I think Frank Turner summed it up best for me when he sang the line “Music is my substitute for love.” As a kid I studied my favourite records. There was nothing like to sit there and read along to the lyrics in the booklet of the CD. Read all the credits and find out about the bands they would thank in the linear notes. These bands and artists inspired my favourite bands, so I’d then go and find albums by these bands and from that worked back to discover music and artists who were gone before I even realised they ever existed.
When I found an album I really connected with, I wanted to find out more. I love reading interviews where the band gets asked about the songwriting process or the recording process and I find I have asked those questions myself on a regular basis when interviewing artists. (which I haven’t done much of lately, but that will change come the new year!) I love watching documentaries and all those ‘behind-the-scene type programs on artists and their iconic albums.
I think it stems from the fact that a songwriter/artist/band can create 12 or so tracks that can appeal to the greater audience all in the same way. That they can tap into a feeling and help it find solace in millions. There maybe a science or a formula to songwriting but there is no way to tell if an album will sell a few thousand or a few million. Something magical happens and I want to find that magic.
Hopefully this can blog can.
