“The main issue was deciding what to play: Should it be old Ramones material or new material? I had about three albums worth of new material, but I knew that people would rather hear the Ramones songs.” PeopleShouldPlaySongThreeIssuesMaterialsAlbumsRamones Author:Dee Dee Ramone
“Whether the issue was black political power or nuclear power, Scott-Heron didn't mince words. His comeback record, "I'm New Here," doesn't mince words either, but instead of political battles, these songs suggest he's fighting personal ones.” PoliticalSongFightingBlackIssuesRecordsBattleNuclearComebackPolitical PowerNuclear PowerHerons Author:Will Hermes
“At 82, Nelson (who wrote the song "On the Road Again," among a thousand or more others) is the elder statesman of country music, a steadying and powerful voice in the industry and on environmental issues, and he's still on the road much of the year. The music keeps calling.” YearsStillsCountrySongVoicePowerfulIssuesIndustryCallingThousandEnvironmentalEldersStatesmenNelsonEnvironmental Issues Author:Willie Nelson
“I would have issues with directions songs were taking, but I never heard one of Carlos' [Dangler] basslines and said, "I don't like that, do something else." The same goes for the beat and the guitars. I think that's why we were able to make four albums together.” ThinkingSaidAbleTogetherSongIssuesFourHeardBeatsGuitarAlbums Author:Paul Banks
“I sang a song in Hindi; nobody even knew what that was. Singing about Native American issues, nobody did that... I had no reason to want to copy anybody else... All I had was my originality.” WantReasonSongIssuesSingingNativeNo ReasonCopiesOriginalityNative AmericanHindi Author:Buffy Sainte-Marie
“I've also learned to only write songs and melodies that really work for my voice and that I won't have issues doing live. Because you can get really, really comfortable in the comping process: out of five takes, maybe one of those high notes that you struggled to do, nailed it, and then live you're having that challenge of really having to recreate that.” WritingSongProcessVoiceChallengesIssuesFiveComfortableNotesMelodyGet RealHigh Notes Author:Solange Knowles
“I just always wrote songs as a side hobby. So it was sort of a natural thing to write comedy songs. But when I started writing songs, I wrote very serious songs. Or things that a 13-14 year-old would think are very serious issues.” ThinkingWritingYearsSongSidesNaturalIssuesComedySeriousHobbiesWriting SongsNatural ThingsSerious Issues Author:Kyle Dunnigan
“It's really hard to fit a complex idea into a 3-minute pop song. And when you're dealing with issues that you're passionate about, usually they have various levels. And within a poem, you can get around the issue of space, and in a song the same way, by simply leaving holes and alluding to what you're talking about.” WayIdeasHardSongSpaceLevelsTalkingIssuesMinutesFitComplexesLeavingPassionateVariousPopsHolesPop Song Author:Jon Foreman