Twisted Thoughts And Thoughtful Truths On Thursday #017

Twisted Thoughts And Thoughtful Truths On Thursday #017 – “The Problem With The Concept”

I seem to have this conversation with musicians all the time, so I figured I’ll have it with you today.

Concept albums are amazing and one of the best things about music, when they actually work.

The same is true of songs.  When they’re about something, and we can pick that up, that’s super cool.

The problem with the concept album, or song, in general…is that you’re probably not being as clear as you think you are.  Look at it this way – you’re so freakin’ close to the concept (as in, it’s something you obviously care deeply enough about to devote your time to it) that it’s absolutely easy to get so lost within it that you don’t realize how vague it can be to the rest of the people tuning in.  I had a songwriter approach me about this just the other day in fact.  I reviewed a song, explained my point of view, and was then sent an email about how it was essentially the wrong take, more or less.  But was it?

First off, I’ve definitely got lots of things wrong throughout the years…let’s just be upfront about that.  Whether it’s a hot take or an opinion or a factual statement, trust me when I tell ya, you’ll find all kinds of incredible ways to piss people off through something you said whether you meant to or not.  I’m twenty-five years-plus into a career of music journalism…you end up with pretty broad shoulders after that length of time, and I’ve always felt that if I am willing to critique someone else’s work, it’s only fair that I’m ready to accept some criticism in return whenever it comes my way.  But the concept record, or song, is a different animal, in my opinion…because the person responsible for anyone not getting it, is YOU.  It’s very, very simple y’all…if your concept is as clear as you think it is, then everybody will get it.

What makes me pretty much wanna beat my head against the wall is when you’ve already had that exact conversation with someone, and they still don’t get it.  Maybe that’s on me – maybe I wasn’t clear enough about how they were being unclear before.  In the case of this particular songwriter though, I’ve already pissed him off in the past because I didn’t get something he was trying to communicate.  I told him my side of the story, supported what I said with whatever evidence I could cite in the lyricism, and proceeded to explain that if I was getting the concept mixed up, can you imagine how many other people would be too?  I’m not exactly what you’d call a gifted mind by any conceivable definition – I’m just a guy that knows what he likes to listen to & is willing to write about it day in & day out – that’s all.  So believe me when I tell you, if a dullard like myself ain’t getting what you’re trying to communicate, I’m not likely to be alone in that.  There will be many folks that have much less experience in listening to music than I have that will be altogether lost if you’re not finding an accurate way to say what you want to express.  With this particular song in question, I was like…for real…how would ANYONE out there get what you’re trying to say?  It was all done in a very dry, satire type of way, that if you didn’t know the person behind the music and what they personally believe, you’d have no way of knowing what the song was really all about.  Yet that’s on me to pick up in the music?  With all due respect, please pound sand.

From my personal experience, 99% of the concept albums I receive to review come with a full-on write-up of their own that goes into great detail about what they’re about.  Not only do I not want that to begin with, but like…do you see how that’s a basic admission of not creating a concept that connects in the way it should?  Jesus H. Jon Benjamin…it’s insane to me that you’d go to all that trouble and effort creating a concept album you’re seriously proud of, only to explain it in words rather than your music?  The fuck?  You wanna know what a great concept album is?  The Last DJ by Tom Petty.  There’s no confusing what that album could be about, and it’s a genuine masterpiece.  Obviously there are other quality examples to be found out there, but from my perspective, nearly none as clear about what they’re all about than what you’ll find on The Last DJ and Petty’s commentary on the sad-ass state of the music biz.

Now, we can go back and forth about which concept album is the most effective, but at least if we’re doing that, we’re arguing from the same point of view – clarity.  It’s so entirely CRUCIAL to a concept record, or song, that if you don’t have it, or someone thinks it’s about something else altogether, you failed the mission.  There’s no point in coming at the listener for getting it wrong, because it was on YOU to communicate effectively so that they get it right.  Rather than coming at the listener who didn’t get what you mean, that should honestly be the cue you need to know that you could have done a better job in saying what you wanted to say.  Of course we’re talking about the majority opinion when it comes right down to it…there’s always going to be a one-off comment that doesn’t make any sense, or a space cadet that doesn’t have a clue about what anyone is ever trying to say through their music – we don’t really count that stuff.  I’m simply saying that if you’re finding people time and time again don’t seem to get what you’re going for, then you gotta switch things up until you find a method where they can understand where you’re coming from and what you’re trying to say.  That is, if you’re into concept records, or songs, and that’s what you wanna do…if it’s not, I’m genuinely surprised you’ve read this far.

Let there be no ambiguity about what I’m saying and let me be as direct as I can possibly be – I love a great concept record!

They’re just a hell of a lot more rare than those creating them would realize.

See how easy it is to be crystal frickin’ clear about what you’re saying?

Keepin’ it short and sweet and right to the point this week, so that’s it from me!

Have an amazing day!  Be excellent to each other.  Eat the pie.

And sincerely, thanks for reading.

Your ally in all-things-music,

– Jer @ SBS