songs about writer's block?

atsonicpark · 05.11.2008, 05:09 PM

So, let's post all the songs we know that you think are about writer's block...

Nirvana - On a Plain (this is debateable as are all of his lyrics, but the randomness of the lines and things like "what the hell am I trying to say" seem to suggest writer's block)

KoRn - Ass Itch (obviously. "I hate writing shit, it is so stupid" etc)

Fugazi - Epic Problem (well, this is obviously him trying to write a letter but he can't think of the words to say, so...)

pbradley · 05.11.2008, 06:01 PM

every Pixies song?

demonrail666 · 05.11.2008, 06:24 PM

The Smiths, 'Stop Me If You Think That You've Heard This One Before'. Although that's probably a sideswipe at people who think all Smiths songs sound the same.

atsonicpark · 05.11.2008, 06:26 PM

You know..

That's my favorite smiths song.

ohfuchsia · 05.12.2008, 12:41 AM

there she goes my beautiful world by nick cave.

Death & the Maiden · 05.12.2008, 02:07 AM

The Fall - How I Wrote Elastic Man

Pookie · 05.12.2008, 02:25 AM

(I Got A) Writer's Block

Can't remember who it's by.

ZEROpumpkins · 05.12.2008, 02:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pookie

(I Got A) Writer's Block

Can't remember who it's by.

that reminds me of that post a while back called (I got some) Lego Blocks

Danny Himself · 05.12.2008, 05:39 AM

"Well I'm hunched over a typewriter
I guess you'd call that painting in a cave
And there's a word I can't remember,
And a feeling I cannot escape.
Now my ashtray's overflowing and
I'm still staring at a clean white page.
Oh, and morning is at my window,
She is sending me to bed again."

"Another Travelin' Song" - Bright Eyes

ZEROpumpkins · 05.12.2008, 06:54 AM

Pffft Bright Eyes

All my songs are about writers block, that is my non-electronic songs. Basically I see lyrics as meaningless crap used so the vocals can sound harmonious with the music. Hell it's why I like Weezer so much, because I pay no attention to Cuomo's lyrics.

atsonicpark · 05.12.2008, 07:03 AM

"i got a writer's block"
"i got a catholic block"
"i got a body rot"

SonicBebs · 05.12.2008, 10:38 AM

Underneath The Biggest Skies by larpe

Danny Himself · 05.12.2008, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZEROpumpkins

Pffft Bright Eyes

Stop having snobby, unfounded views on bands! Enough!

Fred Cracklin · 05.12.2008, 03:05 PM

old news, but...
New Cure Album Stalled By Smith's Writer's Block

December 06, 2006,

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/..._id=1003493707

Everyneurotic · 05.12.2008, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny Himself

Stop having snobby, unfounded views on bands! Enough!

just remind him he likes primus.

Fred Cracklin · 05.12.2008, 03:12 PM

a song not exactly about writer's block, but perhaps the lyrics provide a somewhat satirical reference to the act of songwriting...
perhaps the bolded part below betrays just a touch of writer's block present during the process of writing the words...

Birdie in the hand for life's rich demand
The insurgency began and you missed it
I looked for it and I found it
Miles Standish proud, congratulate me

A philanderer's tie, a murderer's shoe

Life's rich demand creates supply in the hand
Of the powers, the only vote that matters
Silence means security silence means approval
And Zenith on the TV, tiger run around the tree
Follow the leader, run the churn into butter

Let's begin again, begin the begin
Let's begin again like Martin Luther zen
The mythology begins the begin
Answer me a question I can't itemize
I can't think clear
You look to me for reason
And it's not there
I can't even rhyme
Here in the begin

A philanderer's tie, a murderer's shoe
Example: the finest example is you

(repeat chorus)

A philanderer's tie, a murderer's shoe
Let's begin again, begin the begin
Let's begin again

byrikdad on 08-22-2006 @ 05:06:20 PM
This song laughs at the idea that technological or social innovation is really progress. The narrator is proud (Miles Standish -- one of the first American colonialists -- proud) and wants to be congratulated. But the "progress" is simply change, not advancement.

The power of innovation is respectable (a "tiger") but it doesn't lead forward ("run around the tree") -- just in circles. The tigers in "Little Black Sambo" end up destroying themselves for their efforts.

The development of a consumerist culture enrichens a few ("the powers") and is silently approved of, and thus allowed to continue.

byMickeyPhilly on 02-11-2007 @ 04:00:29 AM The title is also a play on the popular bossa nova/jazz standard "Begin the Beguine".

