I want somebody to bail ME out!

Oh wait.  He already did....

Signed,
Hoo?  G. Zuzz

On yesterday's post....

If you go to www.somebodysdaughter.org you can see that the new DVD is out as of last Friday.  And there's a video clip you really should see. 

Steve (Siler) tells me the initial reviews are "over the top good".  Praise God!  And now it's very important that this information gets out to people...people like you...and me...and our churches...and our families...and our neighbors.  Apparently the future of Music For The Soul very much rides on the success of Somebody's Daughter.

Let's do what we can!

Signed,
Ime B. Hind Thiss

It seems like every time I turn around, there's someone going through a really painful situation in life - and in one way or another it so often relates to the subject of pornography.  Sometimes there's current "usage" going on.  Sometimes it's because another party (parent, husband, friend) has "used" in the past.  Sometimes it's because he or she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and a "user" took advantage.  The touchstones are endless...fill in the blanks. 

As a parent, I feel a burden to protect my children.  So Scott and I do everything we can to filter internet content, discuss appropriate movie viewing, have those tough discussions, etc.  But you know what?  No matter how hard you and I try, Satan can and probably will find a way "around" us.  Our culture has simply embraced pornography to such a large extent that it's become almost universally available.  And here's the scary part.  Even if we could manage to bring a child to adulthood without ever viewing or becoming hooked on "skin", he or she will still have to live life within a culture that has gone haywire.  Totally bonkers.  The ways in which that situation could still harm my child are too numerous to mention.

So I fall at the feet of my Savior and beg for protection.  And....

I applaud and pray for the efforts of organizations like Music For The Soul who are on the front lines doing something about issues like these.  If you haven't heard of them, go to www.musicforthesoul.org and spend some time reading about what's going on.  (I believe their DVD project of "Somebody's Daughter" was scheduled to come out this month!)  But their products deal with much more than just pornography!  Breast cancer?  Aging parents?   Anorexia?   I'll bet there's something there that would speak to you.

Songwriters "matter" in our culture in so many ways.  If you're a songwriter who's even slightly worth your "salt", you realize how much influence a song has on the listener - and how much influence YOU have on a listener.  A song evokes emotion.  Sometimes it teaches.  Sometimes it empathizes.  Sometimes it puts into words something the listener didn't know how to say on her own.  If you're a songwriter and you're reading this, I beg you to ask God daily what kind of song He wants you to write today.  And then - whether or not it's something that will make a bunch of money - write it!  And make it the very, very best song you can write.  For me.  For my children.  For someone out there whose listening...and waiting....

Signed,
Wee Rillee Maddrr

Today I wore that old Write About Jesus t-shirt favorite - "Not Listening - I'm writing a song in my head."  My family might choose to describe this state of being (that is, me) in terms such as:  addled, confused or befuddled.  But they would be wrong.  At those moments, I'm actually functioning at a rather high cognitive level.  You know the feeling.  Searching for a word that rhymes with "orange" - and other equally noteworthy pursuits.

Which brings to mind one of my recent YouTube favorites.  Somehow, I relate to this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObpcwobhlC0

Signed,
O. Wehll

I detest discovering socks in the laundry that are inside out.  Do my kids think the sock fairy is going to "right" them?  And since I prefer they be "righted" prior to be washed, that would mean sticking my hands deep inside those stinky, damp soccer socks (or volleyball socks, or whatever) to do the deed. 

I'm not into that.

Child #1, child #2  and child #3 have learned their lessons well.  However, following a summer of carefree flip-flops, child #4 is rebelling - albeit subconsciously.  I'm finally resorting to my tried-and-true method of placing the offending aromatic footwear on his pillow, to be discovered at bedtime.

I'm confident a break-through is in the offing....

Signed,
Detour Mihnnd

Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" is a classic.  No doubt about it.   "To date, "Hallelujah" has been recorded approximately 120 times since its birth, by artists such as k d lang, John Cale, Rufus Wainwright, Keren Ann, Willie Nelson, Bono, Bon Jovi, Fred Eaglesmith, Jackie Greene, Bettie Serveert, Simple Plan, Gov't Mule and Over the Rhine."....."  (American Songwriter, Sept/Oct 2008) 

Impressive!  ....  (Personally, I'm sort of partial to its presentation in Shrek.)

