Are you a catalyst or a cliche?

I recently saw a video, put together for social media (it was in Spanish) calling for a reprisal of a musical event to unify the world. The video played the 1985 Grammy winning, “We Are The World” and highlighted how most of the singers on that collaboration were either deceased, or much, much older (aren’t we all). Who is going to take their place? I found myself wondering the same thing following the death of the late Rev. Billy Graham and others like him. They may not have been regular household names, but they were truly courageous.

If we focus on the state of the world at present, it does seem chaotic, angry, uncertain, even - which also tends to be a good indicator of unrest in the spiritual realm; and music has a way of unifying or spotlighting our state of being. As I allowed myself to wonder about this, I began to grow restless. This restlessness took form and I woke last night writing a blog (in my head) during my sleep.

Our words, our melodies, the sounds and utterances we emit have purpose. As songwriters and musicians, we have to be cognizant of this. I have to guard my heart and not be angry with the talented voices whom waste their influence on cheap songs that highlight the depravity from which they’ve risen, or fallen. They’re not woke, they’re merely magnifying the dust on the fringe. It’s not woke to amplify an injustice. It’s easy and it’s cowardly, and at this point almost cliché... Moving on, let's look at songwriters in at least 3 categories:

1. There are Justice writers. Much of the rap and hard rock culture is comprised of these justice artists. They call attention to social and political injustice, the drug culture, racism, etc.. They have a story to tell, and they tell it over and over again without ever having the courage to move beyond the point of injustice. (I've seldom seen a happy person that hangs on to unforgiveness and bitterness.) I’ve heard about the pimps and hoes and street corners and drugs and hunger and violence ad nauseum. We get it, your life sucks – let’s try to change that. Have the courage to begin to write about the future you want to see.

2. There are the Historian writers. Much folk or country is comprised of these Historians. They write the soundtracks of our lives. As we get older, many memories are associated with songs from these soundtracks. They may be songs to celebrate, songs to rue the day or mere white noise with filler lyrics. They are songs that have the power to unite or divide us as a society. Honestly, you either love them or hate them… and that’s the issue. These writers are careful to document the mundane commonalities, but stop short of getting too controversial. History will remember you, but the future may deem you irrelevant.

3. There are Prescient / Predictive writers. The forerunners and verse tellers that dream. In the proper context, these are the musical prophets of our day. They write with hope of the unseen. They only way to hope for what you haven’t ever seen, is to have faith that it even exists. These are the woke, the courageous, history may remember them as strange, but the future hinges, in part, upon the songs they sing.

This is not a comprehensive list, merely an example for those of you who have stuck with me so far, to consider (add in your own genre and see if you can figure out what they’re (un)realized true purpose may be.

I write all this to say, we are in a time in our history that the songwriters, the musicians, the singers, the poets, the speakers need to be courageous. Would you use your gift the way it was intended – to unite people? Would you move beyond the cliché’ entertainment persona and write the songs that will shape our future? Write the songs that motivate people to change their perspective, to come up a little higher and see the world from a different vantage point! Can we redefine the meaning of courage, as it pertains to songwriting? Don’t come at me “socially aware” unless you’re ready to write about what could be, if we would begin to release words and sounds of life and “use our gifts for good”.