SuperCreep · 05.12.2008, 03:57 PM

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs about Mike Watt's writer's block? I remember reading/hearing that somewhere...

atsonicpark · 05.12.2008, 07:26 PM

I dunno... but that song's amazing!

Fred Cracklin · 05.12.2008, 10:31 PM

Type Slowly by Pavement

again, not overtly about writer's block, but if someone is typing slowly, then they are unsure of what they would like to convey...

or at the very least, the act of typing slowly indicates a certain deliberateness...

Sherri you smell different
Get up early in the bed
For you morning comes so easy
Spells have been cast and the urge has been lost
Snipers posted bills as they of our midnight vacation
Back on the planet nowI'm beginning to see just how
You echelon your dreams and they'll come true
Type slowly

One of us is a cigar stand
And one of us is a lovely blue incandescent guillotine
The edge of creation is blurred and blushed
Not a lot of room to grow inside this leather terrarium
People of the bay
It is excruciatingly grey
Face the front when he comes for you
Type slowly

Cherish your memorized weakness
Fashioned from a manifesto lady I am no futurist, etc.
Trolls in the glen are consorting again
The liberals say they don't exist but I know they do
Reïnforce your literal ass
Hit it on the first or second pass
Frozen images suspected few
Type slowly

Type Slowly

by a m drones on 01-28-2008 @ 04:51:30 PM no comments? you're all wrong then. the whole thing just sounds half awake to me but i'm not going to attempt to ascribe meaning. just love it as a surrealist jumble of snipers, reptile homes and fairy-tale bad guys. it's also a vocal tour-de-force from sm, from the softly sung prettiness of 'the edge of creation is blurred and blushed' to the yodel of 'liberals...' gorgeous guitar, lots of genius rhyming ('people of the bay - it is excruciatingly grey', 'trolls in the glen are consorting again'; it is quietly one of pavement's best. is 'brighten' still a bit underrated? i really hope they do get the deluxe version out, cos even though i probably have most of the tracks (i seem to have about seven hundred versions of 'shady lane' for a start), this seemed a fertile period to me, with 'infinite spark', 'starlings' and 'type slowly' especially.

Fred Cracklin · 05.12.2008, 10:45 PM

I don't know how many songs are specifically about writer's block. My guess is that, yes, of course there are a few, but not all that many.

Google sez:

Just Jack - Writer's Block
I get this writer's block, it comes as quite a shock,
And now i'm stuck between a hard place and the biggest rock,
In my own head consumed. I sit back in my room,
Its like the tapestries of life get tangled in the loom,
I'm like a butterfly, caught in a hurricane,
My pulse is quickening as my heart plays a new refrain

Im lovin' Mary Jane, flyin' with Lois Lane,
On board a bullet train
Don't know yet if i'm glad i came
Don't know yet if i'm glad i came
Don't know yet if i'm glad i came
Don't know yet if i'm glad i came

Sometimes at night i think too much,
About life and love and music and stuff

I'm livin' in the past,
My clocks an hour fast,
Should really go and make a coffee but i can't be arsed,
I've lost my mobile phone,
You'll have to call my home,
On second thoughts just leave a message when you hear the tone,
My grimy windows show the early morning glow,
Another day, another dollar in my one man show,

Im lovin' Mary Jane, flyin' with Lois Lane,
On board a bullet train
Don't know yet if i'm glad i came
Don't know yet if i'm glad i came
Don't know yet if i'm glad i came
Don't know yet if i'm glad i came

I fell out with Mary Jane, I don't speak to Lois Lane and i missed that bullet train
But now i know i'm glad i-
I fell out with Mary Jane, I don't speak to Lois Lane and i missed that bullet train
But now i know i'm glad i-
I fell out with Mary Jane, I don't speak to Lois Lane and i missed that bullet train
But now i know i'm glad i-
I fell out with Mary Jane, I don't speak to Lois Lane and i missed that bullet train
But now i know i'm glad i came
But now i know i'm glad i came
But now i know i'm glad i came

I suppose I could youtube the artist and title and find out what the song sounds like if I wanted.

And there are undoubtedly others too. But all in all, "writer's block" is a bit of an oddball subject for a song. And rock lyrics aren't exactly usually precious poetry that's pored over by the author anyway. The aim is to come up with words that, with the right vocal phrasing, sound good with the music and have at least some vague theme or meaning.

