Why do we songwriter types keep creating new songs when there are already more songs, about every topic, than any of us have yet heard? Shouldn't we put a hiatus on songwriting and just spend some time listening to the stuff that's already been written?
No.
Oh, you want more than a one word answer, I suppose, and since this IS a blog, there needs to be a few more paragraphs explaining that answer, but when you're done reading this, the answer is still: no.
I haven't sampled every flavor of ice cream out there yet, either, but they need to keep creating new ones, because there may yet be one that is much better than anything
anyone has come up with yet, more unique than anything any of us have ever yet tasted, and if they stop now, we may never know!
That's true for music too. Yes, there are LOTS of songs out there; yes, they seem to cover every possible topic from every possible angle, ad nauseum, and it would seem that we can just quit and live with what we have. But we can't. Have you ever heard a song when as you listened to the lyrics, you stopped in your tracks and thought, 'wow, I've never thought of it that way', or 'man that was a really cool way to say that'? Or, perhaps the melody got under your skin the way that none had before, and seemed to graft itself right on to your soul?
There may be a LOT of music out there, and perhaps none of us will ever write anything truly 'new' or unique, but once in awhile one of our kind finds a way to say, sing or play something that touches us in a way that nothing before ever quite has, and we can't let the quest for those moments of inspiration grow still and die.
Every voice out there, every songwriter, puts something of himself or herself into a song that no one else has...a piece of their own soul. You and I can write a song about the same experience, but it will be a different song for each of us, because the experience each of us has is different.
There's something else too. We songwriters have to do our part to save the human race.
Oh, we don't have to do it all ourselves; there's also artists and playwrights and other
creative types, but we have to pitch in and do our part. There is something within the human spirit that longs to create, to make something that was not there before. Maybe it's that god complex.. we all want to be able to "On the first day, I created ... and I looked, and I saw that it was good.' (psst..that's a reference to the creation story in the bible for those who may not have grown up reading that stuff)..
Creativity is one of the things that distinguishes humans.. it's not that other species aren't creative in their own ways, but humans are very conscious and intentional about being creative, and sharing that creativity with others. Keeping that spark of creativity going is essential to keeping the human race vital, and energetic and driven into the future to seek what opportunities and avenues there will be to create and share with others.
So, we songwriter types have to do our part to save the human race and all, you know. "No, honey, I'm not spending the night writing 'silly' songs...I am doing my part to save humanity." That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.. -♫ M ♫-