IS Ep 18: Waiting Around? Great Song Dynamics. In this episode, Karl talks about song dynamics, #TheVoice and waiting around. If we really want to be ready for the magic and that inexplicable creative spark, here are a few thoughts and some questions we can ask ourselves in order to ensure that we’re giving ourselves a good shot at being ready! IS Ep 18...

Sting – I Hung My Head   Gordon Sumner wrote the main songs and played bass in The Police, under the moniker Sting, but left the band to become a solo act just as they’d become the biggest act on the planet. Sting was the writer of all the bands hits and of their enduring and distinctive sound via his oddly bleating tenor, so he was well placed to...

Musycks Musings & Topical Tips 01: You’re The Voice? A new weekly column by Inside Songwriting contributor, Michael J Roberts.   So it’s that time of year again, The Voice hits our TV screens like a karaoke Godzilla and it’s singers akimbo as closed eyed, try-hards preen and vocal cords are stretched to within an inch of their lives! I get to indulge...

Guest post by Michael J Roberts, Author of “33 Great Songs 33 Great Songwriters”   How To Make Gravy – Paul Kelly Australia has produced some very fine songwriters and none better than Paul Kelly. If a measure of talent is to produce quality songs over the long haul, stepping up time and time again to provide authentic offerings in different genres with...

Super happy to bring you this interview with Caitlin Harnett. We discuss Caitlin’s recent recording and touring experiences in Canada and the USA as well as producer and song choice talk during an album project.                       Click on the image to go straight to iTunes. Alternatively, this podcast...

Guest post by Michael J Roberts, Author of “33 Great Songs 33 Great Songwriters”   Galveston – Jimmy Webb Jimmy Webb was trained in music in Southern California and entered the business via a contract with Motown’s publishing arm in 1965. His gift with melody and memorable hooks soon meant his songs were all over the top 40 and successes with The Fifth...

Guest post by Michael J Roberts, Author of “33 Great Songs 33 Great Songwriters”   Peter Gabriel – Family Snapshot Peter Gabriel left the successful Prog-Rock outfit Genesis in the mid 70’s to pursue a career as a solo act and produced the astonishing Solsbury Hill to kick it off. The song was a key marker in Gabriel staking out his identity, separate to...

Guest post by Michael J Roberts, Author of “33 Great Songs 33 Great Songwriters”   Nick Lowe – Faithless Lover Nick Lowe was a product of the ‘pub rock’ scene of the early 1970’s in London, honing his skills with his band Brinsley Schwarz. Lowe’s gift with melody and inventive lyrics saw him rise to minor pop stardom with the wonderful Cruel To Be Kind in...