#confessional songwriting

[dustedmagazine]

Dinah — Dinah! (self-released)

Photo by Janet Kimber

Dinah Thorpe plays the saddest disco songs, her short, fluttering melodies beating against monolithic dance cadences. She murmurs, intensely, internally, in the wake of blast beats, the ghost in the machine. The artist, out of Toronto, recorded these 17 tracks at home, alone, during the pandemic, letting the thwack of snare, the surge of synths into her solitary compositions. These are spare, harrowing songs, hurling about in a dance macabre without ever raising the volume over a whisper.

Consider the scraped bare, “Oh that lightness,” with its irregular pattern of bass ukulele notes, its velvet black, fundamental silence underneath. Thorpe sings plaintively, her tone just breath with an edge of melody, the notes flickering like a lighter in gusty wind. “Joy is at issue here/oh that lightness in the chest,” she croons at the end of emotion, worn out by it, subdued. “If I’m lucky I will grow old/if we’re lucky we will grow old,” she adds, resolute but not confident about it. It’s a pandemic song, not because of its spare production, but because of the way it works out suffering on its own.

Other cuts boogie harder but no less obliquely, as in the brash, disco interval “crunch/empire” or the shadowy, organ flaring “hummingbird” with its slaps of percussion and slushy synthetic handclaps. Yet even at her danciest, Thorpe sounds like she’s praying; there’s a hushed communion with the authorities even in the syncopations.

These cuts sketch a few lines of narrative, but they’re more about conveying feeling than story. The one exception comes late in the album with “scadding,” a song about the west-end Toronto community center Scadding Courts, where homeless encampments were cleared in 2021. Against an ominous, near Shackleton-like backdrop of sub-bass and glitch, Thorpe intones dispassionately about the showdown:

 “Surrounded by evil, with weapons on its belt, we did what we could until we couldn’t/I keep thinking about this one tiny person/who clearly just needed a bit of help/if one were feeling hopeful, as if one might find power in it taking three armies to move her.”

It’s powerful because it’s so quiet, because it’s so restrained and because eruptive feeling pulses tangibly behind its minimalist calm. In a microcosm, that’s the appeal of these fragmentary, hallucinatory tracks, that they convey more, much more, than you’d anticipate with the very minimum of materials.

Jennifer Kelly

[thedreadvampy]

I GENUINELY wish I understood the appeal of Taylor Swift I really really do. many of my friends do. but it's just. I don't think a single one of her songs has ever landed above 'ok' or 'nostalgically cheesy' for me and every time I think that I feel so incredibly like I'm trying to be snobby but I'm not? it's not about not liking pop or not liking the cool thing I love pop I love cheese I just also like music that has some...I guess energy and danceability or specific and meaningful rage and I have found nothing to hook into in anything she's made. Antihero nearly works for me. Blank Space works conceptually but not in practise. but other than that the last thing she made that did anything for me even as a throwaway pop song was. god it actually might be We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together or 22 which at least are catchy but I can't say ever made it to my playlists.

I want to get it, I genuinely do. I have listened to most of her releases at least once because I keep thinking if I try hard enough something will open up for me but nah however hard I try it's just extremely mid. like yes that certainly is music. I can immediately recognise it as Taylor Swift, it's not like it's utterly generic, but it absolutely just registers to me as background music. I want so much to understand what it is about her that makes her the biggest person in music for like 15 years now.

(I could say the same about Beyoncé who if anything lands worse for me. Break My Soul owns, but other than that I have landed everything I've heard of hers since like 2008 firmly in the Do Not Relisten pile it just lands like a ton of loose sand for me. and this is not mentioning the actual crime against music that was Jolene bc I don't think that worked for most people tbf. and again it's not that I don't like pop or r&b or rap cause that's like. between those genres about a third of the music I listen to. but her work is just so unengaging to me personally and I don't know why and I wish I got it)

[depressedraisin]

submarine ep is kind of a spiritual successor of joni mitchell's blue. to me. if u even care

