Constant Returns

[staticboy]

My names Eugene and my music goes under the name Guests of Nature. Ive now been a member of taxi for a good 6 months now and have had everything returned (16 tracks or so) My last submission was to listing S100125LA which was looking for Latin Pop. I forwarded two tracks that I though fitted the bill, only to see that they also joined the ever growing number of returns, My main gripe is this.

On High Tide I sing about a lost love etc... I got the critique of

"Some lyrics that could be interpreted as being vague like "Left as wide as the ocean, left as blue as the deepest sea. un-deny my devotion, in a state of dependency ." I'm not entirely sure what this chorus is attempting to express.The listener should never be wondering what the song is about."

Is the above not obvious, Am I the only one that gets it?

On the other track I got a similar response to my lyrics, This song is about meeting a girl and getting her phone number wrong after which the subject is trying to find her.

In the song the lyrics are admittedly not run of the mill, however I think they totally get the point across and add a sense of humour and imagery that were the intention...here they are and here is the critique

Again, most of the lyrics are pretty vague and not all that clear like the entire first verse "Shiny bottle of red,hmm hmm, forget the stains and the words I said to you.I wrote down too few. A fat thumb entered like a Mr Magoo, Boo Hoo.
I tried to find that place,hmmm, etheric recall of that warm embrace,as we leaned into each other at the time,at the swapping of the details entered a notebook paradime." Not only do some of the words border on reading nonsensical, there are so many typos to wade through. I simply don't know what you're saying here. . the listener should never be wondering.

What are the listeners gonna do? read the lyrics or listen to the song, whats typos got to do with it?

Now the last point I wish to make is that it is not broadcast quality? How come ive just had a respected label say they will release the track High Tide? Its not just my Mum going well done son is it.


I don't know what to do? I appreciate that the musical style they were asking for here may have been different from what I gave them. But I feel im spending good money after bad here. It just gets me down. Especially when you here the dross in the charts like Lady Gaga, have you heard her lyrics? How high is the bar set here, cus I jsu don't see how 16 tracks are so off that tey wont even make it to get considered never mind chosen.

You can hear High Tide and Wrong Number at

http://www.taximusic.com/hosting/songs.php?userid=30236

[DorothyWallace]

I don't think this link is working. It should be www.taxi.com/yourname.

Dorothy

[ebjazz]

I'm glad that I am not really a lyricist I've been to song screenings and listened to screeners rip GREAT songs to shreeds over lyrics. "This one is vague....This doesn't make sense...." So freakin' what??!!
Someone should write a song:
"Hey Jude, don't make it bad"
They'd rip you to pieces.."Who's this Jude person???" "Boy or girl?" Don't make WHAT bad"? "I Can't follow this". "This is stupid"
I've heard all those comments at song screenings over songs that were melodically great. But that didn't matter because the screener didn't like a lyric.
Glad I'm not a lyricist.

Eb

[mazz]

My understanding from screenings I've attended as well as sessions at the Road Rally is: An established artist can get away with more. The Beatles may not have been able to get "Hey Jude" through the gatekeepers at the beginning of their career, but once they became "The Beatles", they had plenty of fans hanging on their every word and could get away with being more obscure and metaphorical.

I'm not saying the system isn't flawed, but the people that screen songs at screening sessions (I'm not referring to TAXI at the moment) usually have an agenda because they are looking for specific things to sell to artists, producers, etc. The same song in isolation may be a great song but it still may not work for a specific purpose. That would be like putting a Beatles song in a scene in a movie just because it's a Beatles song, not because it fits the scene. Even the Beatles would get passed over if the song didn't fit what the clients were looking for. It's pretty much the same with TAXI listings and screenings, only we know up front what the client is looking for via the listing.

I know it's difficult to take returns, but eventually one has to realize that what we're selling here is a product, and it's either right for the need or it's not. I avoid commenting on posts where people ask "what do you think of my songs?", because there's no context for me to place the songs in. If they were to say: "I'm thinking of pitching to Film/TV, shows like One Tree Hill, what do you think?", then there's some context to listen against.

If one's goal is to be a recording/performing artist, then that's a different context than writing specifically for film/TV. If one already has a catalog of songs they have released on CD or whatever and is out performing those songs, then they are pretty much fixed as they are, and as such, will be more difficult to place because they need to be targeted to the right listings. The frequency of listings that the music will fit will depend on the style of music. Contrast that with a writer that is focused on writing specifically for listings and requests from publishers, etc. They may be able to "shape shift" to be able to write to spec, in which case they would have more opportunities. These types of people are probably not out performing a lot and are probably pretty self contained production-wise as well. Neither one is "wrong", but it's important for an artist to have a clear view of where they stand before they venture into the marketplace. Otherwise, there will be more frustration as they try to shoehorn their music into places that it really isn't suited for.

And some people are just suited to one part of the business or the other, there's really no right or wrong. But it's important, IMO, to have a clear view of who and where one is as an artist. If one has a solid self assessment, then it's easier to see what opportunities are more appropriate and which to avoid. This will help to not only focus the artist, but will avert a bit of frustration and disappointment that will inevitably come from faulty targeting of their product.

Moral: No music exists in a vacuum, there's always some context, whether it's a scene in a film or just casual listening in headphones, and what is appropriate for one is not necessarily for the other.

Hang in there!

Mazz

[simonparker]

Two thoughts here Static - and they somewhat reflect Mazz' comment above. The first, you cannot "cheat" lyrics here by being vague - especially when you have gatekeepers to deal with. I understand your "Wide as an ocean" lyric - but the screener had problems with it. For me, when writing, I find that when I try to be clever or unique, I become too clever for my own good. I'd try to come up with perhaps something creative but a little more obvious. It's a fine line, but I have confidence you can figure it out with enough practice through Taxi critiques.

