Actual Songwriting Advice from Scott Cooley

I'll start with a simple, short answer:  Do it.  It's fun.

If you've come to this blog looking for advice about songwriting, this is the post for you.  The About page of my blog states that it is about my "experiences with the craft," but because it's such a mysterious and personal thing, I've rarely blogged about it.  I think I can make it seem more accessible and less daunting, despite not really being a traditionally qualified expert, so here goes...

Presumably you read this blog because you've heard some of my songs and appreciate them.  Also presumably, you know it isn't easy to explain or teach.  Like most things, if you have the desire, then do it a lot, you learn along the way and get better.  Presumably.  I think I have, but it's hard to know for sure.

I guess I think of the blog as being more than just me being a solo artist.  I've always considered myself more of a songwriter than anything else, and I've always envisioned writing songs for other artists as my ideal place in the music business.  Turns out I've also become a solo artist, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, etc., but out of all the ways I get involved with music, just making up songs is my favorite aspect.  I have maybe written, recorded and released more original songs than most people, but that's maybe my only qualification.  I have no formal training, nor do I have any major awards to brag about.

If there’s anything I can offer, it would be that my songwriting “career” is an example of what you can do as an average joe, regular guy type of person who never took lessons or learned to read music notation.  You, too, can learn a few chords on a guitar, make up some words to sing, put them together, and call them songs – and do it as a completely self-taught person without much skill or talent as a vocalist or instrumentalist.

For starters, being able to record yourself playing a song on a guitar and singing some lyrics really helps.  Just hearing yourself perform a song you wrote helps.  I used to teach people how to ski, and when video on the hill became a thing (Vail pioneered this in the early 90s with something they called “cybervision”), it made people get better faster to be able to see themselves ski.  It's very similar to playing back a recording of yourself.  Knowing what you sound like is important in evaluating songs you write.  Hearing a recording of yourself makes you think about instrumentation and arrangement ideas as well as the overall impression a song has and what could be improved.

I think I started with a jam box that recorded cassettes.  After a while, I bought a Tascam 4-track recorder, and that allowed you to record 4 different tracks and blend them together, which made me want to get a bass and some percussion.  Later on, a computer with audio interface and multi-track recording software made the number of possible tracks limitless.  

One thing I can say about my experience with the craft is that it has evolved with both time and technology.  A digital audio interface with digital audio workstation software is overwhelming, but gives you a satisfying mad scientist experience.  At first, you're excited to make yourself sound like a full band, and fairly quickly thereafter, you realize that adding too much instrumentation or too many vocal parts can make a song worse.

Recording helps, but so does using a word processor.  Legal pad with pen was how I jotted down the words with chord letters above the word where the chord is to be strummed.  Then you truly have a written song, along with the ability to have a recording of it on which you made all the sounds.  Progressing on from paper was again spurred on by me getting my first computer and using Wordperfect, and then later on, Word, as my lyric/chord documenting tool of choice.  It's way more efficient to rearrange sections, cut and paste lines, delete stuff, make edits, etc. than revising by crossing out and writing over or rewriting your revisions on a fresh paper page.

I was shaped by the circumstance of having a computer to use as part of my day job.  This allowed me to take breaks and type lyrics in the office, then email them home to myself.  Later when home and near my guitar again, I'd put them to music.  This was the reason I’m more of a lyrics-first writer, but I’ve also written plenty by writing the music first too.  I probably wrote more lyrics for songs than I would have otherwise, and once they exist, you look forward to completing the music part.  

The more you learn, the more you are able to hear.  When enjoying music by other artists you like, you can try to figure out what are the characteristics of the songs that made you like them.  The more you know about music and songwriting and recording, the more likely you are to be able to hear song forms and structure, for example.  You can find a lot of free information about writing songs on the web, so I highly recommend doing so.  I don't ever co-write with anyone at all, but I do also advise doing it, because you can always learn from others.  I've noticed that just talking about the craft with other craftsmen or listening to people who are better than you can no doubt help.  Not everyone can be a Lennon or McCartney, but everyone can learn from listening to them.

These two figured it out pretty well by doing it a lot too!

Ideas matter.  Sometimes, when I sort of luck out, a song will just flow out as if it’s writing itself, and when this happens, it’s usually because the core idea of the song was really good to start with.  You need a spark of a good idea first.  Listening to other music, people's conversations, and even reading books can give you inspiration, usually to write a song that includes some aspect you wanted to hear, or some aspect it reminded you of, or some aspect you misheard.  New original melodies, concepts, titles, and lyrics can pop into your head while listening to existing music.  Maybe you hear where you would've gone if you were the artist, and maybe it just makes you think of something totally different.

My absolute best piece of advice I have is to just do it a lot.  Write songs a lot.  Most will suck.  You may improve the more you try, but sometimes it doesn't seem that way.  Maybe I haven't improved because for every batch of new songs I write, say 10 new songs, usually only a couple of them really stand out.  2/10 ain't a bad keeper ratio.  Sometimes it's 0/10, sometimes 5/10, despite me learning a few things over the years.  

That's really two pieces of advice:  write songs often, and accept a low keeper ratio without getting discouraged.  Those are the top two most important things.

