Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Stella

My roommate came home yesterday, furious.

The first thing she said to me was, "I just got punched in the chest by some woman who was three times my size. All I was doing was walking down Bank Street. And when I asked her what the fuck she was doing, she said 'I have issues.' "

Now, I ask you. What kind of a lunatic steps in front of a total stranger as they are walking home, takes both fists and punches that person in the chest? And then blames the incident on their "issues"? Apparently when my roomie was staggering away, the woman shouted out, "Yeah, you run! Because you're so scared!"

Some people are fucking crazy. But moving on.

My third songwriting workshop with Lynn Miles was a real learning experience. We tore apart one of the songs that didn't make it onto my album. It's interesting (but a little painful) to dissect your work like that; in the presence of a respected songwriter, and a couple of other strangers, poking at each line. She made some style suggestions and some structural points, all of which I will take into consideration when I try to re-write the thing. But oh, re-writing. I've tried it before, and I usually end up with a fractured and nonsensical piece with no emotional value. And then I scrap it and eat something chocolaty.

But it got me thinking. Lynn really reads up on songwriting. She reads books upon books. She is always trying new things and testing new theories. I completely admire that, but I find it hard to do myself. I can really lose the soul of a song if I stick too much to the rules. Some of my most interesting ideas have come when I've been too drunk to remember where to put a chorus, or too distraught to be polite.

She challenged me to write a country song for next week, in a simple style, and a low key. We'll see how that goes. I have a new (hundred year old) baby banjo/ukulele named Stella that I have been wanting to try out. Maybe I'll write with her this time. She was a gift from a Buddhist I've met twice.

Some people are awesome.

4 comments:

XUP said...

Q: What kind of a lunatic...? A: A lunatic, of course. Gotta keep a sharp eye out for those lunatics on Bank Street. Even in my short time here I couldn't help but notice that they seem to collect there.

Andrea... said...

It's true. Bank Street is the place to be. There's never a dull moment.

After having spent a lot of time in the Byward Market, I thought I'd seen them all... But this is the first I've heard about a chest-puncher. I'm not sure I would have known what to say. It would be one of those situations where you think of all the good comebacks later.

XUP said...

Okay, the other day in Byward market some old bum (is that PC? "old bum"?).. anyway, some old bum followed me singing "girls just wanna have seeeex.. to the tune of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". Then some other old bum grabbed him and got all mental on him, telling him he couldn't do shit like that. An old bum fight ensued. I bought bread.

Andrea... said...

Hahahahaha.... Oh, you just made my day. I hope I don't accidentally start singing that on my way to the staff kitchen.