The second thought is definitely correctable and should be easy for you to fix. NO TYPOS. Think of your songs, bio, and lyric sheet as a resume for a job. Do not give ANY reason for a rejection. In a perfect world, if your song is strong enough, who cares if you spell "you're" with "your" or "ur"? But remember, you are competing against other people, and two songs, all things equal except spelling, will get you knocked off. Most programs have spell check, so just fix it. No, it's not the nicest thing to hear from a screener regarding typos, but don't give him something to focus on, except great music and lyrics.

Don't get discouraged and keep trying.

[DorothyWallace]

OK. I finally found your link. The song is cool and I love the lyrics. I don't think you should change them. My stuff gets returned a lot too. The thing that keeps me optimistic is listening to the radio. There is so much crap out there and the music industry blames it on illegal downloading. I think if they put out stuff that was good, which happens occasionally, people will buy it. That's my 2 cents. If you keep submitting, I think you'll get the right screener.

Dorothy

[t4mh]

Eugene, let me see if I can help you vuisualize this. Two ways to write lyrics, explicit and vague. Take, say a movie, like Gone with the wind. Rhett carries Scarlett up the stairs and fade to black. Fade in to Scarlett alone in bed the next morning with a big grin on her face. Don't you get what happened in between? Don't ya get it? A big explicit sex scene would just about insult your intelligence. Today's movies have to have the big "money shot" sex scene in them but its almost like the art of the story telling goes away for the duration. Vagueness is almost heavier than explicit in most cases. In the music business, they want the equivalent of the money shot these days, down to the gnat's ass as far as lyrics are concerned. I agree with all the comments above. I think that if YOU have vague lyrics and YOU can make the song yours, YOU might have a shot at performance for yourself ( where ever that leads - just like the Beatles ) but THEY won't want it in THEIR TV/Film/Artist Pitch project.

You can do this. Your stuff works for me. Believe in yourself and keep trying. Post your stuff in P2P for critiques before you submit. For what its worth, we all have lots and lots of returns. Learn from it and write another one.

Good Luck!
Keith

[Casey H]

Hi
I may be repeating what's been said...

The reality is there is a double standard-- what established artists and even songwriters can get away with is different than what aspiring unknowns can. It is what it is. Embrace it and work the system. Comparing what you write lyrically to what you heard in another era or even on the radio today is not the way to go--- "But so and so sings XYZ and I have no idea what he/she is talking about"... Forget it. Do what you need to do to succeed NOW.

We go on job interviews in a suit and tie. Everyone who works there is running around in jeans. But it doesn't matter. If you don't wear the suit to the interview you don't get the chance to work in jeans.

If you have really good songs and the main problem is vagueness in lyrics, it's really worth re-writing, co-writing, whatever... Think of it this way-- if that's all I have to fix, I'm in good shape! I have early songs which were written in 60's vague lyrical style which I re-wrote and now sit in music libraries.

And typos... Why have them at all? If you don't want to make the extra effort to clean up your lyric sheets what impression does that make? Would you send a resume out like that?

Best of luck!
Casey

[kenmdeck]

eugene, i feel your pain man...i have had so many rejects, and for songs that are now published, cataloged, used ... i think taxi is great...for them....my biggest beef is how unclear they are for what they want in their posts...then everything you send is off the mark or not the right sound..here' a song i wrote about taxi, you might get a kick out of it...

Taxi
Written by Ken Matthiesen 08/09/2009


The taxi stops but you can’t get in
You can’t get in, no you can’t in

I tried to catch a cab the other day
On my way to fortune and fame
Thought I’d hop in, sit back, relax
Thought for sure they would know my name
If they did, I’ve been left to stand
Stand in the rain, the freezing rain

One by one they stop ,then pass me by
Hey, I’m just trying to catch a ride
But I’m off target, don’t have the beat
I’m standing on the wrong side of the street
The wrong side of a one way street

The meter’s runnin, the fare has begun
I know I asked to let the motor run
Where’s a lift when you really need one?
Out there somewhere, I’ve had rides before
Should I walk? You ain’t stoppin’ at my door

(Chorus)
The taxi stops but you can’t get in
You can’t get in, no you can’t get in
Open the door so that I can begin
I want in, won’t you let me in

I got myself a sign on and ID
There were carrots dangled in front of me
Honest Abe flying off the money tree
Wanted to jump in and play the game
That cab sped right on by, just the same

You can’t get in
You can’t get in

Am I on the wrong side of the road?
Standing in the wrong line, ya know?
Batting average a big zero
Oh fer on every single taxi call
If they answer do they hear at all?

My friends said how easy it would be
He’d pull right up and take care of me
Impress the driver with what he sees
You’ll catch a cab and ride like us
I’m thinking now I should catch a bus

Because….

(Chorus)
The taxi stops but you can’t get in
You can’t get in, no you can’t get in
Open the door so that I can begin
I want in, won’t you let me in

You can’t get in
You can’t get in

one of these days somebody should produce these lyrics and send them in....keep plugging away....always remember in this business no is not an answer, just an opinion

write on/rock on
kenm

check out www.lala.com for artist kenm
my album is front porch music

[guitaroboe]

Gosh,
I do know how you feel, BELIEVE ME I do!!!
I had 21 consecutive returns and then 25 consecutive forwards. How can you turn the 'tide' ??
Even though initially I was shocked, I took a step back and pondered. What are my strengths and
what are my weaknesses? The writing was on the wall (actually in all the screeners' comments).
So I focused on my strengths (music and production) worked like a beaver and...nothing but forwards!
Don't give up, FOCUS, and work your ass off. I did, and I still do!
good luck
Adonis