What I Value Most In New Music

To Really Be Tortured By A Song, It Needs To Be More Than Just Something You Don't Like Or Don't Get; It Has To Make Your Skin Crawl By Getting Under It. Strangely, That Last Clause Could Describe Provocative Or Daring Music, As Well.

"we Can't Name It, But We Can Sing Along." That Is My Ultimate Relationship To Any Art Form, But Especially Music.

I Grew Up Outside Of Seattle, And Have Lived Here My Whole Life, And I Think That There Is A Culture Of Questioning, And Guilt. Almost An "anti-ambition." Like, An Awareness, And Then A Subsequent Guilt. But Sometimes That Progressive, Liberal Guilt Is Really Obnoxious, Too - In Some Ways, I Think It's Better To Just Own It. It's Weird, That Actually, The Acknowledgement Of Privilege Or The Enactment Of Guilt Can Be As Obnoxious As Anything Else. It's A Never-ending Rabbit Hole. We're Really In A Rabbit Hole Right Now, With This Conversation. We're Just Spiraling Down Into The Void.

Once You're Away From Music, I Realize That's As Intrinsic To Who I Am As Anything Else. That's The Part That Takes Me Out Of My Brain.

It Was Writing About Music For Npr - Connecting With Music Fans And Experiencing A Sense Of Community - That Made Me Want To Write Songs Again. I Began To Feel I Was In My Head Too Much About Music, Too Analytical.