Songs written by other people

I was actually thinking about this in the middle of my 'K music' post and I thought it would be something worthwhile to pursue properly. Notice here how much more eloquently I'm writing in comparison to my usual trash, so you know I'm down to argue some real shit right here.

You may or may not know, but I'm pretty critical of pop music, and up until the past couple years I was so against all pop music.

I remember reading an article a number of years ago about a lady who wrote songs hit songs for pop artists and some music producers. And this lady talked about how she wanted to get into the industry but no one would sign her so she was just sticking to writing songs. It just made me so angry that this lady could write these amazing songs and someone else would completely take the credit for it.

I also had this misconception that all pop was manufactured shit, but I just got over that and realised that it was just another genre of music. Since then I've sort of embraced it and if I like a pop song, I like it, simple as that.

But there's basically one other underlying factor, apart from the music obviously, that I think affects my music taste and that's artist input.

For me when I find out that a musician has some input into the music they're representing, it's a huge tick in my book and automatically results in respect for that artist regardless whether or not I like their music or not. So of course I'm drawn to musicians who are super talented.

As I was writing the 'K music' post I was thinking maybe the reason why I seem to have this inclining towards 'self-written' music is the music is more real. Real is probably not the best word to use, so maybe genuine. Genuine because the music in response to someone's experiences and emotions.

When someone sits down and writes a song it's a totally organic process where someone is expressing themselves and their experiences through music and lyrics. While not always the case, there are a heap of songs that are inspired by the things the writers have gone through and so the songs are deeply personal.

This is a really important part because for me music isn't just something to just have on in the background. It sounds pretty silly, but it's part of the way I react and make sense of things and so songs that affect me emotionally I'm deeply connected to.

So when you listen to these songs you can just hear the pain or happiness in the music and it's so much easier for the audience to connect emotionally with the music because the audience can link the music to their own experiences and emotions.

For me there is a point of difference between your average manufactured love song and a love song written by a singer-songwriter. I'm not saying that the writers of these songs aren't writing from their personal experience but it's their job to write hits and I think that there is a certain formula to the process.  But there is an individuality of the song since no one can go through the exact experiences of the songs writer.

So when someone shares their experiences through music I think it's a privilege and I will end by saying thanks to the wonderful musicians in this world for so openly sharing their lives with us all.