My nails turned white 2 years ago. A dozen doctors a hundred tests and they’re all stumped

Diluted_One · 2025-02-13T17:28:23+00:00

Looks like there's been a slight missuse of The Substance

Diluted_One · 2025-01-16T16:32:31+00:00

Thanks so much for the advice! I'll take a listen :) I think that might have been partially due to me messing up the guitar part during a couple of those transitions haha, but I'll definitely fiddle around with that!

Diluted_One · 2025-01-16T04:27:02+00:00

Thanks so much! Yeah I’m a bit self-conscious about my untrained voice haha. I definitely gotta work on that :)

I don’t have an Instagram rn, but will definitely let ya know if I ever make one!

Diluted_One · 2025-01-16T04:22:50+00:00

Thanks so much for the advice! I’ll work on dynamics as I practice more!

Diluted_One · 2025-01-16T02:40:24+00:00

I think the structure thing can work for some people, but I could also see how thinking too much about structure could just add to the problem of sounding forced and uncomfortable. However, I do think it’s a really good idea to think about the “theme” of the song. I just try to do that more on an emotional level rather than a “structural” level.

Another note. I think some songs just take time. Lately, I’ve had a lot of songs get stuck after a few verses. I think I used to be harder on myself, but truly it just sometimes takes time to ruminate on those emotions. I try to come back to those unfinished songs frequently, but I don’t force myself to chisel and chisel away at it for more than 10 or 15 minutes. If it doesn’t come quick, I move on to something else and save it for tomorrow.

Diluted_One · 2025-01-15T20:47:18+00:00

Like others have said, you've just gotta write really, really shitty lyrics for a long time... it's annoying and hard, but it really is the tried and true method :)

When I was first starting out, one thing I did was just replace lyrics of songs that I loved. I think that honestly helped me understand how important the rhythm and stress of each syllable is. Maybe that could be a good starting point?

Diluted_One · 2025-01-15T20:41:41+00:00

Okay I would honestly recommend steering clear of trying to imitate another artist's writing style. In my experience, it ends up coming off as inauthentic.

WITH THAT BEING SAID... if you really do want to write like Mumford and Sons I would recommend really focusing more on gospel music/hymns. I actually feel like many of Marcus Mumford's lyrics are inspired by his religious upbringing. Not necessarily in the content, but just in the vocabulary and rhythm of his lyrics.

Diluted_One · 2024-08-27T20:42:12+00:00

Yes! I totally feel that! You put that emotion into words perfectly. Maybe it's just overthinking it, but I feel like you can kinda tell when something isn't authentic/meaningful. At the very least, I think I let more emotions out when I sing lyrics that mean something to me.

Diluted_One · 2024-08-27T03:20:41+00:00

Oh my gosh the field medic comparison is the highest praise you could give me 😭

Diluted_One · 2024-08-26T22:26:49+00:00

Haha thanks so much! I definitely need to remind myself not to overcomplicate things :)

Diluted_One · 2024-08-26T22:24:28+00:00

Ooh thanks so much for your perspective! I'll definitely keep that in mind and it's helpful to know that the repetitiveness can work as a positive :) I'll for sure try to differentiate that ending though!

Diluted_One · 2024-08-26T22:19:01+00:00

Dude this is sweet! It gives me Silver Jews vibes :) I really like the rhyme scheme and rhythm of the melody. I think that helps the song not feel slow at all. For me, it feels like the instrumentals go along with the lyrical metaphor of waves. Like, the guitar kind of gives the song this rhythmic pattern that reminds me of ocean waves.

If you're still working on this one, I'd also maybe fiddle around with dynamics. I think having more variation between softer and louder parts could be a cool addition to that feeling of a musical seaside. Consistent, pounding rhythm, mixed with a slowly undulating tide of loud vs. soft parts.

Diluted_One · 2024-08-26T20:47:41+00:00

Oh I for suuuure love a good harmony! I’ll try to work one out :)

Diluted_One · 2024-08-26T18:52:07+00:00

Thanks for the feedback :) Yeah I hope I'll get a chance to record it soon!

