One of the more frustrating things about being a songwriter is loving a style of music and being utterly incapable of replicating that style in any artistically acceptable way. A song that I love is "Let Down" by Radiohead from their masterpiece "OK Computer." I have not been able to approach this album or tune in particular, but then again, no one else has either. Take a listen:
This is a tremendous interpretation of the masterpiece "Eleanor Rigby." As a songwriter, this is one of those songs that you can learn from - it has everything, lyrics, music, melody and a perfect arrangement. How does this fellow do it justice on a single acoustic guitar? Please listen.
Musician Films Himself Playing "Eleanor Rigby", But Keep Your Eye On His Guitar Playing...
All Roads Lead To The Beatles! As if I really need to convince you of just how awesome The Beatles are. It goes without saying that they are one of the (if not…
SOCIETYOFROCK.COM
The fifth song on our new rock opera CD "birth, love, hate, death" is "My Hands Are Tied." There is a simple premise underlying this song; the character, a young man, is intimidated by a girl he met (at a party or club) and has a difficult time dealing with her due to his inexperience and social awkwardness. I certainly identified with the immature character in this case.
As a young man I attended all-male or mostly all-male schools from the age of about 14 to the age of 21. There were zero females in my high school - they were not allowed in this PUBLIC SCHOOL at the time - and just a handful in the engineering university I attended afterward. I must admit, this was not a emotionally healthy arrangement for me. No wonder I wrote this song!
Anyway, in this song the singer, who was already enduring personal turmoil at the time, suffers a fairly common form of rejection by the girl who basically snubs him, but he takes it very hard. He is hitting a low point and leaves the party but fortunately the girl who treated him poorly sees his immediate reaction, and senses his pain. She is the girl from the previous song (The Prophet), a victim of abuse herself.
He heads to the roof of the building and gets to the ledge. Take a listen:
From our website:
http://www.universaldice.com/music/s/my_hands_are_tied
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g2ly--QixE&index=5&list=PLDzwgiI-BVobZER3kiWxPtZne0rne9Hoz
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/5Lorfeitq5lDay1IcrVFJ8
Also you can play it on our Facebook page to the left where you see "Listen & purchase music." You can stream for free or purchase downloads on Facebook or on our website - http://www.universaldice.com
We'd love to know what you think! Like us and follow us on Facebook and you can follow us on Spotify also.
Inspiration for songs can come from many places; it's nice when inspiration comes from a loving or some other uplifting source but often it comes from a place of sadness or outrage. A story in the news last week reminded me of a song I wrote a few years back that is as relevant as ever.
The song is FGM (Take the Knife Away) and was on our "Out of Many, One" CD. You can hear this song here streaming on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU3popU1eqc&index=46&list=PL7-2FnjsTc1SK-B2GADW7YCNfulb5iqKT . It is also on our web site and on Spotify and many other sites.
The story that arose last week was the first potential prosecution in the U.S. for the practice of Female Genital Mutilation. Rather than go into details, you can read the story at http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/14/us/female-genital-mutilation-case-detroit/index.html .
This case involves a Muslim community but this practice is far from universal among Muslims. In fact it is also prevalent in Ethiopia which has a large Christian population and even existed among Christians in pre-revolution America but the most common thread is religiously or ideologically inspired repression of women. Since the surgery is typically performed on minors unable to give informed consent, it is a form of abuse, indoctrination and assault. Instead of being a form of religious freedom, forcing this surgery on a minor is the opposite of freedom for that minor. I would argue that performing unnecessary surgery of any type, especially one where the intent is to limit or destroy the ability to enjoy sexual relations as an adult, is perverse and should be illegal around the world. Instead, in some communities, it is the expectation.
I would hope that most who read this would never condone such an act but I think there is an additional thing to consider; the idea that it is a form of religious freedom for adults, even parents, to force a religious practice on minors or to indoctrinate them into a religion. That is not religious freedom; instead, children should be exposed to the evidence and their ability to reason should be nurtured so that when they become adults, they can make good choices. That is the lesson we can all take from this.
I am putting together the libretto for our new CD "birth, love, hate, death," a rock opera, for the purpose of sending it out to a couple of producers/directors and playhouses. I will be concentrating on the local market since this is where, for reasons of practicality, that I can actually work on a live production of the opera with actors, sets, etc. Long Island is actually pretty active with live theater although NEW musical (or dramatic) productions are uncommon.
