Original song... Is it still possible?

[Shadow11]

I know from experience that writing an original song with an original melody is almost impossible now days.


It didn't hit me until now that "watermelon moonshine" and "that's what I love about Sunday" are basically the same song with different lyrics.


I knew there was something about it, but I was thinking of "strawberry wine" every time I heard it.... you know....hot chick with southern charm voice (I can't say the real word or mudducker will accuse me of a type around crime, lol).


Anyway, I heard it again on the radio and realized it's the "Sunday" melody. I thought I had discovered something, so I looked it up on Google. It turns out I'm way behind. Ppl have been saying this for awhile already.


I don't care, though. I still love that voice. I could defilinty marry it. She's pretty, too. I bet she smells good. Why aren't there more women like that?


Anyways, it's a tough business. Someone somewhere is going to say that anything and everything sounds like something already.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

You talkin about the Craig Morgan song?

 

[Gator89]

Well, they haven't invented any new musical notes in a couple of centuries.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

Never heard watermelon moonshine until now but you right, just different lyrics. By the way, I enjoy me some Craig Morgan

 

[HermanMerman]

Music died around the time Kurt Cobain died. It wasn’t a direct correlation, but it was close.

 

[1eyefishing]

Phooey.

Lotsa good new tunes out there.

 

[oldfella1962]

I know from experience that writing an original song with an original melody is almost impossible now days.


It didn't hit me until now that "watermelon moonshine" and "that's what I love about Sunday" are basically the same song with different lyrics.


I knew there was something about it, but I was thinking of "strawberry wine" every time I heard it.... you know....hot chick with southern charm voice (I can't say the real word or mudducker will accuse me of a type around crime, lol).


Anyway, I heard it again on the radio and realized it's the "Sunday" melody. I thought I had discovered something, so I looked it up on Google. It turns out I'm way behind. Ppl have been saying this for awhile already.


I don't care, though. I still love that voice. I could defilinty marry it. She's pretty, too. I bet she smells good. Why aren't there more women like that?


Anyways, it's a tough business. Someone somewhere is going to say that anything and everything sounds like something already.

"Everything sounding like something else" is more prevalent in popular/ accessible/commercial music because the musical "toolbox" is smaller than in more complex music like jazz (for example).
Pretty much the same chords/melodic patterns/instrumentation/subject matter/time signatures etcetera are frequently used, so the odds of sounding similar increase.

 

[livinoutdoors]

You could always start learnin Indian or far east music. They use a whole different scale. Get a bollywood country genre rollin and you could be famous.

 

[ilbcnu]

Laney Wilson is hard to distinguish between Michelle Womack

 

[oldfella1962]

You could always start learnin Indian or far east music. They use a whole different scale. Get a bollywood country genre rollin and you could be famous.

No kidding! Indian music especially - they divide up octaves into many microtones that - unless you were brought up listening to/playing that system of music - you wouldn't even be able to discern.

 

[ryork]

The "corporate" song writers in Nashville are running out, or maybe have run out, of variety and authenticity for sure. The real ones can still come up with something original though.

 

[Buck70]

In 1975 Waylon Jennings sang "it's the same old tune fiddle and guitar" many songs since then.

 

[alphachief]

Most “mainstream” country songs all sound the same…and whoever came up with “the sound” should be shot. Other musical pet peeves of mine…Kenny Chesney making a career out of ripping off Jimmy Buffett, any other country artist that sings about the beach ripping off Kenny Chesney, country and rock artists that rap, auto-tuning in any musical genre, heck…I could go on all night.

The day the music died (so to speak)…there are a few exceptions, but probably 1973 or 1974 for rock, country and R&B.

 

[Danuwoa]

I’ll do my obligatory post now about there being boat loads of good country being made right now. Nashville just doesn’t want anything to do with it.

 

[basstrkr]

My nephew was selling a guitar to a Vietnamese co-worker. We went over to their house and they asked that the guitar be played to show it worked correctly. They gave me a Vietnamese song book that had regular chords maked in it. I start strumming and they start singing... in Vietnamese. That was new and different! and weird.