In most forms of writing, I rarely use exclamation points. In fact, my use of this particular punctuation mark is pretty much limited to dialogue, but even then, I only end a sentence with an exclamation point to indicate that a character is yelling. Beyond that, I tend to believe that the emphasis should be clear in the phrasing. (Did I mention that I teach English to college students?)
The two songs that I would like to share with you today happen to be my only two tracks with exclamation points in the titles. Wake Up! is the opening track on my 2017 album Mechanical Bull. It is about how an informed and engaged citizenry is a vital component of a functioning democracy.
Walk out of that door
Open up your eyes
Time is not the measure of a life
My other song with an exclamation point in the title is Make Some Noise! (Summer of '99), from my 2019 album Better Days. It is essentially an ode to power chords, and a nod to one summer in particular where I played a lot of music in dank Michigan basements and sunlit front porches.
I played these chords until my fingers hurt
Screamed at the top of my lungs without saying a word
Banging on an electric guitar
I don't need to be a superstar
All going supernova, it only goes to show that
No one will ever hear your voice
Unless you learn to make some noise!
..........................................
Thanks to all of my listeners on Spotify for putting Original Miles and Black Ribbon Day on the charts. Both tracks are from my 2021 album Embers and continue to climb in popularity, which is both an honor and a thrill.
If you dig my music, please add it to your playlists and share it with other people who you think might like it as well. As a one-man-band/recording artist, I need and very much appreciate your help in propagating my songs amongst your friends and around the world.
As always, thank you for supporting independent art... and by all means: crank it up!!!
(Consider those bonus exclamation points.)
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