Kafkaesque Lessons on Advice

 


A friend of mine, a working songwriter, recently sent out three of his songs for potential sync placements. The feedback arrived—meticulous, well-intentioned, and suffocating in its insistence that the songs could be improved. The irony, of course, is that while every line of advice seemed necessary to the reviewer, none of it truly applied to the artist’s reality. Here it is, in its full, almost bureaucratic, overwhelming detail:

A Week of Mondays

  • Lyrics: “Traffic backed up to the bridge.” “Coffee stains on Calvin Kliens.” Story on the screen, not in song. Too specific, they said, though the words were sincere.

  • Melody: Repetitive; time changes distracting—unless intentional.

  • Production: Bland here, overdone there; Ahs used excessively. Peaks and valleys required.

  • Overall sync potential: Limited.

Hurricane

  • Lyrics: Good imagery, flexible, not story-tied.

  • Melody: Average; prosody suggested. Build tension in verses, explode in chorus.

  • Production: Big all the time; no dynamic candy. Vocals pinched and dated. A heavier rock voice would serve the song. Guitar lick, they admitted, was nice.

  • Overall sync potential: Solid idea, production and melody need adjustments.

Christmas is Here

  • Lyrics: Lacks unfold; no intrigue. Reference given: “Countdown to Christmas.”

  • Melody: Confused genre—retro Beach Boys here, Michael Bolton there. Must pick a lane.

  • Production: No Christmas feel without lyrics; male vocals discouraged. Female vocals recommended.

  • Overall sync potential: None—research films and Christmas songs required.

And here is the  truth behind the advice:

  • It is meticulous, certain, and urgent—but not necessarily relevant.

  • Advice descends like a faceless official in a dream, inspecting every word, every note, every sound—yet it cannot account for the artist’s lived reality.

  • The real lesson is invisible, buried under layers of “should” and “must”: well-meaning advice can still be unnecessary.

  • The power lies in reading it, absorbing what is useful, and walking away from what isn’t. To follow every instruction would be to surrender one’s reality to the whims of an invisible critic.

Bottom line: Even in a universe of advice, the artist moves forward. Some notes are gold. Others, like bureaucratic shadows, can only be observed—and left behind.

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