Idea Dump

The post you are reading is the 50th to appear on the Redline Project. By the time 315 more are composed, I will know if this initiative was a massive success or an abject failure. Fingers are crossed for the former.

With general artistic direction in place for the final recording, I have spent the awake portions of the past 24 hours thinking of song concepts, phrases, and hooks that may tell stories of justice and tales of peace. Instead of storing the ideas on cerebellum shelves, I am posting a handful for all to view.

A concept is not automatically on the album simply because it is here, and there is great likelihood that many new inspirations are yet to emerge. Brainstorming is both important and fun, and I invite you into the process. Concepts for songs are foundational ideas upon which lyrics can be built, phrases are loose language that may fit with an eventual song concept, and hooks are particularly catchy ideas that makes songs memorable. The phrases and hooks typed below resulted from a mere exercise in creativity and are not all destined to become cornerstones of songs.


Song Concepts

1) There is a man living in the woods behind the church I attend, and the frigid temperatures have added further complexity to his already trying situation. This story haunts me, and song seems like an appropriate venue for the emotions attached to it.

2) I know several preteen youth that continue to move closer towards criminal activity and acceptance into gangs despite their mentors' greatest efforts to teach the consequences of these harsh, unforgiving choices. I would like to write a song that deals with this palpable inevitability.

3) A raging pandemic of child slavery, trafficking, and prostitution haunts every corner of the globe. My home town of Atlanta, with one of the world's busiest airports, is a hub for these unthinkable atrocities. Perhaps there is a song that may sensitively deal with the agony and unfairness of the topic.

4) I have an endless list of questions for which there are not answers, or at least not tidy ones. A song of questions may be a venue for associated fears and uncertainties to be expressed.

5) A song about adoption, identity, and belonging would be a fitting outpouring of life as my wife and I prepare for our first child to come home from South Korea.

6) Time slipping away is a fascinating topic to me, and I am interested in writing a song about the process of aging and how years passing offers changed perspectives.

7) A story of kings and queens, or other royalty, would make an intriguing song, especially if the verses slowly reveal the listener to be the person of fame.

8) I am intrigued by the plants that manage to grow in the cracks of sidewalks. This displays great persistence, innovation, and the ability to thrive in adverse conditions. Perhaps worth a lyrical exploration.

9) What about lyrics that use images from nature? In less than poetic terms, a 'we all live under the same stars, the same sun setting on the chalets and shacks' sort of song.

10) I wonder about city pigeons sometimes. Where do they dwell? How do they find dependable food sources? Why is everything about their appearance gray and matted except for their red feet? Why do they only seem to live in cities? This concept could offer an urban slant to the 'consider the birds of the air...' reference.


Phrases or Hooks

1) Ashes to ashes, dust to dust [...] we all fall down

2) Nickel, nine to five, and dime

3) Jack shivers

4) Wisp of a leaf in the crack of the concrete

5) Minutes confirm what months may doubt as years coax a different truth out

6) Caged angel

7) Find a place in a place away

8) Asphalt nest in the telephone box

9) Clouds raining shadows on both sides of the tracks

10) Twenty dollar bill burns a hole in my pocket

If you are a songwriter and you take these ideas from me, you will always have to live with the nagging guilt that your work is unoriginal, which should be punishment enough. Please accept my open invitation to critique the ideas here or add your own to the mix. If your idea is utilized, you will appear in the credits.