Songwriters on Process

Ben Opipari

In-depth interviews with songwriters about their songwriting process. Nothing else. No talk of band drama, band names, or tour stories. Treating songwriters as writers, plain and simple. By Ben Opipari, English Lit Ph.D.

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202 episodes
Updated July 27
Explicit

Episodes202

Newest first

Mar 19, 2023 · 36 min
Alex Skolnick of Testament
(NOTE: This interview is from December 2020. I've converted the video to podcast form. You can watch the interview here.) It's like opening a time capsule now when I listen to songwriters talk in 2020 about how they were navigating the pandemic as artists. For some, it was a bane: the isolation paralyzed their creativity. For Alex Skolnick of Testament, it was a boon. Quite simply, he says, "Not having to travel has opened me up to different ways to be creative that I didn’t have before." But on those rare occasions when he's in a rut (and they are very rare), Skolnick knows what to do: "If I’m stuck, I know what to do to get inspired. I know which films to watch, which books to read, which tv shows to watch."
Mar 9, 2023 · 38 min
Shana Cleveland of La Luz
"All the time in the world is too much pressure." Shana Cleveland of La Luz prefers a good deadline when she writes songs. And with a toddler in the house, her day is nothing but deadlines, which are also known as When Your Child Wakes From Their Nap. If you're an artist like Cleveland, the best time to write is nap time. (We have four kids, so I know the feeling.) She discovered her knack for writing in those precious moments once she became a parent. "I can write just as many songs now in a much shorter period," Cleveland told me. And when she writes, she likes to sit outside in an office chair. Cleveland's new solo album is called Manzanita, out March 10 on Hardly Art Records. It is amazing. Really. And I'm a big fan of La Luz, so this was a lot of fun.
Feb 23, 2023 · 49 min
Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek
I first interviewed Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek in 2013, and this latest conversation reminded me why she is one one of my favorite interviews. The thoughtfulness and introspection she brings to this discussion are wonderful. No matter the art you create, this episode is for you. We didn't focus on the practical aspects of the songwriting process nearly as much as we talked about Creativity (with a capital C): why we create and what it does to us when we do. Where does the urge come from? When is the drive the strongest? For Watkins, the ideal place to write from is curiosity. "The end goal is not to write songs. The end goal is to figure out my stuff, how to be me, how to work through stuff," she told me. Nickel Creek's first album in nine years, Celebrants, comes out March 24.
Feb 12, 2023 · 52 min
Philip Selway of Radiohead
Philip Selway, Radiohead's drummer, says that his best writing happens when "I'm looking the other way. My songs come along when they choose." But while Selway may prefer to wait for the muse, there are a few things he does to stimulate the songwriting process: Selway likes to write on his drum stool, not a traditional chair. "It grounds me in my wider life," he told me. Selway draws a mind map using a blue pen, a black pen, and a pencil. His lyrics are spread all over the paper with little sense of order. He likes pens and pencils because, he says, "I feel more connected to what's going down on the paper." When the ideas start running dry, Selway switches to one of the other utensils. He finds dance a boon to his creative process. Watching, not doing, that is. "I get profoundly affected by watching interpretive dance," Selways says. Philip Selway's latest solo album Strange Dance (Bella Union) is out February 24.
Jan 29, 2023 · 41 min
Liz Stokes of The Beths
I love The Beths! So talking to Liz Stokes was a blast. The band's new album Expert in a Dying Field was on almost every 2022 year-end "best of" list. Listen to Stokes talk about the importance of journaling to her songwriting process, why distance is so important for revision, and the best headspace to write in. Of course, we talk about why walking around outside is so important to Stokes's process. Again: I love The Beths!
Jan 8, 2023 · 53 min
The Lone Bellow
On this week's episode, I talk to all three members of The Lone Bellow! Zach Williams, Kanene Pipkin, and Brian Elmquist go deep into their songwriting processes and even learn a few things about each other that they didn't know before! In this episode, we discuss the impact that leaf blowing, linguistics, and literature have on their songwriting process.
