As the year comes to an end, I'll do a bunch of "looking back" type posts. In this post I'll look back on the songs I wrote, the good, the bad, and all that type of stuff.

Why I Write Them

In order of priority:

1. Spread the Truth
2. I'm a big believer in music therapy, music makes me feel a lot better and avoid depression, as it tends to do for many if not most people. I generally think everyone should learn to play an instrument and write songs. Over the years songwriting has been an increasingly valuable tool in terms of maintaining sound psychological health and overcoming depression.
3. Hopefully make someone else happy
4. I always dream that someone else will play my songs. That obviously hasn't happened yet, though I continue hoping. It could be anyone, famous or unheard of, and it could be of any quality, fantastic or terrible. Just the thought of seeing someone else play a song I wrote -- or better yet, taking a song I wrote and re-writing/re-mixing it to make it their own -- would thrill me. Not sure why, I guess it is because I consider myself a songwriter, and even spent a good part of my early 20s trying to establish myself as one in terms of career. But that is just a silly personal desire, the three items listed above this one are far more important reasons for writing.

My Favorites

Typically I'll write a song and find it to be loads of fun for at least a day or two, sometimes a few weeks. Then after that I may still like it, but I won't be particularly excited about it. Here are the ones that I still really like; they have passed the one month mark:

You're a Spiritual Being With a Destiny - The fastest song I ever wrote, every songwriter knows the fastest ones you write -- the ones that just pour out of you, as if they wrote themselves -- are the keepers. I wanted to write a happy truther song for quite some time, and this is exactly what I wanted to write, as it sums up my world view simply and accurately. It is our national anthem here at KidMercuryBlog.com.

Alex Jones, You Can Go Fishing (Alt. Lyrics) - This song is the first one I wrote with my "verse-verse-chorus-rap-chorus" forumula, which I've since applied to many songs (though don't think my game is limited to just one formula, I got others in the works). I also think it reflects the spirit of Alex Jones, who is without question the most visible and prominent Truther in the US (well, except for Ron Paul); a cultural icon of the revolution, and so I am particularly delighted to have written a song I think can celebrate that culture. I also surprised myself with its southern rock chorus, a sound I never in a million years thought I'd be able to get. So thanks, Alex! I only wish others would cover this song, as I'm sure they could do a much better job. I like my performance here, more than on most of my other songs, but I know there are bands out there that are fans of Alex and could take this song to the next level with some kiler lead guitar and drum tracks.

Aimee Allen, Thank You For Being A Hot Chick Who Tells The Truth - I actually don't think this song is that great musically, especially since my voice is off, as has been noted. But the lyrics are fun. More importantly, it's tough putting yourself out there for the Truth, especially for Aimee, a hot chick with a great voice for whom a decision to publicly support the Truth is tantamount to career suicide. Aimee also commented on the video on YouTube noting that she listens to it whenever she's having a bad day and it turns everything around. That is honestly the best compliment I could ever get, worth far more than awards or any type of public recognition I could dream of getting. Ironically as I told Aimee, the fact that it makes her day makes my day!

Love Letter - Well, in spite of the fact that this song and its sister song have been quite poorly received -- some of the lowest rated stuff I've done on YouTube -- I still like it quite a bit, and think they are some of my best lyrics. Ain't my fault ya'll are a bunch of punk ass chumps with bad taste. Anyway, while it has since become apparent I am quite alone in my appreciation of the song, the good news is that I was so delighted after writing this that I proceeded to go write songs for everyone else, so perhaps the song has served its purpose in that sense.

Jason Calacanis, Stop Lying About 9/11 - The worst rated song I've done, with both the meanest comments and the lowest ratings. It has the most views, and Mahalo, Jason's company, has since corrected their 9/11 page (it's not exactly telling the Truth now, but at least it's not telling lies). From that perspective it could be argued that it is the best and most important song I've written, so I consider it my biggest success in that sense.

The Worst

Ron Paul Fight Song - I'll cut myself some slack here as it was the first song I'd written in a while, so I was getting back in the swing of things. Quite terrible, though. Aimee Allen's song for Ron Paul is much better.

Stop Watching Television - Well the title tells the truth. Too bad the song sucks.

Carole King, We Love the Way You Sing - Awful, although in my defense, I knew it was awful as I was writing it. The song was playing in my head and I honestly couldn't get any work done because I had this terrible song in my head, and the little voice in my head was telling me to write it and record it immediately. That makes me think there is some purpose to me having written it, though I can't imagine what that could be, as the song is atrocious. Oh well. I am a huge Carole King fan -- she makes Kid Mercury's list of influences -- so in that sense I am glad to have written a song that shows my appreciation for her remarkable music, and how much I have learned about songwriting from it.

Aimee Mann, Turn Yourself Into a Brand - We have discussed the terribleness of this song many times before, though I still like the lyrics, especially since no one writes Internet marketing lyrics. Besides, Aimee Mann is generally a hater and admits to being one, so she probably would not have liked anything I'd have written, even if it was a masterpiece, so nothing lost in that sense.

Regrets

Well, I don't really have any regrets, as I tend to live in a rather free-spirited manner. So perhaps mistakes would be a better word.

Sagittarian Girl - When I first wrote this song I really liked it, mainly because the lyrics flew out of me, which I always take to be a very good sign. Though now I think they are cheesiest lyrics in the history of songwriting, so cheesy that the song is unredeemable. I wish I had not put it on my album, Love and Truth. We'll Always Be Connected would have been more appropriate for the album. Astrologically I have a lot of past life relationship karma in my birth chart, so I wrote that song in hopes of advancing myself in some way on that front.

I suppose the biggest regret/disappointment I have is that everything I do is a bit rushed, since I have a lot of work regarding building my Internet business to do, as building my business is my primary purpose, my reason for being. On one hand I am pleased with myself for even being able to get 30 songs and an album published and marketed a bit, though the knowledge that everything has been rushed and could have been a lot better is a bit disappointing.

Going Forward

Perhaps the biggest lesson I learned from my songs this year is that songwriting is a part of my identity, I'll probably be doing this for the rest of my life. My goal since 2004 has been to build an Internet company that changes the world and to cash out by the end of 2012 (meaning I would like to have the company in place so that it can continue growing and changing the world, but I would like to step away...I am more of a founder, not so much a CEO [I can be a CEO if I had to, though there are probably better people for it, and we should always look to find the best person for the job]). Once I'm done with business I'd like to go to Liz Greene's astrology school in London and lock myself in a room and make music all day. We'll see if that actually happens. Certainly I won't be going to London if it is the way it currently is, though I am expecting changes of epic proportions to occur over the next four years. We live in interesting times, to say the least. Which is great inspiration for songwriting!

Click here to see all the stuff I recorded in 2008 and more.