Jacqueline Jay, of A.V.A. Live Radio, who interviewed me last week on her podcast, suggested inquiring of local dance/drama schools to see if they might have an interest in staging this opera. Excellent idea! Another reason to finalize a libretto.
All ideas on staging an original rock opera are welcomed. To hear the music, see our "Listen & purchase music" button on the left or go to our website and see the Spotify music page (or our other music page) and the lyrics page as well! http://www.universaldice.com/spotify/ .
June 1, 2017 is the 50th anniversary of the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album by the Beatles. Considering the literally millions of albums released in the history of the universe, the very fact that this album always is in the running for the greatest of all time says plenty. I would like to point out that there are a number of things that make the case for "Sgt. Pepper' so compelling.
The first is the incredible production values. They are still overwhelming and intimidating.
Next are the vocals - the lead vocals and harmonies are not only perfect, they are inspired.
Then there are the arrangements; imaginative, never overdone but always enough that repeated listenings always reveal something new.
Finally, some of the songs have no counterparts, from that time until today. What compares to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" or "A Day in the Life"? These are all one-of-a-kind songs.
As a performed, writer and producer, I must admit that I wonder to myself "why bother" after hearing this. Compared to this, most everything else is like screeching chalk on a chalkboard. You have to feel a bit like a failure.
So perhaps it is not the G.O.A.T,, but there is no obviously superior choice. If you are a bit young and have not carefully listened to this album, it is time to plunk down the money and purchase the best quality recording of this available and then think about the fact that it is 50 years old.
http://www.thebeatles.com/news/bbc-celebrate-50th-anniversary-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band
Also a reminder: UniversalDice's Gerry Dantone will be interviewed on A.V.A. Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax on Wednesday, May 31, 2017, at 6:40PM. (This is episode #473.) The topic will be the tune "Honestly" from the band's latest CD "birth, love, hate,death." To hear the interview, go to http://www.universaldice.com/gig at 6:40PM on Wednesday, May 31, 2017.
"Honestly" is a song where both of the primary characters are featured. This song is my idiosyncratic way of expressing doubt about our own motivations; do we really know what love is? Maybe...
Once again, to hear the interview you can either go to the band website noted above or go directly to: http://tobtr.com/10012427
So far I have written about the first three tunes of our new CD, "birth, love, hate, death" and they all have been intros to the story and characters. The 4th song, "The Prophet," introduces us to the character named "Danielle," a young woman who was born into a cult and was the victim of an arranged marriage.
http://www.universaldice.com/music/s/the_prophet
http://www.universaldice.com/the_music/
Arranged marriages of under-age girls is not as rare as many might think and the topic was featured in the news recently.
Reuters reported: "The governor of New Jersey declined to sign a measure into law on Thursday that would have made the U.S. state the first to ban child marriage without exception. Republican Chris Christie, a supporter of President Donald Trump, said such a ban would conflict with religious customs.
Underage marriage is widespread in the United States, where about 170,000 children were wed between 2000 and 2010 in 38 of the 50 states where data was available, according to activists. Although age 18 is the minimum for marriage in most of the nation, every state has legal loopholes allowing children to wed... Opponents of the measure said exceptions should remain for marriages of young members of the military - 17-year-olds can enlist with parental consent - and pregnant teenagers. The bill as it was already approved by both houses of the legislature would have made New Jersey the first state to outlaw child marriage altogether, according to Unchained At Last, a group that opposes arranged and forced marriages...
Most such marriages are underage girls married to older men, it said.Studies have shown that child marriage is associated with mental health problems, poverty and increased high school drop-out rates." http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trafficking-childmarriage-idUSKBN1872VB
In the song, the courageous Danielle plots and executes her escape from the cult, but unfortunately, not until after the arranged marriage takes place. Her escape and subsequent story are not without consequences from her experiences, as we will see as the story progresses. This song is "The Prophet."
One of the bits of wisdom I pretend to have learned on this journey through life is how captive we are to our natures. Some people, maybe most people think that we are blank slates when we are born; our experiences create who we are. Many believe all of our attitudes and preferences are "social constructs." The truth is that there are no absolutes; we are a mixture of how we are born and what we experience. The attached article is so perfect to explain the situation that dear Chris Cornell most likely faced when he committed suicide. While many may feel that suicide is the ultimate selfish act, it may be more true that it is more like dying from pneumonia - there is not much choice other than to get the best care possible if you know that you have pneumonia and know what that best care may be. It is a shame he did not get the help he needed.