Dec 24, 2022 · 38 min
Aly and AJ
Aly and AJ Michalka have been writing and recording songs together since they were teenagers. It’s easy to see why: their processes are remarkably in sync. Listen to the sisters talk about this smooth creative relationship, as well as the important role that both reading and exercise play in their songwriting processes. Book recommendations included in this episode!
Dec 14, 2022 · 38 min
Tim Burgess of The Charlatans
"I'm so much more prolific when I exercise." Tim Burgess of The Charlatans admitted to me during episode 55 of the podcast that "rock stars aren't supposed to exercise, but we all have our secrets, don't we?" Well, the cat's out of the bag. Burgess loves to exercise, and it's an important part of his songwriting process. Many of his song ideas come to him at the gym as he's listening to music and watching whatever is playing on the television there. But physical activity as way to stimulate creativity underscores a bigger theme in his process: "When I'm preoccupied, that's when the ideas come," he told me. His best ideas happen when he's not thinking about writing songs. In this episode, you'll also learn why Burgess needs a white room when he writes (no, it has nothing to do with Cream) and what Van Gogh painting he saw more than 20 years ago inspired him to write a song that, to this day, he still hasn't been able to finish.
Nov 29, 2022 · 54 min
Dave Hause and Kathleen Edwards
"When I sit down to write, the house has to be clean. Also, the dogs have to be walked because they need to fuck off and leave me alone," Kathleen Edwards told me. Now in podcast form, my 2020 joint interview with Edwards and Dave Hause! Listen now!
Nov 13, 2022 · 45 min
S.G. Goodman
S.G. Goodman was raised a farmer's daughter and studied philosophy in college. This means that not only does she love to ponder, she has time do it during those long days in the field. The product of all the pondering: amazing lyrics. It's not a surprise, then, that Goodman doesn't like to write on tour and doesn't like to be inside at all when she writes. In fact, when she's on tour, she can't wait to get back home, where she can be outside and work with her hands. "Whenever I can, I try to get outside and do some kind of manual labor. That's when I'm the most creative," Goodman told me. In this interview, Goodman also talks about the effect that her diagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder has on her editing process. It used to mean that finishing songs was almost impossible because she always went back and tweaked over and over. Then one day a friend asked her a simple question: "Have you said everything you want to say?" And that's the litmus test she asks herself at the end of her songwriting process. S.G. Goodman's latest album is called Teeth Marks.
Oct 30, 2022 · 49 min
Julian Lage
Julian Lage has been hailed as one of the "most prodigious guitarists of his generation," so this was a new one for me: an interview with a songwriter who doesn't write lyrics, only instrumentals. As someone steeped in improvisation, Lage isn't one for specific rituals. And that's why I loved this conversation: it's a deep dive into the abstract elements of creativity as we try to figure out where it all comes from. Lage is on the faculty at The New School, so we talked teaching philosophy too. (I'm a former academic.) Lage's latest album is called A View With a Room, out now on Blue Note Records.
Oct 20, 2022 · 33 min
Gavin Rossdale of Bush
“A good song has fragmented fireworks. It needs to pull people in with interesting turns of phrases, word combinations that no one has heard before.” Hear Gavin Rossdale of Bush explain why the painters Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud are far and away the biggest inspirations to his creative process. We also discuss why great writers are so important to his songwriting and how he gets so many ideas while walking. (Audio note: I interviewed Rossdale while he was on his tour bus, so audio is a bit muffled.)
Oct 6, 2022 · 47 min
Grian Chatten of Fontaines D.C.
"I write all day, every day. When I'm in the thick of it, it's a struggle to focus on anything else." For Grian Chatten of Fontaines D.C. , there’s no such thing as a writing ritual if you never stop writing. He calls his writing process his "constant annoying companion. I have writing on speed dial 24/7." But Chatten says that he's always had a healthy relationship with writing because he's never forcing it. The key, he says, is to not take it too seriously or to make it appear to precious. "I treat it with as little importance as possible."