[dreamsinmytotebag]

Theory of Lyric Poetry

Going back to our main subject of poetry, this blog is going to talk about “Lyric Poetry”. Lyric Poetry refers to a short poem, often with songlike qualities, that expresses the speaker’s personal emotions and feelings. It can also be described as a first-person poem. The concept of lyric poetry is commonly found in contemporary forms of art, particularly, literature and music, in different genres. The etymology of the word, “lyric” can be traced back to the Greek word “lura”, which means "lyre”, a musical instrument often used to accompany the readings of lyric poems. The Greeks had a very technical meaning for lyric poetry and called it “melic poetry” primarily because it used to be sung. They used to follow a strict distinction between lyric or melic poets and the writers of plays. Lyric poetry then followed a pathway from the Romans to China, into the Medieval verse, and then from 16th century onwards, it persists even today.

In the 20th century, lyric poetry became the dominant poetry type in America, Britain and Britain colonies. A. E. Housman, Walter de la Mare, Edmund Blunden, and Rabindranath Tagore were among the many famous poets who relied on this genre of poetry. However, at the same time, there were many who questioned Lyric Poetry as well. The modernist poets such as, Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, and many more, rejected this kind of poetry on the basis of its heavy reliance on the melodious language, rather than on the complexity of thought. Lyric poetry also gave rise to “confessional poetry”, which took the main stage in American poetry in the middle of the 20th century. Poets started writing about their relationships, domestic life, and many other personal and sensitive issues. Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, make it to the list of such poets.

If we view the field of music, we come across many modern-day songwriters across various music genres to be following the same writing technique. Personally speaking, as someone who writes as well, I always draw my attention to the lyrics of a song prior to anything else. I think that’s why my personal favourite artists come around to be those who are primarily known for their songwriting capabilities, such as Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, or LORDE, and many more. I also feel like, many people are drawn to such songwriters/artists because these artists tend to write about their private life and affairs which draws human interest. People like to read about people, especially when these people hold some sort of prominence or significance.

And this can also be applied to the concept of Lyric Poetry, because it tends to make the poet sound confessional in their work which tends to reflect a sense of relatability onto the readers or listeners. I also feel like this is one of the most vulnerable forms of writing because you truly let yourself reflect in what you write. The emphasis on the poet’s state of mind and personal themes is what makes Lyric Poetry stand relevant even today and it’s interesting to see how it continues to evolve ever since its origin.

References:

[doyoulikethisemoband]

[istillgotlove]

like the issue with taylor swift isn't some unique thing to do with her it's just the fact she exists with that much money in the first place and belongs to that class that she does. like it's not the same level of evil as corporate heads that got that level of rich of exploitation because she's a lucked out cultural headpiece celebrity but like. that doesn't mean she is not hoarding money and resources and that she is furthering harm that people in the class she is in do. criticism of taylor swift should be based in criticism of where she exists in society. not oh I hate her because *insert another innocuous ridiculous thing no one would ever point out if she weren't taylor swift*

[evermoredeluxe]

I personally won’t accuse him of cheating unless we get something actually substantial her friends unfollowing him might hint at something not great happening but that’s not only limited to cheating yknow

same. feel you.

[istillgotlove]

I mean yeah it's not necessarily everyone's style or imo very exemplary of her songwriting but I do think there's a very solid point to the song Maroon avoiding the colour red and instead describing shades of red to wrap into overarching simile.

“flaunting her songwriting”

[thisaintascenereviews]

Cory Wells - Harboring The Hurt I’ve Caused

I don’t know if I’m the only one who remembers this, but back in the early 2010s, there was a period of acoustic emo / spoken-word artists that would sing and then randomly scream towards the bridge to make it a little more emotional. It was such a niche sound, but it got popular for a bit. The main ones I can think of are the long since “canceled” Front Porch Step, and This Wild Life (I think they’re still around, and I may have listened to their last album, actually), but bands like Hotel Books and Being As An Ocean also come to mind, especially for being on the “heavier” spectrum from time to time, as well as using screaming in their music to emphasize emotion. Being As An Ocean dropped a new album earlier this year, and it was okay, but it took me back to a decade ago when I really liked that kind of music.