Secondarily, it is really important to listen to a lot of music.  I remember being surprised when reading Stephen King's 'On Writing' about how important he thought it was to read other writer's books, and to do it frequently.  A first reaction is that it seems contrary to writing something fresh and new, and that it would put you at risk of being perceived as copying someone else's style, or worse, being a plagiarist.  My initial thought was that you don't want to be clouded by others' work and that to be truly original/authentic/creative, you want to avoid any influence whatsoever.

This one can also be broken down into two pieces of advice:  listen to a lot of music, but also  listen intently for what worked well.

I'll elaborate a little on this last one.  The more you listen to music you like, as a songwriter, you're constantly focusing on why you like it, asking yourself what it is about the song that makes it good.  The more you attempt writing songs (and recording them), the more you notice little details in the music of other songwriters and artists.  You start to be able to at least hear things like the song forms and the arrangement choices and the rhyme schemes, whereas before you wrote songs you just liked what you liked from a music consumer perspective and didn't notice all these other things.

Therefore, the more you write/record, and the more you listen to the work of others, the more you notice, the more you pick up on various devices, tips, tricks and techniques you can use for your own songwriting work.  As your experience increases, the greater your focus becomes.  You hear things in songs you like that you never noticed before.  Similarly, you also begin to notice what didn't work, why songs are not good, or how they could've been better.

Another piece of advice that has just emerged in my mind from explaining all this so far is you need to record in addition to write.  In particular, I'm thinking of multi-track recording.  Yes, a good song can be conveyed with one instrument and a vocal and should be able to stand on its own that way.  However, most of what I enjoy has more than two tracks.  The more you attempt recording multiple instrument and vocal tracks and blending them together, you start paying more attention to the instrumentation and mixing of your favorite songs by others.

To sum that up, I would also add a fifth piece of advice:  record your own songs...with multiple tracks.

Expanding on that, it's never a bad thing to try to re-create a song someone else wrote by recording your own cover version of it.  Fire up your DAW and try to record a famous song that stays true to the original, and you'll learn a lot about what made the song and record so good in the first place that you didn't notice when you were merely a fan.

To clarify further then, record songs in a multi-track environment;  including covers.  With all of the virtual instruments and MIDI sounds available in software, you don't have to know how to actually play instruments to record tracks using the tools. 

Even if you're only wanting to write, recording demos is a part of presenting your songs to artists, and demos these days are typically more than just a guitar/vocal or piano/vocal.

And I guess elaborating on that point would be to have DAW software, an audio interface, a computer, a microphone, and a MIDI keyboard.  At minimum, these are the basic tools every songwriter should have.  If you don't play piano or bass or drums, you can use the keyboard for a simple snare hit track or a simple root note bass track to fill out a demo.

Adding to that would be an obvious one:  have an acoustic guitar.  They are the most commonly-used instrument for songwriters, easy to just pick up and start using without any setup when inspiration strikes.

Summarizing those last few might be to say have an instrument - which almost goes without saying, and have some recording equipment, and a MIDI keyboard is highly recommended even if you don't play piano.

I got by with a 4-track tape recorder for years, but today's digital electronic recording tools are amazing by comparison.  Again, when attempting to record a demo of your own song or a cover of someone else's great song, you learn things about what makes songs and recordings of songs great.  This in turn trains you to listen more intently to songs you like to hear what they did that worked (or didn't).  It makes you become a producer, or at least be able to think like one.

Lastly, I might advise listening for the structure of songs.  As a kid, I could sing songs I liked, but never paid any attention to which parts were a verse, chorus or bridge, intros/outros, etc.  Along with this is the advice to learn a little about the common song forms that exist, and the common rhyme schemes that are used in great songs.  Learn the rules, break them, listen for how others followed or broke them, etc.  It makes you become an "arranger" of sorts.

Concluding about those last two might be learn the popular song forms - there are only a handful, and learn a little about types of rhyme options.

Another big one in the same vein would be to learn a little bit about chord families - that is, which chords go well together for a song in a particular key.  Again, these are good to know because it's a matter of knowing the rules in order to break them.  There are all sorts of confusing charts and diagrams out there to be found like the circle of fifths, but chord families gets you started with theory.

So the advice piece here is:  learn chord "families" for each song key.  I mean, you don't have to actually learn them, just google it and refer to the table that lists what they are.  Simple as that.

There are a ton of other subtleties to learn about and pay attention to as you get deeper into understanding what works.  Things about tension/release, contrast, subject matter, and the details go on and on.  You will learn how certain chords tend to resolve to other chords in a key, stuff like that.

I'm mainly talking about songs that have lyrics, so if you're aspiring to "compose" classical music or chamber music or instrumental music or background music for movies or television, some of these things may not apply as much.  Something to never lose sight of is that songs with words meant to be sung require great singing for the best impact.  Guitar riffs, drum beats, melodies, etc. can all be hooks that contribute to great songs, but great singers can transform songs into things of beauty.

It seems to be more true for guitarists than keyboardists, but while playing chords, you start singing the words in a way that sounds good to you.  This is the melody.  So, I guess I would recommend that you write the melody with your voice.  You could do it with your right hand on a piano, or with a harmonica, but I do it vocally.  I rarely just write a melody on a guitar first.  It sort of naturally feels like the right notes to sing while strumming those chords in that order.  

