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A more down-to-earth guide, and an absolutely fantastic read at that, is The KLF's "The Manual - How To Have A Number One The Easy Way" by the KLF: http://fre

A more down-to-earth guide, and an absolutely fantastic read at that, is The KLF's "The Manual - How To Have A Number One The Easy Way" by the KLF: http://freshonthenet.co.uk/the-manual-by-the-klf/ http://freshonthenet.co.uk/the-manual-by-the-klf/ It's a bit dated, given that they wrote it in the 80s, but it contains some absolute gems: Stock, Aitkin and Waterman, however, are kings of writing chorus lyrics that go straight to the emotional heart of the 7" single buying girls in this country. Their most successful records will kick into the chorus with a line which encapsulates the entire emotional meaning of the song. This will obviously be used as the title. As soon as Rick Astley hit the first line of the chorus on his debut single it was all over - the Number One position was guaranteed: "I'm never going to give you up" It says it all. It's what every girl in the land whatever her age wants to hear her dream man tell her. Then to follow that line with: "I'm never gonna let you down I'm never going to fool around or upset you" GENIUS. As soon as they had those lyrics written they must have known they could have taken out a block booking on the Number One slot. Then within the next twelve months to have written the chorus: "I should be so lucky Luck, lucky, lucky I should be so lucky in love"

laumars 14y ago
This is quite a long read so I'm going to bookmark it for now. But as I'm quite a fan of KLF, I'm looking forward to having to time to read :)
- mootothemax 14y ago
  This is quite a long read so I'm going to bookmark it for now. But as I'm quite a fan of KLF, I'm looking forward to having to time to read :) If you like listening to music, it's well worth the read. You'll start noticing quite how many popular songs stick to the rules they outline in the Manual. It's also a really interesting historical document of how the industry operated at the time, with a few nice tape-reels-and-fun-old-tech thrown in.
  - laumars 14y ago
    Oh I'm a huge music fan. In fact I used to compose and produce music back in the 90s and 00s (and obviously listened to it long before that) and spent much of the last decade DJing in house and techno clubs (though not as a headliner, sadly). So I've been an observer of formulas used within music for quite some time :) In fact I used to deliberately play off contrasting formulas just to challenge peoples perceptions of what music they like or should expect from a specific genre. I'll be honest, sometimes with little success. But enough times I'd create something unique and engaging enough to make the failed attempts worthwhile. I wish I still had the time for all this, but it's really an all or nothing passion; you really need to dedicate your life to it otherwise you're never going to be happy with your output (particularly if you're hypercritical of your own work, like I am). Sadly my wife doesn't share the same passion, so it's hard to justify spending weeks locked in my modest home studio. So these days I just produce the odd novelty record for NYE house parties, friends weddings and such like.
    - mootothemax 14y ago
      particularly if you're hypercritical of your own work, like I am Heh, I think there are few people out there who think differently :) For me, I'd love to have a couple of hours every day that I could dedicate to getting my piano playing back to the level I was 15 years ago. C'mon passive income!
mrspeaker 14y ago
It's in my bucket-list-o-life: [ ] Make a hit record following "The Manual". I don't want to be famous, I just want the meal with the KLF they promise if you succeed.
venus 14y ago
Great recommendation. The KLF wrote the book on this. If you like that, you might want to check out "How to Get Rich" by Felix Dennis, another entertaining half-howto, half-confession by a british "hungry young hustler on the make".
HNLogInShit 14y ago
There was a hit song written following KLF's guide: "Edelweiss", by Edelweiss. Truly a one-hit wonder.
1337biz 14y ago
This! A million times. KFL did actually did outsmart the system and not start with the ridiculous premise of first "becoming a youtube superstar". Plus labels had been using the remix approach for ages. After all each good old single cd release had the same song in 3-5 versions on it.

laumars 14y ago

This is quite a long read so I'm going to bookmark it for now. But as I'm quite a fan of KLF, I'm looking forward to having to time to read :)

mootothemax 14y ago
This is quite a long read so I'm going to bookmark it for now. But as I'm quite a fan of KLF, I'm looking forward to having to time to read :) If you like listening to music, it's well worth the read. You'll start noticing quite how many popular songs stick to the rules they outline in the Manual. It's also a really interesting historical document of how the industry operated at the time, with a few nice tape-reels-and-fun-old-tech thrown in.
- laumars 14y ago
  Oh I'm a huge music fan. In fact I used to compose and produce music back in the 90s and 00s (and obviously listened to it long before that) and spent much of the last decade DJing in house and techno clubs (though not as a headliner, sadly). So I've been an observer of formulas used within music for quite some time :) In fact I used to deliberately play off contrasting formulas just to challenge peoples perceptions of what music they like or should expect from a specific genre. I'll be honest, sometimes with little success. But enough times I'd create something unique and engaging enough to make the failed attempts worthwhile. I wish I still had the time for all this, but it's really an all or nothing passion; you really need to dedicate your life to it otherwise you're never going to be happy with your output (particularly if you're hypercritical of your own work, like I am). Sadly my wife doesn't share the same passion, so it's hard to justify spending weeks locked in my modest home studio. So these days I just produce the odd novelty record for NYE house parties, friends weddings and such like.
  - mootothemax 14y ago
    particularly if you're hypercritical of your own work, like I am Heh, I think there are few people out there who think differently :) For me, I'd love to have a couple of hours every day that I could dedicate to getting my piano playing back to the level I was 15 years ago. C'mon passive income!

mrspeaker 14y ago

It's in my bucket-list-o-life: [ ] Make a hit record following "The Manual". I don't want to be famous, I just want the meal with the KLF they promise if you succeed.

venus 14y ago

Great recommendation. The KLF wrote the book on this. If you like that, you might want to check out "How to Get Rich" by Felix Dennis, another entertaining half-howto, half-confession by a british "hungry young hustler on the make".

HNLogInShit 14y ago

There was a hit song written following KLF's guide: "Edelweiss", by Edelweiss. Truly a one-hit wonder.

1337biz 14y ago

This! A million times. KFL did actually did outsmart the system and not start with the ridiculous premise of first "becoming a youtube superstar". Plus labels had been using the remix approach for ages. After all each good old single cd release had the same song in 3-5 versions on it.