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Lazy songwriting techniques

Started by alan nagsworth, April 21, 2013, 11:08:45 PM

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alan nagsworth

We had one of these a couple of years ago regarding television/film, it was a great read.

When the singer utters a command like 'stop' and the music briefly stops. Such a cheap and lazy thing to do. Two respected artists have done this and made me think a tiny bit less of them. Beastie Boys on 'Intergalactic' ("Mmmmdrrrop!") and Deerhunter on 'Never Stops', a title which makes it feel even lazier.

Also, cover versions which aren't radically different renditions of the original. What the fuck are you doing?

Okay.

Thomas

'Ohh.'

'Yeah.

'Baby.'

Some songs I enjoy feature these lines, though. I'm not declaring myself above them.

Gavin M

My pet hate - critically acclaimed songs that use a sample, but are only any good because of the sample.  I'm looking at you, 'Crazy In Love'.

PaulTMA


dallasman

Quote from: PaulTMA on April 21, 2013, 11:42:44 PM
C G Am F

Oh God, yes! I'm so sick of that chord progression, it makes my fucking blood boil. And you can usually tell from the first chord change where it's going. A few years ago, every other song seemed to use G-D-Am(-C), but lately, it's the one you cited that's been every-fuckin-where. Possibly the worst example is the song "I'm Yours", which uses those chords over and over and over, played on a ukulele! Sheer hell.

El Unicornio, mang

Reggae.

Also, playing the same melody or riff over four chord progression is a lazy, albeit very effective technique. The part that starts at 4:35 on Joy Division's 'Decades' is an example. It does work very well though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PMAB3r6EjcM#t=306s

Blam!!

Making noises to fit a rhyme. First example I can think of being in Wu-Tang Clan's Protect Ya Neck - the Method Man line "I'm hot like sauce, the smoke from the lyrical butt makes me *cough*". Similarly, bending pronunciation to fit a rhyme. Example: California Sun, pronouncing "best" like "boast" to rhyme with "coast". Certainly in the Ramones version anyways.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Im going out tonight
im gonna feel alright

Hi Mister McCartney.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

While on the subject of tonight and alright


GENERIC PARTY TUNES
Tonights gonna be a good night
Dont stop me now
Celebrate good times cmon
etc

Make me want to decapitate.

Birdie

Quote from: dallasman on April 21, 2013, 11:57:45 PM
Oh God, yes! I'm so sick of that chord progression, it makes my fucking blood boil. And you can usually tell from the first chord change where it's going. A few years ago, every other song seemed to use G-D-Am(-C), but lately, it's the one you cited that's been every-fuckin-where. Possibly the worst example is the song "I'm Yours", which uses those chords over and over and over, played on a ukulele! Sheer hell.

It's annoying but don't blame the ukulele- http://ukulelehunt.com/2012/11/07/ukulele-mythbusting/

QuoteThere no ukulele on Jason Mraz's released version of I'm Yours (or any version I've ever heard by him for that matter).

The chugging instrument goes as low as the F# on the bottom E string of a guitar. Much too low even for a baritone ukulele.


The Βoston Crab

All Jazz. Half the time they can only be bothered writing two chords.

Sam

I vi IV V (eg F dmin Bb C) can be overused. I guess it's how you use it though. 'Every Breath You Take' keeps it interesting by using 9th chords, and then a left-field key change for the bridge.

Petey Pate

Quote from: The Βoston Crab on April 22, 2013, 07:45:32 AM
All Jazz. Half the time they can only be bothered writing two chords.
Sometimes they only use one chord.  Same with a lot of blues and pretty much any James Brown song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEjUfu9-W-w&feature=youtube_gdata_player

It's not what you play but how you play it.

Neville Chamberlain

I hate any song that tells me what I "gotta" do! You know the ones - "you gotta do this", "you gotta do that".

I can't think of any examples at the moment.

Birdie

^
You Gotta Fight for your Right to Party???


Neville Chamberlain

I hate that thing - I don't know what it's called - when it sounds like a song is being sucked into a tunnel. You hear it in dancey music type stuff.

NoSleep


Big Jack McBastard

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on April 22, 2013, 07:02:48 AM
Im going out tonight
im gonna feel alright

There're very few songs that I can tolerate with an 'alright' in its rhyming scheme.