You can start with whistling or humming or just singing nonsensical “na-na’s” before you have the lyrics, then when you have the lyrics, sing them in place of those same notes that sound good to you.  So, the singing, while playing some progression, for guitar players usually, is the creation of the melody.  It’s a vocal melody that could theoretically later be notated on a staff.  Later on, you can match what you sang with an instrument – such as playing the melody on individual notes either while singing or during an instrumental break.

I’ve done lyrics-first a lot, but I’ve also done music first.  Inevitably, there’s a little back-and-forth editing until you get it all to gel.  Sometimes you can just hear it all coming together in your head, and your fingers and voice have to translate it simultaneously.  Attempting it a lot makes it less daunting, like anything.

Final piece:  don't underestimate the power of great singing.  Be a great singer or find one.

Someone like me who is not much of a singer should theoretically be on the lookout for great singers to interpret my songs - whether by me pitching my songs to artists, or finding a great singer to be in a band with.  Instead of pursuing either of those, I record my own versions of my own songs as a solo artist by myself, and hope some great singers take notice and want to record them.

As an artist myself with a small-but-growing cult following, I am fortunate that singing isn't the only thing people enjoy about music and artistry, or I'd have no interest in my music at all.  People appreciate the songwriting, I'm told.

Some of the pros in Nashville will spend a couple grand on a single demo of a single song, sometimes more.  It seems almost insane.  That takes a great amount of confidence in addition to capital.  Then they pitch them to artists, and often get rejected.  I'm all for people going for it, but my current situation is to just keep doing what I do, keep trying to write better songs, keep trying to record better songs.  

As I've blogged before, I know I'm not the type of solo artist who would be likely to get signed by a major record label.  I might have enough skill with songwriting to do it as full-time staff member for a publisher, but I live in Michigan and have no plans to move to a music hub and network.  Luckily, it's a hobby that is a blast and can be made public from the privacy of my home - which is weird but true.  Thankfully, I've had enough confidence to put my songs and recordings out there.

My songwriting and recording have evolved, my knowledge of each has evolved, and so has the advice list.  I have no reason to think these trends won't continue.  

So, re-skim the things I made bold above, but here's an abbreviated list for you impatient scrollers as blogged about in detail above:

• Do it often
• Accept bad songs
• Listen to great songs
• Listen intently
• Buy an instrument
• Learn song forms
• Learn rhyme schemes
• Learn chord families
• Buy recording equipment
• Get a MIDI keyboard
• Record multi-track songs
• Record covers
• Focus on singing
• Don't give up

So, there you go.  Write on.  I don't claim to have ever written any really good songs.  I'm still trying to write a good one, and that's what's fun.  There's a drive there, but the motivation is enjoying the trying part, knowing it would be rare and unrealistic to ever think you'll actually write a great one.

When I run in to people who know I like to write songs and they ask if I’m still doing it, I usually say I’m still trying to write a good one, and then I usually throw in a “haven’t given up yet” part too.  I say these things with a smile on my face because I have so much fun with it.  It’s a great way to pass the time.  I know some of them might think to themselves “okay, I guess he really likes something he’s not very good at” and then might wonder “why make them available for streaming though?”.  I do it anyway, because I can.

We all know someone who retires with a hobby, then they attempt to go pro with it.  I’ve worked with guys who liked to take pictures with a camera and then retire and launch a “photography studio” website, or guys who are into woodworking and then retire and launch a website to try to sell their creations online.  You check it out, make a quick judgement in your mind, compliment them, and wish them well.  You always think to yourself “dude, you’re not as good as you think you are, but good luck,” but you’d never tell them your thoughts out loud to their face.  

Those sites don’t seem to stay up for very long.  Is this kind of thing sad?  Yeah, maybe a little, but I’m one of them, and I’m a supporter.  Depends how you look at it.  Did they need someone to tell them they weren’t as good as they thought they were, or that their ambition outweighed their talent?  I’m not sure about that.  

Trying and failing is better than not trying.  Not giving up despite remaining conventionally unsuccessful would be another way to say it.  Following a passion isn’t about mainstream success, it’s about the enjoyment of a creative pursuit.  Keep at it, that’s how you get better at anything.

Scott Cooley: The Raygun of Singer-Songwriters?

New year, same thoughts about my situation as a “worldwide” recording artist.  How to reach a larger audience when I’m not a “hey, look at me!” type of person.  Getting noticed and discovered and recommended by more people is what we want.  There are a lot of us with this predicament.  I don’t play live, don’t have a manager, promoter, or a record company staff doing any marketing for me or otherwise helping me get attention online or in publications or whatever.  And I can’t bring myself to seek out such opportunities or do any of that type of work in my free time.  I’m not a hustler, I’m a creator.  I am always self-deprecating, and I balance the desire to create new music and share it with the world with wondering if the music business is telling me the streams just aren’t there to justify continuing.  Should I drop myself from my own label?  One problem is I can't afford any marketing, but another is I sort of despise self-promotion.  What else could I be doing?  Some say the cream rises to the top naturally, and since I'm still a bottom-dweller after 20+ years, maybe I need to get a clue and either get better or get out.  Better songs is one thing to focus on in the new year, which I certainly have control over, but I’m ruling out better recording quality and better performance quality by not being able to afford pro engineers and session musicians that pro studios (whether brick/mortar or cloud service) could provide.  I honestly believe some of my songs are worthy and deserving of the pro treatment, and I know that forking out over two grand for a premium Martin guitar about 15 years ago that I didn’t think I was good enough to deserve, did indeed turn out to be worth it for my favorite hobby.  Should I invest more in myself and take it more seriously, or should I be ashamed that I’ve taken it as seriously as I already have been for all these years?  Such are my thoughts as I begin a new year, and I know I’m not alone.  

