Queer Eye for the Straight Guy

As we proceed down the literal path of 'The New Elvis Presley', we have established a spiritual connection through the opening lines. The 3rd line of the 1st verse starts in the same way that the song begins,'Here comes the new Elvis Presley'. I find that this is a trait that I display on occasions and the same style was used in 'Superstar'.  The next part of the line is 'hip-swaying too' which is a common stereotype for Elvis and therefore was a natural progression. As part of the rhyming quatrain which is created by two pairs of rhyming couplets, I had already established 'and wearing blue suede shoes' as the ending of the first verse. This image of Elvis wearing blue suede shoes and the obvious link to the Carl Perkins song that Elvis made famous, then begs the question. What else is he wearing? The preceeding phrase 'Iconic jumpsuit and cape' then literally 'jumped' out at me and then allowed me to complete the line with vivid imagery. Now I am sure that the sartorial eloquent amongst you would argue that such a combination doesn't work, however I will leave that to the experts such as the hosts from the show 'Queer Eye for a Straight Guy'.  

Conspiracy Theory

I thought the title of this post would appeal to my mate 'Beany' who is one of the world's authorities on conspiracy theories. I hear that he is on personal terms with Michael Moore. One of the world's most prominent conspiracy theories is the fact that Elvis lives. Sightings are frequent and there are many websites that post them, even the official Elvis Presley website encourages people to send in photos, although to be honest these sightings are specific to images of Elvis rather than a living breathing Elvis. Take a look when you get a chance and you too can see Elvis shopping at KMart, lining up at airport terminals and so on ad infinitum. This now brings me to the 2nd line of the first verse 'It is Elvis incarnate, as I look towards the skies' This continues the story of the narrator's incredulity at seeing someone that is Elvis personnified. It also implies a spiritual experience. Incarnate is defined within the Oxford Dictionary as a spirit 'Embodied in human form'. If you have your guitar handy, you can play the first 2 lines at a tempo of 154, 8 bars each. The chords are A, A, A7, A7, G, G, D, D. I will post the entire song at the end of this particular blog. The next blog moves from the spiritual to the idiosyncratic which will suit the freudians amongst you.

Can't believe my eyes

Armed with an opening lyric and melody, it's time to introduce the instrument. In this case the guitar. I have a Yamaha APX-10C acoustic/electric. This guitar is about 20 years old and is what I start many of my songs on. I find that I will play some chords and then apply the lyric. I originally started this song with an 'E' chord (the song was moved to the key of 'A' about 18 months ago after I had met Mark Hall. This is the key the releasd version is in) and would then play a sequence of chords whilst searching for the next line. The opening line always sets the scene and conjures up the imagery associated with the song itself. 'Here comes the new Elvis Presley' to me threw up an image of someone that looked, sounded and had all the same idiosynchracies as Elvis. A carbon copy, replica or clone. Hence the next line 'can't believe my eyes', is a natural progression of the scene.

Testing, testing, one, two, three........

Are we sitting comfortably, then I'll begin. First, a question. How do you begin to write a song? You ask a hundred people and you'll probably get a hundred different answers. There isn't a right way or a wrong way, but for me there is 'My Way'. Dependent upon your age, you like me have conjured up in your minds the song made famous by Frank Sinatra. I can visualize Frank as well as Sid Vicious crooning their way through it. That particular song has deeply ingrained memories for me as it was always played as the clock struck midnight every New Years Eve in 'Hunters', a public house in Cheltenham, England throughout the mid 80's and early 90's. My songs are almost always created whilst strumming the guitar or playing the piano. This fiddling (apologies for the musical pun) about provides the spark of creativity that leads to a lyric supported by a melody. The lyric then provides a theme to work from. My song 'Another Bad Day at the Office' is a classic example. The opening line begins 'It's been another bad day at the office for me' and uses a minor chord followed by a major 7th. That sets the scene for a melancholy song that references 'Coleridge's albatross', '60lb. monkeys' amongst other aptly chosen lyrics. As you can see, I am not averse to referencing other writers or artists in my songs where they suit the theme. In my song 'Lemon Tree', the lyric ' you said like Hendrix, we'd kiss the sky' adds a nice touch. 'The New Elvis Presley' however, broke the mould slightly, as it was conceived from a throw away line. I recall being at work having a chat with a couples of guys in I.T. when Greg Naidoo walked in. I flippantly said 'here comes the new Elvis Presley'. The statement had nothing to do with Greg having any physical resemblance to Elvis. It was purely the fact that Greg was 'cool, hip, sic' or any other pertinent phrase that describes someone with an aura. I was immediately struck with the line 'Here comes the new Elvis Presley', and by the time I got home that evening the associated phrasing and melody had already formed and the beginnings of a new song were underway. Please tune in to the next installment and feel free to contact me, recommend this blog to others, or just do whatever is expected within the correct blogging protocol. Guy

In the beginning........

This blog will take you on the journey of my song 'The New Elvis Presley' from inception to its global release on all major digital download outlets on the 8th January 2012, to coincide with Elvis Presley's birthday and as part of the 35th anniversary celebrations. I will update this blog periodically and welcome any feedback. I am also happy to answer questions. Long live the King. Guy Simons