Month: November 2023

‘Most People’ — lyrics to a pop song

Most People
lyrics by @sheltgarner
please give credit if you produce or perform

most people say
but most people don’t act
and that’s a fast fact
what is to be said
when in the end we meet our demise
leaving most people with just a sigh

most people say
much to my dismay
most people say
much to my dismay
that they don’t care
that they don’t care
that they don’t care
but I care
I care
I care

love is a choice
that most people refuse
they want to hate
throw it all away
but the key to life is to not be
most people
most people
most people

most people say
much to my dismay
most people say
much to my dismay
that they don’t care
that they don’t care
that they don’t care
but I care
I care
I care

(bridge)
few people know
and fewer still believe
so keep the faith
knowing the score
with a roar to be settled
if not in heaven then in hell

most people say
much to my dismay
most people say
much to my dismay
that they don’t care
that they don’t care
that they don’t care
but I care
I care
I care

‘Flashing Lights’ — lyrics to a pop song

Flashing Lights
lyrics by @sheltgarner
please give credit if you produce or perform

once when I was young
a boy on the run
I was attracted with all might
to young women who were
full of fright
messing with my mind
bringing me to my knees
toying with me as they pleased
blinking with flashing lights
flashing lights, flashing lights.

but now as a man
I have a plan
no more love for flashing lights
that come out to bite
I have the will
to stay away from the swill
of the flashing lights
flashing lights, flashing lights.

in the future I will say
to any young man who will heed me
that they need to stay clear
of a woman with a twinkle in her eye
and a sly grin
waiting for sin and the chance
to mess with your fate
even if it’s a first date
stay clear of

of the flashing lights
flashing lights, flashing lights
of the flashing lights
flashing lights, flashing lights
of the flashing lights
flashing lights, flashing lights

‘Don’t Look Back’ — lyrics to a pop ballad

Don’t Look Back
lyrics by @sheltgarner
please give credit if you produce or perform

don’t look back
don’t look back
don’t look back

we’ve all been there
the past is the past
waiting in the dark
with its own kind of bar
daring us to grieve
for the tales we want to weave
but

don’t look back
won’t do any good
don’t look back
won’t do any good
I wouldn’t recommend it
even if you would

the wise will say
with a bit of sublime dismay
that only love should get in the way
don’t let the past ahere
to everything you hold dear
keep your mind on the present
’cause the future is rushing
to us in a panic

don’t look back
won’t do any good
don’t look back
won’t do any good
I wouldn’t recommend it
even if you would

(bridge)
the future looks bright
causing all sorts of delight
even if the past is a fright
night will fall
and dawn will break
just like a heart with much
to say

don’t look back
won’t do any good
don’t look back
won’t do any good
I wouldn’t recommend it
even if you would

‘Tyranny’ — Lyrics to a pop ballad

Tyranny
lyrics by @sheltgarner
please give credit if you produce or perform

tyranny looms in the darkness
we have to decide
one way or another
if we’re going to run for cover
or if we’ll stand and fight
the powers that have aligned
with a fright

tyranny is on its way
ready to break us
ready to break us
but we’ll put it behind us
because tyranny is on its way
tyranny is on its way

don’t you think it’s true
in a way that will make us all blue
that drinking is a cure
for nightmare of fake greatness
that wants to take from us
our most beloved freedom

tyranny is on its way
ready to break us
ready to break us
but we’ll put it behind us
because tyranny is on its way
tyranny is on its way

(bridge)
freedom isn’t free
at least that’s the case
that I’ve heard before
the one I adore
but here we are slouching
towards our demise
tyranny is on its way

tyranny is on its way
ready to break us
ready to break us
but we’ll put it behind us
because tyranny is on its way
tyranny is on its way

Don’t Look Back

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Now that I have a pretty stable first chapter of the third draft of this novel, I think I need to cool it with re-reading until I finish a third draft. I need to just accept that the point is to finish a third draft so THEN I can turn around and edit it.

The general structure of this version of the first act of this novel is pretty good. It’s not too long, for one thing. And, what’s more, once I get into the second act, things should zoom because I will be safely in the part of the story I have already written two times before.

As such, from now until I finish this third draft, I’m just going to worry about moving forward in the plot. No more re-reading what I’ve written then seeing so many problems that I throw everything up in the air and try again. I have GOT to finish this third draft sooner rather than later.

I have to.

If I don’t, it will be a year from now and I’ll still be in the first act.

I’m Worried My Lack Of Any Acting Experience Will Hinder My Ability to Write Screenplays

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Being old, I know what I don’t know. And among the things I just don’t know at this point is — how much will my lack of any acting experience hinder my ability to write a good screenplay? I think it’s one of those things where it’s hard to quantify.

While it definitely HELPS to have training as an actor, it’s not like it’s totally impossible to write a decent screenplay if you’re just a regular old doofus like me. And, truth be told, it’s not like I’m opposed to taking acting lessons at some point in the future if that will help me write a better screenplay.

Now, this is where I pause and reflect on how fucking old I am. Age, like race, is just not something you can change. I just can’t help the life I’ve led. And, as such, I’m far more likely to get somewhere with a novel than I am a screenplay. But, having said that, I will note that I’m a really good talker — I love to schmooze, especially when intoxicated and I’m 100% extroverted.

…But I’m 50. I’m 50, poor and short.

And, yet, time and again in my life, I’ve managed to shock the haters by pulling a rabbit out of a hat. It happened in my 20s and it happened when I was in Seoul. When I was in Seoul, I not only was one of the best rock DJs in town for a few months, I also had the lone English-language expat magazine.

