This Guy Falls Down

More on Diane Warren

Here's a link to a cool interview with uber songwriter Diane Warren. Anyone who's written for both KISS and Celine Dion has got to make for an interesting article...

Madeleine L'Engle, part 1: The New Yorker piece

In the weeks since Madeleine L'Engle's passing, there have been some truly wonderful things said about her. I've learned more about Ms. L'Engle and her writing in the last month or so than I had my whole life, and I considered myself to be pretty knowledgable before. So before these writings fade into internet archive obscurity, I want to point out a few of my favorites. But before I do that, I have to talk about the infamous New Yorker piece.

To many, this was at best an unflattering portrait of L'Engle. If you're the type of person who puts your heroes on pedestals, this is probably not the article for you. But if you, like myself, are interested in the universe from which people create, then this is one of the most fascinating reads you could ever come across. It brings to light two things about L'Engle. One, her humanity. As much as people like myself love to quote her and be amazed by some of the ideas she's espoused over the years, she was a normal person with a family and a dog and all the baggage that comes along with it. And, like most all of us, she wasn't blessed with the ability to look at herself objectively (at least, according to this article). But for me I find this rather endearing. It adds a touch of realness from which I can now appreciate her work.

The other thing brought to light by this piece (as well as another I hope to talk about soon) is the idea of an artist's platform. This idea isn't quite as explicit as the other; you sort of have to read between the lines. But this is perhaps the most fascinating concept. The way an author will create a larger than life version of themselves which they portray to the world. As a rock and roll guitarist, of course I gravitate to this concept. But I think there's a lot here that anyone can take away.

Moving forward, I would love for you to do two things for me. First, I'd love to hear what you thought about this article. Secondly, if there's another article about Madeleine L'Engle that you recently read and loved, please let me know, and I'll check it out and perhaps add it to the list I'm putting together.

The Atlanta Falcons

It's a little after 11:00 PM as I write this, and the Falcons are, barring some kind of freak act of God, on track to lose tonight. Most people probably turned off their television sets at least thirty minutes ago, and the Falcons' 15 minutes in the spotlight are over. Of course, the Falcons have received all kinds of media attention this year, and for all the wrong reasons. Why do I put myself through this misery? It's a long story.

This article does a great job of catching you up on the history of the franchise, but it misses out on the whole picture. Unlike a downright terrible team, the Falcons have been one of those programs that give you just enough to keep you watching. And off the field, there it lies: the drama. There are the obvious good guys. Steve Bartkowski, Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, Jamal Anderson, Warrick Dunn. Then there are the villains like Eugene Robinson, and of course, Michael Vick. And then there's the downright odd. Jerry Glanville, who used to leave two tickets for Elvis at every game. And lurking in the shadows is one M.C. Hammer, who actually used to hang out on the sidelines during the game. So, every couple of years they put a team together, and the rest of the time, you've got a real life soap opera. And one day, they're going to be good. Or at least we can hope. And then all the rest of this will make for a great back story.

The Best and Worst of Diane Warren

(And regular posting will resume...now)

First of all, let me make it clear - I'm a huge Diane Warren fan. There, I said it. I actually feel a little better for saying it.

There's a great post at Don't Fear the Mainstream (a hilarious music blog, BTW) highlighting the best and worst of Diane Warren. I disagree with most of it - I would put "I Could Not Ask For More" as one of the best, or maybe "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing". And you can't have a worst of Diane Warren that doesn't include "Rock Hard" by KISS (can you picture Diane Warren and Paul Stanley in a room, saying "Wait, no. Hang on. I've got it: 'Love's like a glove and it fits just right'?).

All that to say, what makes it is that he's included YouTube clips of most of the songs, so you can hang with Cher on the battleship or watch Michael Bolton (why should I change my name? he's the one who sucks!) or Ace of Base. Remember them?

Disclaimers are the key

Years ago, I was writing at a publishing office in Nashville with a songwriter friend of mine. One of the guys from the publisher stuck his head in the door to see how it was going. We were really excited about the song we were working on, and wanted to show it to him. I got ready to strum my guitar, but first began my usual string of disclaimers: the lyrics aren't quite done, the melody's not exactly right on the chorus, blah, blah, blah. My cowriter stopped me, and said, "Just play the song. You don't need to apologize for anything."

In that instance, it was a great song, and you could tell it was even though it wasn't 100% done. I learned my lesson, or so I thought, and ever since then I just play an unfinished song for someone without setting it up. But a funny thing often happens: usually these are well intentioned people I'm playing the songs for, whether it be a friend or manager or publisher, so I appreciate that they're going to tell me how they feel. But the feedback I often get is downright deflating. I'm just looking for a little direction, and many times the song (and the presenter) end up getting thrown under the bus. What's wrong here?

Recently I've been reading Fearless Creating by Eric Maisel, and he accurately explains this phenomenon. If the song (or painting, or book, or whatever) isn't finished, you need to let people know up front. Otherwise, they think you're presenting them the final product. If it's not done, of course it's going to be bad in places. So you better believe I'm going to start setting my songs up that way, so I can get the kind of feedback I'm looking for.

Maisel even goes a little further than that. You can use disclaimers as a tool to help you figure out where you are on a project. If you're ready to present it somewhat confidently, or at least not feel like you have to apologize for it, then it's a lot further along than if you have to intoduce your creation with a whole string of disclaimers. And you need to be sure to use the right kinds of disclaimers so that you can tip people off as to what kind of feedback you're looking for. Used in the right way, disclaimers can be quite powerful. But bear in mind that the people you are showing your ideas to are, well, people, and they're coming into it with their own set of insecurities, biases and hangups. So when you're showing your work for feedback, show it to people you know and trust and whom you know where they're coming from. When you're trying to sell your work, well... You'll have to play it for all kinds of people, whether you know them or not. But hopefully by that time you'll have it completed. And you won't have to use disclaimers.

But disclaimers are the key.

Bloggo Italiano

So Randy's been blogging from Italy the last week or so. I think he might be leaving today, but he's done a great job of updating it. Tons of pictures and highlights. It makes you feel like you're there. No, actually it makes you feel like you're sitting on your couch wishing you were there, but hey, that's better than nothing. Maybe I'll eat here later in his honor...

Randy even posted in Italian the first day: I think that's Italian for "see you suckers!". Seriously, I'm glad to hear they had a great time!