Cheesy lyrics dilemma

[Engl Kramer]

I write with my drummer.

At the start of our sessions we have a little forum where we play each other the stuff that has been firing us up.

I think it helps us to get a feel for each others musical point of view or whatever.

Might sound weird but it works for us. Maybe you could play your singer some stuff with the kind of lyrics you like and either suggest trying the style or just hope it rubs off.

[Raskolnikovs axe]

While I agree that some cheese is ok, the 'made me feel so good inside' line is just horrible. really bad. about as cliche as you can get.

 

*edit* - the 2nd repitition of that line is what made me turn the song off, fwiw, and it was purely the lyric. the music and performance was just fine.

[Josh S]

 

While I agree that some cheese is ok, the 'made me feel so good inside' line is just horrible. really bad. about as cliche as you can get. *edit* - the 2nd repitition of that line is what made me turn the song off, fwiw, and it was purely the lyric. the music and performance was just fine.

 

 

This was sort of what I was trying to get at in my response... Not every lyric has to be Pulitzer Prize winning - but do try to edit things that are really really bad. The key is to make them sound good in the song; and some things just don't.

[d_dave_c]

I think you need to better define the cheese to your friend. Is it cheesy-sappy like a boy band? Cheesy-silly like They Might Be Giants? That schtick works in some contexts.

 

Whose lyrics do you like?

 

Your criticism needs to be more constructive. This sounds cheesy doesn't really say anything. Tell him that the lyrics make you think of Color Me Badd, and you'd rather it sound more like the Walkmen or whomever.

 

It also might have to do with expectations. Maybe you're playing something and it makes you think of X and he writes lyrics about Y. Tell him what you're thinking about before he writes the lyrics.

[Angry Tele]

IMO blameitonthelovespread needs more lyrics. Lyrically that song goes nowhere fast. Theres like half a verse and 1/4 of a chorus. For a 4+ minute song you got like 20 seconds of singing.

 

As for cheesey, cheese can be great. Listen to The Cure, Love Cats. I dare you to write a better song.

 

If you want girls write cheese. If you want boys write about dragons.

[roners5]

 

IMO blameitonthelovespread needs more lyrics. Lyrically that song goes nowhere fast. Theres like half a verse and 1/4 of a chorus. For a 4+ minute song you got like 20 seconds of singing. As for cheesey, cheese can be great. Listen to The Cure, Love Cats . I dare you to write a better song. If you want girls write cheese. If you want boys write about dragons.

 

 

The song is only half done- I mentioned it in a later post but forgot to edit the OP. That was just an idea for the chorus and bridge- we didn't even touch the verses yet.

 

When we spoke yesterday I told him I like the bridge (but we'll add more), the chorus needs some work, though the melody is fine.

[roners5]

 

It turns out that people don't actually listen to lyrics. Why do women listen to rap when it's overtly misogynistic? How do songs in foreign languages (Macarena and 99 Red Balloons to name two) become hits in the US? Why does anybody like Dio? A good, healthy chunk of people don't really care what the lyrics are, or even if they make sense. I too am guilty of liking stuff that doesn't make any sense lyrically or sounds incredibly stupid, but if the music is good enough I will even SING ALONG. Granted, all of this is coming from a listeners perspective. I play in a band that the lyrics don't even rhyme some of the times, and I find it infuriating to no end. It's a punk/rockabilly band where one of the songs is about the battle of the bulge in WWII; the song is a dance song. It kills me every time I think about it. I've come pretty close to quitting over it. But some people still think the WWII song is the best one that we have, I assume it's because they don't know the lyrics. But it is our best song musically. Which shows that people don't listen to lyrics. Still, being IN the band with the {censored}ty lyrics is hard to do. You and I are walking a fine line where we end up tolerating it just enough to keep us around indefinitely.

 

 

I agree that people don't care about nonsensical lyrics- but this is the opposite problem- the lyrics are too literal and that makes them cheesy. I constantly tell him to stop being so literal and trying to make too much sense as well lol

[Hard Truth]

How about trying to write lyrics about anything but love, romance and sex? That would help avoid the worn-out cliches. Another tip: use a rhyming dictionary. Without a rhyming dictionary most people are inclined to use the most obvious and over used rhymes. With the dictionary you may find another rhyming word that makes more sense and isn't as trite.