Why JBJ song writing wrong....

Ive watched a few clips from interviews lately... during one of them, think it was born to be beautiful (Im sure someone will correct me if Im wrong) Jon says, I dont want to write the downer songs, I want to sing songs that lift people....

This is where Jon song writing is going wrong and why we havent got another 'These Days' emotional based record.. Psychology shows that people are lifted, feel better when finding someone/thing that relates to their pain/emotion.

Jon is in save the world mode, my songs can improve peoples lives, so Ill write uplifting songs and the fans will be happier ! It doesnt work that way... There is room for uplifting songs but it needs understanding lyrics to come first....

For example, a guy has lost his job, he wants to hear lyrics that relate to this with a perhaps positive outlook via lyrics... not a never mind just an IML or WWBTF !

If Jon would go back to writing a 'downer' song he would connect emotionally better with the fans once more.... until he changes his thought process, there wont be a change.......

Dawn

I signed up to this forum just now to say I agree with this post 100%. I have been thinking this for years. And then I saw the above interview recently.

He writes powerful stuff when he allows himself some darker themes. eg- Always (about a stalker), bed of roses, wanted dead or alive or something to believe in just to name a few. My favourite Bon Jovi song is 'My guitar lies bleeding in my arms'.

But now he has put himself into a box and forcing himself to write happy songs about living your life.

I saw this, at least WWWB sounds a bit mature and deeper. Apparently it's Jons 'book end' to the record.

When I loose my job I don't wanna hear songs like STBelieve In or Something For The PAin... I want songs with hope, little aggresion ecc live Have A Nice Day, WWBTFollow. I'm not masochist...

Man if in your live everything go ok it's hard to write songs about suicide ecc. Jon is rather optymist person. Now he can write some deep song about death or divorce (like WLOAleaving) but he is in good psychical shape and easier to him is writing about something optimistic even talking about something wrong .

Don't blame him that he have good life.

Deeper, darker songs just tend to be better songs........................ JMHO of course. Not that a happy upbeat song can't be great. But there is a tendency for them to feel a bit overcliched (yes I know I'm a Bon Jovi fan but I can't think of a better word for it ) and artificial. Like short term syrupy goodness for my ears rather than food for my soul and heart.

EDIT: That sounded really daggy.

That's fine if he feels optimistic he can write optimistic songs.

But the problem is that he has stated he doesn't even allow himself to write the downer song. Which seems like a huge waste...

i agree

i think it's certainly possible to write a good, inspirational song that has a positive theme to it...but a lot of the post-2000 songs sound like jon is actively trying to write the worlds best feel-good anthem. i think the most inspirational songs are the ones that just flow from the heart - whether they be positive or negative in tone. you can tell when a song sounds honest and personal and when it sounds like it was written to be intentionally over-happy. (at least i have my opinions about which songs sound like this - but i'm not jon, so i guess who knows...)

I think it is just because he is and has aspirations to be an artist rather than a psychologist. Being an artist he feels a need to write songs with positive message and has a cerain vision of how they should work. Artist is subjctive. And probably he does not "feel" the "downer" songs, so expressing a pessimistic message he would be lying to himself an thus get artificial, unconvincing. Let us do the artist what he needs and feels. Art is subjective, an expression of one's self.

For me the song works miracles. I am a depressive kind of person and still his song lifts me up, makes me creative, gives me motivation to act. Such at least it is for me. But if it lifts me up it is a proof that there are some people, at least one person (me) who receive the song as Jon in his subjective vision intended it to work.

Life isnt that easy and beautiful. And such a song can't make everyone feeling better. I think that's why These Days is such an outstanding album. It didn't need any commercial and contemporary sound to be good. Making timeless music (I even consider most of the 80s songs to be that), that's what it is all about....

These Days is a commercial album.
In any case I do agree that downer songs can be just as good as "upper" in periods of crisis. I wish Jon would see that and balance things out but I guess that's not where the cash is.