But even better, this paragraph gives me hope - and challenge:

It didn't come easily for Cohen though; it was reported by the London Times in 2005 that it took him the better part of a year to complete--after writing and sifting through more than 80 verses.  "I filled two notebooks," Cohen recalled.  "I remember being in [New York's] Royalton Hotel, on the carpet in my underwear, banging my head on the floor and saying, 'I can't finish this song.'"

I've been there.  Maybe not the Royalton Hotel in New York.  Maybe not on the carpet in my underwear.  But "banging my head on the floor"?   Yes.  Yes, indeed.

Signed,
Owtch

I've been struggling with a lyric.  No co-writers on this one, so it's up to me to figure it out.  As I was working, I decided to take a break - or two - or three.  I'm not talking about a quick trip to the bathroom to see if THE perfect line might be hiding there.  I'm not talking about taking a walk in the great outdoors to stir the blood.  No, I'm talking just a "quick peek" at email...over and over. 

Well, during one of those peeks, I happened upon the following.  It was in Susan Tucker's "Songwriter's Connection E-TIP". 

How to Avoid Writing a Song

* Always attempt to write a hit
* Tell everyone why it's so difficult for you to write songs
* Hang around people who will be glad to tell you why a career as a songwriter won't work
* Tell yourself that you need perfect conditions to work
* Answer the phone when you're in the middle of writing
* Always compare your work to others
* Nurture others instead of concentrating on you own creativity
* Refuse to attend live performances by the pros to study what makes them successful
* Avoid spending time in major music cities
* Only write in chemical or alcohol induced states
* Curb your enthusiasm and ideas whenever possible
* Only write complex, complicated songs that mean something only to you
* Realize it is too expensive to take your songs to the next level (demos, better microphones, etc.)
* Talk about songwriting instead of doing it
* Realize how selfish you are for following your dreams
* Only listen to those who teach, but do not do
* Realize that all menial things have priority over your songwriting
* Only co-write with those who know less about songwriting than you do
* Take it to heart when relatives say why it won't work
* Share your successes with people who'll dampen them
* Demand perfection from yourself
* Only write what's never been written before
* Tell yourself that your job keeps you from songwriting
* Focus on the dreams of others, not your own
* Begin each writing session asking, "How much can I make off of this?"
* Tell yourself that you are too old, or too young, to do what you love
* Watch TV
* Hang out with those who drain your creativity
* Spend more time answering e-mail or watching YouTube than writing
* Be oblivious to the motives of those who criticize your songs
* Volunteer for everything that distracts you from your music
* Know that housework and home projects are more important than your songwriting
* Spend more time at the office
* Choose friends whose depression is contagious
* Tell yourself you can't afford supporting your music (then buy a new flat screen TV)
* Always suffer for your music. If it's fun, it must be wrong
* Concentrate on your "Big Break." Pay not attention to little victories
* Discount all praise. Take criticism to heart
* Realize you'll be homeless if you pursue your music
* Only write in styles/genres in which you are comfortable
* Admit you can't be successful in your hometown
* Make other's problems your own, so your energy is depleted
* Admit that you can only write songs with your family's approval
* Tell yourself you can only have artistic freedom if you leave your wife, your kids, your state
* Tell yourself that songwriting is frivolous
* Fill your writing space with distractions
* Only choose songwriting mentors who are jaded and disillusioned
* Don't write songs, read about how to write songs
* Always fear the security of leaving your day job
* Never take feedback seriously
* Keep from rewriting at all costs
* Realize your songs are too good to bring to SVSA for critique
* Realize your songs aren't good enough to bring to SVSA for critique
* Make an expensive purchase so you have to work overtime to pay for it
* Spend an excessive amount for time with your significant other
* Avoid solitude and daydreaming
* Decide that you first need to first live a colorful life in order to be a writer
* Spend time posing and being seen instead of writing
* Never complete a song more than once every two months or so

(Aha)

Signed,
Buss Ted

It's been a good week.  I'm getting my life back in order, I have writing goals and appointments in place, and I feel hopeful for the week ahead.   Shoot - I even feel hopeful for the year ahead!  But this begs the foundational question - how am I going to reach those goals? 

"The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs... one step at a time." -- Joe Girard

Oh yeah.  Now I remember.

Signed
Know Shorrt Kutts