05.11.2008, 05:09 PM	#1
atsonicpark invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 28,843	So, let's post all the songs we know that you think are about writer's block... Nirvana - On a Plain (this is debateable as are all of his lyrics, but the randomness of the lines and things like "what the hell am I trying to say" seem to suggest writer's block) KoRn - Ass Itch (obviously. "I hate writing shit, it is so stupid" etc) Fugazi - Epic Problem (well, this is obviously him trying to write a letter but he can't think of the words to say, so...) __________________
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05.11.2008, 06:01 PM	#2
pbradley invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: SoKo Posts: 10,621	every Pixies song?
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05.11.2008, 06:24 PM	#3
demonrail666 invito al cielo Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 18,510	The Smiths, 'Stop Me If You Think That You've Heard This One Before'. Although that's probably a sideswipe at people who think all Smiths songs sound the same.
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05.11.2008, 06:26 PM	#4
atsonicpark invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 28,843	You know.. That's my favorite smiths song. __________________
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05.12.2008, 12:41 AM	#5
ohfuchsia little trouble girl Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 75	there she goes my beautiful world by nick cave.
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05.12.2008, 02:07 AM	#6
Death & the Maiden expwy. to yr skull Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 2,036	The Fall - How I Wrote Elastic Man __________________ www.myspace.com/ghostofanidealwife
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05.12.2008, 02:25 AM	#7
Pookie invito al cielo Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 9,877	(I Got A) Writer's Block Can't remember who it's by.
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05.12.2008, 05:39 AM	#9
Danny Himself invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 9,623	"Well I'm hunched over a typewriter I guess you'd call that painting in a cave And there's a word I can't remember, And a feeling I cannot escape. Now my ashtray's overflowing and I'm still staring at a clean white page. Oh, and morning is at my window, She is sending me to bed again." "Another Travelin' Song" - Bright Eyes
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05.12.2008, 06:54 AM	#10
ZEROpumpkins invito al cielo Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Sydney Posts: 6,157	Pffft Bright Eyes All my songs are about writers block, that is my non-electronic songs. Basically I see lyrics as meaningless crap used so the vocals can sound harmonious with the music. Hell it's why I like Weezer so much, because I pay no attention to Cuomo's lyrics. __________________
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

