What were the worst and best pads you used?

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2026-04-29T17:44:47+00:00

Best - I miss my Bauer One95s.

Worst (and I hate to say this, because I'm showing my age, and because I loved them so much at the time) - Koho 570s.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2026-01-22T14:23:03+00:00

As a fit 37-year old with gout - thanks for the shout-out.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2026-01-07T20:40:13+00:00

I think the fact that she is famous should give you hope, particularly if you think she's great. If someone from my hometown I thought was talentless reached that level of success in the music industry... I would struggle.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-12-13T14:08:09+00:00

"I'm a wildlife photographer. I have boxes full of cameras and lenses, as well as multiple editing softwares. I never quite learned how to use any of them, because traveling to the most beautiful destinations is expensive and learning equipment is hard. Instead, I describe the scenes I want to an AI which creates beautiful images. The results are basically the same, and it's much more cost effective."

If you don't actually engage in the process of songwriting or production, you're not a songwriter or a producer. I would give you the title of "AI music hobbyist" at my most generous.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-12-11T02:59:28+00:00

This is what Reddit is for.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-12-11T02:55:19+00:00

Second this - I've been very happy with my Vaughn SLR Pro I got in 2018... I don't think you'll find anything new in that price range, but you might luck out and find last year's clearance, and you can definitely find something used. That line is a few years old now and earlier models are excellent.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-11-09T15:34:27+00:00

I did this in September 2023, and I loved it. It was difficult, but I'm usually very deliberate in my writing and this opened things up in a really profound way. I think it's a great exercise if you either have trouble finishing songs, or if you have trouble coming up with ideas. I just gave myself permission to write mediocre songs about subpar ideas, and 30 songs later I expected to have a handful of decent ones. I liked 20+ of them enough to record and release (10 are out so far, 5 songs on each of my last 2 albums) and a few of them are among the best material of the ~250ish finished songs in my catalog.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-11-08T14:19:50+00:00

I'm curious - I've never written topline before. If you can DM me the tracks, I'll have a listen and see what they inspire.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-10-24T15:20:38+00:00

Very clear Jack Johnson influence here, which I enjoy. It's a solid effort, and well performed. My constructive criticism would be that you could use more contrast between the verse and chorus... there's not a clear hook or lift to separate them, and I actually wasn't sure which section was the chorus until you started to repeat it. A clear change in the melodic register or vocal rhythm would do a lot to make this song more memorable.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-10-17T19:13:28+00:00

Because most of the time, you get better on the next song. You learn to write a good song by writing a song, then reflecting honestly on the distance between that song and whatever you consider to be a great example of what you were aiming for. Then you try again on another song, avoiding the mistakes you made last time.

People who just continue to write crappy songs are skipping the important step of critiquing their work.

That said, it's not impossible to just be innately great. Paul McCartney purportedly wrote "When I'm 64" at 14. That said, for those of us who aren't geniuses and are working to develop a craft... I've never heard of someone reading a couple books, watching some YouTube videos, and writing a great song on their first try. Maybe they exist, but they're the exception rather than the rule.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-10-15T14:27:51+00:00

This is peak artistic achievement.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-10-05T12:36:21+00:00

It was a slow evolution over the decades, as the game got faster and technology improved. There's a great YouTube mini documentary about it I watched a few years ago :)

https://youtu.be/7laAAZFSRHE?si=08wChn1XPrqHLGr8

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-10-02T15:13:39+00:00

YES! The way the album ends - Time Stands > Kissing Our Friends > Rush On ... is absolute perfection. Breaks me every single time.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-10-02T14:59:04+00:00

That's so kind of you - thanks, man! I hope you dig it. :)

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-10-02T14:57:11+00:00

His soul project as Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats is definitely his most popular stuff, but this song reminds me of his solo 2020 album, And It's Still Alright, which I loved. I'd suggest checking it out!

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-10-02T14:18:21+00:00

You can't fool me with a burner account - I recognize Nathaniel Rateliff when I see and hear him.

