Song Writing

I recorded bass lines for two new songs yesterday. I’m hoping that they’ll stick, but you never know. I’m rarely ever satisfied with anything I do in the studio, and song writing has always made me feel vulnerable. There’s a risk to it. It’s not like an instrumental where the only risk is the music. When you attach words and singing to music that’s a whole different ballgame, because, now you’re saying something and words are the most powerful weapons of them all. But, as words are powerful they can also be weak. It’s complex, especially when you add the voice to the equation. I have a hard time listening to my voice. I just want to hide it in the track, and wash it away with reverb. You can hide emotion with reverb. You can drown out any feeling or vulnerability with it.

            The more feeling a song has the riskier it is, and if you singing about love you’re redlining with danger. As luck will have it many of my new songs are about love, so I’m sensitive to the touch. I’m a walking talking contusion  

The Oscars

I lost interest in the Oscars years ago. I blame Rain Man and the Titanic, and to some extent, Meryl Streep.

Generally speaking, the Oscars are uninteresting to me, but I do appreciate the tradition of the event. I like the glitz and the glamour of it. Who can complain about a woman in a dress? But people do, and to some degree the dresses have become more important than the movies.

            I’ve never cared for the politics of Hollywood. I feel sorry for actors having to wade through the barn full of horse crap just to find a job. It doesn’t seem fair at all. I don’t like that Hollywood is too cheap to pay taxes here in Los Angeles, and too cheap to pay their interns the minimum wage. That says something to me. It says cheap. If you’re not poor, please don’t be cheap. I'm cheap, but for poetic reasons.