I’m reminded of that stuff again, thanks to this new Cory Wells record, Harboring The Hate I’ve Caused. I don’t know much about this guy, but Wells dropped an album in 2019, then kind of disappeared. I just noticed he dropped a new record this past weekend, so I thought I’d check it out. I never listened to his debut, despite remembering it come out, so I didn’t quite know what I’d be in for with this record. I was surprised when I heard acoustic / folksy emo, but it took me to 2014 when I heard Wells start to scream in the bridge, so that’s why I opened up this review the way I did.

I’ve made it known that I’m very picky when it comes to acoustic and folk music, and I even mentioned that apprehension on my review of the new Kacey Musgraves album, Deeper Well. A lot of this type of music is reliant on the vocals and lyrics, so if they’re not up to par, the album can suffer for it. The instrumentation matters, too, but not quite as much. As for Wells’ new album, I’m not sure how I feel about it, because there are things I really like, but also things that make me cringe. Not in the sense that it’s bad, but this album feels weirdly dated and it just takes me back to 2014 in a way I don’t like.

The sound itself feels a bit dated, because the emo singer-songwriter thing was huge back a decade ago, and you don’t see it much now, but it’s when Wells does that sing-scream thing towards the bridge that takes me back to that time. That’s not inherently bad in itself that he does that, it just feels melodramatic for the sake of it, and I remember when bands did that back then and I just don’t care for it now. That’s my own personal bias showing up there, so you may not listen to that and cringe a little, but I don’t want to say it’s bad.

I’m getting ahead of myself, because Harboring The Hurt I’ve Caused is a good album. Wells has a really good voice, and alongside having an impressive range, he has that “emo” sound to his voice, too. He sounds like a good pop-punk singer, but with a lot of range. His lyrics are also rather interesting, but like how he sing-screams to emphasize the emotion in his voice, his lyrics are kind of melodramatic. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, so I don’t know how I feel about it. They’re not bad, and there’s a lot of vulnerability in them, so I really applaud that, but they can get a little too melodramatic.

I think the biggest thing is that the songs all kind of sound the same, and you even hear that sing-scream part that I’ve alluded to a few times throughout the album. It isn’t on every song, thankfully, but it does show up enough where it gets old. The third time it happened, I was like, “Okay, the first couple times are okay, but we don’t need to keep doing this.” Thankfully, Wells lets some of the songs speak for themselves. The instrumentation of this record is its weakest point, as this is very forgettable and by-the-numbers acoustic / singer-songwriter fare, but it’s not bad. Some of the hooks are fine, but this album is kind of forgettable.

If you listened to any acoustic or folksy emo that has lyricism that vocal work that has some things in common with pop-punk and post-hardcore, especially a bit of light screaming, you’ve already listened to this album. That isn’t really a slight against it, because I’ve listened to tons of generic albums that are really good, but the key is that those albums offer something more interesting, whether it’s in its lyricism or vocals. Wells is a solid lyricist, even if his lyrics aren’t anything I haven’t heard before, and his voice is actually quite good, so there’s a reason to check it out. I just don’t know if it makes a huge lasting impression aside from being pleasant, and having an emotional weight behind it.

[nicollekidman]

as an adult, i've also just very much felt that this album rollout is not for me, it's for younger fans. between the rerecordings and the Eras tour and how much she's exploded in popularity, mixed in with her particular brand of confessional songwriting, i feel like Taylor just hasn't quite figured out how to balance actually maturing as an artist and songwriter while keeping a predominantly young fanbase. there's probably an alternate universe somewhere where folklore and evermore were the beginning of a bigger shift in her music and her audience that allowed for that growth, but i don't know if it's possible for her as she is right now. always hope she'll prove me wrong though!!

