17 August 2006

Lyrically Speaking

Music is a powerful way of communicating. Though most of the songs today are (in my eyes) a waste of time and energy to produce; however, they appeal to someone, somewhere, and I'll leave it at that.

For me, music is more than just another hot song of the moment; it is a very powerful way of communicating. "When words fail, music remains" is a slogan I came up with and also the sub title to a compilation of CDs I've created. There is no preference to genre or pace; they're merely a collection of songs that actually say something. The creation came about while I was bored of listening to the same old shit that was on mainstream radio and wanted something to listen to with some substance. Granted, there are some songs there were once mainstream, but to me, they had the ever powerful component...meaningful lyrical content. The compilation (now at Vol.13) was no easy feat, but well worth the numerous hours I spent working on them.

Recently, while parusing iTunes, I came across Janita. A young woman from Helsinki, Finland who's voice is sultry, sensual, rich, and very soulful. To me, she's a combination of Sade, Gabriela Anders (another little known artist from Brazil - the girl can sing!), with a sprinkle of Teena Marie. The CD entitled "Seasons of Life" was more than worth the $9.90 I spent to download it. Song for song, Janita had my attention and I can (and have repeatedly) listened to it loop for hours. I shared the CD with friends whom have a greater appreciation for good music and they too were captivated by her lyrical capacity. I strongly recommend Janita to (
http://www.janita.com) to you.

Let me know what you think...Lyrically speaking!

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good post, but why is it in the story section??

Anyway, I agree that good music is hard to come by. You should also keep an eye out for music released on Indie labels. A lot of times, you'll find many diamonds in the rough.

4:38 PM, August 17, 2006  
Blogger Sleekblackmercedes said...

music helps set the mood for me when i write. it's like oil - lubricating my mind to produce the writing that i have stuck inside me...

10:13 AM, August 19, 2006  
Blogger The Wandering Author said...

I am of two minds. I do love music with lyrics that mean something, but when I am writing, those lyrics can distract me. I also tend to respond to music purely as sound. Certain voices will soothe me, others grate on my mind. I guess I would need to make two compilations.

You have convinced me it is worth while to seek out both Gabriela Anders and Janita. I don't know how long it will take me to get around to it, but that is definitely on my list of things to get around to...

One trick I've found when writing to keep the lyrics from distracting me, is to either listen to music with no lyrics or music with lyrics in a language I can't understand. An odd habit, I know, but it works for me.

1:04 PM, August 21, 2006  

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