If you’re a regular visitor of Mindful Banter you know that I have a major thing for singer-songwriters.
I admire their ability to weave a powerful, engaging story that can sometimes feel like it was written with our personal experience in mind.
What I admire even more is the courage they show in revealing their vulnerabilities and imperfections to the world, no matter how painful. Taylor Swift is a master at both.
While I listen to a wide range of music genres, I’ll admit I’d barely noticed Taylor before she was Kanye’d at the MTV Music Awards a few years ago. But once I did take notice, I was impressed by her poise, voice and remarkable ability as a storyteller.
Her Speak Now album is one of my favorites of the past few years and would probably make my top 100 faves of all times.
There are so many great songs on the album. Dear John and Back to December both tell the story of heartbreak. The first lays blame, the latter expresses regret. Both make us think of past heartbreaks of our own. Mean is an anthem for anyone who has ever been physically or emotionally bullied by others. Never Grow Up and Enchanted are gorgeous, moving songs.
Writers can learn so much from songwriters about cadence, word selection, the use of metaphors and an economy of words. Taylor Swift uses all of these tools to maximum effect which, in my book, makes her a phenomenal storyteller.
Which songwriters do you think have an amazing gift for storytelling?
Roxanne Ravenel (263 Posts)Roxanne is a freelance journalist and novelist living in North Carolina. Her alter ego, Reese Ryan, writes smart, spicy fiction populated by deliciously flawed, multicultural characters living in the Midwest and Southeast. Her debut novel, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, will be published by Carina Press July 22, 2013. She is Managing Editor of the long-running e-zine, All Things Girl.
Roxanne Ravenel (263 Posts)Roxanne is a freelance journalist and novelist living in North Carolina. Her alter ego, Reese Ryan, writes smart, spicy fiction populated by deliciously flawed, multicultural characters living in the Midwest and Southeast. Her debut novel, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, will be published by Carina Press July 22, 2013. She is Managing Editor of the long-running e-zine, All Things Girl.
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I once read– in one of the gazillion writing books I read hoping to learn something…anything–a good exercise for writing is to start out with a poem. And really, songs are poems set to music. This book mentioned the very thing you brought up– developing an ear for cadence and the sound of words. I was just reading, in yet another writing book, how poets are very in-tune with the “sounds” that words create. Of course, I also learned there’s a very technical side to it all, most of which makes little sense to me.
A fun exercise is to write a poem, full of feeling and sounds, and create a story from it.
Great post — thought-provoking.
Julie recently posted..NaNoReviMo and Healthy Writers Club
Sounds like you’re a craft book addict like I am.
But I’ve learned a tremendous amount from those books and I feel like my writing is constantly improving because of this.
I hadn’t read poetry in years, but recently I picked up a couple of Nikki Giovanni’s books of poetry. Poetry, like great story songs, certainly does teach us a lot about how to use language powerfully and succinctly. Definitely areas in which I want to improve!
Roxanne Ravenel recently posted..Use Songwriting Tips to Write a More Emotional Scene
I, too, didn’t give Taylor the time of day until after the Kanye incident. I knew who she was but really hadn’t listen to her songs. I actually bought Speak Now under the guise of a Christmas gift for my daughter but it was really for me. I started listening to her music and getting lost in the emotions of her stories. Just so real.
As far as other great songwriters, I would say Carol King and Alicia Keys are phenomenal. Their music is so heartfelt and empowering. Alicia’s Like You’ll Never See Me Again, You Don’t Know My Name, If I Ain’t Got You…I could go on. Carol’s You’ve Got A Friend and So Far Away…love, love those songs.
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Alicia Keys and Carole King are two wonderful singer/songwriters with a gift for spinning an emotional tale. I think Alica Keys’ “Butterflies” off her first album is still one of my all-time favorite songs of hers. “Diary” and “Unbreakable” are two more favorites.
Carole King… I don’t even know where to start. The woman has penned so many awesome songs for herself and others. She is absolutely amazing. I do really like “So Far Away,” but I think “It’s Too Late” is my favorite.
Okay, Roxanne, I’ve been waiting for your next blog post but I see you’re not in a big hurry to do one, so I’ll just respond to this one.
I was dragging my feet on this post because I’m not a big Taylor Swift fan. She can sometimes be a bit annoying to me. But she is a gifted songwriter. Her voice is just too light-feathered and teenagery to me (although she’s in her 20s isn’t she?). I like richer, soulful, radiant voices.
Alicia Keys, India Arie, Lionel Richie, Jill Scott are my preferred singer/songwriters. Love Adele, too.
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Between NaNo and a few big projects I’m working on…the blog has definitely taken a backseat.
I’m a fan of all the s/s you mentioned. Heard India Arie’s “The Truth” the other day. I LOVE that song. And Jill Scott…I just saw her in Atlanta this past summer. She is amazing. Good choices, my friend. I’d go to a concert with you anytime!
Roxanne recently posted..Storyteller Saturday: Taylor Swift