I think if Unchained Melody does what I think it can do, I think there is an audience out there that would heave a sigh of relief, that finally there is a melody and orchestration, production and a vocalist that is giving them a song that they can just listen to... and not be annoyed by the vocal acrobatics that vocalists seem to think is impressive.
When I start to write a song, I have the words and I have the melody, and then it's just a matter of making it to the end. I think if I have something that I could identify as a talent, it would be that I can finish a song. I kind of know intuitively where the melody should go.
I think I was annoyed going through the '90s just as a guy who loves music. There wasn't a lot of music for me. Everything was groove driven. We lost the plot with the melody. There's no more melody.
I would literally never think about melody. I never thought people listened to melody because I listen to words.
I think the melody is the first time I hear in a song and if I like the melody, then I'll pay closer attention to the lyrics.
Here's the thing: My hobby is to DJ. I just love music, so I can hear the beginning of a beat, the beginning of a melody, and think of the words, think of the name of the song, think of the hook, and just go there.
It's one thing having a great song, but I think for me if you take it to the next level... say you had a guitar and a vocal, and the song was amazing but the vocalist wasn't that great and it just was a guitar and vocal acoustic track, switching that to something like an amazing voice singing the exact same song with the instrumentation being really nice and lush or unique in some way and interesting and diverse... I think it's all about the instrumentation and textures in the sound.
I kind of always thought that I had a good ear for melodies. I think in terms of melody. I can just be walking and I'll hear a melody.
There's nothing prettier in the world than a melody. I can get lost in a song with a melody. A lot of times I have, and the song wasn't that good, but I would get lost in that melody, and I'd want to do the song.
For the first records I really never thought about anything other than the song itself. I thought that this was what the job of a songwriter was. I was really approaching music from a very different standpoint. To me when I was younger the song was just the melody. I think as I've gotten older and have been recording myself I've become aware of just how many layers can exist within a song besides just the main vocal.
I think the difference between a good song and a great song is... honestly, I think the lyrics, because if you have a really solid melody and solid track and everything is there but then the lyric is just okay, then you've got a good song.
I think my favourite song on the album [Second Hand Rapture'] is 'Head Is Not My Home', I love the vocal melody and it's such a power hit of a track. Every time it pops on I like listening to it, I'm really drawn to it.
I think dissonance in music makes you think. It isn't, 'Oh, that's a pretty melody I can whistle.' You have to sit down and listen to tell it apart from other things.
I still feel like if I can get a song to work with, say, a basic beat, a rhythm, some chord changes, and a melody, a vocal melody - if it works with that, then I feel it's written and there's something there.
I listen to everything and find parts about a song in the lyrics/melody/chords/production that I like and can be inspired by when I write my next song.
Melody is the single most important thing to any song, period. I don't care what anybody says, it trumps everything. Not because that's my opinion but because I think it's actually indisputable fact. The human brain retains melody easier than it retains words. It's that simple.
But I think a song that is really emotionally packed, with a great melody that just will soar, that's the keeper.