One of my favorite singers and a great songwriter, Chris Cornell has died. This is painful to write about, not only because he has died, but because it has been reported as an apparent suicide, meaning that he was most likely feeling deep pain and anguish in his final moments.
This is especially difficult for me to bear since I could always hear that pain and anguish in his singing, and relate to it, particularly in his Audioslave songs, some of which are incredibly under-rated. Seriously, how much better can a rock song be than “Like a Stone” or “Be Yourself”? I aspire to just get near that kind of true emotion, thoughtfulness and incredible vocal ability. In a sense, he was one of my teachers of how to do music, and an extremely unusual one in that he came along fairly late in the development of my musical sensibilities. I will not forget Chris Cornell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC5FdFlUcl0
“Be Yourself”
Someone falls to pieces
Sleeping all alone
Someone kills the pain
Spinning in the silence
She finally drift away
Someone gets excited
In a chapel yard
Catches a bouquet
Another lays a dozen
White roses on a grave
And be yourself is all that you can do
To be yourself is all that you can do
Someone finds salvation in everyone
Another only pain
Someone tries to hide themself
Down inside himself he prays
Someone swears their true love
Until the end of time
Another runs away
separate or united?
Healthy or insane?
And be yourself is all that you can do (all that you can do)
To be yourself is all that you can do (all that you can do)
To be yourself is all that you can do (all that you can do)
Be yourself is all that you can do
Even when you've paid enough
Been pulled apart
Or been held up
Every single memory of
The good or bad, faces of love
Don't lose any sleep tonight
I'm sure everything will end up alright
You may win or lose
But to be yourself is all that you can do
To be yourself is all that you can do
To be yourself is all that you can do (all that you can do)
To be yourself is all that you can do (all that you can do)
To be yourself is all that you can
Be yourself is all that you can
Be yourself is all that you can do
Written by Timothy Commerford, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Brad Wilk
In the last couple of weeks I've posted about the first two songs on the new UniversalDice CD "birth, love, hate, death". The first song basically was an introduction in the grandest sense: "Welcome to the World." Although the song sounded upbeat and rocked, there was a certain strain of realism within the lyrics.
The second tune took us down the road to reality even further as the mom sings to her sleeping child "I Wish I Could Tell You This," a reference to the circumstances of her child's birth. You can find these posts here on Facebook or also on our band's web site blog page.
The third song is "Your Son" sung by the child who has grown into a very young man still unaware of the truth and the pain his mother keeps inside. This tragic song begins the son's journey and I do not think you have heard a song like this before. One of the things I try to do is write songs that are original, even in the smallest way, and with this song I just have to believe we've succeeded. To listen to "Your Son" for free via streaming audio: http://www.universaldice.com/music/s/your_son
For all our tunes, you can hear them or purchase them from our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/UniversalDice/app/190322544333196/
Or visit our Spotify webpage: http://www.universaldice.com/spotify/
All the above have links to listen to "Your Son."
One of the things that I have learned about promoting music in the age of social media is that you must label yourself and your music. Digital music re-sellers demand that you tell them whether you are rap, metal or country or any one of dozens of other possible musical categories. Even if you do not want to label yourself, you better or they will not be able to market you in any intelligible manner. There is almost too much music out there and consumers and digital platforms have too much information to process. If you want someone to find you who is more likely to appreciate your style of music, you better give them a clue. So, the question is: what category of music is UniversalDice?
This is not an easy question for a band that likes to try different things at various times. But it’s a question that had to be answered and our answer is “Classic Rock.”
Why “Classic Rock”? The bands that UniversalDice seems most related are bands that have stood the test of time, such as the Beatles, the Who, the Killers, Green Day and bands that are individually unique and sound pretty good even years after the music was created.
That last aspect, to me, is the essence of “Classic Rock.” It’s not about an “era,” or a “sound,” or a point of “view” but instead about timelessness. “A Day in the Life” is timeless; “Eleanor Rigby” is timeless; “Baba O’Riley” is timeless; and so is “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and so is “When You Were Young” and so is “Let Down” by Radiohead. These songs are wildly different from each other. I predict these songs will still sound undated and classic in another 20 years. This is Classic Rock and that is the standard I work for, although it will not be up to me to determine whether it has been achieved. It will be up to you. I hope I have not misled anyone in the meantime.
