G’day g’day!

This songwriting sesh focuses on a song I have started writing called “35”.  Back in June, I turned the big ol’ 35…when I first started writing this song it was at the end of 2017, and I was in a great space and hoping that by the time I turned 35 things would be even better, hence the positive lyrics.  It’s fair to say that the week I turned 35 was one of the worst times in my life haha.  It was a terrible week, especially my actual birthday (grrrr I hate it when reality WOBBLES in), however thankfully my actual birthday party was the saving grace.  But anyway, things have gotten better (I no longer work there…that should be enough of a hint haha) and the words I started writing began to resonate again.  I hope to finish this song asap because I truly love the melody and the positivity, and I also love the way I sing it.

Hey hey music buffs!

I was thinking the other day, I’m very precious about artists doing a cover version of a song – especially if it’s a song I truly love.  Some songs are just “untouchable” – try as you might, you just can’t outperform the original.  I mean, I guess that should never be the aim anyway…paying tribute to a song by way of a cover is the highest form of flattery, musically speaking.  While I could compile a list of cover versions that fell way off the mark compared to the original versions, how about when a cover version is actually better than the original?

There’s one cover version in particular that I feel took a great song and made it not only greater, but transcended it and made it into a completely brand new song.  The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends” was the second track on their landmark album “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, released in 1967, featuring Ringo Starr on vocals singing along to a very upbeat and toe-tapping song about getting “high with a little help from my friends”.  A great song.  But a year later, English soul crooner Joe Cocker decided to radically re-work the song into a soulful, bluesy stormer, transforming it into something even more special than it was.  This version became known decades later as the theme song to much loved TV show “The Wonder Years”, gaining more fans.  The cover version was so good that the song itself was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2001.

Have a listen to both the original and Cocker’s version:

Hey music fans!

Ah, the wonderful Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott.  She, along with her producer Timbaland, were an innovative partnership.  The amount of songs that they wrote together for Missy’s career, as well as artists such as Aaliyah and Destiny’s Child, were all cool yet weird productions.  Songs like “Get Ur Freak On”, “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” and “She’s A Bitch” were ahead of their time.  Their most successful (and best) collaboration would have to be the classic “Work It”.  Released in 2002 as the first single from the album “Under Construction”, “Work It” was a retro-sounding yet innovative gem, fusing elements such as a sample from Blondie’s “Heart Of Glass”, reversed vocals and the sound of an elephant together to create a floor-filler of the highest (and cheeky) variety.

But the weirdness was only outmatched by the insanely weird video.  Directed by Elliott’s long-time collaborator Dave Meyers, it begins with Missy being dragged into a deserted playground and only gets weirder (and more amazing) from there.  There are scenes with Missy’s face being covered with bees interspersed with Missy swallowing a fancy car whole, and Missy leaning sideways to an approaching car a la Michael Jackson’s famous lean in the “Smooth Criminal” video.  And who could forget Elliott’s head being superimposed on a little boy sitting in a corner wearing a Dunce hat?  As you do.  In amongst all of this organised chaos are two tributes – one to recently deceased R&B/hip-hop stars Aaliyah and Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, and another to the American troops in a show of patriotism post-9/11.

Have a watch of the craziness (ie. awesomeness) below:

‘Sup music fans?

If you haven’t seen “A Star Is Born” yet, please try and catch it before it leaves the cinemas!  There has been a lot of hype for the Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga film, but in this case DO believe the hype!!  Both are incredible in it, and to further underline how impressive he is, Bradley Cooper directed the damn thing too!  It’s getting Oscar buzz and I don’t think anyone will be surprised if it sweeps the Academy Awards in 2019.

The real revelation was Lady Gaga and her acting abilities though.  I was skeptical at first viewing, despite being a Gaga fan.  The second time I watched it, however, I was truly blown away.  And then, there’s the music…you may have heard the worldwide hit “Shallow” by Cooper & Gaga from the film (what a song!).  Another track from the soundtrack and film is “Always Remember Us This Way”, a country-tinged piano ballad that Gaga sings with conviction.  So many people have come back from watching this film and have been surprised with just how great a singer Lady Gaga is.  Her fans will know that she’s always been this talented, as evident in ballads such as “Speechless” and “You & I”.

