Five Great Songs About Real Places, by Wendy King

Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

Five Great Songs About Real Places, by Wendy King

A songwriter finds many things to write about; emotions, events, people, and even places. Some of the finest songs of all time have been written with somewhere in mind, a place that touches the soul of the person with the pen.

Mull of Kintyre, written by former Beatle Paul McCartney, is an example of this. It’s written about a part of Scotland the singer had a home and is a reference to feeling at home when he’s there. West Coast punk band Rancid, perhaps at the other end of the songwriting scale, had a song called Olympia WA on their album and Out Come The Wolves, written as much about New York as the Washington state capital.

Those songs might not immediately trip off the tongue, but they are strong efforts in terms of writing about places. It isn’t always cities either – Gainsville resident Bacon James recently won a songwriting competition for a song about the Santa Fe river, called Lost and Found (At the Santa Fe). It drew emotions he experienced from the river with an actual place, in much the same way as McCartney did, and as many others have done about different places. Often, it isn't the place that is the full subject of the song, but how that place made the writer feel.

This is a theme you’ll see running through some of the entries in our round-up of five great songs about places.

Christie Road – Green Day (click to play)

Green Day might be a global phenomenon now, a rock band that sells out arenas, but in 1994, pre-Dookie, they were just three angry, disaffected kids looking for an outlet. Back then, Bille-Jo Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt used to hang out at a place called Christie Road, doing what a band named after marijuana would be expected to do. Christie Road is an ode to their wasted days, their safe place before stardom came calling.

Ewan MacColl - Dirty Old Town (click to play)

The first song on our list made famous by another artist is Dirty Old Town by Ewan MacColl. It’s written about Salford in England, an industrial town that was once in the shadow of towers belching out smoke thanks to its place on the Manchester Ship Canal. MacColl wrote about his life there and finding love and an oasis of tranquillity, amongst the smoke and dirt. The song was later recorded by The Pogues, to critical acclaim.

The White Stripes - Hotel Yorba (click to play)

When you think of songs about Detroit and locations in Motor City, you most likely think of Kid Rock or Eminem, but the duo The White Stripes produced an iconic two-minute ode to a hotel along the I-75, the Hotel Yorba. It is now subsidized housing, but Jack wrote the song after hearing, incorrectly, that the Beatles once stayed there. Whilst there’s not a lot of emotion behind the location, it is a demonstration that a song doesn’t have to be written about a famous place at all.

Billy Edd Wheeler - Jackson (click to play)

Johnny Cash was a great storyteller, and whilst one of his most famous songs is a story about a place, he didn’t write it. Jackson, possibly written about Jackson, Tennessee, was actually penned by Billy Edd Wheeler and performed by the Kingston Trio. Cash made it his own, singing as a duo with June Carter. Jackson serves as a place of sin and iniquity, offering the married protagonist respite from what feels like a loveless marriage, the exact opposite of Johnny’s lifelong union with June.

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama (click to play)

We’ve mentioned Kid Rock already in this article, and he’s going to get a mention again, but not for songwriting. He helped catapult Sweet Home Alabama, a rock classic, back up the charts in 2007 when he dropped All Summer Long, his tribute to growing up in Michigan, that borrowed the Lynyrd Skynyrd song’s structure. As for the original, it is rather more controversial than even the infamous Robert James Ritchie – it’s written as a retort to Neil Young’s anti-slavery song, Alabama, and seeks to defend the state’s people from being tarnished by the darkness of its history. Now that is a little more contentious than signing about a hotel!

Have you written a great song about a place that's significant to you? Then upload it on Jeeni for everyone to enjoy. Who knows, you might just have a solid-gold hit on your hands! Several of Jeeni's most popular artists have done exactly that, including the award-winning Richard Murray. (click to play)