Releasing music these days is more than creating the music; I guess it has always been this way but now there are so many more details that did not exist just 10 or 15 years ago. Here is one of those details.
Today I am asking our friends to "follow" UniversalDice on Spotify. You can open an account at Spotify (for free using Facebook) and download their free Spotify app. The more that we are "followed," the more airplay we will receive on Spotify, and that would be a good thing for us! We might even receive a small check someday for our music - wouldn't that be a novelty! In any case, "follow" us by pressing the green "follow" button on Spotify - go to https://open.spotify.com/artist/5UqnHMQA5AgmLcD4W7BGLM?si=tNK3KJbCQL2Vozah6_G0MQ .
You could also visit our web site where we have a Spotify "follow" button as well: http://www.universaldice.com/spotify__youtube/ . Use the green Spotify button on the audio player at the top left.
There are 6 audio players on the page, 4 that are for the 4CDs we've released and one for us under the name "UniversalDice" another as "UniversalDice.com" which is how what originally named the band when not many bands had web sites. We have those two names thanks to iTunes who no longer allow ".com" to be attached to our band name in their system because we did not put ".com" on the CD cover! Who knew? Just another detail!
One of the things I wanted to accomplish with the new CD, "birth, love, hate, death" was to have songs that were "true." I do not mean "true" in the sense in they are accurate historically or biographical, but instead, true to life. I also wanted them to be that rarity in music, and in all of art; works in which the characters (in the song in this case) poured their hearts out in truthful and articulate ways, in ways that would move the audience and be edifying at the same time. It did not have to be Shakespeare (and it isn't), but I wanted it to be understandable and honest. Romanticizing the subject matter was not on the agenda. Understanding and reaching deep down was. I hope I was able to at least approach these daunting goals.
To do so required considering not only things that have happened to me but also to others that have moved me. I took events that I know that have really occurred and modified them to fit the story. I must admit that contemplating events and memories that involved heartbreak and tragedy and then writing a story and the songs to move that story along took an emotional toll on the writer; you start to have concern for the characters you have created. You cannot help but identify with your creations.
The second song on the CD begins the story-line and is totally non-biographical but a young girl being the victim of incest leading to guilt and pregnancy is certainly a true to life situation. In this song the young victim sings about her feelings of pain and guilt her and why she will never tell the child the truth about the circumstances of his birth. She sings "it's better that you hate me than hate yourself" as the child sleeps. The tragedy becomes that the son grows up with resentment and his own self-doubt as he wonders who he really is. Sadly, this avoidance of the truth by the young mother intended to spare her child ends up helping no one. This song is called "I Wish I Could Tell You This"
Listen:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/1UukXz6ZJ4Ht6x0XAKkZ9d
Now that the "birth, love, hate, death" CD is out and available everywhere, there are new goals at hand; 1) promote the new music as much as possible 2) see if there is anyway to play live while doing the music justice 3) and start creating new music for the next (5th) CD.
Promoting the music amounts to getting the music into the hands of reviewers and internet and terrestrial radio, podcasts, etc. It's also spreading the word via Facebook and other social media. That is in process.
Playing live is trickier; being able to do that on any kind of regular and meaningful basis is difficult when people do not necessarily know your music in advance - why should they come to your show? Also having responsibilities in life is a huge handicap. For many, to truly meaningfully tour to support new music would mean quitting one's job - that is not always an option.
In the "old" days, the release and promotion of a good album of music was profitable enough to allow you to quit a job and THEN tour behind the music. You could make money on the album alone. This almost never happens nowadays. There is almost never any money in releasing music - the only way to make a living is playing live, and that means an all-in commitment to starting at the bottom and working your way up.
However, without some success receiving airplay and press notice, there is little chance that live shows would work in any case. So here is to hoping that airplay and great reviews are to follow. We'll see. It would nice to play the tunes to a large audience someday.
Finally - the new UniversalDice CD, "birth, love, hate, death," a rock opera, is now available at most of your favorite digital outlets, including iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Google Play and CDBaby. You can preview all UniversalDice tunes in their entirety (for now) at our web site for free and purchase/stream the songs at whatever web site you prefer!