It takes great patience and the right frame of mind to read my long-winded posts that help me figure these things out, and yet I know from my analytics that quite a few of you do, so I’ll type on.

The underground music scene, which has been increasingly marginalized on streaming platforms by power-hungry and control-hungry major record labels under the guise of their "artist-centric" rhetoric, is as strong and fresh as it has ever been.  Self-releasing independent DIY lo-fi artists like me seem to thrive on platforms like Bandcamp.  Such music sounds very real/genuine/authentic/etc. compared to the trend-chasing, digitally-polished and artificially-perfect fake-sounding music the major labels release.  Unlike the signed artists who are expected to sound perfectly fake and market the heck out of themselves on social media and elsewhere, artists like me have no expectations (or budget) for such nonsensical pursuits.  Most of us don't really seek publicity, don't buy fake streams, and don't buy fake playlist adds.  We love being totally independent so we can focus on the important stuff like writing good songs without any expectation of recouping recording or marketing loans.  We don't stoop low enough to drum up controversy or “sensationalization” for attention.

Music Marketing for “Emerging” or “Aspiring” or “Developing” Artists

All that being swept aside, it is necessary to market yourself as an artist, and to do that, you must first have some understanding of what genre of music you make, what other artists you sound like, and who your audience is.  If you are not able to describe it, categorize it, explain your style, etc., then it's a tough row to hoe.  The major labels / streaming platforms are now ramping up their gatekeeping so that if you don't get a certain number of streams for each song (1,000 per year each to be more precise), you stand no chance of getting paid.  This allows them to make more money, and that's why they exist.  For a couple of decades now, however, due to it becoming increasingly inexpensive to buy simple home recording equipment and pay for aggregator digital distribution services, they claim something needs to be done about the "oversaturation" of music that simply isn't popular enough.  When the fans decide what they like best, as opposed to what the major labels decide to market to them, it is theoretically better for everyone, but with so much competition, you can't get over a thousand streams per year of each song you release, year after year, without scrambling to get online attention somehow.

Past Mid-Career Already, Yet Not Easy To Market

I have more than two decades and twelve albums under my belt, so I must have a story capable of capturing attention if I want to take things to a higher level of public awareness, right?  If I only knew how to describe myself as a musical artist, I might then be able to formulate a marketing strategy, plan and execute a publicity campaign of some kind.  I guess that would mean reaching out to music bloggers and ask them to write about me, or paying for actual advertising to get that fan base past the streaming threshold.  As a non-performing solo artist seeking a larger audience online, I suppose doing a lot of frequent social media posts might help, as would getting the music reviewed or being interviewed.  Before thinking about what my “brand” is, or how to make my story more interesting, I need to at least be willing to seek attention, and it goes against my grain, but I think about it from time to time.  The fact is that platforms like Bandcamp are full of really interesting artists who you would never imagine being appropriate to be promoted for radio airplay, but nonetheless are so much fun to discover and listen to.  So, although I’m not an attention-seeking personality type, I give it some thought.

A New Approach – Maybe Brutal Honesty Would Work?

Last year, someone asked me what kind of a solo artist I am.  Once again, as always, I struggled to provide a quick, easy answer for such a question.  My music does not fit neatly into a popular genre people are familiar with.  I wish there was a simple way to explain it, but I have trouble with it.  People really want a categorization or at least some sort of explanation, and they find it hard to believe I can't describe myself to them.  The right thing to do is to have a short answer that makes them want to listen to decide for themselves.  It should include who you get compared to.  I remain unprepared, and wish I could be ready with the perfect elevator pitch answer.  Sometimes I say something like “you know how there’s people who aren’t very good who just release their music on the streaming platforms anyway?  I’m one of them.”  They usually don’t understand, because they only listen to their favorite famous artists anyway.

Looney Tunes

It seriously took a lot out of me to even tell people about my last album “Sunrise” when I released it last June.  Social media makes people get crazy, so I generally like to avoid it.  I got a little Looney Tunes near the end of 2024, what with the holiday stress and all here where I live near Goodrich, Michigan, home of the Martians, and like Marvin the Martian, there were a few times when I wanted to shoot a ray gun at my music “career” and make it go away, find a different hobby, but then I came back to my senses.

Also last year, I finally thought of another self-deprecating way to describe myself:  

I'm the Raygun of solo artists, the Rachael Gunn of music streaming.  

Translation:  So bad I make people laugh hysterically.

Becoming Aware of Raygun, the Dr. of Breakin', the OG Australian B-Girl

Let me explain.  Somehow, last year I was made aware of a video on YouTube showing a losing performance by this Raygun person in the summer Olympics breakdancing competition.  First of all, I didn't even know breakdancing was technically a sport, let alone an Olympic sport, but apparently, it is now.  That, by itself, was hilarious to me.  Also, the name Raygun sounded hilarious, especially after seeing what she looked like, but I did initially think it could be a good breaker's name.  Then before clicking the link to play the video, I expected it to look like the breakdancing I'd seen on TV or in those bad movies of the 1980s when it was new.  It didn't.  I expected a black person in 80s style urban street attire.  Instead, it was a white Australian woman wearing what looked like a uniform of track pants and a baseball hat.  Her moves didn't look like the breakdancing I'd seen before, and I started thinking to myself as I watched it that maybe it had evolved a lot since I'd seen it back in the day.  Trying to keep an open mind, I found myself laughing out loud a little bit as I watched it.  I wasn't sure what I'd just seen, and thought it was not out of the realm of possibility that it was a joke of some kind.

