Writing Songs and Writing a Record: Inside the Composition of an Acoustic Pop Album
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Writing Songs and Writing a Record: Inside the Composition of an Acoustic Pop Album. By Greg Arnold BA (Hons.) MEd. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Music) University of Tasmania November, 2013 DECLARATION This exegesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the exegesis, and to the best of my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgment is made in the text of the exegesis. This exegesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 Signed: Greg Arnold Date: November 13, 2013 ABSTRACT This project is a study of the author’s creative practice as a songwriter, record producer and performer of mostly (but not exclusively) acoustic pop music. This project has been pursued though performance and composition and is documented in the folio of recordings and the accompanying exegesis. The folio of this submission is weighted at eighty per cent and the exegesis at twenty per cent. It involves the creation of a new studio album by The Swamp Dandies. For this album the author has been songwriter, vocalist, instrumentalist, arranger, engineer and producer. In recognition of the interdependence of component stages, the exegesis provides an analytical narrative account of the entire compositional journey of the album from pre-tracking songwriting through to mastering. Utilising reflective journals and participant interviews undertaken throughout the process it documents and analyses the deliberate and “intuitive” creative methods involved in all of these tasks. It engages with the emerging scholarly discipline of the art of record production, pursuing a holistic perspective. It also considers the significance of the author’s biography, subcultural musical scenes and the contestable notion of authenticity. Throughout the exegesis the autoethnographic reflections are related back to corresponding academic and popular cultural discourses. Across the candidature the author has been active within the industry and as a Higher Education Music (and Music Industry) Educator. Consequently, the project documents and examines this specific four-year period in an ongoing musical career. In addition to the recordings specific to The Swamp Dandies project, the folio also contains additional record productions from both industrial and educational settings, the documentation of live performance work and a final live performance. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the University of Tasmania for hosting this research project. I would especially like to thank Nick Haywood for providing direction in my hour of need, Dr Anne-Marie Forbes for her detailed observations, Associate Professor Andrew Legg for his total belief in the work and Dr Glen Hodges for his constancy and passionate commitment to a music-based approach. Thanks to the many musicians who contributed their time and enthusiasm to the recording of Fall. In particular, my profound thanks to The Swamp Dandies—John Bedggood and Ian Kitney—for being so great at what they do, for making this so much fun and for driving around the country with me for years. I would also like to thank the artful recordists (David McCluney, Brad Jones and Jim Demain), Georgia Fields for her stellar arrangements and Mark Lang for his serious commitment to my ongoing work (and for making the album look so “purdy”). Woz and Wez contributed good vibrations and while Monique Zucco joined the band after the recording was completed, her role as live drummer, duet singer and roller-skating “Livvie” impersonator has contributed a great energy to the project worthy of acknowledgment. Thanks also to Rachael Lucas, whose video prompted such a surprising journey into cyberspace. Across my candidature I have received great support at NMIT and in particular I would like to thank Dianne Wisth for her tenacity in finding the more obscure Rolling Stone articles. Thanks also to all at Griffith University who helped build the foundation in the early stages. Additionally, I would like to acknowledge the thorough and nuanced academic editing by Tina Thornton. iii Finally, I would like to give enormous thanks to my family; my wonderful lyric contributing children Lex and Hannie and my perpetual muse (and occasional scholarly mentor) Dr Helen Durham. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ...................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments..................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ....................................................................................................... v Chapter One: Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 Research Setting ............................................................................................... 3 The Creativity Discourse .................................................................................. 6 The Art of Record Production Discourse ......................................................... 9 The Meaning and Popular Music Discourse .................................................. 13 Methodology................................................................................................... 16 Chapter Two: The Context....................................................................................... 22 Biography and Criticism................................................................................. 22 The Scene ....................................................................................................... 24 Chapter Three: Composing Songs ........................................................................... 35 The Composition of the Fall (The Swamp Dandies 2011) Songs.................. 38 Chapter Four: Composing Sound ............................................................................ 58 The Composition of the Fall (The Swamp Dandies 2011) Sound ................. 61 The Song Demos ............................................................................................ 63 The “Touchstone” Consultation ..................................................................... 71 The Band Demos ............................................................................................ 75 The Tracking .................................................................................................. 82 The Edit ......................................................................................................... 89 The Mix .......................................................................................................... 95 The Master ...................................................................................................... 99 Chapter Five: What does it mean? ......................................................................... 104 The Reception ............................................................................................... 104 What Fall (The Swamp Dandies 2011) Means to Me .................................. 107 Chapter Six: What have I done? ............................................................................ 113 Appendix One: “All Part of the Fun of a Life in Folk Rock” .................. 121 Appendix Two: Fall (The Swamp Dandies 2011) Lyrics ....................... 137 Appendix Three: The Live Performances ................................................ 151 Appendix Four: The Folio Recordings. ................................................... 156 References .............................................................................................................. 158 Discography .................................................................................................. 171 v CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION All over the land the kids are finally starting to get the upper hand1 (Chinn-Chapman, 1974) When I was in primary school, I went to a concert by The Sweet. It was the 1970s. The band had recently stolen top spot on my private star parade from a dethroned Suzi Quatro. There was a glittering parade of glam rock bands across my wall. Like most rock concerts of the time they had the big lights, the long hair and, most importantly, they had the songs. Written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, the songs were short, exciting and catchy. They held the promise of a pop revolution for the kids: airbrushed iconoclasm. I should have loved it. However, at this show I realised the music was different. It sounded smaller and less dramatic, which was ironic considering the near overwhelming volume. Too young to deliver a sophisticated analysis of the sonic construction, I didn’t realise that they couldn’t replicate their sound outside of the studio. I just felt that this immediate true live representation was a lesser quality pastiche of the artwork I loved: the painstakingly crafted recordings. I loved the final transformation, even the intentional distortion of the real musical performances to bring about the complete aesthetic vision of the final record. William Moylan has observed, when recording music “one can witness magic and be part of something that surpasses the sum of all individuals of the project” (2002, 320). The record was the gestalt; the live performance