Follow the YOLO Brick Road

Yolo. It’s an acronym with which I’ve just become acquainted. I’m late to many-a-party. For the longest time I thought LOL meant ‘lots of love’ (which often made sense in context). If you’re of the ‘late’ variety too, YOLO stands for: You Only Live Once. 

Which brings to mind:

Do the very things you fear the most

And

What will you leave behind when you go?

It’s a hard concept to address in the middle of a pandemic when we can’t pack a suitcase much less leave the house with abandon. Still…

My album 2.0 etc…dropped yesterday. I’ve been terrified my whole life of making it even though, like many songwriters, I’ve always felt like a hybrid — started out with a dream of being an artist and veered into what was once a challenging but do-able and sustaining profession — songwriting for the masses. No regrets. I’m precious about this record — a bit self-congratulatory perhaps — because it may be my only one. And it was definitely late to the party. 

It’s been a luxurious, indulgent and cathartic experience putting my voice behind my own words. I’d recommend it to any career songwriter who’s always dreamed of doing the same. 

2.0 etc…is a combo of re-imagined hits I’ve written and a handful of songs that might never have seen the light of day. I have Eve Nelson, Phil Thornalley, Wally Gagel and Greg Wells to thank for bringing these babies to life, all the musicians who gave it live love and Kristin and her TEAM for getting my clue-less ass over the finish line. There are a lot of moving parts! 😳

Here’s the track list and a little bit about each song: 

What A Girl Wants

The words were written on a receipt retrieved from my jacket pocket. They were about how Adam (my then boyfriend, now husband) gave me space when I was trying to get the courage to move from NY to LA. Guy Roche was free-styling on the keyboard and I realized the sentiment on that receipt would fit his vibe. It became the first #1 song of the millennium for Christina Aguilera. They say if you love something let it go…if it comes back it’s yours…that’s how you know! 

Bitch 

I wrote "Bitch" with Meredith Brooks in a little room with an acoustic guitar. No backing track. We had a mutual powerful feeling and were determined to express it. It’s our love child. My version is darker than Meredith’s anthem but it touts the same universal message: women are complicated and You wouldn’t want it any other way. 

Almost Doesn’t Count

This was the 100th song I wrote about the same un-requited relationship. Guy and I put the song on the back burner for a while because we weren't sure what to make of it. But thankfully we picked it up again and Brandy made it a hit and then country artist Mark Wills recorded it too. I can’t keep on loving you one foot outside the door 

B-Youtiful

Phil Thornalley and I had no big plan that day. We convened to have SongSex and we just wanted to write something that felt good. I miss those days. Algorithms made creativity so calculated. You love me like Smokey…You’re my kind of miracle

Notebook 

My daughter called to say she kept dreaming I was dying. Truth is I was anything but. In fact I was experiencing a creative resurgence. Being a songwriter, as soon as we got off the phone I picked up my Taylor. My daughter keeps on dreaming that I’m dying…nothing could be further from the truth…I tell her not to worry…I’m in no hurry…that’s the last thing on this earth I’m gonna do. 

George and John   

I always wanted to write a song that equated losing half myself in a heartbreak with losing half of the Beatles. When working with Phil in London I told him this. His eyes lit up. After I returned home I received an mp3 with a piece of music. The words all came in one-fell-swoop. 

I feel so amputated…the rest of me is numb…like Paul without a Linda…Ringo with no drums. 

Human 

I scribbled some thoughts on a napkin in a ladies room after someone said something hurtful and the next week on a songwriting blind date with with Mark McEntee of Divinyls I married those thoughts to his major 7ths. The band recorded it and a few years later Chrissie Hynde heard the song and recorded it too — with the Pretenders. The icing on the cake is that I asked Chrissie if she’d sing backing vocals with me on my version and she said yes. If love was a war…it’s you who has won…while I was confessing it you held your tongue

Stumble

This song, originally recorded by Natasha Bedingfield, is for all the girls who don’t fit into a box and the boys who love them anyway. Greg Wells’ demo was magical and I couldn’t beat it when embarking on a new version. So he found the files and we re-mastered the original demo. Don’t be stupid thinking I’ve misjudged you…I know enough to know when someone trusts you… 

Just Wanna Be Your Girl

Wally Gagel and I were writing with a signed artist who came to the studio with a lot of drama. While she was on the phone with her manager Wally and I got started and by the time she got off the phone we finished a song. This is another original demo I couldn’t beat. Ain’t no halo over my head…ain’t no angel sleeping in this bed 

Love Is War

I was sitting at the piano pondering Britney Spears cuz she was cutting at the time and I wanted ‘on’ that record!!  I tried channelling where her head (and heart) might be —we all get disappointed, devastated and exhausted by love but we don’t lose hope for another chance. I’m lying here on the floor…all I want is more…Love is War 

Who You Are 

I was supposed to be writing one-on-one with Toby Gad but when he arrived he told me that an artist he’d been working with was going to join us. In walked Jessie. J. "Who You Are" was conceived in my living-room and the vocals were recorded in my office. Whenever I sing it live, it feels like a message to myself. It’s OK not to be Ok! 

What’s next for me? I have no clue. My plan is to just keep following the YOLO-brick road.

Listen to 2.0 etc… wherever you stream

Thank you SO much for your support.

Thanks for reading, my friends. For more fun stories about how my songs came to be get a copy of “Confessions of a Serial Songwriter.” If you'd like to receive my blog via email, please click here. Follow me on Twitter and Insta. Visit my Serial Songwriter Facebook Page. Stay Safe! ☮️