Then I decided to google her, and learned that a lot of other people had the same reaction.  Unsurprisingly, she got a score of zero, meaning no points awarded by judges at all.  People shared theories online that she had somehow scammed the system to get into the competition so that she could use her Olympics experience as a free vacation while representing her country and getting them to foot the bill.  Further research revealed this was not the case at all, and she took the "sport" so seriously that she actually had a PhD degree in breakdancing.  The world changed a lot since Krush Groove and Breakin 2 Electric Boogaloo, when no one could have ever fathomed that it would not only become an Olympic sport, but something you could get a doctorate degree in.  Obviously, she took it very seriously, was trying hard to be creative with her own style, flair, technique, and choreography, and wanted to win.  Then I learned that she had some legitimate qualifications at the national level, which made me think break dancing must have evolved to something way different in Australia.  Even more funny are the online comments on the video footage of her.  People have named her various moves and created memes.  Lastly, I was sad to learn she was not able to laugh along with others' reactions and instead felt so bad about the cyberbullying that she quit.

Not Like Raygun in Some Ways

Fortunately, I have not experienced any bullying about my music career.  Unlike Raygun, I don't have any formal music education at all.  I'm completely self taught.  Also unlike Raygun, I am able to make fun of myself and maintain a sense of humor about trying to go for it in the music business.  If songwriting became an Olympic sport, there'd be a ton of Americans who would qualify before me.  I'm cracking myself up as I type this.

Zero Scores, Zero Streams

But like Raygun's zero scores, I have written, recorded and released many songs that have zero plays on some some streaming platforms.  No points scored at all.  One could argue it's due to a lack of any marketing whatsoever on my part, and although there is truth in that, I can admit, those songs are not my best.  I am a terrible singer and weak guitar player and even worse at the other instruments and recording and production and all that other stuff I attempt.  

Similar Reactions?

I know people must have a similar reaction when they do stream my music.  They must think to themselves, "okay, what's this?"...and then after hitting play on a couple more, they must think to themselves "why is this guy even on Spotify in the first place?"  Things along those lines, I imagine.  So, that's how I'm like Raygun.  The Raygun of singer-songwriters who makes people wonder "how did he get here?" or "why is this even allowed?"

No Joke

Also, like Raygun, my art is not a joke.  I seriously love writing songs and recording them, and actually think many of them are pretty damned good songs.  I'm serious about the passion I have for the craft.  I'm still laughing as I type this, realizing how it must sound to those who have heard the quality of my recordings (or lack thereof).  On the one hand, I don't take it that seriously, and I think of it as a fun hobby.  I don't work very hard on it at all – a fact that should be evident to all who listen.  On the other hand, I'm enthusiastic about it as a creative outlet in my life.  Some of my songs are intentionally humorous, almost like novelty songs, but not quite.  I know many must laugh at the ones I didn't intend to be funny too.  I can laugh along with them.  Some of my acoustic guitar solos are the music equivalent of Raygun’s Kangaroo pose.  I know I'm not awesome, but I do have some ill moves in my arsenal.  😊  I’d put my shredding technique up there with former 80s child actor Corey Feldman – another person who went viral last year.

Sneaking In and the Inevitable Increased Gatekeeping

Raygun sort of snuck in when the sport was new, and they may not let in others like her in future competitions.  The powers that be might get a little stricter with their gatekeeping.  Similarly, I sort of snuck in to the music business when they started allowing self-releasing DIY independent artists like me about twenty years ago now.  In the last couple years, the music business has been getting more stringent with their gatekeeping so there will be fewer like me allowed into the music streaming services in the future.

I haven't given up yet, and the “artist-centric” greedy major record labels and music streaming service gatekeepers haven't totally shut me out yet, so I'm going to keep going for it and releasing new music.  A lot of people don't realize it's dirt-cheap to put out an album these days yourself without needing to be signed to a record label deal.  So, they’re surprised when they learn my music is available alongside the greats of the industry.  

The Eye of the Beholder Thing

Streams happen, or don't.  Stats happen.  Judgement is going to happen.  Beauty in any creation is different for each individual person who experiences it.  Opinions about the value and merit of different types of art, including breakdancing or music, are personal.  Emotional reactions are subjective, appreciation depends on people's tastes.  You be the judge.  I don't seek outside opinions about my music at all.  Just my wife and a couple friends.  I'm not competitive in any way.  No one ever reviews my music.  I'm in a bubble, yes, but I don't have a skewed perception of reality.  I'm fairly certain more than one person in the world has thought I was embarrassing myself by releasing music, or that I should be embarrassed about doing it.  I am a little embarrassed, for some of the songs, but I keep trying, and I actually notice little ways I might be getting better over the years.  Maybe not at all though, come to think of it, and at least I can laugh about that.