Anyway, have a listen to “Always Remember Us This Way” and watch it follow “Shallow” up the charts!

Hello again music lovers!

With the release of British band Muse’s latest album, “Simulation Theory”, I’ve been re-listening to (amazing) back catalogue.  I first got into Muse back in 2006 after reading a review of their album “Black Holes & Revelations” by my favourite reviewer.  The description of the songs and music spurred me on to listen to the album, and I was hooked!  In particular, the song “Starlight” resonated with me…and remains my favourite Muse song.  Just the passion, the weirdness of it, and of course THAT falsetto combines to make such a memorable song!  Have a watch of “Starlight” below:

Hey music fans,

The next songwriting sesh I’m gonna write about is a song I wrote called “Some Day You’ll Be Free”.  A dear friend of mine has been going through quite an ordeal over many years, and this year things started to get really bad again.  They were not in a good place, and the look of resignation and helplessness on their face was something I would never wish on anyone.  I felt inspired to start writing a song for them, to express their frustration but also to provide hope and encouragement that they would get through this battle just like the previous ones and come out on top.

I have a melody for it, and I’ve decided it’s going to be an acoustic piano affair.  The chorus I’m still a bit iffy on but I at least have a structure in place.  Let me know what you think of what I have so far 🙂

G’day music fans,

Now, have you ever listened to a song, played the absolute crap out of it, loved it immensely, and played it multiple times after that, and then have someone tell you – “you do know that this a cover of another song, don’t you?!” Whaaaaaatt?!?

Here you are, in your music bubble, thinking that this amazing song by this amazing artist was either written by them or for them, but then you realise that IT’S NOT THEIR ORIGINAL WORK!  You almost feel a betrayed that they led you to believe it was originally sung by them haha!  But when that insanity passes, you realise A GOOD SONG IS A GOOD SONG 😀

Here a couple of songs you probably didn’t know were cover versions of other songs!

“Torn” – Natalie Imbruglia

In 1997 Natalie Imbruglia released one of the best pop songs ever recorded, “Torn”.  However, did you know that “Torn” is a cover of alternative rock band Ednaswap’s song of the same name?  In fact, the song was first recorded in Danish in 1993 by Danish singer Lis Sørensen.  Anyway, Ednaswap’s version is definitely much more in the alternative realm, with heavier riffs and less acoustic guitar than Imbruglia’s.  Have a listen:

“Ray Of Light” – Madonna

Remember when Madonna released the track “Ray Of Light” in 1998 and how innovative it was?  As awesome as that was (and still is), did you know that it is a cover of a 1971 folk song by band Curtiss Maldoon?  The song is called “Sepheryn”, and while Madonna added extra lyrics to it, the verses and chorus are pretty much the same as “Ray Of Light”.  Same song but two completely different vibes!

Hey music fans,

I was privileged enough to go to the recent RnB Fridays Live concert in Melbourne, at Marvel Stadium.  There were several acts on the bill, including Eve, Estelle, Ginuwine, Trey Songz and Salt N Pepa.  The undoubted headliner, however, was R&B superstar Usher, and he did not disappoint.

Having been a fan of Usher for many years, I was really looking forward to seeing a spectacular show, and man did he bring it!  Usher’s always been known as a performer whose dancing abilities were in the vein of Michael Jackson’s, but it is his vocals that have always set him apart.  Both talents were on full display that night!

He ran through all of his hits seamlessly (“U Remind Me”, “Caught Up”, “Confessions Part 2”, “U Don’t Have To Call”) while showcasing his impressive dance moves.  And there was no question of lip-syncing as his vocals were very much live and spot on.  Max Martin produced “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love” was mashed up effortlessly with MJ’s “Billie Jean” while Usher served some serious MJ moves.  Early hits “You Make Me Wanna…” and “My Way” were also included, proving that while Usher has come a long way, he always had killer material.

Usher is, of course, known for catering to “the ladies” and he didn’t disappoint, performing slow burners “U Got It Bad”, “Burn” and “Nice & Slow”, in which he got seriously freaky with a microphone stand (cue ladies screams).  The Diplo helmed “Climax” was extremely impressive, Usher flawlessly navigating the falsettos and booming verses with ease, while “OMG” was a crowd pleaser.  Not as much as the absolute classic “Yeah”, with added Lil’ Jon (who also served as a support act), which went down an absolute treat and will be a floor filler for decades to come.  He closed the set with a Lil’ Jon remix of David Guetta produced “Without You”, which showcased his amazing vocals over a moody backing before morphing into the club banger that it is.

