The lost art of making great lyrics...

When it comes to music, I feel like Roland Deschain, the lone Gunslinger character, from the Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series.

Only armed with two old Smith Wesson guns and with a crow as a companion...

Why I decided to put a picture of Roland as this post's main one?

Today I was talking with a good friend of mine who happens to be the bass player of my band (I cannot reveal details about it at the moment. What can I tell is that we would kick a lot of sleepy and artsy asses in my country, then South America, then the World, HA! - See, my ambitions are quite wild).

Anyway what we were talking, yeah. We were talking about the lost art of making lyrics. Like thousands of times before... ha! I admire this fella for having the patience to hear me discuss and give a million reasons why modern music and Indie rock suck! (In my own opinion, sorry if I offend anyone with it).

So lyrics...

I'm a guy who's into music for the music. Believe it or not, I'm eager to find if there's someone OUT THERE who still makes good music, I mean fellas who are contemporaries of my age... Except for a few exceptions (One of them Bat for Lashes) I always end up frustrated after my "Seeking" task, because it seems NO ONE wants to make good music anymore, and lyrics as well.

And I say this from the deepest end of my heart, it's quite sad!

- Once again I say, this is my point of view, if you think that modern rock music, is up to you. -

When someone mentions that X band or musician "rules so much", I always go skeptical. I mean, I go out, find the music and hear it and see if it's good or not for my ears. We all not have the same thoughts structure, after all, but there's one thing musicians seem to forget nowadays: MUSIC, or any art form have a deep message within.

My question, with capitol letters is :

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THE MESSAGE MUSICIANS ARE TRYING TO DELIVER NOWADAYS?"

Let me get started...

  

Let's start with someone who's a master of symbols in lyrics. A man called "Legend". That guy is Bob Dylan. Deeply influenced by beatnik writers such as Allen Ginsgberg, Bob had an amazing display of lyrics. All of them were either way too much straightforward, or way too much symbolic. He's considered a master among us musicians and fans worldwide.

Let's check one of his songs, called "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll".

But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Take the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears. 

A song charged with a deep, social message... 

Now, when I've been told there's many good new singer-songwriters, people have told me to listen this fella called Sufjan Stevens. I have no clue if he's related to the late-great Cat Stevens, but after what I've heard, it's just "happy chilly" music. I've got nothing against being happy by the way, but my point is, how can you be happy in a world that is somehow fucked up? To me is like, lying. 

Once again, this is my personal opinion. And I'm sharing it to you...

Twenty-seven people, even more
They were boys with their cars, summer jobs
Oh my God 

Seriously, man. I thought the idea behind this music was awesome but, honestly the lyrics (In paragraphs like the one I posted) and this fella's voice are way too "cheesy" and that's when I ask "Where's the catch, Lou?!"

I guess I'm getting old!

I'm not saying that lyrics have to be like a cryptic writing. All I say is "Have some real feeling in there!". Just now I'm talking with my friend again, and paraphrasing another friend's thoughts (He happens to be a writer, a really good one) I told him "Life ain't a happy journey, it's a rough trip where only the brave go along with it". 

I see stability and calmness as trouble. I'm not a trouble maker or something, but I cannot stand the state of alienation that my young counterparts are going through their whole life! 

Cat Stevens, one great musician I recently came across recently, kind of describes what we humans are going through our whole life, in a constant basis: Trouble.

Trouble 

Oh trouble move from me 

I have paid my debt 

Now won't you leave me in my misery  

That's what I call lyrics with feeling, with sense of reality, of present.

I found the other day that someone called James Blunt the Cat Stevens of our times. I laughed my ass off.

Saw the world turning in my sheets and once again I cannot sleep.

Walk out the door and up the street; look at the stars beneath my feet.

Remember rights that I did wrong, so here I go.

C'mon? If your woman doesn't love you, then why the heck you sing it in a happy mood?!

This guy wishes he was Cat Stevens! I must admit though, his voice is quite similar. But that's it.

So far, new artists are ripping off, in a very terrible way the masters. 

What 'bout the artists who use image as a device for the message? Let's say, Peter Gabriel while on Genesis, David Bowie while portraying Ziggy Stardust.