No Guts No Glory

I am someone who has had the courage to be vulnerable and offer up my creativity for judgement by releasing my music on a worldwide stage, just like Raygun.  She and I each had the guts to give it a try, thinking it was worthy and that some people would like it.  We were right.  It's not so much that we had confidence despite lacking talent.  I'm not ultra-confident, but I just do it anyway.  I am afraid to have people hear my music, but at the same time, I want it to be available because I know some people will like it.  I'm not delusional.

Raygun has stated that she is only going to dance for personal enjoyment for the rest of her life.  I think it would be better if she came back strong in Los Angeles in 2028.  It would also be great if she could learn to laugh at herself, laugh along with people laughing at her.  I have respect for her.  For real.  I also can’t help but laugh – both at her routine and the world’s reaction to her.

The Inevitable Humble-Bragging

At least Raygun can say she competed in an Olympic sport.  Whatever level of accomplishment anyone has in anything, there are some who are better and some who are worse off.  You need the people who fail.  Someone has to lose.  I make other solo artists look good, and solo artists like me must exist if you think about it in a certain way.  We can’t all be tied.  This is ridiculous because writing songs is not a sport, but if it were, at least I’d be able to say I got a certain number of streams, and that number would be higher than some other artists.

I really do like to think of myself as a modest person, and yet, I like to occasionally humble-blog about myself.  It’s the equivalent of the nauseating holiday letters that boast accomplishments you get along with Christmas cards from large wealthy successful families you sort of envy/hate/make fun of.  But it’s also a form of me, the Raygun of solo artists, engaging with you, my superfans, which “they” say is extremely important.

I was fortunate last year that a really good singer and solo artist named Ultimate Rick Jones recorded and released an outstanding professional and commercial-sounding cover version of one of my songs, “Used To Be Good Looking.”  He was one of the few out there in the world to recognize it was a good song, which admittedly wasn’t easy to spot from hearing my own version, but if you listen to his, you might start thinking I am not a terrible songwriter, at least.  

This gave me some additional confidence, but I'm definitely not overconfident.  This blog is full of posts where I basically admit I know I'm not great, but the stats don't lie.  Last I checked, my not quitting has resulted in my song "Mackinac Island" (admittedly a novelty song) racking up over 26,000 streams on Spotify alone.  

Not to brag, but I might be laughing all the way to a whole penny someday soon.  But yeah, in some ways, as Raygun is to breakdancing, Scott Cooley is to music making.  We’re both out to express ourselves creatively and entertain.  

Happy New Year!  As always, I’ll be working on the next batch of tunes for you, as free time allows, while wisely not giving up the day job, and will be planning another release, possibly even later this year.  Also as always, I’ll be blogging about myself as I continue to pretend I’m a solo artist.  It’s a little insane, I know, but people need hobbies.

Ultimate Rick Jones, Used To Be Good Looking, and Dreams Coming True

Rising new Americana singer-songwriter Ultimate Rick Jones just released his latest single, "Used To Be Good Looking," a hand-picked cover version of a song I wrote and previously released as the title track of my 6th studio album 10 years ago.  He and his international band's recording is poised for a worldwide commercial breakthrough in my humble opinion.   To quote myself, I "ain't too proud to brag," only in this case, maybe it's more like humble-bragging for hype purposes.  😉

I am so pleased and honored to feature a song among the first several of his official single releases.  In songwriter lingo, I’m proud to be able to say I achieved a “cut” with an artist this talented who chose to include my song in his repertoire.   

Its outstanding arrangement, vocals, instrumentation and production quality far surpass my original, resulting in a commercial recording worthy of radio airplay or a movie soundtrack.  I have always suspected that if a great singer and band recorded a cover of one of my songs that it would demonstrate the quality of my songwriting and confirm the potential my songs have.    

Ultimate Rick has realized the possibilities I imagined when I wrote it with his polished sound.  It is high praise when a songwriter who does not need outside material likes one of your songs enough to want to record it, so I have nothing but gratitude, respect and admiration.   

I love UTBGL (as I sometimes like to abbreviate it) by URJ, but I also encourage you to check out his excellent original songs as well.  All his records are in the upper echelon of independent music.  Check them out here:  

https://ultimaterickjones.bandcamp.com/

Did you know artists can record cover versions of Scott Cooley originals and release them for streaming for about two dollars?  I welcome it, encourage it, and even offer a free lyric/chord songbook for this purpose to make it easy.  For more information, see https://www.scottcooley.com/songbook.     

Who Is Ultimate Rick Jones Anyway?   

Who is this mysterious new Ultimate Rick Jones person?  What's in a name?  There's a lot that can be interpreted about the name an artist will self-apply.

• 'Ultimate' suggests a final stage of a process, which for me represents a holy-grail culmination of my work as a songwriter to have an artist of this caliber record one of my songs, with his cover being the best imaginable example of what a Scott Cooley song can become.
• 'Rick' suggests a stack of hay, straw, or firewood that to me reflects a rural American vibe while representing fuel, and Rick's music most certainly serves up energy to keep you going and enjoying life, and his cover of my song has made me stoked to keep writing more.
• 'Jones' suggests an addiction, and once you hear some URJ, you are hooked and jonesing with a compulsive desire for a fix of more music from an artist this good.    

Then there's the comic book character.  80’s style party-in-the-back mullet, muscles indicating otherworldly strength and durability, abilities including flight, teleportation, cosmic awareness, levitation, etc.

