music – Ideasmyth

PILGRIMAGES: Julia Douglass, “No Questions Asked” (6/6)

I had the lyrics for this song laying around for a long time. I wanted to write the saddest song in the world. To me, teenage car crashes are the saddest things in the world.

PILGRIMAGES: Julia Douglass, “My Boyfriend Is A Genius” (5/6)

I originally wrote “My Boyfriend Is A Genius” because a charming, brilliant cad I briefly dated at music school had implied that I was not smart enough for him, which was…

PILGRIMAGES: Julia Douglass, “Metaphorical Pilgrimage” (4/6)

During my four years in Minneapolis I went back to my musical roots, as well. I was a classical musician, I played the French horn for many years–I think around twenty or so…

PILGRIMAGES: Julia Douglass, “How a Minnesotan Thinks” (3/6)

Yes. Going back home is an old story. And it was not easy. My east coast, razzle dazzle, highly voluble husband was completely freaking out about the quirks…

PILGRIMAGES: Julia Douglass, “Black Watch Kilt” (2/6)

Yes. Sometimes one needs to visit the scene of the crime to finish something. The song “Black Watch Kilt” is about my friend Carol. I had been trying for years to write about…

PILGRIMAGES: Julia Douglass, “A Journey or Search of Moral or Spiritual Significance” (1/6)

Out of all those singer-songwriters of ‘90s NYC, I’m so […]

DISCOVERIES: Julie Flanders, “The Book of Rounds” (6/6)

Musical rounds create hypnotic effects that are good for the brain. The lyrical phrases in the rounds create a mantra-effect or positive fugue of messages. I wrote these 21 Rounds…

DISCOVERIES: Julie Flanders, “Bury My Lovely” (5/6)

Today, I offer the song “Bury My Lovely,” for which I wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the video treatment with director Josh Taft. Emil Adler composed the music.

DISCOVERIES: Julie Flanders, “On Writing Lyrics” (4/6)

When I talk about writing, I do so to inspire other writers to create their own work. The one thing I wish I could offer to others would be to remember the thrill of writing, the…