Song Man: A Melodic Adventure, or, My Single-Minded Approach to Songwriting
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.30 (545 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0306815818 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 290 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-06-30 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Will Hodgkinson has written for the Guardian, Mojo, and the Daily Telegraph, among other publications. He lives with his wife and two children in London.
All rights reserved. After learning to play the guitar and perform on stage in only six months, with the help of fret board luminaries such as the Smiths' Johnny Marr, Hodgkinson attempts to learn how to write songs and then get them recorded, although this time he gives himself a year to do it all. (Feb)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. When his first songs are met by his friends with less than enthusiasm (Are you going to sing 'Mystery Fox' to Hal David and Carole King?), Hodgkinson seeks out various songwriters such as XTC's Andy Partridge who are more encouraging (At least it's a good title). . One of Hodgkinson's most endearing features—and one that his prose perfectly captures—is his utter lack of fear. In his humbling, and enjoyable, musical journey, he's willing to talk with unknown songwriters as we
A fun read Scott D. Holland If you liked "Guitar Man" by the same author you're like "Song Man".. First person tale actually a trove of interviews with great songwriters Will Hodgkinson is an utterly charming guy - a first rate raconteur and a delight to hang with through this entertaining book.What first appears to be naught but a first person account of someone with little talent for and less of a clue to song writing, is actually a vessel for interviews with some of the best songwriters of the mid-late 20th Century. Some of the interviews are more revealing than others; some are revealing only of interviewee (Keith Richards, Ray Davies), some also of the songwriting craft (Andy Partridge, Andrew Lloyd Webber).That such luminaries agreed to meet and open up to Hodgkinson is evidence enoug. Enjoyed reading this while taking procrastination breaks from writing my first song I've been an instrumentalist and singer for a long time and while I enjoy interpreting other people's material I would like to write songs as well. This book is full of interviews with good songwriters, from retired folkies to Andrew Lloyd Webber. There's a lot of good stuff here, ranging from warnings against letting your song go on too long, how to write for singers, writing what you know, and so on. While "Song Man" has book proposal written all over it (it whetted my appetite for more complete memoirs writtens by career songwriters), Hodgkinson is entertaining and it all comes to a satisfying conclusion.
Song man is the endearing sequel to Will Hodgkinson’s Guitar Man, wherein our hero, having learned to play guitar (badly) in six months, endeavors to unlock the process of songwriting and ultimately record a single. Featuring pithy, humorous, and illuminating one-on-one songwriting lessons with Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, Ray Davies of the Kinks, Andy Partridge of XTC, Arthur Lee of Love, Chan Marshall of Cat Power, Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, and a host of others who run the gamut from unknown muses to cult icons to superstars-including Hodgkinson’s lovable crew of ne’er-do-wells first introduced in Guitar Man-Song Man is at once an investigation into the most ephemeral of arts and a highly readable journey of discovery.