Originally Posted by couchgrouch
Mike, I think I've already said that if you look at what I post and tunes I've co-written like Goodwill Coat, Some of My Best Friends Are Songs, Annabelle and Old Crow On the Rocks...you'll know what I think of Jason's songs. That's the most I'll be quoted as saying. When I start a thread like this, I'll feel obligated to state it specifically.

from what I've seen so far, most are willing to say they like his seminars but not his songs. most are are able to say he's "inspiring"...but they can't say what he inspired them to do. or they say he helped them learn to network...nothing about creativity.

that says more than anything I can about his songwriting abilities.


Jason Blume has inspired me to pay more attention to prosody. I tend to write story songs with long, wordy lines. Often these lines don't meter well. Mr. Blume's work itself is a lesson in the ability of music to add feeling and nuance to simple phrases.

Also, I've learned from Jason Blume that a lyric that matches what is spoken intimately and in a heartfelt manner does not have to be "clever" or "deep" to move people. Not if it is (and here I go again) matched perfectly to a rhythm, melody, and background that also conveys the intimacy. The Beatles got known for songs like this. "She Loves You," "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," "Dance With Me," these are the songs that made them popular, not their artful or whimsical tune. Mr. Blume, as a writer, is deceptively simple. As a result, when he presents a new, thoughtful idea, such as in "She's Gonna Fly" or when he writes unusual, descriptive language such as in that Incubus song, it has more power than if he wrote long, wordy songs that belabor the setup of the hook and feel the need to be clever in every line, as I am likely to do.

Lastly, here, but not finally in my estimation, Jason Blume inspires me in his love of songwriting itself. He could easily be living on a boat in Jamaica, but he continues to teach and lecture. I'm sure he makes a good amount of money, but lecturing, writing, and teaching takes a good deal of work. And yet Mr. Blume has spent ten years regularly offering free lectures and workshops. I find that inspirational and exemplary.

I'd also like to add that I do like his songwriting abilities and his songs as well. He's the "Yin" to the "Yang" of the wordy, ponderous, clever spinners of consciously twisted aphorisms and forced hooks ( of which I am one.)

You've got to know your limitations. I don't know what your limitations are. I found out what mine were when I was twelve. I found out that there weren't too many limitations, if I did it my way. -Johnny Cash

It's only music.
-niteshift

Mike Dunbar Music