February Album Writing Month – Week 2

With three rehearsals and three gigs, last week was a helluva week! Now that things have calmed down a tiny bit, I’m getting back on track with February Album Writing Month aka FAWM!

Last night I attended Tom Paul’s Brooklyn Songwriter Circle, and while discussing FAWM with the gang, I realized that one of the goals of February Album Writing Month is to get us to be less precious with the songs that we write. It’s so easy to get caught up in thinking that all of the 14 songs that we’re challenged to write have to be hits, or songs that will be performed. With that kind of pressure, no wonder it’s so hard to begin!

So I returned to the FAWM site, and checked out the songs that have already been uploaded by other FAWM participants. Mind you, some FAWM-ers have already made their 14 song goal, but I’m not concerned about that. Besides, I sang and performed my ass off last week, and I wouldn’t trade last week’s awesome opportunities in order to have written more songs. Anyway, after checking out the songs, I realized that they are not all masterpieces, and that’s okay. The point is to keep the channel open, and to create.

So I revisited the lyrics of the song I started at the beginning of the month, “Sunday Night Blues”, edited them, and uploaded them to my FAWM page. Now that I’ve broken the seal, I’m free to write more songs. And who knows? Perhaps I will have a masterpiece by the end of the month!

This Week’s Songwriting Challenge: Week 2: Inanimate Objects

Write a song from the perspective of an inanimate object. Lyricists: this could mean telling the story from the object’s point of view. Instrumentalists: this could mean using sounds, samples, or melodies that somehow reference the object.

Examples: “The Lighthouse” by Nickel Creek, “Small Blue Thing” by Suzanne Vega, “Birdhouse In Your Soul” by They Might Be Giants.

It’s still not too late to get started. If you’re interested, visit February Album Writing Month