This it all went to shit.

Angst for the memories, and all that.

But I’m not dead yet. Though, if I somehow manage to blow up with my DJ money in my 50s and 60s, it will be a very bittersweet experience. On one hand, I will at last have the success I feel I deserve, but on the other I will be so fucking old that I can’t, like, go clubbing all night with twentysomethings without coming across as a freaky weirdo — or worse yet, a dirty old man.

Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

I hate being 50. I want to be young again.

I Have Some Crazy-Good Screenplay Concepts Rolling Around In My Mind

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Ugh. I’m old. And I’m about 30 years too late when it comes to what I’m suddenly interested in doing — getting into screenwriting. And, yet, being old — and delusional — is rather freeing. I’m old enough that I’m quite aware of how delusional I’m being to begin the process of learning how to write screenplays.

And, of course, there are the other obvious obstacles of my background and where I live. But, like I said, I’m really delusional and it would be nice to have three solid screenplays finished if I ever find myself with a little extra scratch so I can physically go to LA and see what fate might bring me.

But, like I said — I’m delusional. Very, very delusional.

And, yet, sometimes these screenplay ideas I have rolling around in my mind can be very, very potent. They jump out of the depths of my mind and demand to be told.

The reason why I like screenwriting as opposed to novel writing — at least when it comes to these stories — is all I have to do is know the proper structure and formatting. I can just tell some prospective director what should be on the screen and it’s up to them to make it a reality.

Novel writing, meanwhile, requires I actually show the reader in their minds what is going on. This is very stressful and and wear one out if you spend all your time thinking about storytelling — which, of course, I happen to do these days.

Anyway. This, just like the novel I’m working on — is a long term project. I continue to just drift, in fits and starts, towards some general goal. I need to be a lot more clear with myself that I have a very, very window of opportunity to knock something, anything out that I can point to and say, “Look, I’m not all talk and blog posts.”

My Hot Take On The Beatles ‘New’ Song ‘Now And Then’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The new Beatles song Now and Then is….pretty good. It sound to me like a mish-mash of ELO, Radiohead and The Traveling Wilburys. My the thing I feel a lot of people miss is it’s actually assessable and good, which is what any pop song should be.

So, as such, I feel a lot of people are being too hard on The Beatles for releasing the song. It’s always nice to hear John Lennon’s voice and if this song introduces him to a new generation of Beatles fans, all at the better. In some respects, the song’s existence seems to say more about Paul McCartney’s relationship to John Lennon’s legacy as well as his own mortality than it does anything with artistic aims.

Anyway. I like the song. And John Lennon was taken from us far too soon. My fear is, of course, that this is just the beginning of groups like The Beatles using AI for creative ends. It would make a lot of sense if the airwaves were one day flooded with a zillion AI-generated Beatles songs.

Ugh. Sometimes, the future seems like it will suck.

I’m Using ‘The Enteral Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ As My Screenwriting ‘Textbook’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I continue to drift towards my goal of finishing a novel so I can query it in the fall of 2024 — just as the so-called “Fourth Turning” is going to happen. Ugh. Anyway, I also want to have a fall back “second creative track.” As such, I’ve decided that screenwriting is going to be it.

Just as I have used Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl Who Played With Fire” as my “textbook” for the novel I’m writing, so, too, do I plan to use Charlie Kaufman’s “The Enteral Sunshine of The Spotless Mind” as my “textbook” for screenwriting. I think I’m probably going to do something similar with the Star Wars screenplay at some point soon.

I need to understand how to properly read a screenplay. I’ve already found bouncing back and forth between novel writing and screenwriting has helped my writing a lot. Something about thinking about how to structure a screenplay aids in helping me see things in a different way with the novel.

Anyway, something about the fall / winter season coming (along with a lot of more darkness) has caused me to feel a little unnerved. I’m still faraway, so close with the novel. It’s fun to just totally switch gears on a creative level and read about something completely different and new, while staying within the general writing skillset.

I hate the fact that I don’t have enough structure in my life. I have a rather idyllic situation going on at the moment and I spend way too much of my time just daydreaming and drifting towards my goal.

What’s more, I know damn well that this unusual — a great — situation that I find myself in can last for only so long. Something is going to throw everything out of whack soon enough and I’ll be smarting that I didn’t squeeze out every once of creativity I could when I had the opportunity.

I wonder what it will be. Maybe it will be The Fourth Turning, maybe it will be having to go underground when weaponized ICE agents start to hunt me down for thinking ding-dong Tyrant Trump is a fucking cocksucker.

Flipping The Script On XR & AI

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I can be a contrarian at times and, as such, something dawned on me about the immediate future of XR and AI technology. I’m beginning to believe that Her-like AI technology (digital personal assistants) will be a far bigger service industry than any of us can possibility imagine at the moment.

Instead of a trillion dollar industry, it might be the thing that spawns a few trillion dollar industries.

I say this because I just don’t know if people really want to wear any sort of shit on their face. So, in the near term, it could be that XR technology will sound great on paper but, in reality, no one will actually do anything with it because of vanity.

This, in turn, leads me to the following scenario — rather than a Apple Vision Pro, what if you had a tiny black dot video camera you wore on your forehead over an eye combined with a earpiece that let you communicate with a Her-type digital personal assistant.

The camera would serve as the “eye” of your Her. As such, all the hard work would be done by your Her. Rather than YOU seeing the XR technology, your Her would. Her, in turn would tell you in your ear what she saw.

This kind of squares the circle, at least in the near term. I suppose once XR headsets look more like glasses as opposed to birth control devices then XR will begin to live up to its ages-old promise.