Overall, Usher was extremely impressive both with his stage presence and vocals, and flawlessly showcased his sprawling array of hits.

Hey again music buffs!

What are your thoughts on sampling in songs?  I’m all for it myself.  As much as I’d love for every single song to be an original idea, the truth of the matter is that all songs written these days are indebted to at least one song that has come before.  With the amount of music that we have access to, whether it be on the radio, streaming services or our own music collections, songs and melodies are bound to get lodged in your brain whether knowingly or otherwise.

For a songwriter, apart from our own personal experiences, we draw from our own music inspirations too.  There’s been a few times when I have written a song, and a particular melody comes to me and I think it’s a melody I have come up with.   Upon further inspection, the melody belongs to another song – even just a couple of notes.  While a situation like this can be a bit of a bummer as I’d love to be able to say that a particular song I’ve written is my very own work, I’m also one to openly acknowledge and credit a song that has clearly influenced a song I’ve written.

Sampling is in a similar vein.  To sample a song means to incorporate elements of a previously released song into a brand new composition.  It is very commonplace these days for new songs to contain a sample.  Sometimes the sample is subtle, like a couple of notes or words, while other times a song uses a big part of another song, for example the chorus or a reinterpretation of a chorus, to enhance the new recording.  When sampling, it is important to get clearance from the original recording you are sampling from as you will otherwise be infringing on the author’s copyright.

A recent example of sampling is Drake’s 2018 song “Nice For What”.  It contains a sample of “Ex-Factor” by Lauryn Hill, in particular the bridge of that song.  It basically loops a part of “Ex-Factor”, which is sped up, over and over to create a backdrop and mood for “Nice For What” and enhances the song.  The Drake track, a high tempo hip-hop song, sounds nothing like Lauryn’s song, which is a soulful R&B mid-tempo track, but the use of the sample adds a warmth to Drake’s song that makes it even more effective.  Listen to the 2 songs below and tell me your thoughts on the use of the sample!

Hey music lovers!

Time for a retro review!  Today we’ll put the spotlight on the 2004 release by Kelly Clarkson, “Since U Been Gone”.

By 2004 Kelly Clarkson had already achieved a lot – 2 years earlier she was the first winner of talent show American Idol, had released a successful debut album with a worldwide hit in “Miss Independent”, and kicked off the year with “Breakaway”, a pop/rock gem penned by Avril Lavigne that was included on the soundtrack for “The Princess Diaries 2”. As much as Clarkson had achieved, up until this point she still couldn’t quite shake the “former Idol winner” tag.  Enter “Since U Been Gone”.

Pop genius Max Martin had enormous success in the late 90s/early 2000s writing songs for teen pop acts such as The Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and ‘NSYNC, but the musical landscape began to change and so the teen pop era had started to run its course.  Even “Since U Been Gone”, co-written with Dr. Luke, started out as a more pop sounding affair and was offered to the likes of Hilary Duff, who eventually had to turn it down due to not being able to reach the high notes.

The song was eventually offered to Kelly Clarkson, whose idea it was to turn up the guitars and drums.  It proved to be what the song needed – “Since U Been Gone” is a masterclass in the art of pop music.  From the opening guitar chords, to the rockin’ beats, Martin was able to adapt to the changing musical landscape to pioneer a new pop/rock sound that would change the face of pop music – inspiring the likes of Katy Perry and Pink.  “Since U Been Gone” has shades of 80s legends Blondie and Pat Benatar in its DNA, and a knowing nod to the 2000s band The Yeah Yeah Yeahs (the rockin’ guitar solo in the bridge is almost a note for note copy of the solo in their hit “Maps”).  Indeed, Dr. Luke played “Maps” to Martin for inspiration.

However, it is Clarkson’s incredible vocal performance that steers the song to even greater heights.  Very few of her contemporaries could belt out the soaring chorus like she does, and boy does she sing the hell out of it.  “Since U Been Gone” was a worldwide hit, and became the true blueprint for Clarkson’s career.