bestie…. yes…… yes

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

no like really even without the timeline context of when it leaked Hand of God is so incredibly messed up like???? FOB's always been good at public indictments of the way they've been treated, that's like, a significant amount of their discography especially prehiatus and ESPECIALLY Cork Tree which does it very bitterly and sardonically but Hand of God feels like it takes it a step farther with "which is it, the boy who writes the songs or the boy who's in them?" because like YES there is more than one way to interpret that and I'm cool with that but it's doing a massive disservice to FOB and to Pete's writing to skim over the point within the larger whole of the song that they are one and the same. the boy who writes the songs IS the one who's in them, that's been true for most of Fall Out Boy's career. they're SUPER vulnerable in their songwriting, even when it's sarcastic and tongue in cheek, there's always a piece of truth in it. they wrote an entire fricking song about Pete's suicide attempt. the boy who writes the songs has always been the one who's in them, this isn't mutually exclusive. and Hand of God is IMMENSELY self-referential. it's literally Pete writing about himself. "who's the girl, is this truth, or is he writing fiction?" were all questions asked repeatedly on their forums and in Q&As with Pete.

"I am the worst liar I know" coming from the song that is possibly the most raw, honest draft or demo from Cork Tree — which also contains lyrics such as "we're only liars, but we're the best" (tongue in cheek turnaround of criticisms against the band) and "you only hold me up like this because you don't know who I really am" and "if you say this makes you happy then I'm not the only one lying" and "it's just a matter of time until we're all found out" and "I'll keep singing this lie if you keep believing it" (in a song that was essentially the band's mission statement, for lack of a better term) and "the record won't stop skipping and the lies just won't stop slipping and besides my reputation's on the line" (in a song that Pete himself said was way too personal to play live and has also said was the first half of a story that Hum Hallelujah, which is explicitly about his suicide attempt, later completed) and "I went to sleep a poet and woke up a fraud" (Music or the Misery is on a different edition but the point still stands) and "I keep telling myself I'm not the desperate type" (in a song titled sarcastically after the medication Pete overdosed on) — is fricking insane. there's a completely unfiltered, untwisted-into-sarcasm honesty in Hand of God and even though it (rightfully, because it would have been Too Much) didn't make it onto the final album, it functions as as much of a thesis statement as Sophomore Slump does. it functions as as much of a confessional as Dark Alley. Hand of God is at the heart of Cork Tree, practically haunting it, and it isn't even on the album.

[stillgotscars]

if an artist solely wants to release carefree, danceable pop songs, that’s totally valid and their prerogative. but what irks me is dua lipa implying that an artist being raw and open and confessional in their lyricism, that an artist using songwriting as a tool to process their emotions and pain and experiences, is an attention-seeking ploy. there’s a market for personal and impersonal music, so it’s just unnecessary to shade other artists for having a different approach to songwriting.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

hi so the New York Times just published a gaylor manifesto and since you’ve been my main source of info for this stuff I wanted to share it https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/opinion/taylor-swift-queer.html

sigh.

okay. if anyone wants to read along, check out the unpaywalled article here:

https://archive.is/uHxuV

before we really get into this I just want to say that I looked into author Anna Marks' previous contributions to the NYT opinion column, of which there are two: a piece about how Marks, as a queer fan, is "heartbroken" by Harry Styles 'appropriating" queer culture by wearing ugly clothes, and an audio piece about how women referring to themselves as "girls" on TikTok is actually radical feminist praxis. so. hot mess express up in here.

anyway this piece is a shitshow that basically plays at the greatest hits from Gaylor conspiracy theories, mainly harping on her inability to come out because of some intangible threat it would pose to her career:

While Ms. Swift’s songs, largely written from her own perspective, cannot always conform to the idea of a woman our culture expects, her celebrity can. That separation, between Swift the songwriter and Swift the star, allows Ms. Swift to press against the golden birdcage in which she has found herself. She can write about women’s complexity in her confessional songs, but if ever she chooses not to publicly comply with the dominant culture’s fantasy, she will remain uncategorizable, and therefore, unsellable. Her star — as bright as it is now — would surely dim.