Let's pick David. While he performed as Ziggy Stardust, he embodied some kind of mesianic personna. A rock n' roll hero who came from another planet, with his band The Spiders from Mars. Damn, this is when David really started to cook! (I mean, when he started to rise and find his voice in music). 

I think if it's possible to define the word "Imagination" with a person, that would be David Bowie.

Making love with his ego, Ziggy sucked up into his mind

Like a Lepper messiah... When the kids had killed the man... 

I had to break up the band

Nasty song isn't it?!

I've been told countless of times that one of our current top artists, who runs by the name of Lady Gaga, is just as talented as Bowie, greatly influenced by Queen and Elton John.


With all due respect, I say: BULLSHIT.

I must admit she knows how to draw attention to her personna. And she does it in almost a natural way but, what's the message of her music? I don't see any. Just an ode of words to the disco life... Oh , "YAY".

In fact, I actually believe her music reflect the state of alienation and lack of focus of my generation with this statement: RAMARAMARAMARAMA...

And I say: BULLSHIT! I refuse to accept that, but that's just me, once again...

Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah!

Roma Roma ahah ah!

Ga-ga-ooh-la-la! 

Can you tell me WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?! That's NOTHING! 

And, That's called talent in this times, ladies and gentleman...

- I just remember I had a huge argument with a very beautiful lady I happened to like 'cause of this woman, boy some things never change... -

The lyric thing goes through all genres, in progressive rock, in metal, in grunge, in the "so called" modern rock & indie rock. I'll finish making an overview of these things...

In metal, back in the 1970's there were 2 pivotal bands that helped define the genre: Black Sabbath and Judas Priest. 

Let's start with Sabbath. The idea behind the Sabbath lyrics, in both Ozzy and Dio periods of time, was to deliver the most darkest lyrics ever in music. The genius behind the lyrics was no one else than Mr. Geezer Butler, the bass player of Sabbath who also, came up with the band name.

Big black shape with eyes of fire 

Telling people their desire

Satan's sitting there, he's smiling

 Watches those flames get higher and higher...  

Oh no, no, please God help me! 

-       Evil imagery turned into art. That's what I call classy! 

Judas Priest, on the other hand, has a very wide range of lyrics, from the ones that are somehow introspective, and the ones that capture a concept, like their latest release, named "Nostradamus", honoring Michel de Nostradamus, the famous french clairvoyant.

Bringing the future, to all mankind

Guider of life, of death The sight of the blind

Rob Halford takes seriously the role of Michel de Nostradamus in this song. 

Even in the 90's rock, with the arise of trash metal bands like Metallica, Pantera, Sepultura, and Slayer you could see how lyrics were developing, as it is supposed to be. Develop instead of going backwards! All of them, influenced in one way or another by these two seminal bands.

But, after the mid 90's, everything somehow ended abruptly, with the death of the late great grunge singer, Kurt Cobain. I see it somehow like a symbol, like the death of the great music... not because of him, but because after his death, bands that came up after his death (With notable exceptions such as Velvet Revolver), started goin' in the wrong direction. Just noise, endless showing off, and a bunch of pure shit.

Now, when you take modern metal bands, the first question that comes to my head is : WHERE'S THE BALLS!? < Quoting Mr. Henry Rollins here >

Why are these guys ripping off Tool ?! 

Talking of Rip Offs, this one goes for all Mars Volta fans out there. I must admit, I liked their music long ago but, once I realised how much they ripped off King Crimson, man, what a deception. I guess it's sad to make a career ripping off someone else's. But anyway...

King Crimson, for God's sake if you haven't heard 'em, what the fuck are you waiting for?! 

Death seed blind man's greed 

Poets' starving children bleed 

Nothing he's got he really needs 

Twenty first century schizoid man. 

-       I guess Peter Sinfield, the Crimson's lyricist in this album, somehow was looking the future!

Now, any similarities of the previous track are bloody obvious. The sad thing is that Omar Rodríguez Lopez gets more kudos than Mr. Robert Fripp, the man who has been ripped off by this fella...

Anyway once again, I state this is my opinion. I have nothing against The Mars Volta, but I cannot stand  the fact  they've took King Crimson's place...

