I haven't

[opabinia]

written some random shit in here for a long time. I know that you know that working out isn't the only thing in my head these thirty days. I took the routines out of hiding to emphazise their importance. I know they get skipped in general, but putting them out in front makes me feel more obligated to comply with the plan.


Random: I've been very picky about lyrics for many years. First, let's get the obvious out of the way: If you're rhyming any of the following:

girl/world
man/hand/understand
eyes/realize/lies
love/above...

and you wrote your song after 1952, with very rare exception, you fail.


If you are skilled enough to write verses that sound well together without rhyming, great. I like those.

Throttle all this indiscretion
Long enough to edify
And permanently fill this hollow
Screaming feed me here
Fill me up again
Temporarily pacifying
Feed me here
Fill me up again
Temporarily pacifying

(A Perfect Circle. Stop rolling your eyes, anechoic.)


If you're thoughtful enough to make things rhyme without sounding retarded, that's excellent. Here:

You were born in KC, Missouri
To a girl who wasn't married
After your birth she brought you to the nursery
Kissed your head and told you not to worry
And then quietly she turned and slipped away

In the elevator her heart began to pound
To the rooftop, in her slippers, and her gown
On the edge, she took one last look around
Then closed her eyes and pushed away

Extra points, Pedro the Lion, for surprising even me with how depressing-pretty* that is.


What else? Okay, the other thing that always comes to mind right away is the relationship between subject matter novelty and engaging presentation. If you're saying the same thing everyone else has already said six hundred times (I love them/They don't love me; I am bitter; etc), please think of a new way to say it.

Have you ever seen an idealist
With grey hairs on his head
Or successful men who keep in touch
With unsuccessful friends?

You only think you did
And I could have sworn I saw it too
But as it turns out,
It was just a clever ad for cigarettes

Another gold star for Pedro the Lion.

Another example of a common theme with a novel and effective presentation, courtesy of Everything But the Girl:

I'll put my suitcase here for now
I'll turn the TV to the bed
But if no one calls and I don't speak all day
Do I disappear?
Look at me without you
I'm quite proud of myself
I feel reckless, clumsy
Like I'm making a mistake


Something that hasn't been beaten into the ground yet:

...It's time to recognise
There's a debt to repay
I wont get in your way
And you still need me

Now do I have to beg you
Remember all that has gone
All I ask for is
My place in history
For all that I have done
Then I'll move on
Let me move on


Okay, I think I should do something other than blab on LJ with my day now. I have socks to tumble dry.



* There must be a German word. Niederdrückenrecht?

Comments

[halo.livejournal.com]

In the vein of cleverly rhyming "I'm so sad you don't love me" songs, I've always been particularly fond of this little gem from Stephin Merritt:

I could make a career out of being blue
I could dress in black and read Camus
Smoke clove cigarettes and drink vermouth
Like I was 17, yeah, that would be a scream
But I don't wanna get over you

[panzerkunst.livejournal.com]

Have you ever seen an idealist
With grey hairs on his head
Or successful men who keep in touch
With unsuccessful friends?

"oof," as you'd say.

Don't ever listen to a band called Angels and Airwaves. They have the most emo song EVAR with "It Hurts." And those two words comprise the majority of the song.

[bottleimp.livejournal.com]

Girl I'll rock your world
Though I realize your eyes are full of lies
I'll make you understand my man hand.

[talesinsdaughtr.livejournal.com]

The Hollow is a _great_ song.

[lorencillo.livejournal.com]

For inventive rhyme, it's hard to beat Tom Lehrer:

When you attend a funeral,
It is sad to think that sooner o' L-
ater those you love will do the same for you.
And you may have thought it tragic,
Not to mention other adjec-
Tives, to think of all the weeping they will do.
But don’t you worry.
No more ashes, no more sackcloth.
And an armband made of black cloth
Will some day never more adorn a sleeve.
For if the bomb that drops on you
Gets your friends and neighbors too,
There’ll be nobody left behind to grieve.