To Teach or Not To Teach
It’s my last week of teaching my college Pop Songwriting Workshop. I want to get back to writing more songs of my own. Songwriting is like cardio is for the physical body. We release endorphins when we’re in the process of creating. It puts us in a trance. Makes us so damn high. Yet I DO love TALKING about why a song works … or doesn’t. Perhaps a Master Class? 🤓
Wifey Time
Recently I read a book called “Building The Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier.” In a chapter about friendship Arthur C Brooks suggests that the best compliment you can pay a friend is that you have no use for them. In other words you don’t need them for anything. You simply cherish their company.
Ivors Week
I’ve had a sweet career. Most of my pop songwriting days are behind me. I’m ok with that. I’ve had hundreds of disappointments but a handful of bangers (as they say here in London) that have lead to some magical opportunities and adventures. I get to go out there and pretend I’m the rock star I never was. I get to sit at a table near the stage and witness Paul and Bruce. I take nothing for granted.
Musicals and More
Not long after I sent my hopes for Musical #1 into the universe, the universe came back at me with a second Musical opportunity. Two sharp and seasoned Broadway producers reached out as they were looking for a composer for a show about a young female runner who broke impressive records some decades ago. They envisioned songs with the flavor of the 60’s and 70’s — The Byrds, The Mamas & The Papas, Motown, Dusty Springfield. ‘Ummm. I think you’ve found your girl.’
Post GRAMMY Musings
It was a long week. There were more pre-GRAMMY parties than ever before. I pace myself these days. That said, I had a better time than I used to. I no longer feel like I have anything to prove. I don’t ask colleagues what they have coming out but rather ‘what’s been keeping them busy.’ Because, let’s face it…a lot of people don’t have anything coming out. It’s not like it’s the 90s when songwriters had 2 dozen cuts a year.
Gregg
We lost another soldier — my friend and so many of yours — Gregg Sutton. When I met him in the 90s Gregg schooled me. He showed me the ropes. He pulled me out of the safety of my tidy world. He was sloppy. Dangerous. I was his passenger. It was such a good ride. I will miss you beyond words.
Neil
My older sister was a Neil Young/CSN fan and she played Four Way Street ALL THE TIME. Our bedrooms were separated by a thin sheet-rocked wall and I heard everything. “Cowgirl In The Sand” was my favorite track. Maybe I wanted to be somebody’s ‘cowgirl.’ Who knows. Someday I’d be old enough to “play this game.” Whatever game that was. What can I say? The song stirred me.
Ticket To Harry
I’m obsessed with “As It Was.” Sometimes I go to a concert to hear one song! Also, I like to observe the modern fan-culture condition. I’m confident Harry will demonstrate. Will it be the Beatles at Shea? Hell no. But a night to remember for sure.
Why Does Ed Sheeran Keep Getting Sued?
We all fall into that delicious trap of borrowing something we sincerely believe we wrote. It’s human. We’re influenced by everything that came before and it’s not surprising that we mimic. Just like we inherit our parents’ mannerisms because we’ve grown up around them. But it’s our professional duty to assess our work and adjust as needed. And if we find it’s impossible to separate ‘ours from theirs,’ then we share credit PRE-release just like the writers of “I’m A Mess” did with Meredith (Brooks) and I when a resemblance between their track and our song “Bitch” was brought to their attention.
Deepfakes
“If your voice is on something you didn’t write and you’re not endorsing that message it can be a really scary,” says Musician Reeny Smith. I concur. Not to mention forgoing approval from the artist that’s being scraped and profiting from an algorithm that IS the artist’s unique style. I’ve been in denial about AI just as I was about Napster. And Covid. And growing up. But they all happened anyway. Toothpaste out of the tube. How do we co-exist?
Stardust
In a recent PBS special awarding Joni Mitchell with The Gershwin Prize for popular song — the nation’s highest award for influence, impact and achievement, Annie Lennox sings “Both Sides Now” from the perspective of the back half of life as opposed to having it all in front of us. I had to press pause intermittently to catch my breath. To grab my heart. Nobody sings like Annie. And nobody writes like Joni. She’s otherworldly. She is…Stardust.
Daisy Jones & The Six
It may not be songwriter porn but Daisy allowed me my nostalgia. It’s not that I don’t look forward; I do. And I still have quite a fertile creative life. But you only come up once. And those definitely were the days. They were MY days. Most of us made fools (and some of us legends) of ourselves on the path to discovering who we were (or weren’t), rather than chasing algorithms and blending in. There was no roadmap.
Funny Girl
Lea Michele’s delightful, adorable qualities were the very things that Barbra’s legendary Fanny Brice was not. Barbra’s Fanny was outrageous. An odd beauty. A lovable clumsy anomaly. That’s what made ladies-man Nicki Arnstein’s attraction to her so unlikely. Lea’s Fanny was someone you could imagine just about anyone falling in love with.
The Show Must Go On!
Three days before the only rehearsal for the first table read of our Musical I suggested to Adam that we reschedule. According to Apple weather LA was expecting a storm of mass proportions. The worst in 40 years. We’d probably lose power. What would YOU do? 😫
Kiss Me 💋
I thought it appropriate on this V❤️lentines Day to share a song I wrote with multi-talented UK based co-writer (and producer) Phil Thornalley. It was obviously inspired by the iconic style of Burt Bacharach and Hal David whose body of work we both adore. Phil gave me the title along with the melody. And as it usually is with my reactions to Phil's "starts" here's what fell out in one afternoon >❤️>❤️>❤️>❤️>>>
Happy Valentines Day everyone.
I hope you all have someone you long to kiss.
Daryl And Todd
You guys might have read about my obsession with Todd Rundgren. But FYI I’m a freak for Daryl Hall as well. And so … the 2 of them together is like sleeping with 2 of your favorite lovers at the same time. Insane! If my ears had eyes they be rolling to the back of my head.
Both Sides Now
When Joni sings “Both Sides Now’ at 78 people might try to help her remember the lyrics but Joni doesn’t need help. If you sing a song 10,000 times, even if you lose your mind (which Joni hasn’t), you remember the song. The words just come. Muscle memory. Her voice an octave lower. Her tone, vintage. It might seem like she’s going to forget. But the woman is simply taking her time.
Diamond Girl
“Diamond Girl” takes me back to a time I imagined I could BE the diamond girl Seals & Crofts were singing about. That’s what songs are supposed to do. Make you feel like they’re about you. And when you learn that the creator of the song is gone, they take a piece of you with them. But thing is…the song remains. It never goes away. I’m sitting in my yard listening to “Diamond Girl” right now. I’ve entered an emotional time machine. “It’s about you that I am.”
