“I want people to walk away from listening to my music whistling it, humming it or hearing it playing in their heads (because apparently that’s a thing people can do).”
Yes please! This was the entire subject of my essay from a few weeks ago. I miss the catchy tunes of my childhood. Seems like not many songwriters employ that these days. But that’s part of what endears them to our memory.
Side question: This is probably going to sound strange but I’ve always been curious. Now that I find myself in the unique position of actually being able to ask someone, do you have to consciously think about adjusting your accent when singing or is it something that just happens? Listening to The Beatles, I notice their accents most often sound more American when they sing and I’ve always wondered whether that was intentional.
Funny you mention The Beatles in this regard. There’s an apocryphal story about Paul McCartney’s dad complaining about the lads singing in American accents and using Americanisms in the lyrics of their early records. ‘We’re British so it should be “She Loves You, Yes, Yes, Yes”’ is how I heard it went.
I find it is the same deal. Like the Beatles were, I am writing in the American music genres (post ‘Rock N Roll’ US pop and indie) and the style kinda demands Americanised lyricism and syntax. It’s not something I or any other British musicians I know do intentionally, it’s just where this kind of music naturally lands.
Another issue is a British accent in music sounds so jarring when it is noticeable (see Jamie T ‘Sheila’ or Squeeze ‘Cool For Cats’) because of the Americanised default singing accent. It can work with some dialects of course. Gerry Cinnamon is extremely Scottish and hearing his strong accent works for his folky kind of style. Check out his songs ‘Canter’ or ‘Belter’ to see what I mean if you are interested…
Thanks as ever for commenting Makenna… Always appreciated
“I want people to walk away from listening to my music whistling it, humming it or hearing it playing in their heads (because apparently that’s a thing people can do).”
Yes please! This was the entire subject of my essay from a few weeks ago. I miss the catchy tunes of my childhood. Seems like not many songwriters employ that these days. But that’s part of what endears them to our memory.
Side question: This is probably going to sound strange but I’ve always been curious. Now that I find myself in the unique position of actually being able to ask someone, do you have to consciously think about adjusting your accent when singing or is it something that just happens? Listening to The Beatles, I notice their accents most often sound more American when they sing and I’ve always wondered whether that was intentional.
Funny you mention The Beatles in this regard. There’s an apocryphal story about Paul McCartney’s dad complaining about the lads singing in American accents and using Americanisms in the lyrics of their early records. ‘We’re British so it should be “She Loves You, Yes, Yes, Yes”’ is how I heard it went.
I find it is the same deal. Like the Beatles were, I am writing in the American music genres (post ‘Rock N Roll’ US pop and indie) and the style kinda demands Americanised lyricism and syntax. It’s not something I or any other British musicians I know do intentionally, it’s just where this kind of music naturally lands.
Another issue is a British accent in music sounds so jarring when it is noticeable (see Jamie T ‘Sheila’ or Squeeze ‘Cool For Cats’) because of the Americanised default singing accent. It can work with some dialects of course. Gerry Cinnamon is extremely Scottish and hearing his strong accent works for his folky kind of style. Check out his songs ‘Canter’ or ‘Belter’ to see what I mean if you are interested…
Thanks as ever for commenting Makenna… Always appreciated
That’s really fascinating! Thanks for indulging my weird sense of curiosity, lol.