CaledonianGonzo

Lou Reed used it all the time when writing lyrics for the Velvet Underground.

Don_Preston

Quote from: alan nagsworth on April 21, 2013, 11:08:45 PM

When the singer utters a command like 'stop' and the music briefly stops. Such a cheap and lazy thing to do. Two respected artists have done this and made me think a tiny bit less of them. Beastie Boys on 'Intergalactic' ("Mmmmdrrrop!") and Deerhunter on 'Never Stops', a title which makes it feel even lazier.


Any time music has a brief pause, it's a great opportunity to shout out "Arse!" Challenges like this takes listening to music to an entirely new plain!

The Βoston Crab

Quote from: Petey Pate on April 22, 2013, 09:13:44 AM
Sometimes they only use one chord.  Same with a lot of blues and pretty much any James Brown song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEjUfu9-W-w&feature=youtube_gdata_player

It's not what you play but how you play it.

Joke

phantom_power

That bit in Intergalactic is great though. Cheeky myth-making and a fun way of changing up the song. I think it is very much not lazy

Jerzy Bondov

I like songs where after somebody says 'stop' and the music stops, but before it starts up again, there is an old fashioned tape winding sound effect. Can't think of any now. Is there one in Lucky by Britney Spears? Possibly

By the way saying 'I like...' and then saying something you don't like is a lazy posting technique and I do not approve of it. I genuinely like that noise.

Noodle Lizard

In recent metal subgenres (especially ones with -core at the end), "breakdowns" are pretty much ubiquitous and incredibly lazy.  They always occur about a minute before the end of the song and they're almost always terrible.  Like this compilation of shit:  http://youtu.be/V2exWxhIhu8?t=14s

But you occasionally get a good one like this:  http://youtu.be/4mMDPrHcmfM?t=3m20s and really great ones in songs like this:  http://youtu.be/nvCwvfGJq_k?t=1m55s (technically not breakdowns, but close enough)

Nobody cares, mind, okay yeah.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: Blam!! on April 22, 2013, 06:54:02 AM
Making noises to fit a rhyme. First example I can think of being in Wu-Tang Clan's Protect Ya Neck - the Method Man line "I'm hot like sauce, the smoke from the lyrical butt makes me *cough*". Similarly, bending pronunciation to fit a rhyme. Example: California Sun, pronouncing "best" like "boast" to rhyme with "coast". Certainly in the Ramones version anyways.

I don't have the Ramones version to hand, but the original lyric is "Where the California girls are really the most."

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Quote from: Noodle Lizard on April 22, 2013, 12:38:58 PM
In recent metal subgenres (especially ones with -core at the end), "breakdowns" are pretty much ubiquitous and incredibly lazy.  They always occur about a minute before the end of the song and they're almost always terrible.  Like this compilation of shit:  http://youtu.be/V2exWxhIhu8?t=14s

But you occasionally get a good one like this:  http://youtu.be/4mMDPrHcmfM?t=3m20s and really great ones in songs like this:  http://youtu.be/nvCwvfGJq_k?t=1m55s (technically not breakdowns, but close enough)

Nobody cares, mind, okay yeah.

Just when you thought shit couldn't get any shitter.

I was going to write: "Put your hands in the air, wave them around like you just don't care" until I saw that first tag.

As for "STOP" with the music halting abruptly, I like it in Alison by Elvis Costello. I suppose it wasn't a cliche yet in 1977. Or are there earlier examples? Anyway, it's at 1.40: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9GlC9GyF4Y


Spiteface

Quote from: Noodle Lizard on April 22, 2013, 12:38:58 PM
In recent metal subgenres (especially ones with -core at the end), "breakdowns" are pretty much ubiquitous and incredibly lazy.  They always occur about a minute before the end of the song and they're almost always terrible.  Like this compilation of shit:  http://youtu.be/V2exWxhIhu8?t=14s

But you occasionally get a good one like this:  http://youtu.be/4mMDPrHcmfM?t=3m20s and really great ones in songs like this:  http://youtu.be/nvCwvfGJq_k?t=1m55s (technically not breakdowns, but close enough)

Nobody cares, mind, okay yeah.

http://youtu.be/KDzt6yI3Dw8?t=2m44s

CRABCORE~!