there are a gang of songs that i like from both camps,
and i'm sure you are in the same position.

the only 'problem' i have is when critics
try to use that strict definition of "songwriting" to somehow
intellectualize the marginalization of great (black) artists.

you can say you don't like it.
you can say it's not your thing.
but you can't tell me that james brown's artistry is somehow less than the beatles, just because you can't play "cold sweat"
on a single instrument.



and as far as the "the arrangement IS composition" argument,
i think what they are trying to say is that the hook for some songs
is melody. the hook for some songs is in the engineering.
the hook for some songs is in the arrangement.

i don't think that one is lesser than the other, in terms of skill.
i love george clinton and i love thom bell. neither one could do
what the other did.

but i don't think either one was a more "pure" artist.


actually, i think there is a certain skill
in folks like george clinton's ability to strip everything down
and then reassemble the world into musical shapes that sound brand new.

i feel you though.



>A song like 'I am the Walrus' by the Beatles is a good
>example. The artistry is in the arrangement....not in the
>composition. I know alot of people say that arrangement
>'becomes' composition....I think that's just muddying the
>definitions because of the connatations associated with the
>word 'composition'. It's like people think it makes a certain
>type of artistry more legitimate so they try to apply it
>something where it's not appropriate.