I get bands that come up to me, and they’ve got all kinds of image. They all look like Good Charlotte. I go, ‘Great image, you look terrific.’ And then I hear the song, and I go, ‘Okay, I get it, you’re angry’ (laughs). I tell them, ‘You’ve got a nice beat and this hook is great, but you’re yelling at me. You’re not singing to me.’ Where is the verse? Where is the B-section? There’s a big sing-along chorus where you’re angry. So I say, ‘If you’ll do this, it will do you wonders. I want you to only listen to four or five artists for the next two weeks. I want you listen to Burt Bacharach. I want you to listen to Paul Simon. Paul McCartney. Laura Nyro. I want you to listen to the real songwriters. Listen to how their songs are written. Listen to how they set up the B-section. Listen to how the bridge is used. Listen to how they modulate. And then write me this same song with those songs in mind.’ And almost every time, they come back and I listen and I say, ‘Wow, great.’ There is such a big difference between good records and good songs. ‘Good Vibrations’ is a magnificent record. ‘Yesterday’ is a great song. ‘My Sharona’ is a great record. But ‘What The World Needs Now’ is a great song. So, listen to the real songwriters and then rewrite your song. [From Issue 88, Sept/Oct 2005]
