and the sound flows on...

Today I put the finishing touches on what I think is one of the best songs I’ve written. It’s still fresh, so I won’t say “the best”, but I’ve never written one that feels so raw and full of emotion before.

So much so that it will take quite a while before I’m able to get through it without being overwhelmed with emotion.

Anyway, to give a background to this very fresh song (wrote the music about 4 days back, finished the lyrics about 4 hours ago), basically my band was approached by a certain industry person with information about a movie that will be released at the end of this year and that they are currently looking for a theme song.

It’s a simple songwriting competition: the band / artist / songwriter with the track that fits the product the best will get the job. Nothing new to the struggling artist in the world today.

However, we’ve been lucky enough to have some ties with one of the higher ups in charge of this project, and fortunately that person wants to support us and has been for a little bit now.

We have our foot in the door, now we just need the goods to keep the door open.

The theme is simple: A bitter relationship with a rival you grew up with who constantly was better than you and received all the attention, then looking back after growing up and realizing that although you really despised that other person and wished for their failure just so you could succeed, it’s because of that other person that you were able to grow so much and become such a stronger person today.

Enemies are really the best friends as they make you strive to be better than you really are. Simple enough concept. Very Japanese.

And it needs to be a tear-jerker. Once the audience hears that emotional chorus tug at the heart strings, put together with the beautiful imagery and story from the movie, they need to be grasping for some kleenex.

I’m a cheese-ball that loves emotional ballads which leave me with a teary eye (or 2). So coming up with the emotional hook was actually pretty simple.

I was told the track sounded great. But of course, it’s the lyrics that make the song amazing (especially in the Japanese music industry).

It’s been a while since I really went full on with a Japanese language ballad track, but something clicked and once the ball got rolling, it just wouldn’t stop. 5 or 6 rewrites later, and I was sure I came up with a story that not only reflected the theme of the movie, but I made it open-ended enough so that even people who couldn’t relate to the content of the film could still take the song and fit it to their lives.

Basically, a hit song. With the perfect arrangement and right amount of press, this could be the one.

So I wrapped it up in a pretty little e-mail and sent it over with an unthinkable amount confidence that there would be nothing else that could touch this sucker.

And due to our connections, I was able to get direct criticism over the phone within an hour or 2.

“It’s a great song. Definitely represents the nothing ever lasts (my band) sound and message…”

Wait for it…

“…but it’s kind of vague in some parts and the audience will most likely have a hard time understanding it. I guess you could say the song has a high IQ, and requires a similar amount of intelligence from the listener to really get what the song is saying.”

A legit criticism wrapped in a very nice compliment.

Translation: “Your songs are smart and very well written but the majority of people won’t be able to keep up so you should dumb it down quite a bit.”

But the melody and feel of the song are almost perfect.

So here comes the catch.

Completely re-write the lyrics of the song. Make them predictable, straightforward, and simple.

I would restate that as: make it a boring, 1-layer, easy to forget typical J-pop ballad.

OR: Say “Screw you this song kicks ass” and forget about a huge chance to get your name out into the world.

A true dilemma of an artist who has potential for (immediate but short) commercial success.

I doubt anyone would read this whole rant, but if you’re out there, what would you do in this situation?

60% of me (the artist): “Screw you this song kicks ass” and upload the song on YouTube where it will get little to no attention.

39% of me (the business man): “That is an incredibly valid statement and I shall re-write the track to fit the needs of the current situation” and proceed to spend the next 2 days betraying the artist in me by shooting down my true emotions for a chance to grab a paycheck in the near future.

1% of me (the sneaky asshole): “Yes sir. Amazing advice if I do say so myself. I shall get you a new one right away!” and throw together a mix of the most typical Japanese phrases found in corny forgettable ballads, market them as original ideas and watch the Japanese execs shower me with compliments in the form of “Who knew an American could understand the Japanese heart so well? It’s a hit, baby!”, and once the single hits the charts and people start showing up to our shows waiting for our hit ballad to sing along to, I shall refuse to play anything except the original lyrics.

The newly enlightened fans will no doubt be angry until they realize that the original is a great fucking song.

And thus, world peace.

The end.