immediately beneath this is an image of Taylor Swift crumpled face-down onstage, looking wet; if nothing else, it's peak melodrama.

the most glaring thing about this, to me, is Marks' willful omission of other queer pop stars. she opens the article with a jarring discussion of lesbian country singer Chely Wright's 2006 suicide attempt and mentions a few contemporary celebrities who have been encouraged to stay closeted -  Cara Delevingne, Colton Haynes, Elliot Page, Kristen Stewart, Raven Symoné and Sam Smith - but with the obvious exception of Smith, they're hardly Swift's peers. as I've said before in my worst and most stupid post, the argument that outing herself would "dim Taylor's star" falls apart pretty significantly when you look at the success of artists like Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Cardi B, and Halsey. Taylor Swift had a bigger year in 2023 than any of them combined, frankly; coming out as queer wouldn't slow her down in the slightest. why the fuck are gaylors so determined to act like she's beholden to a fanbase comprised entirely of conservatives?

also everything about how coming out is sooooo hard for famous people because they're subject to scrutiny and weird behavior as if that's not? something Taylor Swift already deals with? hello hi? get a grip I implore you. why are we wasting webspace on this.

[keepingupwithzaynmalik]

Zayn at Eventim Hammersmith Apollo review: moments of joyous catharsis

The pop star paid tribute to his friend Liam Payne, but the main focus of the night was delivering on the warmth

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

When he was 22, Zayn Malik stepped away from the biggest pop band in the world. “I have to do what feels right in my heart,” he wrote at the time and in the nine years since, he’s consistently lived up to that promise. His R&B-tinged solo single Pillowtalk was a smash hit on both sides of the Atlantic, as was the debut album Mind Of Mine, but the records that followed moved further away from sugary stadium pop and focused on raw, confessional songwriting instead.

He only played his first headline show earlier this year, at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire to celebrate the release of rustic fourth album Room Under The Stairs, and his debut headline tour kicked off last week. “Thank you for being patient with me,” he told the crowd at Eventim Hammersmith Apollo on Tuesday night. “I know I took a while but we got here…it f***ing feels amazing.”

Zayn didn’t quite know what to do with himself as explosive screams broke out after each and every song, but he looked entirely comfortable singing his powerfully heartfelt anthems. Backed by a seven-piece band and with the stage littered with twinkling trees, there was a deliberate warmth to the entire show. “If people told you to be quiet online, ignore them,” he said, wanting the sold-out venue to lose themselves in the moment. “Have a drink, have a dance, let’s have a good time.”

The excitable fans were the only real hint of Zayn’s time in One Direction. No tracks from his former band made the 17-song setlist, though a lush cover of Paulo Nutini’s Let Me Hold You did, and the only nod to his past was a simple, tender “Love you bro” video tribute to bandmate Liam Payne at the very end of the gig. Instead, he focused on his own rich back catalogue, and rightfully so.

From the dreamy Scripted to “cheeky” scream-a-long Sweat via stripped back takes on early singles iT’s YoU and BoRdErZ, there were nods to every step of his solo journey. The folksy songs from Room Under The Stairs were the real stars of the show though. Opening one-two of My Woman and Birds On A Cloud were pained but full of longing before the gentle rock & roll swagger of Dreamin. He encouraged the crowd to get into their feelings for the fragile Lied To while a spiky Ignorance Ain’t Bliss flirted with party-starting funk.

On record, tracks like Alienated and Gates Of Hell feel sombre and delicate but closing out the gig, they were transformed into soaring moments of joyous catharsis. Based on his grin, it seemed like Zayn needed that while some fans rushed outside to start queueing in the rain for Wednesday night’s show. It’s hard to know if this tour is a one-off, or the start of a new chapter in his career. Wherever Zayn goes next though, you can be sure he’ll do things his own, defiant way.

