Key Of Grey

Photo courtesy of Steven Snodgrass

February 14th, 2010 – So it looks like I won’t be completing the RPM Challenge. This is not to say that I won’t be finishing a solo album any time soon, but at this point, it is unrealistic to expect that I’ll be able to do it. With that in mind, I’ve turned my attention to orchestrating the release of a four song EP for a friend.

He’s never released anything and, in fact, I am one of the few who’s ever heard his music. There are always concerns with such personal material that the music won’t be received well. No matter how much you tell yourself that you don’t care what haters say, it still puts a knot in your throat.

I am of the opinion, and feel free to disagree with me, that there are no bad songs. Sure, there’s bad production, bad arrangement, but songs themselves can’t be bad. You cannot say, “This song sucks!”. You can only say, “I like this song” or “I don’t like this song”.

Music has a very specific purpose: to communicate. As with all communication, sometimes it’s well received and sometimes it’s not. If the song resonates with others, then it is a good song. If the song resonates with no one but yourself, then it is also a good song. So unless the song is flippantly created, without regard to what you or someone else might find important, then it cannot be bad. I can’t think of any songs like that off the top of my head.

So what of music that is solely written to make money? Well, if your goal is to write a song that will catch on, then you will be especially concerned with connecting with people. There doesn’t necessarily have to be an important message; even the cheesiest Britney Spears song makes someone want to dance, or sing along. Lady Gaga’s songs resonates with a lot of people, even if many people who visit this site don’t like her music.

It’s not a new thing necessarily that people have thought that their opinion should also be unequivocally shared by everyone else. I’m pretty sure “Damn you kids and your [insert genre here] music. In my day real music was [insert genre here] and you could get it for [insert currency here]” has been heard since the beginning of organized sound. Oh you like T-Pain? Then you don’t know what good music is; or more accurately, you like bad music. Get off your high horse! People like it; it works for them. You are free to dislike it just as they are free to like it.

Don’t get me wrong, I dislike a lot of music and not just because it’s poorly put together, but because I don’t like the song. That being said, I do not feel the need to crap on the song just because it’s not my thing. The song does not suck, it simply does not work for me. I wish others could get over themselves enough to realize the same thing.