There are few creative acts more mysterious and magical than writing a song. But what if the goal wasn't so mysterious and was actually achievable for anyone who wants to experience more magic and creativity in their life? That's something that anyone will be inspired to do after reading Jeff Tweedy's How to Write One Song. Why one song? Because the difference between one song and many songs isn't a cute semantic trick—it's an important distinction that can simplify a notoriously confusing art form. The idea of becoming a capital-S songwriter can seem daunting, but approached as a focused, self-contained event, the mystery and fear subsides, and songwriting becomes an exciting pursuit. And then there is the energizing, nourishing creativity that can open up. How to Write One Song brings readers into the intimate process of writing one song—lyrics, music, and putting it all together—and accesses the deep sense of wonder that remains at the heart of this curious, yet incredibly fulfilling, artistic act. But it’s equally about the importance of making creativity part of your life every day, and of experiencing the hope, inspiration, and joy available to anyone who’s willing to get started.
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor, And the highwayman came riding- Riding-riding- The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door. In Alfred Noyes's thrilling poem, charged with drama and tension, we ride with the highwayman and recoil from the terrible fate that befalls him and his sweetheart Bess, the landlord's daughter. The vivid imagery of the writing is matched by Charles Keeping's haunting illustrations which won him the Kate Greenaway Medal. This new edition features rescanned artwork to capture the breath-taking detail of Keeping's illustrations and a striking new cover.
The long-awaited sequel to Songwriters on Songwriting, often called "the songwriter's bible," More Songwriters on Songwriting goes to the heart of the creative process with in-depth interviews with many of the world's greatest songwriters. Covering every genre of popular music from folk, rock 'n' roll, Broadway, jazz, pop, and modern rock, this is a remarkable journey through some sixty years of popular songwriting: from Leiber & Stoller's genius rock 'n' roll collaborations and Richard Sherman's Disney songs to Kenny Gamble's Philly Sound; Norman Whitfield's Motown classics; Loretta Lynn's country standards; expansive folk music from Peter, Paul, and Mary; folk-rock from Stephen Stills; confessional gems from James Taylor; poetic excursions form Patti Smith; Beatles magic from Ringo Starr; expansive brilliance from Paul Simon; complex melodic greatness from Brian Wilson; the most untrustworthy narrator alive in Randy Newman; the dark rock theater of both Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie; the sophisticated breadth of Elvis Costello; the legendary jazz of Herbie Hancock; the soulful swagger of of Chrissie Hynde; the funny-poignant beauty of John Prine; the ancient wisdom fused with hip-hop and reggae of Matisyahu; and much more. In all of it is the collective wisdom of those who have written songs for decades, songs that have impacted our culture forever.
Combining whimsical illustrations with poems of love, humour and celebration of the ups and downs of being a touring recording artist, Idiot Verse is a delightful book in the tradition of Leonard Cohen and John Lennon. It's a singer-songwriter's notebook to himself, and the world, and sure to impress fans especially, of which Henson has many.
A Shepherd to Fools is the second of Drew Mendelson’s trilogy of Vietnam War novels that began with Song Ba To and will conclude with Poke the Dragon. Shepherd: It is the ragged end of the Vietnam war. With the debacle of a failing South Vietnamese invasion of Northern Laos as background, A Shepherd to Fools tells the harrowing tale of a covert Hatchet Team of US soldiers and Montagnard mercenaries. They are ordered to find and capture or kill a band of American deserters, called Longshadows, before the world learns of their paralyzing rebellion. An earlier attempt to capture them failed disastrously, the facts of it buried. Captain Hugh Englander commands the Hatchet Team. He is a humorless bastard, sneering and discourteous to every regular army soldier. He cares little for the welfare of his own men and nothing for the lives of the deserters. The conflict between him and Captain David Weisman, the artillery officer assigned to the mission for artillery support, threatens to tear the team apart. Deep in the Laotian jungle, the team is caught in a final, horrific battle facing an enemy armed with Sarin nerve gas, the “worst of the worst” of the war’s clandestine weapons.
Malcolm Guites eagerly awaited second poetry collection 'The Singing Bowl' takes is name from the breathtakingly beautiful opening poem, a sonnet which connects poetry and prayer. It includes poems that seek beauty and transfiguration in contemporary life; sonnets inspired by Francis and other outstanding saints; poems centred on love (which might be used at weddings), others on parting and mortality (which might be used at funerals). A further group, Jamming your Machine, searches for the life of the spirit in the midst of the modern era and includes an ode to an iphone.
A career-spanning account of the artistry and politics of Bob Dylan’s songwriting Bob Dylan’s reception of the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature has elevated him beyond the world of popular music, establishing him as a major modern artist. However, until now, no study of his career has focused on the details and nuances of the songs, showing how they work as artistic statements designed to create meaning and elicit emotion. Bob Dylan’s Poetics: How the Songs Work is the first comprehensive book on both the poetics and politics of Dylan’s compositions. It studies Dylan, not as a pop hero, but as an artist, as a maker of songs. Focusing on the interplay of music and lyric, it traces Dylan’s innovative use of musical form, his complex manipulation of poetic diction, and his dialogues with other artists, from Woody Guthrie to Arthur Rimbaud. Moving from Dylan’s earliest experiments with the blues, through his mastery of rock and country, up to his densely allusive recent recordings, Timothy Hampton offers a detailed account of Dylan’s achievement. Locating Dylan in the long history of artistic modernism, the book studies the relationship between form, genre, and the political and social themes that crisscross Dylan’s work. Bob Dylan’s Poetics: How the Songs Work offers both a nuanced engagement with the work of a major artist and a meditation on the contribution of song at times of political and social change.
The bestselling poet Malcolm Guite chooses forty poems from across the centuries that express the universal experience of loss and reflects on them in order to draw out the comfort, understanding and hope they offer. Some of the poems will be familiar, many will be new, but together they provide a sure companion for the journey across difficult terrain. Some of Malcolm’s own poetry is included, written out of his work as a priest with the dying and the bereaved and giving to the volume a powerful authenticity. The choice of forty poems is significant and reflects an ancient practice still observed in some European and Middle Eastern societies of taking extra-special care of a bereaved person in the forty days following a death – our word quarantine come from this. They explore the nature and the risk of love, the pain of letting go and look toward glimpses of resurrection.
(Berklee Guide). Learn to write songs! This book presents the basic concepts of popular songwriting, such as song construction, creativity techniques, melodic and harmonic development, how to write memorable lyrics, and other core topics. Hands-on exercises make it practical, and the accompanying recording illustrates the concepts for those who don't yet read music.