You locked the cuffs , Arsenic erupts

Will you drink the shadow , Of my red hair

My friends, my question is: When does art trascends the barrier between rebellion and pretentiousness... to the point it ridiculizes itself?

I'm sorry, but I happen to not like this thing... at all. And it saddens me that King Crimson remains unknown...

To finish this long post- I bet some of you would be like "Shit, this guy wrote a huge rant! - I'd like to discuss the lyrics in the so called indie rock. 

When I listen the word "Indie Rock" I go like ... "Yeah, Right"...

I'm not a guy who's stuck with old school music but, what can you do when all the great music I happen to like was written long before I was born, or while I still was a kid? Anyway...

I have this motherfucking twisted thing. When someone mentions a band or some artist that "Rules" according to them, I just google the artist, find any song of the artist, and hear it. 99% of the times I ended up like "And this is what is called good?" Yes, I know it sounds so completely hard, but I cannot stand the fact that music, and lyrics have changed in a poor way, instead of going forward we're going backwards!

I mean, have you listened to Pink Floyd? To Neil Young? To Elton John?! To Leonard Cohen?! To Paul Mc. Cartney?! To John Lennon!? Shit, for me it's hard to believe that no one has a thing to say, just like these guys did in their time! They delivered their music with so much ellegance and in a very symbolic way, to me it's hard to believe we humans have run out of ideas for music!

Green is the colour of her kind

Quickness of the eye deceives the mind

Many is the bond between the hopeful and the damned 

Well, all those people, they think they got it made

But I wouldn't buy, sell, borrow or trade

Anything I have to be like one of them.

I'd rather start all over again

- Clever words of Neil, I guess he was speaking for people out there who felt / feel just like the Gunslinger... -

What do I do to make you want me?

 What I got to do to be heard?

What do I say when it's all over?

Sorry seems to be the hardest word

- You can tell, Sir Elton is a human being who has fully lived, loved, and like many of us men and women, had a breakdown sometimes. This is what I'm talking 'bout, communicate and relate with people. Is it so hard to do?! -

Take all these last three songs, and for a second, THINK for Christ sake, dear reader... what's wrong with our nowadays music. Have we accepted to live in a state of denial and comfort, and not being challenged by deep lyrics made by great musicians?

I don't like nowadays music at all... I guess I'm getting old...

The end of the road...

Today, April 23, year 2010...

I oficially could say I'm outta college.

My thesis work is oficially accepted by the college scholars, so I f'cking did it...

No more money to waste, no more time spent on doing something I partially hate...

So,

Yeah I should be happy but, thousands of questions come up to my head... Being the first one "What the fuck am I gonna do now?", being the first and rational and inmediate almost robotic answer: "Continue in the path for being a musician, to keep following the impossible dream".

As the clock keeps ticking, I realise I'm getting older. I've let some very important things go through my life without any fanfare, and I've realised now that it was a big failure. Sometimes I do feel like a failure, and I try to keep this feelings to myself because, I don't want to bother no one else than me, and I don't want to feel no one's pity on my psyched situation.

I'm the worst enemy of my own self...

But anyway, I guess I should be happy. I actually am, since I'd not step into college that much, I'd be able to just, sit down and play that guitar some more, 'till I find some weird chord construction and make it talk.

Yeah, I've seen my future somehow...

Sitting on a room, like the ol' Robert Leroy Johnson, facing my guitar against the wall and playing some tunes... all on my own, no one around. It's hard being a dreamer sometimes, people gets tired of you quite easily, I don't blame 'em, I blame myself for being such a dreamer and an inocent bystander.


And if I'm good enough, I'll be playing around the world, with my band.

But would the dream overwhelm them fellas in my band? I hope not...

I hope they have the guts this needs. Being a musician is no easy task. It is only for the brave.

At least, the kind of musician I aspire and dream to be...

I already have abandoned myself into the unknown, I got sick of all the stability and the rules, of all what is morally correct and incorrect. I'm dwelving into the unknown, and I hope I keep going this way, because life's very short...

Music and solitude, my hard won allies. Faithful, and Patient.

Tired...

So hi again, unknown reader.

