Songwriters vs. Singers

July 23rd, 2007

The recent verbal spew that has made music headlines about songwriting and songwriting credit got me thinking about the artists who do actually write their own songs. What a CRAZY idea, right?

Let me first say I think co-writes are cool and I also have no problem with a great song written by one person and made a hit or performed by another. For me, a great song is a great song. But I do love hearing an album of great songs, written exclusively by the person performing them. I love honest music. When thoughts turn into words and are delivered through melodies and music, from the actual person who is singing and/or performing…that’s when I find myself connecting with the music the most and enjoying it far more.

Some of those recent albums I recommend:
Dolores O’Riordan Are You Listening
The Night Watchman (Tom Morello) One Man Revolution
Hayley Sales Sunseed
Jill Barber For All Time
Silverchair (Daniel Johns) Young Modern

While we are on the subject, for anyone interested in great songs or if you are struggling with your own songwriting and need some inspiration, check out Townes Van Zandt
and the film about his life. One of the greatest, honest songwriters of our time.

Posted on Monday, July 23rd, 2007 at 3:34 pm by Matt Wells and is filed under Music & Videos.

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6 Responses to “Songwriters vs. Singers”

  1. i couldn’t agree more Matt — does anyone know if Hilary Duff writes her own songs??

    By mandyj on July 23, 2007 at 3:47 pm |

  2. who cares about hilary duff?

    By kristina on July 23, 2007 at 4:04 pm |

  3. More like who cares if Hilary Duff writes her own songs - certainly none of her fans care. They just want to hear a catchy top 40 song. Noone cares about artistic integrity…if it has a good melody noone cares if the lyrics are shit or if the singer actually has a decent voice.

    By elle on July 23, 2007 at 4:51 pm |

  4. i thought she co-wrote some of her songs? that’s pretty good for a 19 year old!!

    By Mandy J. on July 23, 2007 at 5:14 pm |

  5. Personally I think almost anyone can learn to sing fairly OK, but it takes ACTUAL talent and creativity to write music & notes. Take a look at the HORRIFIC movie “Music & Lyrics” as an example of how tough it is.

    Avril doesn’t sing about things that are relevant to her life; she even says so RE: her new album - none of the songs (did she write any of them!?) are about her. It’s just ‘fun stuff’ that will make $$ and appeal to her fanbase.

    Take a look at someone like Elliott Smith, Fran Healy, Jeff Buckley, Patrick Wolf, Fiona Apple, Ryan Adams - people who write about real life experiences beyond being dumped over IM and getting a pair of Sevens on discount at the mall.

    By kat on July 23, 2007 at 5:57 pm |

  6. PS: You also have singers that are actually talented, but never write a note of their own music - see also: Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, etc. They have beautiful voices but have all of their music tailored for them by some superstar songwriter behind the scenes.

    Go read up on Linda Perry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Perry), who’s pretty much responsible for every decent song Gwen Stefani & Christina Aguilera ever wrote.

    By kat on July 23, 2007 at 6:00 pm |

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