Songwriting Tips: Are You Kidding!?!?

I just uploaded a new video (of a new song) to my YouTube channel, here: http://youtube.com/jaymathesmusic. (Thanks for checking it out! :)

But seriously, I just watched it to make sure that everything uploaded okay (it didn't, actually. I still can't figure out the whole aspect ratio junk and the videos almost always get squashed in the YouTube player.), and I noticed that many of the videos along the sidebar "related" to mine are songwriting tips. I think I puked up a little in my mouth when I saw them there.

And if that wasn't bad enough, I clicked on a couple and watched these idiots talk about how to write better songs. Are you kidding!?!? These are the kinds of people who prey on stupid American Idol wanna-be's; and even worse, these vloggers have somehow been deluged with the delusion that they have something meaningful and worthwhile to say about songwriting.

Let me say something: songwriting is simple. You either have it or you don't. If you don't have it, by all means, continue watching barf-tastic songwriting tips videos on YouTube, like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2MrG8bxR_Y&feature=related (Okay, really, don't click that link. It's a waste of your time and you're going to improve its ratings.)

And if you have it, you know you have it. I'm not saying I have it. Nor am I saying that those who have it can't improve their skills and hone their craft. What I'm saying is that good songwriters always were good songwriters. Maybe not every song they wrote was always great; but there were pieces of great songs all along the way - even from the very start of things.

So where is this coming from? Not really sure. But what I can say is that if you *are* a songwriter (by the way, I think that the only *true* songwriters are *great* songwriters, indeed), the best way for you to improve your songwriting is to write more songs. Every minute you spend thinking about how you write a song is another minute that you're not writing one.

Don't waste your life on theory. Get dirty. Make a mess. Do something. Be somebody. Work as hard as you can at something because you love it and can't imagine life without it. Don't give in. Don't let someone tell you what you can achieve. And be prepared to be broken. Beautifully broken.

One of my favorite games ever.

Need I say anything at all?

Not What I Want, but What You Want

These past 11 months, I've had a lot of time to think about the way life works. I pretty much don't have any answers, but I do have a working theory about one thing. It has to do with how we love.

A boy and a girl are playing together outside. The boy says, "I really, really, really want to play in the sandbox" and the girl says, "Well, I want to play in the treehouse." The boy replies, "Okay, I'll do what you want to do." Pretty simple, right? Not so fast.

Even on the most basic of levels, this little boy has not just given in to the request of his friend - he has demonstrated to her selfless love. He *wanted* something else. He did what would make his friend happy. He did what she wanted. (Please, let's leave out the fact that we can never truly know the particular intentions of the boy's heart.)

We have to make choices like this every day. Will we lay aside our own desires - our own wants and longings - for the sake of others? Ultimately, to do so is to love.

One word of clarification: I dare say that there is a world of difference between "being willing" to love in this way and actually "doing" love in this way. A willingness will always bear fruit in action. We do what we desire. We pursue what we are passionate about - what interests us. If we are willing to love selflessly, let us show it, for if we do not show it, we prove that the desire was truly never in us.

Selling Stuff on Craigslist

Boy, this can be addicting, let me tell you... Over the past six weeks, I've sold off the parts of my old Macintosh G4 tower computer. It was a single processor 1.25 GHz. Boy, I loved that thing. It has been hard for me to sell - to see the tower go, then the components - one by one. Alas, today I sold off the second to last component - the 17" Apple LCD Studio Monitor - for 70 whoppers.

Over these six weeks, I've found Craigslist to be an essential resource - nay, the only resource - in selling my stuff. I'd check to see what other people are trying to get for their used stuff, think about what I'd be willing to pay for it - a fair price, and create my ad. Magic. Days later I'd end up with a friendly email from a buyer. The person would come and pick it up at my apartment, and that would be the end of that.

So, I have to say, I have really enjoyed listing stuff on CL, negotiating a price, and selling stuff. There are at least three more things now that I'm going to be listing in the next week or so: two, old laptops and a Wurlitzer organ - stuff that my family just has lying around and doesn't use any more.

I think I'm hooked.

Have you ever sold anything on Craigslist?

On a Cooking Kick

I've been on a cooking kick for the last few days. I love to cook, but it's rare for me to do it - and even rarer to do it for three days in a row! Main courses are really what excite me. Here's what was on the menu the last three nights:

Monday: Drunken Steak ala Steve Raichlen (replete with Jim Beam)
Tuesday: Grilled Chicken Fajitas
Wednesday: BBQ Meat Loaf

And here's what's ahead:

Thursday: Baked Chicken Tenders
Friday: Grilled Tilapia
Saturday: (I'm out of town, so I can't cook!)
Sunday: Baked Mostaccioli

I even have some ideas for next week already... chili, turkey balls, beef and broccoli...

Yeah, okay, so this is kinda weird. I'm just sort of spouting out food stuff like this. It almost feels like I'm tweeting (but with a much higher character count). But there is a method to my madness:

Preparing dinner is like writing a song - "preparing" a song, if you will. You need to have all of the right ingredients (inspiration, a pen and paper, an instrument) and you have to add everything together at the proper time and place (time to sit down and write, a quiet place to work).

You can't force a good meal just like you can't force out a good song. When I force a dish, I usually under- or over-cook it. When I force a song, I blunder it - and it ends up in the trash.

And, of course, if any of you are interested in getting recipes from me, I can get them to you...

Busting Buns, No DSL, and Performing at Columbia

The past six days have been awesome. I've worked my butt off, rehearsing for a concert I had yesterday, writing a song for this week's vlog, and practiced several instruments. I can't believe that my last post was two weeks ago! Seriously, unbelievable. I don't know where two weeks went.

This past week, Monday through Thursday, I moved my live show rig into a secret, secluded location, away from the chaos of my small apartment. (Actually, it was my parents' basement. They graciously opened their home to me for the week.) I started my nights at around 4:30 PM, and rehearsed and recorded until about 11:15 PM. They were long nights, but rewarding ones. Plus, I was fed well (although I never expected to be fed at all).

Another big factor in my lack of posting was the fact that, until this afternoon, I haven't had internet service at the apartment since last Saturday - eight days ago. To make a long story short, I screwed up. I canceled Comcast service, then ordered AT&T service, then AT&T screwed up and it took them an extra four days to get us online. Phew! We're good now, though.

My concert at Columbia College, as a part of Manifest, the school's end-of-the-year urban arts festival, was awesome. I met a ton of really cool people, made a few friends, and was able to share - if only a part of - my new, live show, incorporating piano, triggered effects and drums, and my new computer. I'd like to give a special thanks to Cynthia Vargas for inviting me to perform. It was a blast, and I'd love to do it again next year!

I'll be posting pictures from the show some time this week, when I get pictures from a few student photographers who were covering the event.

When Plans Change

I was supposed to be here this weekend:














Doing this:













Instead, I was here:














Putting these pictures together.