To some, he is a great singer-songwriter.  To me, Ultimate Rick Jones really is a superhero!  He and his band are destined for fame and greatness (and not just because of a Scott Cooley cover).    

I am proud to be a part of the origin story of this new and emerging artist.  He has released multiple successful singles in succession, and with one great song after another, he’s more than just a rising artist, he’s on a stratospheric trajectory.   

This recording is an example of Rick in full control of his powers, which are rumored to be a result of gamma radiation exposure after hanging out with the incredible Hulk.   

Now that his super songwriting skills are publicly audible, the fact that he would unexpectedly record and release a cover version of a song written by a mere mortal like me is a brave and noble deed.    

This benevolent act is revealing of his character and further proof he is truly heroic.  I admire him for his courage to use his divine talents in this way, and for his outstanding achievement in interpreting and recording my song, which he may well have done out of pure kindness to me, but the result is a benefit for all mankind.   

I got to know Rick by an alias human persona when he and I were work colleagues many years ago.  I witnessed first-hand, albeit remotely, that in addition to expert communication skills, his abilities included lightning-fast learning speed, so it was no surprise he could learn the song, but I had no idea he was such a great singer.   

After essentially awakening from a coma and teleporting himself to Michigan to pick up this song, Rick activated his superhuman powers and with his amazing bandmates transformed it into a thing of beauty, showing why he's not only the ultimate friend/confidant/sidekick, but also the chosen one to use his singing, instrument-playing and music production skills to lead the world in a better direction through music.    

This feels like a crowning achievement in my "career" as a songwriter, the “ultimate” legitimacy validation, and for sure the biggest highlight so far.  Hope you will stream the hell out of it!  Here it is again:   https://ultimaterickjones.bandcamp.com/album/used-to-be-good-looking

How We Feel About Covers

Covers.  Sometimes you love 'em, sometimes you despise 'em.  Sometimes you didn't know it was a cover and UTBGL by URJ is destined to become the definitive version everyone remembers.

Bob Dylan changed the way he performed “All Along The Watchtower” after he heard the Jimi Hendrix version, and if I ever perform UTBGL again, I’ll need to do it in the URJ style as best I can.  Aretha's cover of “Respect” blew away Otis' original to the point that today everyone only thinks of it as her song.  Her cover completely transformed the song into a smash hit.  Things like these happen.  Jeff Buckley’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Halleluiah” comes to mind here as well.   

In the pre-rock era, a song would be written and then multiple artists would record versions of it, some often being released around the same time as each other.  This was commonplace.  Now it might only happen in country music once in a great while, if at all anymore.   

The more covers of a song, the greater the chance it will be heard longer into the future, and possibly become regarded as a standard.  "Standard" is a tricky word people associate with the pre-rock era, but "Never My Love" by the Association and "Yesterday" by Paul McCartney are later examples that are in that territory already.     

A Dream Comes True   

For songwriters, it can be flattering.  Just the fact that another artist liked one of your songs enough to want to learn how to play and sing it is a strong indicator you've written a good one.  Even if an artist does a cover you don't care for as much as your own original, it's a compliment no matter what.    

In my case, as a songwriter who is not a great singer, instrumentalist or performer, most any cover has great potential to exceed my original.  Not only that, it can serve as verification of the vision for the song you imagined even when your own limitations prevented you from being able to deliver it accordingly.   

Sometimes a new interpretation of an existing song can make people realize what a great song it is when they didn't take notice before.   Hearing one of your creations interpreted by people with more talent and skill is really exciting to experience.  It's literally a thrill.    

I know Rick's true identity, but I'm not going to reveal it to you, because there is some mystery that he may prefer to preserve.  Since his record is a Jones-Cooley Joint (think Spike Lee), I can at least share a special photo of the two of us he put together for marketing purposes that depicts each of us back when, well, from back when we used to be good looking:

In partial disclosure, I’m lucky to not only know him personally, but also consider him a friend.  He has been a most complimentary fan and supporter of my music for many years now, and you never forget that.   

It's proof that the quality of the songwriting can really shine when given the right arrangement, performance and production.  It helps that not only is Rick a great songwriter, but he is also a great singer.    

The singing always matters.  I'm an artist who I suspect makes people wonder why my music is even available on streaming platforms in the first place when they first hear it.  My voice is unfortunately not that professional-sounding, but his is.  Throw in great instrument playing and production quality, and it makes a huge difference.   

Ultimate Rick is a solo artist who has a rotating supporting cast of bandmates from multiple countries for each song, so "he" is sort of a "they," and the international bandmates include both female and male members.  They are all real pros.  The female backing vocal lines are so awesome, particularly the one that follows "got the pictures to prove it was true" by Paz Estrach when she sings "IT WAS TRUE!" is one of the most exciting things I've ever heard.  I'm weird, I know.  Since I'm speaking the truth, URJ's version couldn't be more perfect, and it's the greatest cover of a Scott Cooley song of all time, so this is really an honor and a personal dream come true.     

About The Song   

When I wrote and recorded it back in 2014, I was on the fence about releasing it at all, but I needed an album title and cover art.  When I was going through old photos of myself as cover candidates, this one of me dressed up and looking good when young suited that song, tied the whole package together, gave me the art, album name and title track.  That discovery was an ah-ha moment that immediately swayed the decision to release it.  I had been uncomfortable about the bragging aspect, but now, of course, I know it was the right choice because it's one of my best and has strong universal appeal!

