But that's not what gets me.
What gets me is that a song is, generally, a marriage of poetry and music. There's the chords, the instruments, all that stuff, but there's also the lyrics. The words.
And as a writer, the misuse of words and carelessness with them is something that never fails to get on my nerves.
I can't stand the misuse of the word "love". You get that a lot these days. You don't love them, you're infatuated with them. Or, too much on television, you don't love them, you lust after them. There's a very very VERY big difference.
And that's just one example of misuse of a word that I HATE.
But I also can't stand carelessness and thoughtlessness with words. Because words have power. They can move storms, they can cause revolutions, they can change the world. So when people come out with lyrics that should rightfully be poetry, and therefore should move me in some way, and say
"Baby, baby, baby, ohhhh
Like baby, baby, baby, ohhhh
Like baby, baby, baby, ohhhh
Thought you'd always be mine
Mine."
Yeah. I hate it.
Fact, let's take a look at the lyrics of my favourite songs of the past little while and compare to the favourite songs of radio stations.
'59 Sound - Gaslight Anthem
"I wonder which song they're gonna play when we go?
I hope it's something quiet and minor and peaceful and slow
When we float out into the ether into the everlasting arms
I hope we don't hear Marley's chains we forged in life
'Cause these chains I've been hearing now for most of my life
'Cause these chains I've been hearing now for most of my life
Did you hear the '59 sound coming through on grandmamma's radio?
Did you hear the rattling chains in your hospital walls?
Did you hear the old gospel choir when they came to carry you over?
Did you hear your favourite song one last time?"
The Adventure - Angels and Airwaves
"I wanna have the same last dream again
The one where I wake up and I'm alive
Just as the four walls close me within
My eyes are opened up with pure sunlight
I'm the first to know, my dearest friend
Even if your hope has burned with time
Anything that's dead shall be regrown
And your vicious pain, your warning sign
You will be fine
Heyo, here I am
And here we go, life's waiting to begin."
Ridiculous - Bowling for Soup
"Try not to talk when there's nothing to say
Kept bottled up, we get carried away
Then I fall
Then I fall down
We all fall down
And you know it makes me feel so ridiculous
A pocket full of posies, we fall
Down on the inside, pretty on the outside
Turn it around, can we turn it around?
Try to make a comeback with nowhere to start from now
But it's looking up."
When We Die - Bowling For Soup
"Well I know that it's early and it's too hard to think
And the broken empty bottles are reminders in the sink
But I thought that I should tell you if it's not too late to say
I could put back all the pieces, they just might not fit the same.
Cause nothing's worth losing
Especially the chance to make it right
And you know that we're gonna be fine
And the tattooed mistakes are gonna fade over time
As long as we live, time passes by
And we won't get it back when we die."
Every single one of those songs have made me cry because the lyrics were so resonating with me at one point or another.
Meanwhile, on the radio:
Whistle - Flo Rida
"Can you blow my whistle, baby?
Whistle, baby, let me know
Girl, I'm gonna show you how to do it
And we start real slow
You just put your lips together
And you come real close
Can you blow my whistle, baby?
Whistle, baby, here we go"
Boyfriend - Justin Bieber
"If I was your boyfriend, I’d never let you go
I can take you places you ain't never been before
Baby, take a chance or you’ll never ever know
I got money in my hands that I’d really like to blow
Swag, swag, swag, on you
Chillin' by the fire while we eatin’ fondue
I don't know about me but I know about you
So say hello to falsetto in three, two, swag
I’d like to be everything you want
Hey girl, let me talk to you
If I was your boyfriend, never let you go
Keep you on my arm girl, you’d never be alone
I can be a gentleman, anything you want
If I was your boyfriend, I’d never let you go, I’d never let you go"
I Knew You Were Trouble When You Walked In - Taylor Swift
"Once upon time
A few mistakes ago
I was in your sights
You got me alone
You found me
You found me
You found me
I guess you didn't care
And I guess I liked that
And when I fell hard
You took a step back
Without me, without me, without me
And he's long gone
When he's next to me
And I realize the blame is on me
Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places i'd never been
Till you put me down oh
I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places i'd never been
Now i'm lying on the cold hard ground
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble"
I was in your sights
You got me alone
You found me
You found me
You found me
I guess you didn't care
And I guess I liked that
And when I fell hard
You took a step back
Without me, without me, without me
And he's long gone
When he's next to me
And I realize the blame is on me
Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places i'd never been
Till you put me down oh
I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places i'd never been
Now i'm lying on the cold hard ground
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble"
You get the idea.
But hold on! I can almost hear the protests:
But why does it all have to be deep poetry, Megan? Why can't someone listen to a song just for fun? Why does it all have to be deep stuff that makes you cry?
You'll notice I didn't say that.
I have plenty of songs I listen to just for fun. But guess what? The lyrics are all jokey and fun, not a serious thing said in the song, but they're still more thoughtful than freaking "I've got the moves like Jagger, I've got the moves like Jagger, I've got the moves like Jagger."
Take this one, for instance:
Home Alone - Bowling for Soup
"I said 'Hey,' she said 'Hello,'
'You wanna dance?'
She said 'Hell no!'
