behaviour modification
at some point in high school they showed us behaviour modification. about animals receiving shocks or restricted food, some sort of pain and then their behaviour changed. this was presented […]
Songwriting
mr. ayler
Sometimes, like viewing footage of a hummingbird in slow motion, breathtaking & extraordinary, just the natural state of the hummingbird, revealed at a human speed of comprehension, beyond words all […]
clyde plays bass
student sent me their song to check and it reminded me of j.j. cale’s naturally (the raccoon cover) i put it on for old times. one of those records with […]
cold calls
when i’ve taught in toronto i could ask accomplished friends to come do Q&A with the students but not so easy now being based in London Ontario. insert light bulb. […]
after you, ma’am
scanning between radio stations stuck on the expressway and a cover of big yellow taxi by joni mitchell comes on. i’ve heard it once or twice, it’s been on rotation […]
songwriting and capitalism
Asked the class if they ever had a song stuck in their head that they didn’t like. Mostly laughter, answers of yes. Asked why that was, some said it was […]
looking for a cause or a strong cat without claws
For the next 7 weeks the students present seminars on different records focusing on the songwriting contribution of each record. Yesterday was the first one, The College Dropout by Kanye […]
sexy mofo
one time, at a wedding in chicago, the groom’s mother came over to welcome me for having traveled all the way from canada. At the same moment there was dancing […]
the bad song
something so nice about artworks that feel organic and authentic, something so bad about prefabricated cookie cutter offerings. singing the song that’s played on the radio station my daughter favours, […]
at the open stage
young guy in class played a song to everyone. they applauded and 3 others shared their feedback which was how much he sounded like someone else. this was meant as […]