American Song Contest
I’m a song junkie — a sucker for smart memorable ear candy. And this show has ‘em. It’s nice to know those kinds of songs are still being written. But could Tracey Chapman have survived this business model?
Hotel Cafe
Hotel Cafe is packed. If I don’t get Covid tonight I’m immune! Good for songwriters. Good for Hotel Cafe. Good for the music business that so many ppl came. I’m happy to be here but definitely feel some personal-space anxiety. Deal with it, Shelly. It’s gonna take a minute. I need to get back to the land of the living.
Catching Up With Kasim
My friend Kasim Sulton (bass player with with Todd Rundgren for the past 45 years) was one of the many touring musicians whose livelihood was disrupted due of the paralyzing forces of the pandemic. That didn’t stop him from releasing an album, launching a radio show and starting a podcast. But now that Covid protocol seems to be in retreat, he’s back to his happiest place — on stage with Kasim Sulton’s Utopia. He and I took a moment to talk about where he’s at. Literally and figuratively. Oh and…here’s to musicians getting back to work!!
🥳🎊🎉🍾🥂
Love Is War
It was 2010. Britney Spears was making a new album. I felt like I had some momentum because she recorded another song I wrote “Out From Under” for her previous album Circus. Songwriters all over town were partnering up and trying to come up with something undeniably Britney. One night I sat down at the piano with a glass of wine. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine what the girl had been through. How might she feel if she were STILL trying to get over Justin? I didn’t know for sure that’s where her head (and heart) was at. But you have to start somewhere.
#PAY$ONGWRITERS!
We were always underpaid. It’s just there was enough flowing down from the top of the waterfall so our time was better spent trying to write another song that would catapult us to the top. But when the invisible stream came along and hijacked our mechanical (physical) royalties we weren’t able to sustain ourselves any longer. The rumble of discontent has grown into a deafening roar. I’m happy to report there are quite a few initiatives circling the zeitgeist to effect change.
Can I Have Your Attention?
Pop songs are getting shorter and shorter. A recent report finds that by 2030 the average length of a hit song will be 2 minutes. That’s about half the length of what it was in 1990. James Shotwell says “it’s not about writing the most incredible song that anyone’s ever heard it’s about getting them to listen to it.” That’s a shame. Writing the most incredible song was always a fun goal. Something to shoot for.
Almost Doesn’t Count
I’m eternally grateful to Suzan Koc for pitching the track to Atlantic Records’ Craig Kallman in 1997 when it had nothing to do with the purpose of their meeting. 😳 That’s what a song publisher was all about back then. Turns out “Almost Doesn’t Count”’ actually counted…a lot. And looking back I can honestly say, I’m glad that idiot broke my heart.
Virtual SongSex
All in all, I think that “order” is necessary when co-writing virtually. I like order on my bedside table and inside my refrigerator. But for me writing is messy and spontaneous and disorderly. This will take some getting used to.
#TheShowMustBePaused
Music Industry Black Out Tuesday — Due to recent events The Music Industry is taking an urgent step of action to provoke accountability and change. As gatekeepers of the culture, it's our responsibility to come together to celebrate the wins but also hold each other up during a loss. Please join us on Tuesday June 2 as a day to disconnect from work and reconnect with our community.
Slow Down The World
I muse these thoughts as I drive south on La Cienega Blvd. in the middle of the afternoon with absolutely no traffic on my way to a doctor’s appointment where there will be nobody in the waiting room. When I left my house I realized how odd it was to well, leave my house! I rolled down the window and turned up Classic Hits: “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More.”
6 Stages Of Isolation 😱😩🤪😞🙃😬
I’m not a scientist. But you know that! And I don’t know this for a fact (it’s JUST my opinion) but...I suspect that, just like the five stages of grief there are also (at least) five stages of coping with the emotional changes we’re going through right now because of social isolation and distancing. Furthermore, I believe we’re all more or less going through the stages together! Here’s why…
Songwriters Taking it Online
I do believe there will be silver linings to this hermetically sealed existence but until then, as a mother I’m beside myself being so far away from my daughter who’s in the city that’s been hit hardest. If I wanted to get to her I couldn’t. It’s unnerving. But as a songwriter I’m grateful that I can still work and try to keep my mind off the separation. That said this has been a game-changer for creativity too.