But I still stood strong
[For way too long]
I had her laughing there all night
She said 'You're such a funny guy!'
[But the biggest laugh he got was when he asked her for her number]
[That's actually true]
I brush my breath and spike up my hair
Finally gonna make her mine tonight
[Shot down!]
Oh my god I just
[Fell down!]
She has got my
[Heart drowned]
And I can't believe it
[Right there!]
For everyone to see it.
So dashing, debonair
My mom was right I should have changed my underwear
Another chance I've blown
Walking home alone."
There is not a serious word in that song. But it's still more thoughtful than any other song on the radio.
(Bowling for Soup are actually great at writing fun songs, and I would urge you to check them out. Other songs that make me smile by them are No Opinion, Dear Megan Fox, My Girlfriend Sucks, Got Beat Up By a Girl, Not a Love Song, and really most of their songs. Also their song I'm Gay is pretty much my life philosophy [it's not about what you think it's about]. Bowling for Soup will either make you laugh or make you cry, but there's no song you feel passive about.)
All I'm asking for is effort. I'm not asking for deep philosophy in every song I hear. I just want poetry. And limericks are poetry as well.
All I want is care with your words, because that, above all else, is what bugs me about pop music, is when the words are nothing more than filler. We need to stick some auto tune here, why don't you just say the word "swag" over and over again?
HOW ABOUT NO. How about you consider this your voice and make sure you say something worth while in a medium that people will be paying attention to. How about you take care with your words, because words are a force to be reckoned with. As I've said, words can change the world. Words can affect people in a way that their writers may never know about. Words can be the difference between love and hatred, between success and failure, between passivity and bravery. Words are everything, and they are valuable. Use them carefully. They're one of the things that separate us from animals, they're our communication, and one wrong word can send completely the wrong message and cause so much trouble - just think how much trouble famous people get in for saying the wrong thing publicly. If you just need a word to use as filler, don't. Insert more autotune bullsh*t there, sing "la" or something, but don't make me listen to your thoughtless sentences that don't mean anything even to you. Because it needs to mean something, even if the meaning is only to make you smile or dance or sing along or have fun. That's still something, and in my opinion, silliness and fun is just as honourable as compassion or perseverence or honesty or any other virtues you care to bring up. But be THOUGHTFUL about it.
That is all.
But why does it all have to be deep poetry, Megan? Why can't someone listen to a song just for fun? Why does it all have to be deep stuff that makes you cry?
You'll notice I didn't say that.
I have plenty of songs I listen to just for fun. But guess what? The lyrics are all jokey and fun, not a serious thing said in the song, but they're still more thoughtful than freaking "I've got the moves like Jagger, I've got the moves like Jagger, I've got the moves like Jagger."
Take this one, for instance:
Home Alone - Bowling for Soup
"I said 'Hey,' she said 'Hello,'
'You wanna dance?'
She said 'Hell no!'
But I still stood strong
[For way too long]
I had her laughing there all night
She said 'You're such a funny guy!'
[But the biggest laugh he got was when he asked her for her number]
[That's actually true]
I brush my breath and spike up my hair
Finally gonna make her mine tonight
[Shot down!]
Oh my god I just
[Fell down!]
She has got my
[Heart drowned]
And I can't believe it
[Right there!]
For everyone to see it.
So dashing, debonair
My mom was right I should have changed my underwear
Another chance I've blown
Walking home alone."
There is not a serious word in that song. But it's still more thoughtful than any other song on the radio.
(Bowling for Soup are actually great at writing fun songs, and I would urge you to check them out. Other songs that make me smile by them are No Opinion, Dear Megan Fox, My Girlfriend Sucks, Got Beat Up By a Girl, Not a Love Song, and really most of their songs. Also their song I'm Gay is pretty much my life philosophy [it's not about what you think it's about]. Bowling for Soup will either make you laugh or make you cry, but there's no song you feel passive about.)
All I'm asking for is effort. I'm not asking for deep philosophy in every song I hear. I just want poetry. And limericks are poetry as well.
All I want is care with your words, because that, above all else, is what bugs me about pop music, is when the words are nothing more than filler. We need to stick some auto tune here, why don't you just say the word "swag" over and over again?
HOW ABOUT NO. How about you consider this your voice and make sure you say something worth while in a medium that people will be paying attention to. How about you take care with your words, because words are a force to be reckoned with. As I've said, words can change the world. Words can affect people in a way that their writers may never know about. Words can be the difference between love and hatred, between success and failure, between passivity and bravery. Words are everything, and they are valuable. Use them carefully. They're one of the things that separate us from animals, they're our communication, and one wrong word can send completely the wrong message and cause so much trouble - just think how much trouble famous people get in for saying the wrong thing publicly. If you just need a word to use as filler, don't. Insert more autotune bullsh*t there, sing "la" or something, but don't make me listen to your thoughtless sentences that don't mean anything even to you. Because it needs to mean something, even if the meaning is only to make you smile or dance or sing along or have fun. That's still something, and in my opinion, silliness and fun is just as honourable as compassion or perseverence or honesty or any other virtues you care to bring up. But be THOUGHTFUL about it.
That is all.
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