contemporary !?!?!?

[melodymessiah]

the first thing that comes to my mind is, do you have a GENUINE affection for contemporary songs? do you listen to the charts because you want to, and not because you feel you have to? most songwriters seems to be highly influenced by the style from when they grew up and fell in love with music, and that's usually how their songs sounds like. and many don't seem to know the difference between retro and dated. remember, you're competing with people who's fully into this stuff, and if you're not, they will outcompete you.

[jerrybeirne]

Hi Jerry!
I'm practically your neighbor in Fort Washington! I used to work in Berwyn, Great Valley, and all around that area.

If you want feedback on a song, the place is the Peer To Peer section of this forum. If you are shooting for a particular listing, it's best to post the text of the listing with the song link (the text of the listing, not a link... links expire once the listing closes).

I'll check out your song later!

Best,
Casey

Hi Casey, just wondering if you've heard the song yet. Given your experience here on Taxi, I'd love your thoughts. I'll post on that other forum.
thanks,
Jerry

[Casey H]

Hey Jerry
Really nice song and I like the female vocal. I think the song could really use a more contemporary arrangement, the electric guitars (to me!) is what makes it sound dated. Maybe you can find a collaborator here who can modernize it. It's very well written from a song POV.

Maybe we can meet for coffee one day.

Best,
Casey

[jerrybeirne]

Hey Jerry
Really nice song and I like the female vocal. I think the song could really use a more contemporary arrangement, the electric guitars (to me!) is what makes it sound dated. Maybe you can find a collaborator here who can modernize it. It's very well written from a song POV.

Maybe we can meet for coffee one day.

Best,
Casey

I agree about the guitars making it not very pop sounding. Blame Steely Dan! I listened to songs like Lizzo Juice (so tight), that certainly has guitar in it, albeit with lots of effects, but yeah not driving the song like mine are. That's why I wonder if it is more indie pop or indie rock. I'm also releasing this song, so I'm not just fine-tuning it for Taxi opportunities. IDK, SMH. And I send you a message on here, thanks!

[Casey H]

Hey Jerry
Got your PM. I'll be back atcha.

You might want to listen to Miley Cyrus's "Flowers" as a model for your song. https://youtu.be/QNv8iODCAwE
The song is pretty hot on the charts right now.

Casey

[jerrybeirne]

Hey Jerry
Got your PM. I'll be back atcha.

You might want to listen to Miley Cyrus's "Flowers" as a model for your song. https://youtu.be/QNv8iODCAwE
The song is pretty hot on the charts right now.

Casey

That is a great example of what I should do. I just cancelled my release I had planned for this, partly/mostly because of your feedback, but I knew inside that something like this was true. I got similar feedback on another thread. I will "borrow" the keys/bass feel from Flowers, just like all artists have done thru all time

Jerry

[Casey H]

Jerry
I think that first link may have been a live version. This link has the studio version. https://youtu.be/URkaXmOM-a8

[Gillihan]

A pattern I've noticed is people upset that their tracks aren't contemporary but if you ask them if they listen to current music at all or even in their preferred genre, they'll say no, sometimes even making a point of how much they hate current music. Reality is, if you refuse to listen to what's playing now, you are extremely unlikely to succeed in this business. Film and TV is mainly geared to a very young audience and songs that sound like current artists' are in most demand.

Some other things you can do:

Collaborate! Almost every library/TV placement had collaborator(s). I'd be the first to say I suck at writing contemporary sounding songs (even though I listen and study) but I've been able to take solid ideas to folks who could make it modern, especially the production/performance side. 99% of my collaborators were met on this forum or the rally. While I do pay for productions at times, I've done a lot where I did most of the writing, the other person made a few changes, and did the production/performance for the co-write split. Network with others! Don't be an island! Don't be afraid to approach others!

There are alternatives to sounding totally contemporary. Let's say your work sounds very 60s... or 80s, etc. Then go all the way with it, make it what we call a "period piece" such that every aspect of it sounds authentic to that time period, like it could have been on the radio back then. Movies and TV often have scenes that take place during those time-frames. I've got a bunch of 60s songs (collaborations) in solid libraries. https://s.disco.ac/dqplnynxdpia

Another alternative is to set a mood so well it doesn't matter. Maybe go for ageless and timeless. Robin Frederick talks about doing stripped down acoustics which are popular now. The more instrumentation you add, the more room to make it dated. Simple, acoustic covers of very well known songs are used on shows like Grey's Anatomy all the time now. Can you produce one of your songs like that?

Casey

yes, I do that more . you are totally right. less is more also

[jerrybeirne]

Jerry
I think that first link may have been a live version. This link has the studio version. https://youtu.be/URkaXmOM-a8

Still working on this...I would think it is fair to say that the issue with my version isn't just that it "has guitars", lots of modern pop hits (or indie hits anyway) are guitar-oriented, such Benee and Billie Eilish, even the song you sent me starts with a guitar chord. I think my song sounds 70ish because of the way I was playing, sounds like Doobies or something, I totally get that now, thanks again.

In other thread someone suggested getting rid of the guitar solo, doing some sort of keyboard thing. I think that would be a good idea, maybe getting rid of the whole bridge/solo and instead do more of a breakdown/quiet section of the existing verse? I can't imagine younger girls sitting around digging a guitar solo like back in Pat Benatar days. I have 3 daughters so...I know

Jerry

[Casey H]

Jerry
I think that first link may have been a live version. This link has the studio version. https://youtu.be/URkaXmOM-a8

Still working on this...I would think it is fair to say that the issue with my version isn't just that it "has guitars", lots of modern pop hits (or indie hits anyway) are guitar-oriented, such Benee and Billie Eilish, even the song you sent me starts with a guitar chord. I think my song sounds 70ish because of the way I was playing, sounds like Doobies or something, I totally get that now, thanks again.

In other thread someone suggested getting rid of the guitar solo, doing some sort of keyboard thing. I think that would be a good idea, maybe getting rid of the whole bridge/solo and instead do more of a breakdown/quiet section of the existing verse? I can't imagine younger girls sitting around digging a guitar solo like back in Pat Benatar days. I have 3 daughters so...I know

Jerry

It's not the use of guitars it's the sound and production with them and *possibly* whether they are too prominent. It comes down to comparing to contemporary songs of the genre you are working in. Do you have Sirius XM? I love the Coffee House music station (Channel 006), all singer-songwriter stuff.

Casey