Susan Cattaneo and two of her favourite songs

Award-winning singer-songwriter and music educator Susan Cattaneo joined us to talk about two of her favourite songs and why they’re so great. Sherry Jacoby filled in for Phil Emery as co-host – thanks Sherry!

Susan’s choices were Little Green by Joni Mitchell and The River by Bruce Springsteen.

We talked about:

• The differences between classic and contemporary songs
• Lining up emotional content in the lyrics with musical decisions
• Internal rhyming and lack of resolution in Little Green
• Joni Mitchell writing specifics in the verses and more metaphorical in the chorus
• How The River uses both storytelling and a strong metaphor
• How the simple chord structure and simple melodies in The River allow the lyrics and the story to shine through
• Happy music and sad lyrics (check out The Smiths for the best examples)
• How Bruce Springsteen held off until the bridge for the really meaty stuff