A Songwriter’s Mission

What is the mission of a songwriter? Well, it depends who you ask. It is a question that each writer must answer for themselves! Let’s consider how some writers over the decades might have answered this. 

Nina Simone - a piano prodigy, writer, and prolific recording artist - reached her zenith in the midst of the Black Civil Rights movement. Her songs “Four Women” and “Mississippi Goddam” capture the experiences and anger of black women toward an oppressive governmental system and the misfortunes that come from living under these conditions. Nina Simone once said that “an artist’s duty is to reflect the time.” She chose to document the emotions of this fractured time and became a beacon of righteous fury. 

In 2015, producer-writer-artist SOPHIE told Rolling Stone, “I think all pop music should be about who can make the loudest, brightest thing.” Her beeps and bops and extremely bright production choices have come to define HyperPop - a new subgenera of pop music. Unlike Simon, who’s roll was to act like a historian of the present, Sophie opted to stretch sounds into some unknown future. 

Super-producer and writer Max Martin’s discography is undeniable. His songs have topped charts for decades and inspired writers up and down the ladder. His creativity is based in mathematical forms. There is a broadness and perfectionism to his songwriting forms that permeate each of his creations. Max Martin’s music posits that structure and form are the most important components of a song. 

Each of these writers give us a different model to follow as we define our own paths. Choose to follow in their footsteps or walk a new road.