The Sunday Post asked Sandi to give her views on comments Sir Elton John made recently about current songwriters being awful. You can read the article below:
In My View by Sandi Thom
Sir Elton John last week slammed today;s songwriters as “pretty awful” and said he was not a fan of TV talent shows.Sir Elton claimed in an interview, “Songwriters today are pretty awful, which is why everything sounds the same, Contemporary pop isn’t very inspiring.”
Firstly, I think Elton John is phenomenal, one of the best songwriters in the world. That’s undisputed. If anyone can pass a statement on today’s songwriters, it’s going to be someone like him.
I think this is a strange time to live in. Musically, we’ve come to a bit of a standstill.There’s been nothing in the last 10 years as incredible as when The Beatles were discovered or The Rolling Stones came along – there’s not been a movement. But there are a lot of great singer/songwriters in the UK today.
The problem is that what you hear in the charts now is not representative of the talent that exists out there. There are lots of very talented songwriters actively gigging who may never be discovered. I have a friend who’s probably one of the best songwriters out there. He’s had some radio play but just not the recognition that maybe 30 or 40 years ago he would have had.
The industry is more controlled and there maybe aren’t as many opportunities for people to break through. But if you do something that’s worth listening to it will attract people one way or another. Whether you have one million or one thousand fans on Facebook, a great song is a great song.
I’ve never had any gripes with talent shows like The X Factor. My only concern is whether the people who go on them are equipped to deal with it as it’s a lot of pressure. Some very successful people have emerged from them – the likes of Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke.When I started on my road, those talent show didn’t exist so I didn’t have that option.
Would I go on them If I was starting out now? I don’t know.
I know people who would wipe the floor with acts on them but they choose not to do it. Some people like the struggle and the experience of trying to make it – that’s where a lot of the songs come from. Music is a reflection of the times.
Song writing was perhaps more prolific in the 1960′s. It was the post-war era. People were finding themselves. The songs were so expressive, and reflective of hardship. People used songs as they had no other way of connecting. But today everything’s instant.
One of Sir Elton’s other points was the artists should write their own material.
I think it’s important that musicians should write at least some of what they do. They should roll up their sleeves and learn how to write a song. But plenty of massive songs from the past were covers of other people’s work. The Animals didn’t write House Of The Rising Sun, for example. As long as you do it in a way in which you put your own stamp on it, there’s not a problem. When you do write a song, it should be honest and from the heart.
I think you have to have a certain mind and vivid imagination. I studied song writing for four years at university and came out still not knowing what to do! Its something you can never perfect. Songs become so precious to you.
Some of the best songs are about things people have experiences personally, like a partner leaving them or a death. Anyone listening to Eric Clapton’s Tears In Heaven (about his son who died) knows that came from somewhere really deep within.
Anyone can write a song. Whether you can write a hit is a different question.
But the talent will always be out there. Maybe in 30 years, someone will find a box of CD’s from an unknown artist and it will be like discovering Beethoven!