As a songwriter, it's very hard to listen to music that's not coming from the heart and soul, personally.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
As a songwriter, it's kind of hard to listen to your own stuff with clarity.
Songwriting is hard - it's so easy to fall into the same traps. It's not like I wake up and songs flow out of me.
It's frustrating to do albums that you think are worth listening to, but it's just so difficult to cut through.
Songwriting isn't always something that's directly proportionate to the experience.
Songwriting's never been a natural art for me; it's always been a bit of a struggle.
As a songwriter I hate this whole, 'If it's a sad song, it has to sound like a sad song thing.' And that goes all the way back to my days with the Format. I'm an insane narcissist, so if I have to get something off my chest, I'll get something off my chest.
The back story of a songwriter isn't important to me - I don't listen to music needing to know who the guy is.
I have sometimes been told that my music is 'difficult' for the listener.
It's amazing that you can listen to any song and you can always tell when there's some substance beneath it and when there isn't. Even if it's poetically written and technically brilliant, I'd rather hear something that's all over the place but has some soul to it.
As a songwriter, I feel like, just for inspiration and research purposes, I have to listen to everything.