Speed Songwriting, Writer's Block and Short Cuts
I started this blog and then couldn’t finish cuz I was glued to the news. I THINK it was real news. Some of us aren’t sure of what’s real and what’s fake anymore. Facebook friends have urged me to keep doing what I’m doing. No matter what. So…with that…Sometimes I’m asked how long it takes to write a great song.
Long Walk Home
I'm stepping off the Long Island Railroad and the first thing I see is the roof of what used to be Freeport Bowl, where girls made out with boys in cars—“Midnight Oasis” on the radio. “Put your camel to bed.” How about THAT for a lyric?
Writing Up
One of the participants at SongStudio asked what it would take for her to get in a room with me. I explained that we all have to work with writers of our own level and one day, something will happen out of the blue…an A&R might give her a favorable recommendation or a hit writer might love a song she wrote and voila, she’ll get her session with a more experienced songsmith. And she'll be Writing Up!
Confessions of a Serial Songwriter is now Available on Audible!
As I get older I need new endeavors. I’m not good at getting up every day and doing the same thing over and over. I want to learn how to do what I have no clue about. I want to get stuck. I want to get unstuck. I want to feel like I’m moving, progressing and growing.
A Day Without Likes
Words are precious. Every "LIKE" is a substitute for what we really mean. Don’t tell me THAT she was like…tell me WHAT she was like. I want to know. Was she blue? Was she beige? Did you hurt her feelings? Did he say nothing at all? Write me a song. Paint me a picture.
Light at the End of the Streaming Tunnel
If you didn’t sell your catalogue during the gold rush, fear not. We may have to think of it as “holding on to real estate during a down market in a neighborhood that could get really hot.”
So Far Away
As it turns out, sending a kid off to college results in growing pains for Moms and Dads too. Nice to know we can still have some.
I Write, Therefore I Am
I’ve developed a latent crush on the English language—obsessed with learning new words (and I’m delighted when I actually remember their meaning the following week)! I'm having a love affair with thesaurus.com and I feel high when I discover a perfect adjective.
Born To Run
Serial Songwriters (The Bruce Springseens as well as the Suzie Smiths) have creative common threads. They just manifest themselves slightly differently in different souls. I like reading about these threads because I recognize myself as part of a larger Tribe. It’s like a link to a religion I belong to. I’m confirmed.
Bon Appétit
How far do we need to go to feel like we've boldly gone where no one has gone before?
Getting The Single
When we're told we have the Single our self esteem rises over night. Obviously, we tell ourselves, it was just a matter of time and all the recent rejection was absolutely leading up to this very moment. We’re sure of it. (Even though the week prior, we were wishing we had chosen another profession. Something easier. Olympic figure skating perhaps.)
Songwriters Are Artists Too
We songwriters are just as noteworthy as the pop-stars who record our material. We need each other. We are partners. We'd be nowhere without someone to deliver our message. And that someone, if they're not a contributor themselves, would be nowhere without us. We are the Unsung hero. The Unfamous. The Unfamiliar. The Unknown. Just because we’re behind the curtain doesn't mean we should have a lesser title.
A Songwriter's State of the Union
There is much work to do and it’s not going to be easy, but if we don’t try we can forget the idea of a next generation being able to make music and earn a living like many of us did. And then music will be written by amateurs, imposters, and the uninspired.
Coast To Coast
I'm going to meet Layla for a Mother's Day weekend in New York. When she first suggested we rendezvous I was all like...r u kidding? I have Too much to do. But then of course I said yes. Life gets one day shorter every day.
On Mother's Day 2017: For all the Little Girls
I’m sure all mothers will agree (no matter how we voted), we don’t ever want our daughters to buy into the idea that their gender will be an obstacle. Even if there’s some truth to it, believing in ourselves can over-power reality.
Beatles Trump All
In my mind, the collision of these 4 particular human beings is to music, what the big bang theory was to the configuration of the Universe. Unlikely. And although there are bands and artists I can't imagine having grown up without—The Eagles, Pretenders, Stevie (both of them), Elton, (omg, Elton!), even, forgive me, Prince...in the end, for me, nothing will ever compare.
Hope
When your work is in a creative field it’s hard to keep going back to the water to cast yet another line when it seems like forever since you caught a fish. But you know what? Just sitting in that boat gently rocking back and forth and waiting…that’s a thing…an experience. You might write your best song while you’re waiting for that g-d damn fish.
The Year of Losing Things
You may say this wasn’t my fault. But it was. I was constantly fidgeting with that stone and I recently I noticed that it was... well loose. When I tapped it, it made a little clicking sound. Not a good sign. I knew I had to have it fixed. What was I waiting for?
Does Ed Sheeran have Cryptomnesia?
Cryptomnesia (or inadvertent plagiarism), occurs when a forgotten memory returns without it being recognized as such by the subject, who believes it is something new and original.