This item was written by Wendy King for jeeni.com

BACK

04
May

Ariana May - ‘First Love’ Album Review

Ariana May’s first instrumental album is a delicate and stirring collection of piano excellence. Ariana May has been a vital Jeeni member for a while now and has developed an incredibly in-depth and fascinating showcase full of art-pop and remarkable talent. Recently, she has uploaded the entirety of her new instrumental album, ‘First Love’ on to Jeeni. Listen now via Ariana’s showcase available here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/arianamay/. As sweet and melodic her voice is, Ariana’s choice of expressing her compositions purely through her piano means that the structures are much more freeing and aren’t constricted to modern pop’s verse, chorus, verse, chorus, chorus forms. Her musicianship flows almost spontaneously; tempo decreases and increases as Ariana sees fit and phrases are fluid in length and timbre. The titles are excellent tonal suggestions as they act as a sort of starting point of picturing the imagery that Ariana clearly has in mind during both composing and performing these dramatic and theatrical pieces. Ariana May shows a real knack for cinematographic songwriting as it’s not difficult at all to imagine any one of these pieces as a perfect accompaniment for a location-setting scene in cinema. The final track, ‘Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow’ is exceptional, especially considering the tonal balance Ariana creates. A moody left hand mostly mumbles in a depressed, constant rotation of dark notes; meanwhile, the right is desperately trying to sound uplifting and optimistic through bright, ascending melodies and phrases. The two parts feel like two characters that are trying to influence the other to behave more like them at different moments of the piece, showing a vivid internal conflict, hence the ‘Sweet Sorrow’ in the title. The changes between these mindsets are sudden and frantic, a perfect representation of a troubled mind. What’s special about these types of projects is that a breakdown or analysis of these compositions could easily be miles from what Ariana had envisioned when writing it, but the freedom given to the listener with a vague title and complete absence of lyrics allows your imagination to fill in gaps and colour in the compositions with meaning and intention that makes most sense to you; it becomes personal. Throughout 'First Love', Ariana constantly shows an unprecedented level of emotion and control in her playing through her soft and poignant broken chords and melodies. Check out the entirety of this enchanting record on Jeeni: https://jeeni.com/showcase/arianamay/

26
Jan

Baby Panna, ‘Golden’ - Single Review

The final track from Baby Panna’s debut mixtape, ‘Vibes and Energies’ leaves the project with an honest and powerful impression that’s not easy to forget. The track tackles issues of race that are fuelled from real-life experiences and personal struggles. Baby Panna has been an essential component of Jeeni and its hip-hop and rap channels since last Summer. He performed and was interviewed as a part of last year’s Victorious festival and has been an incredibly important and keen artist for Jeeni’s mission. The instrumental landscape set for this frank and passionate narrative is an atmospheric and soulful wave of spaced-out beats and crackly samples. The warm, vintage fuzz of the sample, which opens the track, lays out a wistful, lo-fi vibe, reminiscent of old-school hip-hop. The beat leaves room for Panna to say what he needs to, to conclude his impactful and polished mixtape. A reverbed clave ripples through the sample and the rumbling sub bass as an understated percussive snare keeps the pace. Panna reflects on his blessed life as a comparison to his ancestors who lived through even more difficult and blatant times of discrimination and struggle, “The lifestyle that I live is golden”. The emotion carried in the lyrics almost conveys a sense of guilt and mixed emotions with his happiness when contrasted with the struggle embedded in his ancestry. However, in actuality, it's more likely that he’s reflecting on how lucky he is and that he should cherish his success, “I’ve got to make the most of this shit”. The clarity and focus of Panna’s vocals play a huge role in carrying the intention and emotion on this track. Where other rappers mumble and obscure their lyrics behind a sleepy and dull delivery, Baby Panna does not once miss an opportunity to express himself on ’Golden’. Check out the video for Baby Panna’s ‘Golden’ here: https://jeeni.com/baby-panna-golden/ Check out Baby Panna’s showcase on Jeeni, here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/babypanna/ How can Jeeni support artists like Baby Panna? JEENI is a multi-channel platform for original entertainment on demand. We’re a direct service between creatives and the global audience. • We give creatives, independent artists and performers a showcase for their talent and services. And they keep 100% of everything they make. • We empower our audience and reward them every step of the way. • We promise to treat our members ethically, fairly, honestly and with respect. • Access to artist liaison and a supportive marketing team.

10
Jun

Jeeni a more robust music ecosystem for everyone.

The music industry is at a critical inflection point. After years of declining sales and waning fan enthusiasm, the rise of streaming has ushered in a new golden era for an industry that has benefited artists, songwriters, copyright owners, and fans alike. In 2019, streaming was the engine driving revenue growth in the US music industry for the fifth consecutive year. Download the 2020 Streaming Forward report, featuring the latest updates on streaming’s role in the music industry, how digital discovery is elevating new artists and genres, and what we can expect ahead. The Evolution of the music industry over the the last two decades has been staggering. The rise of streaming has revolutionized all facets of music, empowering artists and creators by expanding their access to fans, allowing music listeners to seamlessly connect with their favorite songs whenever and wherever they want, and driving new music choice and creativity. For fans, copyright owners, and creators alike, the positive impact of this evolution has been monumental: with total music stream reaching the one trillion mark in 2019, fans are listening to more music than ever before, and the industry is enjoying a multi-year growth cycle driven by the streaming economy. Over the next seven years the streaming revolution will only grow more powerful. Fast-forwarding we can expect: Forecasts remain just that of the industry's trajectory in the future. While the impacts of Covid-19 are still being felt, and have undoubtedly impacted the music industry, we can expect streaming growth to continue. What we cannot forecast is what new music consumption behaviors might surprise us, and new innovations by the streaming services that we have not begun to see. But with growing optimism and increasing inward investment attracted by the streaming-driven hyper growth, the music industry is experiencing boom times – for consumers,record labels and publishers and most of all creators. Click here to view the 2020 Streaming Forward Report. Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com

Jeeni Blog