I really liked writing this one. It brought me back to high school and finding my good girlfriends. My mom reminded me the other day, I came home once and was whining (Whining? Really? Me? Are you sure?) about not having any friends. She told me, “Well, go out and make some. You have to be one to find one.” (Or something to that effect.)
A few huffs later, I was a teenager after all, I went out and got me some. Yeah, apparently it was that easy back then.
Anyway, this song is dedicated not only to the lovely ladies who became my chums but also to all the other groups of friends who have stayed close over all the years, even if they’ve physically moved apart.
Not a complex song. Just appreciation and smiles looking back.
Call your friends!
(Nice to write about an easy one after last week’s emotional intrigue, fo sho!)
This one was a fun one to write. If you remember anything about the 80s it’s the phrase, “Be Kind, Rewind” at the video store on the videotapes. Having worked at a Video Store back in the 90s, I definitely appreciated when people took the time to rewind their videos; otherwise, we’d have to do it. (Otherwise, customers would complain.)
So needless to say, I couldn’t resist using it for not one but THREE reasons:
Very 80s phrase
The THINK acronym (more on that in a bit)
Gee, it sure would be nice if people were nicer (i.e. Kind) AND thought about things before they post on the internets (i.e. Rewind)
Okay, so it’s not super deep, but I really did like the focus of the song, which was: “Hey, before you post that post — do you reeeeeeeally need to?” (Reeeeallly?) I’ve many-a-time been mid-mad-fingertype when I just stopped myself and said, “Will this change anything? You may feel better for the moment, but is there any nutritional value to what you just said? Like….at all?)
And that’s where the song idea came from. Modern problem with an 80’s reference and musical vibe. I was definitely channeling “across the frequency” on this one! Old and new! I thought I was being super clever.
Ok, back to THINK — and I’ve had to use this a few times on myself because I will cop to the fact that I have gotten into ridiculous arguments with strangers that bore zero fruit and just got me so frustrated, I decided social media was just not worth it. Too much vitriol. And, thus, I left for several years. Now I just don’t feed the trolls. And, really, does anyone sleep better knowing how I personally feel about things?
I want to entertain, not debate. So the acronym goes like this: (there are variations I’ve noticed, but this is the one I remember):
Before you speak (post) is it:
T – True H – Helpful I – Inspiring N – Necessary K – Kind
Actually, that was something I learned when I was working in hospice and in that environment especially, those are words to live by. People have enough on their plate, they don’t need us/me/you adding to it.
So that’s it. The whole kit and caboodle. I went with the 80s catchy pop tune vibe , a nice amuse bouche from Marathon Girl which was pretty hard rock / hard hitting. So this is a nice palate cleanser. But, again, in the vibe of The Go-Go’s — strong message in the lyrics packaged in a fun, catchy pop tune. (See what they did there? That’s using the noggin’!)
Fun Fact:
I have not one but TWO videos going out today for this release. The first is the Official Lyric Video (I do that with all my releases), but the second is the Official Music Video (see below) Through trial and error, and many head bangs on my desk, I conceptualized and executed my own storytelling cinematic video. I think it turned out pretty well for my first stab at it.
Let’s just say, SkyNet? Not today. Still, I discovered many many tools at my disposal and only used one (reversing footage) in the music video. It was soooo fun – until I ran out of free credits. It took a good while to make it happen and I WISH I’d saved some of the AI “imagining” bloopers – some were pretty hysterical.
After I got into the groove with my Chance of a Lifetime album (BTW, all those songs have Lyric Videos on YouTube now!) , I got it in my head that I really like doing this writing thing! I can just write a song to tell a story! Bite-sized, just like me!
So after some thought I decided, “I’m gonna write me an 80s-inspired album!”
I wanted a good cross-section of songs from 80s ballads to new wave to — duhhhh — rock. And so I plotted it out. After a few weeks of writing, I had my ten songs.
I’ve been doling out the songs, one per week, for the last three weeks. And, it’s been FUN! I have learned so much about writing (the first few singles I did – don’t listen, they’re terrible – were kind of random and meandery), licensing, distribution, and how to format YouTube videos and why it’s good to have consistency, etc. etc. etc.. But that’s a topic for another day once I’ve learned more. For me, it’s about getting what’s in my head into a song. So that’s what I’ll focus on.
I don’t want to bore my Facebook friends with details they maybe don’t care about so I thought to myself, “Well, uh, you dolt, that’s what you have your own website for! Sheesh!”
So here we are!
The Album is called Across the Frequency (comes out April 10th! But I’m releasing singles under separate covers because making covers for each song is kinda fun) and like I said, it’s 80s inspired. Mostly I wrote about time back then, but I have a modern song or two but with an 80s sound. So it kind of crosses the timeline a bit. I felt the title worked nicely.
Here’s the album cover that I’m really excited about.
I wanted to go for the 1980s vibe, but not the crazy colors and pop kind of covers like Queen’s Hot Space or Talking Heads’ Remain in Light or Elvis Costello and the Attractions’ Imperial Bedroom. No, I wanted more simple like The Cars’ Candy-O (some of my single covers will give that vibe, I hope.)
But the image above was born of me wanting a Frank Frazetta style cover without the girl in the metal bikini riding a tiger. So I thought, ok, lose the girl, keep the cat. Panthers are cool. So if you look, his musculature is exaggerated in style. And I wanted old world meets new. Which Frank also did. So you see the Barbarian kind of style and his futuristic style. I wanted to combine the two in a very subtle way.
Note the hanging vines and foliage around the sides and ground (old) and then the cosmos in the background (future) — hence, across the frequency. And, if you’re paying attention, there’s a little easter egg with the frequency symbol near the panther.
I’m fairly positive that I’m the only one who cared about all these details, but at the end of the day it looked just plain COOL and — to me — very 80s.
So far a few singles have been released — I release one per week on Fridays:
This super silly fun (assume 80s in everything I write about style) pop song is about growing up as a kid in the 80s with the iconic games and toys and just hanging out with friends. It’s really not meant to be deep. There’s also a reference to Generation X, which I am apparently a member. Forgotten Generation? I guess. Remember this song. This album has a purpose in each song. 🙂
Now this one is a wonderfully classic anthem rock song. Simple message, hard rocking beats, and lots of heart. I wrote this for my husband who struggles with MS and never ever gives up, no matter what he does. So I wrote this in maybe five minutes. There are some fun battle / sports references. It all counts, I’m sure. Look, I kept it simple, ok? Sometimes I’m really not that deep. Anywho, along with this hard rock anthem song – I went with a male vocal. It’s only one of two times I went with a male vocal on this album. The second one will make sense, too, when you hear it.
This is another rock song, hard-hitting, great beat. It’s about running. Sometimes we think if we keep moving enough, those things we don’t want to deal with will go away, but they don’t. While I didn’t write this about me, I do feel that way back then, I’ve done a little running in my day. Emotionally. Situationally. You name it. This one probably will ring a bit true for all of us.
….and that’s where we leave it, as of today.
Next week, I think I’ll do a post for the next song on the list. It gives me an opportunity to go a bit deeper. (And I don’t spam my Facebook friends.)
(All my links are down below via this one DistroKid one if you want to support me on this crazy journey I’m on.)
MelissaBianco.com 
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