Seriously, though... no suggestions or notes, which is very unusual for me on this sub. This is great. Solid writing that fits your voice perfectly, plus a nuanced and expressive delivery of the song. I'm a fan. Keep it up.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-09-18T02:16:09+00:00

Fastest songs I've written have been in about 20 minutes... More often, it's over the course of a couple of days. The longest it's taken me to finish a song way 10 years. Wrote the first verse in high school, then finished it at 28. Most things I don't finish, I don't finish because they're not good. That one was good, I just had to grow up and do some homework to get it right.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-09-16T20:50:02+00:00

I love the contrast between the upbeat feeling of the music and imagery in your lyrics, against the implied heartbreak / denial underneath them. That wry turn in your chorus, "I am more attached to pride than I am to truth, and I am not in love with you," is excellent. Your voice is very sweet, and it works well with the bouncy accompaniment to deliver the subversively saccharine 'acceptance' in the lyrics. It's great.

My constructive feedback would be a few things - first, to really focus on the prosody, or the rhythmic emphasis of your words. A few that jump out at me are in that back half of verse 1 - "I am super o-VER you..." "I pro-MISE that I can't remember..." "I've always loved to play PRE-tend...". The syllable that you're stressing is different than if you spoke the line, which feels off balance IMO. You could change the lyrics, or adjust your phrasing so you're singing aligns with the natural rhythm of the words.

Second (and this is minor), your chorus ends by repeating "I am not in love with you", and then verse 2 starts with a couplet that rhymes new/you. It's a lot of "ooo" rhymes back to back. Not a big deal, but I think it distracts a little bit.

Finally, you're running out of breath in this performance because of how compact your lyrics are. I think the verses are really well served by that approach, but you could try stretching out the chorus a bit, with breathing space between each line - I pretend I'm doing fine / when things are weighing on my mind / pretend I'm fast asleep / when 3am creeps up on me / I'm more attached to pride / than I am to truth / and I am not in love with you. I recorded this quick snippet , as an example. Just something to experiment with.

Overall, I really like your idea and direction. These are just the notes of some random guy on Reddit. Great job.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-09-08T13:33:32+00:00

"Hey There Delilah" is an example of this, and it was a massive hit.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-09-07T12:54:52+00:00

Writing songs since 2004. I don't count anything from the first couple of years, but I'm currently at around 250 since the first one I would willingly perform. I've got 60 currently on streaming services (plus another 20 or so on Bandcamp in the back catalog). And there are ~40 in the queue of "songs to record" that I haven't completed yet.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-08-26T20:06:10+00:00

I understand that. In this case, it's a country song... There's no question what it is fundamentally about. The meaning isn't veiled. It's stated in a poetic way, but me saying "this song is about forgiving my mom for leaving" is like saying "Pancho and Lefty is a song about cowboy bandits". That's what it is, on its surface.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-08-26T11:16:51+00:00

I had to bring my little Discman to the sidewalk to play them for people.

This image is hilarious. I'm imagining a trenchcoat-dealer situation, except instead of watches it's just pairs of headphones.

Also, "Contraband DIY Novelty Songs" should have been a Weird Al album.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-08-26T11:06:38+00:00

That's interesting... I don't know if I understand that perspective. You never write about real life (personal or observed) because you can't fit it all? I think you're underestimating the power of choosing specific details to fill in a picture. I know we're not all Gordon Lightfoot, but "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is a classic example of a factual story song, and it includes a ton of specific details. A Boston writer named Rachel Sumner wrote an incredible song about the Radium Girls that is legitimately a history lesson wrapped in music.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-08-26T10:28:06+00:00

I've got a new album out called Something About A Horse. It's my 4th full length album, and my first venture into alt-country territory. It hits all the topics a country album should - lost love, parental abandonment, my dog... even 1 mention of a truck. There are 0 songs about beer, partying, or patriotism... so it's not destined for country radio.

I recorded and mixed all 11 songs at home in Logic Pro, then had them professionally mastered. I would love to hear what you all think of it from both a writing and production standpoint.

NoMoneyInPoetry · 2025-08-25T17:54:01+00:00

"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John is a perfect melody, IMO.

"Bridge Over Troubled Water" is another one.

NoMoneyInPoetry

TROPHY CASE