible with few variations. it’s enough.
4/ do not attempt to show off how clever/talented you are or how many chord changes and segments you can cram into one song
5/ consider the listener and how the song could alter their emotional state or current physical space. simply making them feel ‘cool’ is a valid goal.
6/ for that matter, actively write to and for the audience. the audience can be a demographic, a mortal enemy you seek to destroy subliminally, or just Todd the squirrel who frequents my backyard everyday and bit me one time and I got so freaked I went to urgent care and they laughed me out the room.
7/ everything in service of the song. the song is the be-all end-all. what is actually good for the song?
8/ the first idea is often the best idea, don’t go further
9/ write actual choruses!
10/ simplify down to what Kubrick called ‘non-submersible units’: only what is absolutely necessary to enjoy the thing. write an actual song someone not-you will want to hear again and again!
Hopefully this forces me to quickly discard errant ideas that fly into my head, even if they’re dope as heck ideas. There’s just no time in a life in 2022 to not ship. I mean, really, who cares about anything. This, however, does not address the issue of motivation, or lack of it.
Was this incoherent? It’s not really applicable to you. And that’s cool, get your own damn rules.
(The ‘l’ and ‘p’ keys on my laptop popped out so that means I’m finished.)
So are you saying you wrote a song about the time Todd bit you despite all the gumes you gave him?