rayn_man said:
I am trying to figure out why this isn't a great song.
I'm not exactly sure what kind of response you're looking for, but I'll take a shot at "I am trying to figure out why this isn't a great song". I'll give it my fairest assessment.
I'll try to explain it this way:
A bad song - even fans of the artist or genre aren't excited about this
An okay song - perhaps a song on an album of an artist that you are a fan of, that you don't mind listening through to get to another, but nothing too exciting...in other words, nothing wrong with it, but nothing too memorable
A good/really good song - one that allows people to identify with it in terms of lyrics and/or music. All fans of the artist will probably like this song....for people who weren't fans before, this might or might not convert them to fans...make them want to hear more....
A great song - a song that stretches the boundaries of just genre fans (ie. a rock fan saying, "man i know it's a country song, & i'm not supposed to like it, but it's a great song") and people can't help but identifying with it. A near must for a great song would be a strong melody that gets caught in the head...you can't get it out of your head.....if you go to one track on the album, it would be this one (of course, albums CAN have more than one great song). There are tons of great songs like this out there.
Now, I would say that "Dance with Kerosene" (for me) sits somewhere between an okay song and a good song. Let me explain.........if the song was on an album i liked, i'd listen to it occasionally, but it's something that i wouldn't dig out just for this song. I can see someone that strongly identifies with the lyrics calling it a good song.....I didn't strongly identify with the lyrics, they were decent though.
No, I don't think it's great. As I sit here typing, I've heard it several times already, and have no real recolection of the melody, lyrics, or song other than it was mellow. It's a song that could grow on you, but great songs usually don't have to take time to seep in and grow on you.
Self-assess yourself and let me know what you think. Take yourself out of it in terms of you being the songwriter. Try your hardest to look at it objectively. Do you think it is a great song? Why or why not?
One final tip: As a songwriter, don't be afraid to write a crappy song. Don't be afraid to write a good song. Don't be afraid to write a great song. Just keep writing. If you have to question if you think it is great...it probably isn't. Don't let that stop you from moving on and writing a new one.
