Living In Rhythm

There are certain phrasings in songs that make the line. Some artists are genius at it- changing the entire tone of the song with a phrasing. Good phrasing can drag you into a song even if you don’t know that’s what it’s doing.

As silly as it sounds, if a great part of a song comes on, I can close my eyes and just vibe out on it- it makes me smile when I can pinpoint a phrase. It feels like it’s my little secret that I notice and no one else does. However, some things are just too good not to share….

Some of my faves, to name very few…:

“Got time, but I don’t mind” JT, Rock Your Body 0:28
“If you could only” John Mayer, Say. 1:25
“Give me a tin roof, a front porch, and a gravel road” Little Big Town, Boondocks. 2:30
“I know how hard it is to give your love away, but baby it’s safe” Marc Broussard, Come In From The Cold. 1:22
“Why can’t we just trust each other, you can’t hate me and be my lover” John Legend, Again. 2:46
“I’m in love with a girl who’s in love with the world” Amos Lee, Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight. 1:45
“You’ve got me on a natural high” India Arie, Beautiful Surprise. 0:55
“I’m gonna sing my way away from blue” John Mayer, I’m Gonna Find Another You. 1:00
“Please” Marvin Gaye, Distant Lover (live version). 2:52
“You don’t look much like a man from where I’m at” Miranda Lambert, More Like Her. 2:11
“Baby, don’t you be so mean” Ne-Yo, Can We Chill, 0:18

I am writing a song right now (first one in ages) that was born out of reading the liner notes for Continuum. The center of the booklet is a page of the inside of a studio, with “this is what my heart looks like” written with an asterisk.

The concept is amazing to me- to be able to define what the inside of yourself looks like.

So I started writing. And I am completely stuck. I want so badly to complete the chorus (maybe one of the best I’ve ever written), but I cannot think of the right word to fill out the lyrics.

Deepest? Darkest? Most fucked up (then we run into syllable problems…)…?

What is the one word/thing/idea/ that I can say is defines me completely. I have no clue. Not even the most remote idea. Even as I read the options I have written down, none of them seem right to occupy that 2-syllable space.

Books can guide you but your heart defines you (says Jay Z)….but how do you define your heart?

I have been battling with myself lately over whether or not to buy Jordin Sparks’ album. I was given a $25 gift certificate to the iTunes store and choosing which albums to buy is like…something else that is also hard to choose.

I love Tattoo. I love all the songs I have heard so far, actually.

Do I want to support someone who skipped a few steps to get where she is, when there are so many people working hard and getting nowhere?

I can't blame her for taking that opportunity. I bought Carrie Underwood’s albums…(though, I didn’t buy her debut until about a year after its release). Daughtry is great. Can we even consider Idol as skipping steps anymore?

What it comes down to is this- good music is good music. If Jessica Simpson (who I am definitely not a fan of) puts out an album that is (by some strange fluke) actually OK, I will buy it. Chances of that happening remain to be seen- she is set to release a country album soon. I am scared.

If an artist means what they are singing, sounds good, has catchy songs with decent instrumentation – some of the makings of a good album – who am I to judge what got them into the studio? I have heard my share of bad singers, and Jordin Sparks is far from one of them (see the Super Bowl. It has been a long time since someone sounded that good singing the anthem, lip-synching or not {which is a whole other issue. Stadiums like that one are not built for sound. The echo in spaces like that makes things sound completely different to the person performing, resulting in bad timing and off notes}).

She means it. She is 17, but I believe her. Sure, I could go into a million other things beyond that, that make an artist good, but if I don’t believe what they’re saying, what’s the point?

Answer: there isn’t one.