05.12.2008, 07:03 AM	#11
atsonicpark invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 28,843	"i got a writer's block" "i got a catholic block" "i got a body rot" __________________
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05.12.2008, 10:38 AM	#12
SonicBebs expwy. to yr skull Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 1,680	Underneath The Biggest Skies by larpe
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05.12.2008, 03:05 PM	#14
Fred Cracklin little trouble girl Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 65	old news, but... New Cure Album Stalled By Smith's Writer's Block December 06, 2006, http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/..._id=1003493707
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05.12.2008, 03:12 PM	#16
Fred Cracklin little trouble girl Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 65	a song not exactly about writer's block, but perhaps the lyrics provide a somewhat satirical reference to the act of songwriting... perhaps the bolded part below betrays just a touch of writer's block present during the process of writing the words... Birdie in the hand for life's rich demand The insurgency began and you missed it I looked for it and I found it Miles Standish proud, congratulate me A philanderer's tie, a murderer's shoe Life's rich demand creates supply in the hand Of the powers, the only vote that matters Silence means security silence means approval And Zenith on the TV, tiger run around the tree Follow the leader, run the churn into butter Let's begin again, begin the begin Let's begin again like Martin Luther zen The mythology begins the begin Answer me a question I can't itemize I can't think clear You look to me for reason And it's not there *I can't even rhyme* Here in the begin A philanderer's tie, a murderer's shoe Example: the finest example is you (repeat chorus) A philanderer's tie, a murderer's shoe Let's begin again, begin the begin Let's begin again byrikdad on 08-22-2006 @ 05:06:20 PM This song laughs at the idea that technological or social innovation is really progress. The narrator is proud (Miles Standish -- one of the first American colonialists -- proud) and wants to be congratulated. But the "progress" is simply change, not advancement. The power of innovation is respectable (a "tiger") but it doesn't lead forward ("run around the tree") -- just in circles. The tigers in "Little Black Sambo" end up destroying themselves for their efforts. The development of a consumerist culture enrichens a few ("the powers") and is silently approved of, and thus allowed to continue. byMickeyPhilly on 02-11-2007 @ 04:00:29 AM The title is also a play on the popular bossa nova/jazz standard "Begin the Beguine".
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05.12.2008, 03:57 PM	#17
SuperCreep expwy. to yr skull Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: brooklyn Posts: 2,281	Forgive me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs about Mike Watt's writer's block? I remember reading/hearing that somewhere... __________________
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05.12.2008, 07:26 PM	#18
atsonicpark invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 28,843	I dunno... but that song's amazing! __________________
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05.12.2008, 10:31 PM	#19
Fred Cracklin little trouble girl Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 65	Type Slowly by Pavement again, not overtly about writer's block, but if someone is typing slowly, then they are unsure of what they would like to convey... or at the very least, the act of typing slowly indicates a certain deliberateness... Sherri you smell different Get up early in the bed For you morning comes so easy Spells have been cast and the urge has been lost Snipers posted bills as they of our midnight vacation Back on the planet nowI'm beginning to see just how You echelon your dreams and they'll come true Type slowly One of us is a cigar stand And one of us is a lovely blue incandescent guillotine The edge of creation is blurred and blushed Not a lot of room to grow inside this leather terrarium People of the bay It is excruciatingly grey Face the front when he comes for you Type slowly Cherish your memorized weakness Fashioned from a manifesto lady I am no futurist, etc. Trolls in the glen are consorting again The liberals say they don't exist but I know they do Reïnforce your literal ass Hit it on the first or second pass Frozen images suspected few Type slowly Type Slowly by a m drones on 01-28-2008 @ 04:51:30 PM no comments? you're all wrong then. the whole thing just sounds half awake to me but i'm not going to attempt to ascribe meaning. just love it as a surrealist jumble of snipers, reptile homes and fairy-tale bad guys. it's also a vocal tour-de-force from sm, from the softly sung prettiness of 'the edge of creation is blurred and blushed' to the yodel of 'liberals...' gorgeous guitar, lots of genius rhyming ('people of the bay - it is excruciatingly grey', 'trolls in the glen are consorting again'; it is quietly one of pavement's best. is 'brighten' still a bit underrated? i really hope they do get the deluxe version out, cos even though i probably have most of the tracks (i seem to have about seven hundred versions of 'shady lane' for a start), this seemed a fertile period to me, with 'infinite spark', 'starlings' and 'type slowly' especially.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

05.12.2008, 10:45 PM	#20
Fred Cracklin little trouble girl Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 65	I don't know how many songs are specifically about writer's block. My guess is that, yes, of course there are a few, but not all that many. Google sez: Just Jack - Writer's Block I get this writer's block, it comes as quite a shock, And now i'm stuck between a hard place and the biggest rock, In my own head consumed. I sit back in my room, Its like the tapestries of life get tangled in the loom, I'm like a butterfly, caught in a hurricane, My pulse is quickening as my heart plays a new refrain Im lovin' Mary Jane, flyin' with Lois Lane, On board a bullet train Don't know yet if i'm glad i came Don't know yet if i'm glad i came Don't know yet if i'm glad i came Don't know yet if i'm glad i came Sometimes at night i think too much, About life and love and music and stuff I'm livin' in the past, My clocks an hour fast, Should really go and make a coffee but i can't be arsed, I've lost my mobile phone, You'll have to call my home, On second thoughts just leave a message when you hear the tone, My grimy windows show the early morning glow, Another day, another dollar in my one man show, Im lovin' Mary Jane, flyin' with Lois Lane, On board a bullet train Don't know yet if i'm glad i came Don't know yet if i'm glad i came Don't know yet if i'm glad i came Don't know yet if i'm glad i came I fell out with Mary Jane, I don't speak to Lois Lane and i missed that bullet train But now i know i'm glad i- I fell out with Mary Jane, I don't speak to Lois Lane and i missed that bullet train But now i know i'm glad i- I fell out with Mary Jane, I don't speak to Lois Lane and i missed that bullet train But now i know i'm glad i- I fell out with Mary Jane, I don't speak to Lois Lane and i missed that bullet train But now i know i'm glad i came But now i know i'm glad i came But now i know i'm glad i came I suppose I could youtube the artist and title and find out what the song sounds like if I wanted. And there are undoubtedly others too. But all in all, "writer's block" is a bit of an oddball subject for a song. And rock lyrics aren't exactly usually precious poetry that's pored over by the author anyway. The aim is to come up with words that, with the right vocal phrasing, sound good with the music and have at least some vague theme or meaning.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|