The new CD release by UniversalDice, "birth, love, hate, death" is available for streaming or purchasing on the UniversalDice web site via CD Baby. This is half announcement/half test to see how the "sharing" feature on CD Baby works. This is intended to be a link to the first song, "Welcome to the World" which is an introduction with a dose of realism for a newborn into life itself. What could be a better tune to start a CD titled "birth, love, hate, death." Well, there could be NO better tune!
As I have discovered subsequently, the CD Baby audio player not only shares the single tune you are trying to share, it shares the WHOLE CD. I will be working on a fix.
Here is the fix:
It has been about 12 years since I last released a CD with my band UniversalDice but a new CD is imminent. In fact, it actually physically exists as we speak but is still in the process of being distributed to the many digital outlets that would include iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Spotify and so on. They should all have the CD and the individual tracks available for download in about a month which would mean by the end of April 2017.
For those who are unaware, I have been writing songs since the late 1970s, which makes me an old songwriter. Typically songwriters peak in their 20s and 30s but I like to think I'm as good as ever if not quite as prolific as in the past. I also know that objectivity and self-awareness is nearly impossible in this kind of thing so one just can't worry about such things. If I'm past my prime as a writer and musician, I'll probably be the last to know.
Since I have a month before I can promote and actually sell the new CDs on the various music websites, I'd like to reflect on my past CDs, songwriting efforts and thoughts about songwriting and music in general.
My first viable song came after writing about 30 or 40 truly non-viable songs! Those first 30 or 40 songs were chaotic, disorganized, poorly structured and the product of a immature mind, even though I was in my 20s at the time. I do not believe that this is an uncommon phenomenon among writers; who is mature at age 30? Or 40? Or even 70?
Many of us, or even most of us, never really obtain a real grasp on reality, life and that favorite topic of songwriters, love. These are incredibly deep philosophical areas, and most of us, including and maybe especially songwriters are typically operating in a fantasy world. We are typically clueless. But when we hear a love song that is authentic, it does catch our attention. When we hear a lyric that has a deeper meaning than we are used to hearing, it may actually make a difference to the listener. For well known examples, think of a great love song such as "Here, There and Everywhere." Or a song with rich philosophical overtones such as "Eleanor Rigby." This is genius. I'm sure you have your own ideas about what songs mean something special to you.
In any case what I'd like to do while waiting for the CD to get distributed and be made available is write about the previous CDs which are still available on line via download or physical CD.
The first CD was a rock opera that explored the loss of faith. The first tune which was the CD title song is "My Name is Thomas..." and is somewhat unique for its subject matter - a questioning of faith, "Religiously correct" it was not in 1998.
The confrontation with one's faith is not a universal confrontation; many never question their faith, they simply accept it without deep examination. Many never confront the actual plausibility of faith itself. Many simply accept faith as a virtue without considering that they consider the faith of many others to be wrong, demonic and evil. Yet faith itself somehow remains a virtue!
The character singing "My Name is Thomas..." is a priest - who has come to have doubts. This song is the beginning of his journey. I hope you have a chance to listen.
Thanks!
Although I have almost no ability to draw, paint or sculpt, I do appreciate art and often visit art museums with the family. One of things that I have noticed is that I appreciate a wide variety of art ranging from artistic styles as disparate as classical to the surreal and the many genres in-between. I am not a fan of the many specific genres of art; I like "good" art and don't appreciate "bad" art. The specific genre is not that important to me. (What is "good" art and what is "bad" art? We'll get to that later...)
No, I am an not a visual artist, but I am (or pretend to be) a musician, or at least I identify as a musician in part, having written two rock operas, and having performed on stage numerous times over the years. But one thing I have noticed is that while there are numerous art manifestos that attempt to define what art is "supposed" to be, in contrast there are few, if any, music manifestos that attempt to define musical art. I'm going to rectify that in my own small way.
Defining what is good and bad in music may seem impossibly subjective. I certainly cannot offer the exact parameters that can be used to measure definitively whether a given piece of music is good or bad, but it is apparent that there is often wide consensus on what good music is and wide consensus on what is not. Do not underestimate the collective genius of humanity when it comes to coming to an objective value judgment based on consensus. I would venture the opinion that it is clear that Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is "good" and that "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas, is "not good". (To be sure, there are a number of quite good Black Eyed Peas tunes; "My Humps" was not one of them, and they stopped performing it in 2011 because of their own lack of belief in the song.)
