Look who’s coming to ⁦Minnesota State Fair⁩ free stages: ⁦Semisonic⁩ , ⁦The War And Treaty⁩ ⁦⁦Marky Ramone⁩ and others. startribune.com/minnesota-stat…

Find some collaborators with great ears.

I’m not sure there are songwriting rules, but if there are, at least one of the rules is that you can change the rules. Here’s a good possible rule: the cooler the song sounds to you, the more you can change the rules.

You don’t have to start from perfection- just start interested. The rest follows from that.

I guarantee you that your favorite artists have seen a ton of gigs. Especially now, when it’s harder and harder for artists to tour, you have to make a conscious effort to see music being performed. What was the best gig you’ve seen lately?

My friend Craig Wright, a brilliant playwright and show runner, is serializing a new novel for subscribers. I think it’s gonna be really cool. Here’s the first installment. craigwright.substack.com/p/buttonwillow

Don’t forget the power of turning away from the problem at hand for a while. On a hike in nature your subconscious mind will be solving the problem, while your conscious mind can enjoy the world around you.

Singing a great song with just one instrument is like doing magic tricks with just a deck of cards. Get one of your songs ready for playing for friends at a party. Are any of your songs good candidates for this kind of simple-but-amazing presentation?

Such a mind game. We have to really care about what we’re working on, and at the same time be willing to let it turn into something completely unexpected. What ways have you found to thread this needle?

It’s sometimes hard to hear when your own lyrics are too plain, distant, abstract, dispassionate. You might want to look through the lyrics of a just-finished song and mark the lines and words that are the most abstract and impersonal-sounding. Then see if you can replace those

“Happy Again” is out today and I think it’s my favorite song I’ve worked on with PHANTOGRAM . Somehow this is the 15th or 16th released track that we’ve collaborated on (17th if you count Tom Morello’s “Driving to Texas.”) Thank you my friends for taking me along for the ride!

Exaggeration. When we’re making little tweaks in the sound or the lyrics or the melody and harmony, we assume that the listener will be as aware as we are of these changes. But sometimes we notice the changes because we’re the ones who made them. If you want the listener to

If you’re like me, you might be predisposed to spend all of your music time focused on things that seem like “they might work.” But that’s a very limiting condition, and it can turn music-making into a grim job. So I’ve tried to make it a regular practice to devote session days

Nobody can take your lane away from you.

You can write about emotions that you’re not feeling right now. It helps to get the ideas when the emotions are fresh, but not overwhelming.

looking for a Stevie Wonder piano sheet music book, something that hopefully has all of his songs - anybody seen one?

Thank you, CMA Country Music for this nomination! Chris Stapleton Morgane Stapleton dave cobb

Playing your song for a friend is a great way to learn about it. Maybe the best way. Tag a friend who listens to your songs!

Go overboard. On stage. In your lyrics. In your melodies. In your style. You might embarrass yourself, but your audience will thank you.