VIA STANDARD

[aintgottaprayforme]

taylor has ALWAYS been a confessional songwriter. she used to put secret messages in her lyric booklets so that we could know even more of her story! she wants us to know her! to understand her! but the thing is, we only have her permission to talk about what she/her friends/her team put out there. and sometimes that means reading between the lines and analyzing and making connections! she’s an artist! that’s what you do with art!

what deuxmoi does violates that bond. they talk about things they have no business speculating about. they post for followers, clicks, and attention. and, in the process, they hurt taylor and the people in her life bc there are many who believe what deuxmoi says is fact. gaylors are the same! matty theorists are the same!! this kind of baseless speculation is cruel and invasive.

taylor just wants us to believe her and get info from her IF and when she’s ready to share it.

[louisupdates]

FULL ARTICLE ON EUPHORIAZINE

By Saskia Postema 26.4.2024

Mere days after winning “Artist of the Year” at the inaugural Northern Music Awards, Louis Tomlinson is celebrating the only way he knows how – by giving back. Tomlinson just dropped a surprise album, which includes a curated list of live performances over the past years. It’s a risky move, as live albums are notoriously difficult to make worthwhile. But there’s no doubt about it: Tomlinson is deserving of that award, and the recordings on Louis Tomlinson: LIVE deserve to live forever.

After an initial stop-start to his solo career, Tomlinson has certainly flourished since finally getting to hit the stage. He’s been touring extensively over the past few years, performing a mix of tracks from his first two albums. Both were solid records that heavily referenced anthemic, rich sonic soundscapes. In fact, Tomlinson previously admitted that he wrote certain tracks with a live show in mind. Indeed, songs like “Face The Music,” “Out Of My System” and “The Greatest,” from his No. 1 selling album Faith in the Future, absolutely benefit from the live instrumentals compared to their studio versions.

It isn’t often that live performances consistently seem to not only live up to but objectively improve the perfectly engineered studio recordings. Perhaps it’s the love that the album so clearly captures for live music that does it. The singer-songwriter is an avid fan of his own fans and gets to share a collective experience of joy with them. Just listen to the crowds serenading Tomlinson in return during “Chicago,” recorded live in – you guessed it, Chicago. From Tomlinson’s perspective, audiences across the world have always been part of breathing life into these live recordings. Now, people get to live that same experience with him by listening to this record that is woven together with impeccably mixed joyful screaming in the background.

Tomlinson’s storytelling isn’t hindered by the crowd’s reaction. Rather, it is bolstered by it. In both power ballads like “Common People” as well as raucous tracks like “Silver Tongues.” The live setting seems to function almost akin to a prism – each song shining brighter, richer, fuller. Perhaps the only track that is tighter in the original version, is the seductive “Written All Over Your Face.” Nonetheless, the instrumental break and palpable, wild excitement make for an enjoyable listen.

Similarly, right in the middle of the highly addictive “All This Time/We Are Beauty” mash-up, a fan can be heard screaming “I love you” if you listen closely. The sheer adulation of the crowd is decidedly earned. Tomlinson has worked hard to prove himself, despite never having lacked the talent. Perhaps merely the confidence that he could do it, would do it, has done it. Nevertheless, he’s been open about the tension between his own love for music, and his at times debilitating need for perfection. As he’s settled into his career, a quiet undertone of determination and grit, of relief and fulfillment – of gratitude remains in every single show.

On “Saturdays,” you can actually hear Tomlinson mumble that the view’s never been better from where he’s stood on stage. It’s a high-maintenance track with all the right ingredients for a Tomlinson classic. There’s confessional lyricism, emotive delivery, and a gradual yet powerful crescendo in musical arrangement. It needs to be sung with conviction, and it’s clear that Tomlinson pulls power from the audience to deliver.

Notably, none of the covers that Tomlinson frequently incorporates in his concerts made it onto this live album. With that in mind, perhaps this release signals that Tomlinson has finally embraced his own artistry. Because if anything, Louis Tomlinson: LIVE is a reckless celebration record. An ode to joy, the synergy between artist and audience, and the impact of well-timed, flawlessly executed live guitar solos.