Songwriters on Process

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Jaime Wyatt Dec 19, 2023

Show notes

I was already a Jaime Wyatt fan before we talked, but our shared affinity for the poet E.E. Cummings made this episode even more fun. I also knew this would be a good convo after reading an Instagram post where Wyatt declared, "I love words. And language. Always been a word nerd and love phrases that have dual meanings." Amazing!
Wyatt's latest album Feel Good is out now on New West Records.

Buffalo Nichols Nov 29, 2023

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"The times when I'm writing the most are when I'm reading a lot," Carl "Buffalo" Nichols says on today's podcast. And wow is this true: you cannot be a writer of any stripe unless you read.
Nichols likes to read voices that he cannot relate to. He mentions writers like Flannery O' Connor and H.L. Mencken, as well as books like A Clockwork Orange and A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He didn't even like them all, but he still felt that hearing those voices makes him a better writer.
So on this episode we talk about how reading makes him a better songwriter, why being tired and cranky makes him a good editor, and why he likes to stop writing when he knows he still has something left in the tank.
Nichols' latest album The Fatalist is out now on Fat Possum Records.

Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses Nov 08, 2023

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Duff McKagan's latest solo album Lighthouseis dedicated to Cormac McCarthy, which is no surprise given the importance McKagan places on reading. The Guns N' Roses bassist reads without fail every day, so you get some great book recommendations in this episode of the podcast. McKagan doesn't just read for pleasure; he reads to make himself a better person. There's a great post on his Insta page of McKagan in the stacks at the Library of Congress, and he is one happy man in that photo.
You'll also learn in this episode why McKagan still has to write lyrics on a Blackberry, how he wrote one song in his head while carrying his dog, and why the New York Times crossword is a part of his daily ritual.

Jonny Pierce of The Drums Oct 27, 2023

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Jonny Pierce says that The Drums’ new album Jonny is “a little less practice, a little more mess.” That messiness finally made songwriting enjoyable for him because for a long time, it wasn’t. “I never loved songwriting. I was never the type of songwriter who couldn’t wait to get to the studio,” Pierce says on the podcast. It was always something stressful, he said, because he equated it with literal survival.

But now Pierce is trying something different: the mess. Which includes, as you’ll hear, slithering down walls. And he’s much happier for it.

Jonny is out on ANTI- records.

Clem Creevy of Cherry Glazerr Oct 12, 2023

Show notes

“I’m allergic to routine. I wake up and follow all my whims and desires. But inspiration strikes every couple of days, and when it does you don’t want to be around me because I have a one track mind,” Clem Creevy of Cherry Glazerr says.

That applies even when Creevy’s on a date: she once rolled over in bed and starting singing a beat into her phone, much to the confusion of her bedmate. But when she’s not getting inspired in bed, many of Creevy’s songs start on the bass. She likes windowless rooms and prefers a messy ball point pen for her lyrics.
Creevy also finds inspiration while driving, but unlike most songwriters it’s not the solitude that does it. In fact, horrible LA traffic puts her in state of zen. “I love that kind of energy when I’m in a situation that seems scary and hard.”
Cherry Glazerr’s latest album "I Don’t Want You Anymore" is out now on Secretly Canadian.

Genesis Owusu Sep 28, 2023

Show notes

Genesis Owusu is the first songwriter to cite Samuel Beckett’s "Waiting for Godot" and Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" as influences. Owusu stops by the podcast to talk about why he's such a huge fan of Beckett and Kafka, what it means to be a "selfish" songwriter, and why he never trusts lyrics that take too long to write.

I saw Owusu this summer when he opened for Paramore. What a live show. And his music blows me away; I'm a huge fan. Owusu’s latest album Struggler is out now.

Devendra Banhart Sep 16, 2023

Show notes

"If you're writing alone, you're still collaborating," Devendra Banhart says on this episode of the podcast. I love that idea: even in solitary writing, you're always running ideas by yourself. Is it the unconscious against the conscious? Reminds me of the time Matt Nathanson told me that he calls his writing partner "The Assassin."
What you can't see in the podcast is that behind Banhart was an entire wall of floor to ceiling books as we talked. You can't be a good (song)writer unless you read. No exceptions. And I loved our discussion of why poetry is so important.
Banhart's latest album Flying Wig is out September 22.

M.C. Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger Sep 10, 2023

Show notes

“Surprising yourself is the only way to stay inspired,” M.C. Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger says in this episode of the podcast. This is the second time I've interviewed Taylor, and here are three things I love about him:

He's still the only songwriter in thirteen years of this site to discuss his love for haiku and how it influences his process.
The thoughtful pause before he responds makes for some incredible answers.
Everyone in the Taylor family--MC, wife, and kids--starts their day reading and ends their day reading (not collectively).

HGM's latest album Jump for Joy is out now on Merge Records.

Blondshell Aug 28, 2023

Show notes

Sabrina Teitelbaum (aka Blondshell) wants more joy in her songs. But that can be a problem because happiness is not a productive state for her songwriting process. "When I'm happy, I don't feel the need to write as much," she told me.
No matter her emotional state, though, the key Teitelbaum's fruitful songwriting process is not making it look too much like a process. The more precious she makes the process, the harder it can be to write. "Normalizing it makes me more productive," she says. For example, Teitelbaum often finds herself inspired at inopportune times, like when she's rushing to get somewhere. Yet some awareness of what works is important too, which is why I love the perfect balance in her credo: "Know your process but respect the mystery."

Blondshell's self-titled debut album is out now on Partisan Records. It's really, really good.

Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads Aug 23, 2023

Show notes

At some point in my interview with Jerry Harrison, guitarist and keyboardist for Talking Heads, I asked him to respond to a quote by the iconic Beat poet Allen Ginsberg. Harrison told me that Ginsberg was a friend. And that is why he is Jerry Harrison. Talking Heads are one of the most influential acts of the past 50 years. Call it new wave, art pop, post punk, whatever: any act with that label can at least partially thank Talking Heads.
This conversation centers not just on the writing process--Harrison loves felt tip pens because of the "scraping feeling," by the way--but on literature. We talked extensively about prose and poetry, which should tell you something. Great musical artists are voracious readers. As for the writing ritual, Harrison said, "The rituals are a way for our minds to accept that we're writing. They create signals of positive reinforcement as a way of saying, 'There are no excuses since I'm in my writing space.'"
Talking Heads' Stop Making Senseis considered one of the greatest concert films, and in September it's being re-released in 4k. The band will reunite for the first time in 21 years for a Q&A with Spike Lee at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11.
ED NOTE: yes, it's "Talking Heads," not "The Talking Heads."

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