- The song "Crucify the Dead hits in" -


I don't know if you're a man or a woman, a boy or a girl in his teens.

Whoever reads this, I hope I won't turn you down with my thoughts. This journal is a personal record for me to Time-Travel through words sometimes, when I got a glimpse of inspiration, melancholy and I don't know, all other feelings that make you realise you're alive.

So, yesterday...

Had quite a hard and loud day. Went outside, just walkin' with two great fellas through the streets tryin' to find some good rock n' roll shirts for an upcoming concert we're gonna attend soon. The day was a whole trip, as we found ourselves rolling like stones through the streets, and while rolling we just got caught by someone who was in need. Man, that shit was so fucked up, the poor fella was without no money, I was even able to read the words Desperation in his face. Plus, the man didn't speak our native language (spanish) so I guess, it was kind of a bliss to find 3 fellas who actually speak english kind of fluently.

So we helped the bro in need and there weren't 3, but 4 of us rolling (for a short amount of time). I hope the man reached his point in capitol city. I realised (silently) that sometimes, our human nature leads us to act in communion, in some kind of brotherhood. Even if we have no clue who the fuck are we talking to.

We continued rolling, reached the music store. Got a guitar for one of us 3 rollin' stones (Well, we're not that awesome like Mick or Keef) and just got our shit together, and hit back to the streets to go to the airport. We reach the airport, after that each one takes distinct trips to each one's houses.

Up to this point, all was really goddamn cool. Whenever it is something related with music, man, I'm in. I don't give a fuck if it's something fancy or something really simple, I just love music so much that I'm eager to help people in any way possible to understand, and appreciate it as it deserves.

Lyin' down in one of my place's bedrooms...

I literally am sleeping, and things started to get like motherf'ckin dark...

It's kind of funny, but when you put your expectations on something, or someone, or some event, it is kind of a huge probability that it will fail. Don't get me wrong... I am a PRO "Believe In Yourself" believer. But, when it comes to other people's involvement, I started to not trust everyone.

Why?

Recently I've realised that people I thought were my friends, my brothers, people I could rely on, weren't

They just lied. I know I'm not the first neither the last person who has been told lies by his "friends", though.

But man, that sucks!

My dreams in their eyes seem stupid. Whether or not, they're related with music. And it fuckin' saddens me, angers me and dissapoints me. A big FUCK YOU pops in my head when I realise this kind of "liars" were people I thought my friends. Sucks big time...




- Like Ozzy says: "I'm just a dreamer, who dreams of better days..."

I don't wish this happens to any of ya's out there, whoever reads this. I wish, on the other hand you run with better luck with me. Each time, and each day I realise I wasn't born to be the nice guy, no matter how many times I work or try to change the disfunctional aspects of my psyche, they just won't go... Honestly I wish you have a great friend, that you hang out with 'em as long as you live, that you have a boyfriend, a girlfriend, I don't know... someone who could tell you "I'm here buddy" in the motherfuckin' toughest time...

Me?

I don't know what will be of me, honestly.

When I pick up a guitar, all things change. It doesn't matter if it's a new or an old guitar, my energy, my will to live, is present in my body. Guitar and music have become a really pivotal and central part of my life these days, and each year I grow older, it becomes more important than the previous year.

Yesterday I told a friend this kind of prophetic line:

"I know it's a fight against the tide, but that doesn't mean I have to hide"



 On the other hand...

Some things get really hard to handle as well. Just as you get older, there's pressure, the time ticks in your sleep, reminding you're not 18 anymore, that you've wasted too much time. I try to convince myself that it's never late to start something, to master something (I admit, it's something related with my "survivalism"). But all I see are empty walls, facing me in each direction I look. North, South, East and West. All walls, maybe in my head, maybe not.

It's so much to ask for some relief, for some light, for some unconditional love?

I am starting to believe it is...

All I got, is my guitar and my music... my only companions, my friends and enemies, the ones who have been there with me during the hardest years of my 25 of existance.


I want to go far away from all of this...

Far from this country, this continent.

And be alone within my thoughts... and forget everyone in this town.

- For sure, that doesn't mean I'll forget my family, and the few friends I've got. I'm just, tired...  -