The Audio Aficionado (Aaron Brown's Blog)

Throughout my life as a musician I’ve always contemplated what it is that makes a song great. Some songs can hit you deep in your soul in a place you never knew existed. We go through life remembering these songs. To this day I can remember where I was when I heard these songs. Hearing them can trigger memories from our past and even bring out emotions we forgot we had. What is it that makes these songs so powerful?

I think today’s music can be broken down into parts. Most music critics primarily rate music using a simple numeric scale. To me this seems antiquated. Music is too complex to be given just one rating. I think most music can be broken down into a few categories. This gives a much more accurate rating to a song. I just came up with this idea so it is a work in progress. Please post comments if you disagree or think something should be added!

Lyrical Content - Poetry in song. Meaningful honest lyrics can be the most powerful part of a song. Bob Dylan and Paul Simon thrived as songwriters who’s lyrics can be read as poetry without the music to back them. Lyrics can trigger emotional responses that hit the entire range of the human spirit. Good lyrics aren’t necessarily poetry though. Classic rap songs all had very effective choruses that people sing in unison to this very day. Great lyrical content is that which delivers the songs intended message with clarity and honesty. When I listen to Bob Dylan, I hear his pain and I believe every damn word. When I hear classic Snoop Dogg tracks I want to go drink some gin and juice and get laid (Not what you would call my typical behavior). Why can music make you want to do things you ask? Because the message of these songs is so honest that I can empathize with them even though I’ve never met either of them in person. When someone is conveying a message they REALLY believe it comes across well. It is also important to deliver the message in a succinct way. As Shakespeare once wrote, “Brevity is the soul of wit”. Wiser words have rarely been written. Why write something like, “Annie was a very happy carefree girl and we were on a roadtrip going somewhere new which was very exciting to us both.” when you could sing “Annie and a smile carried us to new spaces, wild places”. Which sounds better to you?

Emotional Content – Most music triggers an emotional response. Cheesy 80s dance music can make you feel like partying, love songs can make you feel heartbreak you thought you forgot, and even Muzak can trigger animosity! The more a track captures the emotions it intended the more powerful it can be. Johnny Cash used this to his advantage. His chops weren’t what you would call mind blowing, but just listening to him playing a simple I/IV/V progression singing his heart out can be as impactful as getting hit by a 5 ton Mack truck.

Memorability/Catchiness – Without a memorable line most people won’t be able to remember a song at all. Repetition through lyrics, melodies, or the chorus can all be important for listeners to come away singing music. This can range from Unmemorable to Ridiculously Repetitive. I find the best music lies in the middle. Good jazz artists know this and occasionally repeat ideas within their solos. Great pop artists all know that catchy songs are the key to success (just look at the ridiculous lineup of people nominated for Grammy Awards). It is used to have people singing your song all day! Pretty powerful stuff. Just don’t overuse it or you will sound like the Black Eyed Peas (If that is what you are going for then you should really only care about this and the next category)

Production Quality – Good production can make awful music entertaining to hear. It can also take a well put together track and take it into another level of enjoyment. Bad production doesn’t necessarily mean it’s low fidelity and not using the most expensive gear. I consider bad production to be inappropriate production values. When a song is ridiculously overproduced to compensate for a songwriter’s awful talents, or a song has cheesy midi sounds when it calls for REAL instruments to be played then it has bad production quality. It is difficult to describe to those that don’t know production, but to me bad production sounds like a big lie. It’s as if something has been done to alter the original intention of the music instead of harnessing it’s original energy and accentuating it. Nine Inch Nails has lo fidelity and heavy distortion for good reason and Wilco has an impressive high fidelity soundscape because it FITS THEIR MUSIC!

Unique/Fresh – Many big acts have had hits because their song is fresh to listeners around the world. This doesn’t mean it has to be completely unique. Most artists today have taken a classic sound and put their own twist on it. Duffy and Amy Winehouse used this to put a hi fidelity twist on motown’s classic sound. The Killer’s took a fresh (Well, sort of) perspective on the classic 80′s sounds. This category can often be related to production quality. It can also be related to taking classic chord progressions, time signatures and melodies in new directions. Radiohead tends to do this quite often.

Vibe/Feeling – This attribute is simply to categorize the intentions of the song. It ranges anywhere from fun summer dance tracks to moody songs about heartbreak. Each type of song has it’s place in the world and each vibe can have great music. However, good vibes don’t necessarily translate to the longevity of a song. It takes much more to have a track that can last through the ages. Take disco for example…

Musical Talent – Some songwriters and musicians are simply too talented not to give them a listen. Even if their song is just average, their soloing and musicianship can captivate any listener. I can name lots of good vocalists out there that make terrible songs, but I still listen since they manage to show me they have some talent. I can also forgive a songs shortcomings if I can hear the talent behind it. For example, I’m not a fan of Ben Folds or Bob Dylan’s voices, but DAMN are they talented and write amazing songs. On the flip side, there are many cases which talent can’t save a train wreck. For example, see every single We Are The World video.

Authenticity – A theme common through all of these categories is authenticity. It really ruins music when someone makes songs about something they don’t really believe in. If you are writing about getting drunk and partying then by god you better enjoy getting wasted and having late nights out on the town. If you write songs about true love, but you are really a young teenager then your music will come across as fake and ill conceived. Do yourself a favor and write about what you know and believe. Experienced songwriters and music lovers can easily tell the difference.

Musical Performance – This is the final attribute I can think of different enough to note. This is to rate how well the musicians performed on the recordings. It doesn’t necessarily mean they did or didn’t hit every note, but it means that they captured the idea of the song. If the song is meant to be whimsical then the players and singers must perform in a way that evokes that emotion from the listener. It also matters how well the players gel together. It’s too bad the F*ing digital age makes it hard to know if the groove is real or quantized to death these days. I still like to believe that I can hear when musician’s have played together and really come together to make a cohesive sound. Otherwise, I end up hearing a track that just doesn’t fit well.

Great music seems impossible to define. Even so, I think these categories are a step in the right direction. I’m interested to see what you all think. Please leave comments. I hope to use them to revise this list in the future! I plan to use these categories to review music in the future. I also think it helps guide my songwriting on my never ending quest to write the best songs I can. As always, thanks for stopping by.

-Aaron B.

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