LOU REED

Here's the first post on my songwriting blog. I thought I'd focus on Lou Reed, as he's probably influenced me as much as any writer, including Dylan and the Beatles. I'm not going to get into a big discussion about him yet, I just want to give you some thoughts of mine inspired by a few quotes from Reed. (I found these in Victor Bockris's Reed bio "Transformer."

Reed on lyric writing: "I try to give you a very visual image in very few words, so that you can picture it in your mind really quick. I spend most of my time taking things out. Taking tons of stuff out. Really chopping it down. That's the goal. Besides communicating emotion and having a beginning, middle, and an end, I'm really hammering at those words to be concise and get it across to you as quickly and visually as possible."

I've tried to do these things myself, and in my better work I think I've pulled them off. I think songwriters spend too much time talking about how they feel, and indulging in labored metaphors that don't connect with listeners emotionally. Reed's best work makes an emotional connection immediately. (With many listeners, the emotional response is disgust or hatred, but it's better to get a negative reaction like that than the most common reaction-- which is for a listener to completely ignore your song.)

Another point I'll probably make over and over in this blog-- if you're going to be a songwriter, you should read books. (note the book next to Reed in the goofy backstage photo I stole from www.rocknroll.net/loureed/)
There are some good lyric writers, certainly, but you'll find an endless treasure trove of the English language in fiction, poetry, etc. Always remember this point-- your lyrics should have music in them. Much of the best prose (and poetry, too, obviously) has rhythm, and when you see it on the page you can hear it. If you want to develop this in your own writing, take a break from listening to records once in a while and read a book. Reed was influenced by Raymond Chandler, because of Chandler's ability to use language to put a picture in the reader's mind. As Reed put it, when Chandler described someone, "Boom, you can see it."