Recently in "smudie"
Sometimes, I like to think that a good song can be sung by anyone.
A fine example of this can be found in the Nouvelle Vague project, which saw new bossa nova life being breathed into such new wave classics as I Just Can't Get Enough and Guns of Brixton (and whose leader Marc Collin has recently turned his sights on 80s film music with Hollywood, Mon Amour).
When I'm writing lyrics, however, I often find myself writing with a particular voice, a particular personality, in mind. The thing is, you can never be sure that the song in question will appeal to the person you're writing for - or that he or she will be able to do anything with it, even if it does.
That's why some songs (such as A Dollar You Found In The Street) end up in limbo, waiting, gathering dust.
Still, like any parent, you never give up hope that your song-children will find a place in the world.
Last night, for instance, I got a text message from eliotE telling me that she and her band have finally come up with a melody for Crayon.
So, you see, it's never too late.
Hog Killin' Time: le country touch
When multi-instrumentalist and sound engineer Baptiste Hottin, the man behind Hog Killin' Time, was introduced to me as a fan of Johnny Cash, I just knew we were fated to work together.
Right now, Baptiste is putting together a collection of songs for an album that will feature a number of guest vocalists, and I'm helping out with the lyrics.
Our first collaboration, on which the vocal duties are handled by the lead singer of Manchester, is Under A Pile of Bricks. It's a song about nostalgia and the passing of time, and I'm sure Marcel Proust (and perhaps even Johnny Cash) would have loved it.
So there you go. It's official!
The track in question sounds absolutely fantastic, and I can't wait for her to make it available for public comsumption. It's called Jesus Freak. I guess you could say it's a love song of sorts.
I'll be there - and it will be the first time I've ever heard any of my lyrics sung live.
This is exciting news for me, as I saw Jen in concert a few years ago at what I believe was one of the first gigs I attended here in Paris, and I'm a real fan of her voice.
At the moment, it's looking like Jen will be performing on at least Outer Space Boy, and potentially some other tracks as well.
I can't wait to hear the result.
What I appreciate most about her proposed working method is that, although a talented lyricist herself - her recent album featured a great line about turning down the guitar and drums because, after all, "this is France, for fuck's sake" - she didn't seem to want to tell me what to write.
Sure, she gave me some vague ideas about the style of lyrics she appreciates, and she mentioned the kind of topics she's interested in singing about, but I've worked with people in the past who've been much more specific in their demands. More than once I've been given a verse-by-verse breakdown of exactly what I should say, turning me in effect from an artist performing a genuinely creative act into a simple artisan, polishing the singer's rough ideas into verse. Now, I understand that whoever sings my words needs to feel some kind of emotional attachment to the ideas they express, but you can imagine which of the two methods is more satisfying for me as a writer - and, most importantly, which one gives the best results!
I'm certain anything I write for this person will be tossed back and forth between us both so many times that she'll end up feeling just as much ownership over it as I do, but it's still heartening to feel that she is at least willing to let me take the first steps on my own.
I can trace the outline, and we can colour it in together.
In any case, I'm really excited about seeing what we can come up with, not least because I saw her perform at the Flèche d'Or earlier this year and, as I wrote on her MySpace page just afterwards, I've never been so blown away by the sheer force of music. This could be something really special.
Here are some new songs, waiting for someone to sing them. Could it be you?
The music for Ashtray was written by Cyril Martin of Electric Factory, but we both agreed that this particular song didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the Electric Factory project and would be better off living a life of its own.
Cat Lover is just some words and a melody for now.
OrangeColumbo: rock/pop with a distinct air of Americana
I'm currently working with OrangeColumbo on putting together a demo that a couple of record labels have expressed serious interest in hearing. We've already written half a dozen tracks together, and are putting the finishing touches to a few more.
Pull The Stars Down was one of the first lyrics I wrote for him. It came to me more or less in one go, while I was drugged up on penicillin to treat a bout of pneumonia. Dirty Fingernails took a little longer.
All smudie's lyrics
Email: smudie@gmail.com
I write with:
Nadj
OrangeColumbo
eliotE & the Ritournelles
Hog Killin' Time
Electric Factory
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