If you’re interested in more of the story behind the song, or at least what I thought about it at the time I wrote/released it, here is a link to the respective song page of my website:  https://www.scottcooley.com/albums/used-to-be-good-looking/used-to-be-good-looking

“Cuts” Like A Knife, First Cut Is The Deepest

About 20 years ago, a well-meaning friend or family member (can't remember who now) bought me a book about "how to get your first cut" for aspiring songwriters - "cut" being industry jargon for getting a famous mainstream major label recording artist to first "hold," then record, then release your song.  

When people hear a couple of your songs, sometimes they can be really encouraging and tell you your songs could be hits for artists.  They are sincere to a degree, but are also being nice, so you have to take such compliments with a grain of salt.

To sum up this advice-giver book by industry insiders, they said it's really about moving to Nashville, networking, pitching, community involvement, being seen and heard, co-writing, paying dues, handling rejection, logging your tasks, never giving up, getting prepared for when lightning strikes, etc., which I'm sure is a valid recipe for success.  None of it sounded like much fun to me, so I never once considered attempting any of it.

I once thought of myself as an amateur songwriter who didn’t have any sort of realistic chance of ever having a really good artist want to record one of my original songs, so if anyone was ever going to hear my songs, I’d have to cut them and release them myself as a solo artist, but that has now changed. 

It’s pretty cool though that for many years now, because of the way times have changed, I’ve been able to write and record and release my own songs, and a few people out there in the world have found them and liked them.  I've never taken it very seriously.  It's not literature, it's just bluesy Americana.

I haven’t given up the hobby, and that’s awesome because I’ve had a lot of fun.  Probably anyone who has taught themselves to strum a few chords on a guitar and make up some words to go with it has wondered if the song they wrote is good enough to get a great singer and artist to turn it into a hit-worthy recording.    

Now I’ve sort of done it, and sort of followed some of the book's advice.  Right place at right time.  Knowing the right person.  Networking.  Relationships matter.  Lucked out.  Didn’t give up.  Did things my own way.  Times change, remote songwriting work is possible.

Technically, since I previously commercially released my own original version, it is definitely a cover version, but might not be considered a “cut”.  I will consider it a cut anyway, even though this artist isn’t a major-label artist on the radio (yet), and the song is digital and not actually cut into grooves on vinyl (yet).    

From what I’ve heard so far, he’s way better than most of the ultra-famous major-label mainstream popular crap anyway, and to my ears destined for opportunities beyond independent self-releasing.  Even if another cut and commercial release of one of my songs doesn’t come to fruition, it’s cool to know this one is out now.     

Kicking Ass   

When I first heard this recording of this song, my inner voice had this immediate reaction that I involuntarily thought then verbalized to myself aloud when alone.  I said something like “holy shit, this song kicks ass!”  Then the next thought..."this is fucking awesome!"  If you knew me in my youth, you remember I had the vocabulary of a truck driver, but in the last couple decades, my wife all but cured me of that.  So, even though the “hit” song I’m most known for, “Mackinac Island,” has a single swear word in it repeated many times, believe it or not, I have to be really excited about something to utter a swear word these days.  This one brought it out again.   

Subsequently, I said in my head to myself something like “What can you do with a Scott Cooley song?  You can kick some ass with it, that's what!” Then you can take names.  Mine would be the name taken I guess, because my version has been forever subdued and captured, my name, rank and serial number collected.  You can shoot first and ask questions later.  Go ahead, cover my song, record your version of it, then ask me for permission to release it.  I will say yes!  I welcome all challengers to defeat my original versions.  

The music of Ultimate Rick Jones kicks ass.  He writes kick-ass songs himself, and there's no competition except for listeners ears I guess, but this is a kick-ass cover version of one of mine.  This one blows mine away.  I immediately wanted my wife to hear it (she loved it by the way), and just have the urge to share it and obviously hope lots of people stream it.  

Ladies, if your men are reluctant to get out on the dance floor at your local honky tonk to do some line dancing with you, just ask the DJ to play Used To Be Good Looking by Ultimate Rick Jones, and he'll get out there with you, I guarantee it.  You'll have the best night ever.  This record has some magic in it.   It's strikingly and overwhelmingly powerful.   

The formal announcement:  

Greetings Scott Cooley,
Ultimate Rick Jones just released Used To Be Good Looking, check it out here.

“Hi Gang,
A new Ultimate Rick Jones single "Used To Be Good Looking" was just released on Bandcamp.

Join me for a butt-shaking blues odyssey into the perils of unsustainable cultural body ideals and the pitfalls of deluded self-perception.

Or maybe just check it out for the saxophones, they're really cool too.

My buddy Scott Cooley wrote this tune, so it's Rick's first cover song. Check out the tune's Bandcamp page for more info and thanks for being with me.

URJ”

    

Even if you’ve never used Bandcamp before, I strongly encourage you to sign up and download this one.  You will get a couple really cool surprise bonus artifacts with your download, and I guarantee you will love and treasure owning this song.  As always, thanks for reading and listening!!!

Even more URJ:

Ultimate Rick Jones is on Instagram:
www.instagram.com/ultimate.rick.jones.music/
Or you can follow Rick on Threads at @drhoover72