Tag: Sweet Talk Radio

• September 16, 2019

  Steal Like a Songwriter

  The most effective way I write songs is to immerse myself in songwriters. I like to remind myself of the songwriters who will always, without question, ignite something in me. Here is my list.   These writers don’t just write great songs; they are GREAT SONGWRITERS. Drenching myself in the structures, forms, and developments of…

• September 1, 2019

  Metaphor in songwriting is alive and well, thanks.

  Many years ago, while living in LA, I heard a Big Shot Industry Dude (cue Beethoven’s 5th…) say: “Songs shouldn’t have metaphors in them. I can’t think of a good song that has a metaphor.” To my great relief, and with a giddy sort of rebellious delight, all of us songwriters gathered afterward, as if…

• January 1, 2015

  The Secrets of Successful Collaboration

  Reposting here a short article I wrote for ASCAP a while ago, with some thoughts and musings about successful collaborations, and some of the transformations that can happen in the process… SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATIONS Creative collaboration is very much like dating. I can’t think of any other experience that comes close to the strange…