Blink-182 [ARCHIVED] Band • Page 503

So there is zero way for people to "guarantee", as you said, that someone whose songwriting contributions have never been discussed had more impact than another person.

 

Sure. It's about looking for authenticity in a musical landscape that often seems devoid of it. Feldmann's saying commercial radio songs have been focus-tested to the point where there's no real emotions coming through that speak to him like his favorite bands, just the careful packaged simulacrum of feelings. He wants music that feels as urgent to him as his favorite songs from his youth (hence the lines about puberty, which is ugly and messy but true to everyone's experience).

That doesn't mean you can't cowrite, or figure out a way to express what you're feeling musically by working with other people. (In fact, that's kind of the point of starting a band in the first place.) I highly doubt Blink radio tested these songs or thought about anything other than writing a great Blink album. (Personally, they're 0/2 so far, but the songs' success are a different story.)

But it's not necessarily a direct indictment of cowriting. If I recall correctly, Feldmann wrote and performed a song called "The Innocent" with Good Charlotte and Mest like a year after "Spokesman" was released. If the real point of the song is that "cowriting is inauthentic" or whatever you're arguing, he'd be a hypocrite for a year later doing what he sang against (in which case, why are you using "Spokesman" as an example for how you feel?).

The fact that he's a pretty prominent cowriter now either suggests that a song he wrote 14 years ago doesn't accurately reflect how he feels today or that you're misunderstanding the song's perspective. I'm inclined towards the latter argument.

He also doesn't know who Felicity is.

 

I got angry about co-writing and authenticity when I was a teenager. Now I just want to hear good songs.

 

I used to think co-writes were bad when I was younger but I mean MBDTF is one of the best albums of all time and has tons of them.

 

I hope no one is angry about George Martin's contributions to The Beatles catalog.

 

I can listen to the record and figure that that band that made TOYPAJ doesn't make Untitled without significant input from someone.

And anyways, whatever Matt from Alkaline Trio and John from Goldfinger can add to a blink record, I am all for. So who cares really.

 

Thanks man, makes sense to me. I'm not against collaboration but I am against people writing songs for other people. I guess it may happen more with country music than anything else?

The fact remains that no other blink record had multiple co-writing credits, ever. Correct me if I'm wrong. I know Roger Joseph Manning Jr. wrote the piano parts on Enema, etc. but I don't recall them ever having multiple persons from other bands credited with writing on those previous records.

 

this is painful..... fire those gents immediately

 

And what is wrong with that fact? Seems you're stating it as a problem. If you're fine with collaboration who cares? Doesn't sound like you're fine with collaboration. Matt and Mark have both explained their writing of the verses in Bored To Death so it's confirmed that song wasn't just written for them and plopped in their laps.

 

The Finn records (outside of Untitled) were all mostly (if not totally) written before they stepped foot in the studio. Whether Finn didn't do enough to warrant a credit or just had a habit of not asking for it is an unknown.

 

Hell, they didn't even give Travis songwriting credit until TOYPAJ according to Travis' book

 

I don't know why people think that just because Feldmann produced this and took songwriting credits that a band with some of the hugest hits in the genre all of the sudden decided they can't write their own songs and would have someone else do it. Like absolutely fucking laughable. Feldmann contributed writing, God I hope this doesn't taint their Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame candidacy. John Feldmann, the performance enhancing drug of the music industry everybody.

 

I mean, country and folk have a long history of songwriting, but music in general thrives on it. Frank Sinatra, jazz standards, even the blues is just repetition of familiar themes/styles/lyrics.

 

People are acting like this is Mark, Matt and Travis playing on a John Feldmann solo record, like he strong-armed them into just taking all of his songs. Feldmann wrote the original chorus of "Bored To Death," then Mark took it and tweaked it and rewrote it into what's on the album.

If they were unhappy with how much Feldmann was steering the ship, they've got the power and respect to say, "Nah, dude, we're good" and leave.

 

Well it is strange that with all the down time in between blink records Mark didn't release ANYTHING. I'm pretty sure he himself admitted to writer's block...

 

Sinatra barely wrote his own lyrics, for starters.

 

Look at a record like Decomposer. That had multiple producers/collaborators working with the band and made for an extremely fascinating and incredible album.

 

You know writer's block is a temporary thing that literally every creative person ever gets at some point right? Hey everybody, Mark came down with the permanent writer's block! He can't write songs anymore! What a loser! Jesus Christ.

 

Besides, what's wrong with a little outside influence on an artist's creativity? It helps to have a skilled producer or songwriter pitch in with ideas. Lots of bands do this. It isn't anything new or noteworthy. Poor Feldmann is getting far too much shit for all of this.

 

Done with the songwriting discussion so discuss that amongst yourselves. Goddamn, some absolute asinine assertions in this thread.

 

Neighborhoods could have used this kind of influence tremendously.

 

oh Feldy,do you see this?you ruined this thread

 

Though that would have required them to all be in the same room at the same time lol

 

Some people don't realize how tiny a credit can be. Feldmann can go "hey Mark... do the bridge twice in this song" and get a credit.

 

Yes, after Neighborhoods, the more ideas the better! Also, people, it's not like they're working with Max Martin. These are people who write a LOT of rock music.

I'd love them to do songs with Butch Walker. I'd love that so, so much. Butch's smartass sense of humor could make for some great blink lyrics.