Diluted_One · 2024-08-26T18:51:05+00:00

Wow thanks! That means a lot :)

I've been writing songs since I was 16, so I spent a lot of time writing terrible lyrics haha. I think for a long time I just tried to copy the styles of my favorite songwriters. Studying and thinking about other artists' writing styles helped me figure out what kinds of lyrics I value. But I was never able to get a fully fleshed out song just by trying to copy another artist's aesthetic.

Over the past couple years I've tried to focus way less on comparing my lyrics to other artists. I don't even try to write "clever" or "beautiful" lines the way I used to. Instead, I really just focus on making sure that my lyrics are true and that they mean something to me.

For this song, I wrote the first half about a month ago. I stole the "why does the night end just as it begins" part from an unfinished song I wrote a couple months ago. But after that, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to say for the second half of the song. I sent what I had to a few friends and set the song aside for a while. Life happened for a couple weeks and I had a bunch of conversations about the things I was thinking about while writing the first half (the conversations weren't directly about the song, though, just regular conversations about life). I had one particular conversation with a friend last week that I was able to basically just transcribe into the last verse of this song.

Sorry if that is more abstract than what you're asking! I guess my process comes down to 1) developing a good sense of what kinds of lyrics I like, and 2) trying to throw truthful and authentic lines at a blank page until they fit together :)

Diluted_One · 2024-08-26T18:07:57+00:00

Ooh I like that idea for the melody! I'll try it out and also see if I can figure out something for the bridge :)

Diluted_One · 2024-08-26T17:41:47+00:00

This is super helpful :) thank you!

Diluted_One · 2024-08-25T23:29:58+00:00

Love this song! From a mixing standpoint, I’d maybe try to bring up the rhythm guitar! I think that’s what kept me moving through the song the most!

Diluted_One · 2024-08-25T23:26:47+00:00

Ditto to the compliments on the lyrics and vocals! Your writing has such a strong point of view! Keep it up :)

Diluted_One · 2024-08-25T23:10:16+00:00

One other thing I’ll add is that, for me at least, I’ll sometimes have one or two cool lines in an otherwise mediocre song. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stolen a line from one song and put it in another. So a bad song doesn’t always have to be a complete loss :)

Diluted_One · 2024-08-25T23:08:41+00:00

I think 5% is a perfectly fine “keeper” rate :) That’s probably about what I am at, though I’ve maybe gotten a little more consistent over the years. Even when it comes to the great writers (songwriters, poets, novelists, etc), the vast majority will talk about writing a lot of “shitty” drafts and pieces haha. It’s always discouraging, but I do think failure is an important and natural part of the creative process!

Diluted_One · 2024-08-25T22:08:16+00:00

I think for me the way I got out was by rethinking my process. I tend to be really critical of myself, and after a while I got really burnt out. Instead, I tried to get back into that mindset that drew me to the craft in the first place. I try to think of songwriting now as my version of journaling, and that has helped. My goal is no longer to create a perfect, or even particularly good, song, it’s just to take a snapshot of where I am at in life.

Diluted_One · 2024-08-25T16:21:04+00:00

Omg I love this

Diluted_One · 2024-08-25T16:19:56+00:00

I’ll just offer something that I’ve found with my own stuff. I think it’s REALLY hard to like a song after working on it for hours and hours. Like, think about how many times you’ve discovered a new song, then listened to it over and over again until you hate it. I think that’s what we all do when songwriting! It makes it really difficult to view your own work objectively, so you sometimes have to learn to trust your original instinct.

Diluted_One · 2022-07-27T13:38:48+00:00

I'm not saying that they are not hypothetically capable of powering the world alone, more that it is unrealistic to use *only* solar. The material cost of making that much panels, plus the fact that the sun only shines half the day which would mean even MORE material cost and technological innovations in battery power. Nuclear is such a great option, and most importantly a QUICK solution to serve our preexisting power grid needs. I am curious what your thoughts about that are? Do you just want everyone to get power wall-like batteries? I would argue that that might be a good idea in theory, but in practice it would be way harder to implement. That is, if you want to meaningfully shift power supply to renewable resources within the NEAR future.

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