Stories
Stories. We all have one.
I recently watched the film of "Springsteen on Broadway." Now, I've been a on-again, off again fan of that fella from Jersey for decades. The big rock show aspects of his work have kinda gotten old with me, but I've never stopped admiring his songwriting.
The film follows some of the same themes of his memoir from a few years ago. Tracing the roots of his upbringing through the stories of a young musician trying to "make it," to the realizations that even with wild success, there are still demons to be dealt with.
His story.
In my mind, I paired this with an interview I heard on Frank Stasio's "The State of Things" show on WUNC radio a month or so ago with journalist Susan Ladd. I've known Susan some 28 years from when she worked at the News & Record with my former wife. Ran into her and her husband Herb often, and their daughters were in the same after school care program as Zach.
What struck me was all that she shared in the interview, growing up in the south, finding her way in the world of journalism, and certainly the struggle of getting her family to accept her interracial marriage.
Her story.
So it began to occur to me that in the songwriting I've done over the last few years, instead of just reworking the tried-and-true pop song conventions, I've really started telling my own story. The relationships, the doubts, the breakthroughs and the failures. I don't know how successful I've been, but it all feels like the truth.
My story.
Stories. We all have one. Figure out how to tell yours. Happy New Year.
I recently watched the film of "Springsteen on Broadway." Now, I've been a on-again, off again fan of that fella from Jersey for decades. The big rock show aspects of his work have kinda gotten old with me, but I've never stopped admiring his songwriting.
The film follows some of the same themes of his memoir from a few years ago. Tracing the roots of his upbringing through the stories of a young musician trying to "make it," to the realizations that even with wild success, there are still demons to be dealt with.
His story.
In my mind, I paired this with an interview I heard on Frank Stasio's "The State of Things" show on WUNC radio a month or so ago with journalist Susan Ladd. I've known Susan some 28 years from when she worked at the News & Record with my former wife. Ran into her and her husband Herb often, and their daughters were in the same after school care program as Zach.
What struck me was all that she shared in the interview, growing up in the south, finding her way in the world of journalism, and certainly the struggle of getting her family to accept her interracial marriage.
Her story.
So it began to occur to me that in the songwriting I've done over the last few years, instead of just reworking the tried-and-true pop song conventions, I've really started telling my own story. The relationships, the doubts, the breakthroughs and the failures. I don't know how successful I've been, but it all feels like the truth.
My story.
Stories. We all have one. Figure out how to tell yours. Happy New Year.
Comments