tips for hit songs

Here is an article of tips for writing 'hit' songs
http://musicians.about.com/library/weekly/2002/ aa033002a.htm

the article makes a few good points. enjoy - tripp

From the artical:

The vocals, chord changes, melodies, layers—all of it. You will never catch an A&R rep’s attention because you sound completely different. It will be because you sound familiar, only slightly different. A different shade of orange. The band Five for Fighting's vocals sounds like a different shade of Dave Matthews’. They just sold 500,000 albums. Pete Yorn’s voice sounds like a different shade of Eddie Vedder's. Coldplay is a different shade of Radiohead. Get over the idea of “selling out.” If you want them to sell, make sure your oranges are orange - no one buys blue ones.

I stopped reading after this point on the first page. I don't think Mr.Eddins knows a thing about writing a hit song if he believes his own spiel. Comparing these vocalists is a stretch in and of itself, comparing their success because of such similarities (or that thereof) in a voice in down right gullible.

I think it's great advice. Let's continue the orange analogy. The orange is the music. Now, do we make orange juice, orange marmalade, orange jelly, orange this, orange that? Then, if we're making orange marmalade (which I don't know how to make), do we put any of the zest (part of the outer peel) in it?

Music is like a recipe. You use the common ingredients but experimentation leads to new tastes, however subtly different it may be from others. But it all starts with the orange. You have to know something about how to use the

All my life I wanted 'blue orange' kind of music. I don't care about what the 'orange orange' people want; they are fully catered for. I don't want the 'blue orange' musicians to be prevented from getting 'blue orange' music to 'blue orange' listeners and this is what corporatised music does (or did, or tried).

All changed now though what?

Adam.