Good music stands the test of time; it crosses cultural boundaries and age groups. It appeals even to those who may not be familiar with that style of music. The reach and expanse of what I am calling humanist music can be incredibly wide stylistically. Classical music, raga, reggae, blues, jazz, rap and rock are all eligible. Does a particular work sound good; does it harm well being or lift us up? That is all you need to ask.
That is why India's Ravi Shankar, America's Louis Armstrong, England's Beatles, Europe's Mozart, and Jamaica's Bob Marley, as a handful of examples, can be safely described as "good." Their appeal goes far beyond any culturalism or parochialism. Their "goodness" is not simply a "social construct." We have not simply been conditioned to consider their music as "good." Whether any particular piece of music by any of these artists is "humanist music" would depend on whether any message contained therein was "harmful" or not. I might add that there is great leeway for a tune that allows for a "questionable" message if the message was appropriate from the point of view of the "character" singing the lyric and that the intent by the artist was to illuminate the listener to a certain point of view. Sometimes it is good to know about something that is bad; expanding our knowledge of life through art is an important attribute of "'good" art.
It is clear that, by and large, humanity, generally, has an innate sense of what sounds good an what does not and it has decided that "Fur Elise" sounds good, and that fingernails scratching a blackboard sounds not good. Yes, the culture we live in will greatly affect our musical tastes, no doubt. That is how "My Humps" actually became popular - for a while. However, in the long run good music appeals to our innate sense of musical taste just as many foods appeal to us while dog manure generally does not. The odor of a skunk is not disgusting because of a social construction and the scent of a flower is not pleasant because of a social construction. To some large degree our tastes in food and odor are innate (even though there is great variation in innate individual tastes.) Why should our musical tastes be so different? Why shouldn't there be qualities in music that have wide appeal?
Once again, there is no denying we can be conditioned to some degree and that we are individuals as well; this defines the larger challenge; how do we escape our lifelong social conditioning to break through to a real appreciation of what is good in life and what is not for each of us individually? I do not offer an answer here, and in fact I acknowledge the difficulty. But I suspect that appreciating what is good and bad to each of us individually while being mindful of the conditioning we are all subject to would lead to a deeper appreciation of good music, good art and in fact, what is good in life itself and what in life is to be avoided.
Yes, it's hard to be free, and it's hard to truly know yourself - but it's probably worth the effort to be free; you may be happier and society may be healthier. Humanist Music is a piece of the puzzle of freedom and enjoying life.
As a songwriter, I am always working on something. After completing the songs for "birth, love, hate, death" I started considering what I should write about for the next CD. Typically I like to have a focus or theme for my collection of tunes.
For example, our first CD, "My Name is Thomas..." was a rock opera totally about faith and reason, meaning and purpose. Our second CD, "mostly True Stories" was a collection of songs about dogma, religion and ideology. Our next CD, "Out of Many, One" was more political in nature. These were the things that were on my mind when I wrote those songs and albums.
Our upcoming release, "birth, love, hate, death" is another rock opera and this time the focus is love. Yes, it took me 4 albums to get the subject most bands start with and never leave! One reason I waited that long was because, in many ways, love is a far more complex a subject than, faith, reason, politics, religion and ideology; I was not previously ready or qualified to write an album dedicated to love.
I may still not be ready or qualified, but I could no longer put it off when I came to the key understanding that love is more than a feeling - it's a behavior. Anyone can claim to "feel" love for another and then behave miserably. This was a key understanding and led me to write a story where the characters clearly come to understand that if they love someone they must sacrifice if necessary for that someone; that is what they must do. It's what you do for love that matters, and what you do better be the right thing, not the selfish thing, not the controlling thing, not the jealous thing and not the vengeful thing. THE RIGHT THING, the thing that is good for the person you love even if it is not thing you want selfishly. No one owes you love after all.
My favorite lyrics always express doubt or some tragic sentiment; in this album the lines that are central (to me) are "I love you so much, I'd risk losing you; I can't do nothing except what's right by you..." (From "Better Man")
Also, in "Honestly," the character declares "I don't know what love is" and "I don't know what I'm doing." Exactly. This is my attempt at telling the truth, the best that I know it.
I will be writing more about the songs I've written in the past but I did want to mention that the next CD will be different, though related; the focus will be family, as if I know anything useful on the subject.