Free, only want to be free, we huddle close, hang on to a dream.
Neil DiamondRead
The main objective in any song, the songs that I write, has always been that it reflect the way I feel, that it touch me when I'm finished with it, that it moves me, that it can take me along with it and involve me in what its saying.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the emotional connection a songwriter seeks with their music, aiming for personal reflection and engagement.
Neil Diamond expresses the deep emotional purpose behind his songwriting. He believes that a song's main goal should be to resonate with the songwriter's feelings, creating a powerful connection. This involvement is not only about the technical aspects of music but also about how it moves both the creator and the listener, suggesting that authentic expression is key in art.
In practice
In a music workshop focused on songwriting techniques.
Free, only want to be free, we huddle close, hang on to a dream.
But you make me sing like a guitar humming . . .
My voice is unadorned. I don't try for perfection. I try to be honest and truthful and soulful with the voice I have. If I make mistakes in notes, or there are cracks in notes, I don't fix them. That's the way it is.
I have a lot of confidence, but little Self-Esteem. This has given me a tremendous creative spark because it forced me to keep proving myself.
You have to go out there and give a piece of yourself -- your life, your soul. And you better give the audience everything you can -- physically, emotionally, musically. Then maybe they'll accept you and give you a standing ovation at the end.
I didn't want to repeat my mistakes so I stopped, took some time out and started having therapy. My songs were bringing up feelings inside of me I didn't really understand, so I wanted to understand where they were coming from to help me be a better person and a better songwriter.
But always and sometimes questioning the old modes_x000D_ _x000D_ And the new wondering, the poem, growing up through the floor,_x000D_ _x000D_ Standing tall in tubers, invading and smashing the ritual_x000D_ _x000D_ Parlor, demands to be met on its own terms now,_x000D_ _x000D_ Now that the preliminary negotiations are at last over.
Give me such shows - give me the streets of Manhattan!
I think it's not an accident that you don't have that many Asian American women writers who are breaking out. I don't think it's an accident that you don't have that many Asian American writers, either women or men. I don't think that immigrants are encouraged to become artists. That's very gendered and racialized and ethnicized.
…I go through a story for lies. I might discover the lie of trying to show off. Sometimes they’re lies of character. Sometimes they are lies of writing the most beautiful sentence in the world that has nothing to do with the story.
I make clothes, women make fashion.
Anxious, inexperienced writers obey rules. Rebellious, unschooled writers break rules. Artists master the form.
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