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May 13, 2009
“THE SONG”
Over the years, I’ve gone to many “open mics”, where I’ve heard an amazing variety of songs. Of course, as a professional composer and record producer, I tend to mentally rate the songs as I hear them.
Most are, as you would expect, average. They leave no real impression. Occasionally I hear something that touches upon the edges of greatness, and once in a while I am blown away by a truly inspired creation.
Every once in a while however, I have to endure THE SONG. A song that would have to improve immensely just to be rated “horrible.”
A regular song can descend to the level of THE SONG in several ways. Maybe the concept of the song is hackneyed or even offensive; perhaps the music is trite and repetitive. Maybe the performance itself lacks a certain polish (or basic ability on the part of the performer), or is completely imbued with unjustified arrogance. Whatever the combination of elements, the result can be described as an “arrow to the brain.” That is to say, most painful indeed.
As THE SONG grinds on to its much longed-for end, I find myself thinking, “I hate this song. I really hate this song. Words cannot describe how much I HATE THIS SONG.”
I fervently hope that I will never hear THE SONG again, and I frantically begin casting about in my mind for a way to mentally erase it. Alas, this has always proved impossible, and THE SONG is soon burned permanently upon my memory. There it remains, an onerous musical specter destined to periodically haunt me, as it randomly rushes upon my memory from time to time, producing the most excruciating mental sensations.
This is the risk I take whenever I attend an open mic. Fortunately, encountering THE SONG is a most rare occurrence, and the good and sometimes inspiring songs I hear more than make up for the occasional agonizing experience.
Posted by leonolguin at May 13, 2009 10:33 AM
Comments
Ahh, yes.
One example that won't leave my brain, 25-plus years later goes something like this...
"No nukes! No nukes! Haven't we already had enough???"
Posted by: charley at May 14, 2009 11:34 PM