Sep 24, 2022 · 47 min
Madison Cunningham
"When you have a regimen, it's ok to let up on yourself. Because you know that tomorrow, you'll be doing it again." Madison Cunningham firmly believes in the writer's regimen. You have to put in the work every day. None of this "waiting for inspiration" stuff. "Words on a page every day, even if it's not songwriting," she says. So she starts each day by writing for ten minutes because everyone can make time for ten minutes. No excuses. Cunningham also reads voraciously. "Books are one of my favorite wells to draw from," she says in this episode. She draws inspiration from iconic writers like Mary Oliver, Sylvia Plath, Flannery O'Connor, and Kurt Vonnegut. But books are not her only source of inspiration: dishes are too. Cunningham is yet another in the line of songwriters I've interviewed who gets song ideas while washing dishes. "Every time I've put down the guitar and picked up a dish, I've never regretted it," she says. Of course, it's not that the act of scrubbing food that gives us song ideas; instead, writing happens subconsciously. Writers of any stripe need to understand that the writing process happens when we're eating, sleeping, walking, talking, sitting, staring, whatever--even doing dishes, because the mundane activities allow our minds to wander. Cunningham is a two-time Grammy nominee (2019, 2022). Her third and latest album is Revealer.
Sep 12, 2022 · 51 min
Will Sheff of Okkervil River
"If I have one piece of advice to give, it would be to write something the moment you wake up." Will Sheff of Okkervil River likes a good writing ritual. He believes in writing every day, just as a professional athlete needs to practice every day. But as you'll hear in this episode, he's also a firm believer in loafing. Sheff's first proper solo album, out October 7, is called Nothing Special.
Aug 31, 2022 · 49 min
Emily Haines of Metric
In most workplaces, falling asleep on the job is not a good thing. But if you’re in Metric, Emily Haines says it's a great thing. In fact, she and her bandmates love it when they catch each other napping in the studio. Because that means they're being productive. Listen to the latest episode now!
Aug 24, 2022 · 1 hr 5 min
Matt Nathanson and Butch Walker
"I still have your cutlery, by the way," Butch Walker tells Matt Nathanson in this episode. Nathanson's latest album Boston Accent was produced by Walker. And while the two may have shared kitchen space and maybe even a utensil or two, their relationship in the studio worked because their creative processes were symbiotic: the limitation in one was offset by the complementary strength in the other.
Aug 15, 2022 · 44 min
John Moreland
People tell John Moreland that he writes "bummer songs," which we both agreed is ironic gives that he cannot be in a bummer mood when he writes. "If I'm doing anything creative, my mind needs to be in a good space," Moreland told me. "I need a measure of self-acceptance when I write." And when Moreland writes, he has a ritual. He likes to write between midnight and 4am. It has to be dark, and it has to be cool/cold, so he sets the thermostat to around 66 F. And here's my favorite part: Tokyo walking videos. When Moreland is stuck, he turns to YouTube and watches these videos for about 20 minutes. Sometimes it might be white noise when he's creating. Moreland loves the soothing element of a camera capturing the downtown streets of Tokyo at night with only the sound of the city as its soundtrack. Moreland has one of my favorite voices in all of music. It hits me like no other. His latest album is called Birds in the Ceiling.
Aug 6, 2022 · 33 min
Kelsey Waldon
Kelsey Waldon finds the beginnings of spring and fall to especially conducive to songwriting. A good yellow legal pad helps as well. Her latest album is called No Regular Dog on Oh Boy Records.
Jul 26, 2022 · 41 min
Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes
Ready for some light summer reading? Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes isn't. He's currently reading Homer's The Iliad. This is the second time I've interviewed Goldsmith, and I remain in awe of his reading habits. He reads all the time. My PhD in English Literature ensures that I've always done a fair amount of reading, yet I feel silly around Goldsmith. What I love about Goldsmith is that he reads not just for fun but to be enveloped by the artist. "I get caught up in the story of the artist," he says. "That's a big part of what inspires me. I want to see how the works of artist talk to each other." He'll do this whether it's a songwriter or a prose writer. Dawes's latest album is Misadventure of Doomscroller.