To Catch a Tune

Hi, Everybody-

Well, the Superbowl came and went in a blaze of blah. Was I expecting too much? Seems to me that not that long ago, there were some pretty amazing commercials and a spectacular half-time show that would be talked about for weeks. I guess we've "Ushered" in a new era. To give credit, Alicia Keys' cameo appearance to perform "If I Ain't Got You" was predictably great....But farewell Prince, Bruno Mars, Michael Jackson, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, Katy Perry, J-Lo/Shakira. Remember when songs had: A melody that stuck in your mind? Lyrics that revealed a profound thought? And, dare I also say, romance? Nothing stood out to me this year.

As a songwriter, this makes me want to dig a little deeper to wonder what makes a song musically satisfying? Why do certain songs become classics?

Take away the glitz, the showy pyrotechnics, the distracting dancers, the silly, self- worshipping striptease and let the song stand alone on that stage. Dare to listen to the relationship between the notes in the melody: the silence, the spaces, the leaps, the repeated patterns, the instrumentation. Learn it, hum it. Then, as a separate exercise, recite the lyrics on their own. Do they please you? For example- look in your mirror, read this aloud to yourself, right now, in your natural voice. You can leave your clothes on:

"It started with a hug And her rest went like this I gave her neck a kissy-kiss

She gave my neck a kiss back I said, we could do it like a stack

I mean, we could do it like a G -On the couch in V.I.P

Shawty we just get it on I'm like, shout out to the DJ for playing this song

Girl, we can act like two damn fools Have everybody think we doing a dance move

Call me, so I can make it juicy for ya Meet me in the bathroom and you can be my secret lover, girl And it started with a hug But now we making love in this club

And we're not gonna stop just because The people in the club are watchin' us" (Usher, "Love in This Club", Super Bowl 2024 https://youtube.com/shorts/MbgsM_3o0IQ?si=Gits9GHvkJkKxu7a

Now sing it, by yourself. Without any marching band. What happens? Were you able to catch the tune?

If you just like a song "because of the beat", okay, fair enough, but I promise you, lyrics are a major ingredient of songs! And a great tune should be memorable enough to stand on its own, without lyrics. I have passionate opinions about music! I believe that if lyrics are well written, poetic, uplifting and beautiful, this can add emotional depth to a listening experience. If the writing is negative, sexualized, grammatically atrocious or unimaginative, this can only invite more of the same to your inner being and outer life experience. Like, don't be all shocked when your kid gets arrested for having sex in a public restroom.

Here's a little poem that inspired a famous symphony:

"In which way I love you, my sunbeam, I cannot tell you with words.

Only my longing, my love and my bliss can I, with aching, express in this music."

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) was an Austrian-Bohemian composer during the Romantic Period in Music. He wrote these words in a love letter to his wife Alma and dedicated the 4th movement "Adagietto", of his Symphony No.5 to her, to express those lyrics.

"Adagietto" is defined in music as 'slightly slow with a gentle and flowing character'. This gorgeous movement has been featured in many film scores and was played at Leonard Bernstein's funeral. In fact, Bernstein was buried with a pocket copy of Mahler's score laid over his heart. Here is a recording of Bernstein conducting the "Adagietto".

(https://youtu.be/Bj6KLv7kv2Q?si=TldXjcFOD8YEa77n).

Are there any modern-day lyrically equivalent compositions? "You Are the Sunshine of My Life". Thank you, Stevie Wonder! ("I feel like this is the beginning, tho' I've loved you for a million years; and if I thought our love was ending, I'd find myself drowning in my own tears. You are the Sunshine of my Life, that's why I'll always be around.")

My point is, music is a universal language that is worth learning and comprehending. It's more than just little black blobs of ink on a page. It can be a love letter to humanity, an opportunity to find emotional healing in musical expression.

I love nothing more than being in traffic and catching a tune on somebody else's radio. Sometimes it's dreadful but sometimes it's something I've never heard, but want to remember and look up later. The first time I heard "The Dance" by Garth Brooks I was sitting in traffic, and the beautiful opening piano bars caught my ear. The lyrics drew me in right away, then the light changed, but I had already caught the tune and looked it up as soon as I got home. I cried my head off and played it 4 times in a row. Genres be damned, a great song is a great song.

Until my own car's stereo system is adequately amped up to blast Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5, you won't be hearing me in traffic! But keep listening deeply, with love, wonder and self-respect as your metrics. We have to keep the vibrations high and fine, my friends.

Let the Light find you! xoxox Annie