Songwriters on Process

Kyle Thomas, aka King Tuff, is a singer-songwriter and visual artist who treats clothing, scent, and ritual as creative tools. He talks about daily creativity, visual art as a pressure-free well, how seasons and smells spark songs, cluttered workspaces that feel like home, night-time focus, and quick “lightning” songs that arrive whole.

"I very much consider myself a writer," Lindsey Jordan (Snail Mail) says. And any good writer has a ritual. Part of Jordan's ritual involves the balance between keeping the writing process precious and recognizing that too much preciousness can create a rut. Regardless, Jordan's love of reading (and poetry!) makes her one hell of a lyricist. Snail Mail's latest album is Ricochet.

Nate Ruess's songwriting catalog includes his Grammy winning band Fun; his co-write and co-performance with P!nk on "Just Give Me a Reason"; and songs for Hayley Williams, Kesha, and Young Thug. After feeling no urge to write for ten years, he's back with the first new material in twenty years for his band The Format.  Their new album is Boycott Heaven. And as you'll hear, nothing gets Ruess in the songwriting groove quite like a good, long run along the beach. 

Tyler Ballgame, singer-songwriter and Rough Trade recording artist, shares his quirky creative life. He talks about dreams and mindless flow as sources for melodies. He describes using voice memos, walks and airplanes as liminal sparks. He celebrates procrastination, messy workspaces, and ritual setups that flip the switch to write.

Buck Meek, singer-songwriter and guitarist from Big Thief, reflects on his solo album The Mirror and his creative habits. He likens songwriting to everyday life and oceanic fluid dynamics. He describes routines, using movement like swimming to unblock, preferring concise song forms, and starting playfully to invite experimentation.

Jade Long and Jessica Thompson of Athens, Georgia based Hotel Fiction have a simple routine for their songwriting sessions: make some brownies, pour some wine. And they like to be outside. It's not complicated. But while food, drink, and the outdoors are all common sources of inspiration for songwriters, one element of the Hotel Fiction writing process is unique. When they're outside, they often prefer the top of a parking deck on the University of Georgia's campus. (Long and Thompson are both UGA alums.)I've been a big Hotel Fiction fan ever since discovering them on a trip to Athens a few years ago. Our daughter is also a UGA alum and still lives in Athens, so we go there often. The city obviously has a rich music history, and there's still a lot of great music there.Hotel Fiction's latest album is Staring at the Sun.

Nat and Alex Wolff, brothers who act and write songs, blend stage craft with songwriting. They talk artistic nutrients like Sam Shepard and other literary influences. They compare acting techniques to lyric writing, debate fast versus slow songs, and explain how discipline, incubation, and release dates shape their work.

Patton Magee of The Nude Party has the best reason why reading makes you a better songwriter: it gives you a stronger and more wide-ranging vocabulary, which in turn gives you more ways to express yourself. "Words that you rarely use are a lot more fun to play around with," he says on the pod. This reminds me of one of my favorite lines in William Zinsser's book On Writing Well, when he says that if a word comes too easily to you, don't use it because it's probably overused.The Nude Party's new album is Look Who's Back.

Courtney Marie Andrews, a talented singer-songwriter and poet, shares her powerful creative process. She details her unique 'chunk writing' discipline, collecting ideas on tour and dedicating time at home for intense writing sessions. Andrews discusses the balance between her poetry and songwriting, emphasizing how different art forms influence her work. She also challenges the myth of writer's block, advocating for steady practice and embracing the unexpected inspiration that arises during solitary walks in nature.

"To write about something sad and dark, I need to feel content, to feel a sense of well being. I can't write when I'm depressed," Lucinda Williams told me. Much of my discussion with Williams focused on how we prepare to write. By her own admission, she's obsessed with paper. "I could spend hours in an office supply store," says Williams. A comfortable chair is necessary too, but not too comfortable because, well, it's easy to fall asleep in a deep chair. And coffee is important, not necessarily because of the caffeine but because of the nostalgic element. We also did some close reading of her father's poetry. I've been a big fan of Miller Williams for many years and taught his poems when I was in academia. We discussed his ability to take decidedly unpoetic images and phrases like radar detector and cellular phone and make them beautiful. Lucinda Williams' latest album is called World's Gone Wrong.