Chris Jones has never read Gary Smith -- and why

music lyrics were always great influences on my writing, too. the lyrics of springsteen, browne, dylan, their rhythms, word-pictures -- isn't that what all writing is? -- the imagery of their works influenced me every bit as much as the word-pictures and phrasing i'd glean from merchant and red smith. and i'm sure, especially in college, i often came off like an aspiring clone of these guys. but that's part of the process. the first time you catch yourself doing it, or an editor points it out, you get back on track, snap out of it. but your own voice, your own style always gains from the experience.

am i making any sense? i'm just an old, 'keep it tight' newspaper hack, after all.

 

never, ever. don't know music or play an instrument -- a HUGE regret; my dad plays a beautiful piano -- old show tunes, primarily -- BY EAR (never took a lesson in his life. just hears a song enough and is able to play it. oh, what i'd give to have inherited that so i could just play 'thunder road' or 'racin' in the street' just once).

and i can't sing a lick. so song-writing never even crossed my mind.

 

Be careful, Clubber Slang listened to too much Lil Wayne and had to get out of the business.

 

I was specifically thinking lyrics.

Writers -- especially a guy like Jones -- are storytellers.

Guys like Dylan and Springsteen are storytellers too. I'd think as huge fans of music, and just for the challenge, some/many of you would have taken a stab at writing song lyrics.

I think, at some level, everyone plays with lyrics in their head. But, most of us don't have the talent.

 

I've written thousands of words in lyrics the past five years. Wish I knew 20 years ago I had a knack for it. Unfortunately, I have no musical talent and trying to learn the guitar looks like it'll take longer than I have to live.

 

Whenever I've had a chance to write something longform or something where I could turn up the creativity, I listen to the music I like the most.

There's something about what I'm hearing and how it translates into what I'm working on.

Sometimes I do it even when I'm banging something out, because it can make the mundane spectacular. Like a last-second cops story, and it's got the beat of a Ryan Adams song.

It can actually be quite a hoot to go back and read old copy and be able to tell what I was I listening to at the time. I was especially prolific during my Gillian Welch phase or as I look at a story a nice person put in a frame for me, I can Wilco's Live in Chicago in the words.

The same can be said of my writing. Some of the best work I've ever done was when I finished reading Dave Eggers and his Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. It lasted for almost a couple of weeks.

On the flip side of that, I've tried to avoid certain writers with a strong and distinctive voice because I don't want to be the next Hemingway or whomever else. I'd rather just be me.

So I totally understand why a writer would avoid other writers.

 

Sorry for the threadjack, though Jones has covered the original topic pretty well.

While most of you obviously work with editors (or are editors), the type of writing you do doesn't strike me as ordinarily being very collaborative.

Song writing often is a very collaborative process.

Makes me wonder how some of the writers here could accomplish with a talented musician to collaborate with.

 

I'd love to find out.

 

A friend of mine, who's probably the best pure reporter I've ever worked with, is in a band with his brothers. They put out an album and perform throughout a few states, although they've pretty much semi-retired now. His newspaper writing is very straightforward. He's a really good writer but he mostly writes hard news. Like I said, it's his reporting that elevates him. He can, though, turn a good phrase on longer stories.

But, he's written all the songs for his band and, damn, he's written some good fucking songs. Imaginative, creative, heartfelt, deep, funny, he can do it all.

I like to think I'm a better writer than my buddy. But I could never write a single lyric that would be better than his worst one. The point? I don't know. Other than to say the two skills - writing nonfiction and writing lyrics - don't necessarily go hand-in-hand. Although I definitely think writers can learn from songwriters.

 

Well, I'm probably the least musical guy going. Can't sing a note, can't play an instrument. Tone deaf. But I love music more than most people, I think, and that might be because it's so mysterious to me. I have no idea how someone sits down and writes a song. Does it start with the story? Does it start with the music? No idea. I can't even imagine where a thing like "Nebraska" comes from.

I often wonder how musical Bernie Taupin is. Or is really just a writer of words? How do you write the words to Crocodile Rock without having any kind of tune in your head? I don't get it.

But I've never written a story—not since I've worked in magazines at least—without also listening to music. Not sure I could, really.

 

Love music. Some of the first stuff I ever wrote and published was poetry, which I imagined in songs. Might have been brave enough to try a songwriting career, but I'm an awful singer. Tone deaf as they come, flat as they come, but good Lord, I love to belt it out when nobody's around.

Now that I think about it, music might have been one of the strongest things pushing me into writing. I want to make people feel the way music makes me feel. Since I can't do it with music, I try to do it with words.

Key word, of course, being try. Sometimes it makes me want to slam my head on the desk. Hell, I've actually done that before.

 

The Bernie Taupin reference is interesting because while I have no musical talent, I often think lyrically, if that makes sense. I've written off and on since I was a kid, but I wasn't "pushed" into writing lyrics until aboout five years ago. The process and the results are easily the most satisfying creative outlet I've ever had, and that includes my myriad jobs in the newspaper business.