I’m always fascinated by the creative process. There are segments of GET BACK where you see Paul and John write and finish songs. Notably, “Get Back” where they’re trying out different lyrics and building the song as they go along. I’m sure students of lyric writing would be horrified, but hey, it sure worked for them.
They also did a lot of tweaking of their arrangements along the way. And in between we see a lot of them riffing. They’ll just start singing some Chuck Berry song or imitate Canned Heat. They’ll break into a chorus of one of their songs, goofing on it. I’m sure it keeps them loose and helps them stay energized.
In many ways, the riffing is integral to the process.
The same is true in comedy writing rooms. We’ll go off on a tangent, someone will do a bit or improv a character, or we start pitching truly offensive things that the characters would never actually say but we wish they could.
Yes, it stops the process of writing the script (and we don’t go home until it’s finished even if that means 6 AM), but it generates laughter, keeps the room fun, and helps relieve the pressure (of knowing we might not be done until 6 AM).
Those “breaks” are necessary. And often they lead to ideas that do go into the script or, in their case, into the song.
Whatever differences the Beatles had among themselves (and the documentary shows that there were plenty) all of that disappeared when they spontaneously launched into some old Drifters tune. They were all on the same wavelength. It was wonderful to see.
I’ve described a comedy writing room as seven cats all fighting for the same ball of yarn. To say that there are a variety of personalities and neuroses is an understatement. But everyone joining in on some truly appalling subject, making us all laugh like idiots at 2 AM, helps meld the minds.
The trick is to just play a few bars of a goofy song, or two or three minutes of a room bit — not 45 minutes. From what I saw on documentary, the Beatles were better at that than we were.
Another thought comparing the Beatles process to our writing process tomorrow.
from By Ken Levine
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