The song 'Leroy and Lanisha' on my album 'The Epic' is really my homage to 'Linus and Lucy.'
'Somebody That I Used to Know' by Goyte has an odd, '80s vibe to it, but that does not mean that I did not like it. Quite the opposite actually. The song is different, and slowly lured me in. The video is just as strange, but definitely enjoyable.
For me, whenever I choose a song to sing, it's about the lyric first.
You'd think, of course, it's about the melody - that's a given. But really, I'm no good at singing a song unless it has a good lyric.
I have never been able to remember the number of my driver's license, and there have been times when I couldn't even remember my own telephone number, but when I hear a song, sometimes only once, I never forget the melody or the lyric.
A lot of comedians do bits where they say, 'I was listening to this song, and this person said this, and you know how they say that?' And I thought it would work better if I actually had a DJ put that song lyric right there. It makes it more dynamic, and it's more energetic.
I'm not a pop song lyric writer. I can't just focus on one simple meaning or even a double entendre.
'Tailgate Blues' is kind of a lyrical masterpiece of a country song.
I think throughout the day; there are always lines or certain words, and I'll just keep notes in my phone. It might just be one or two words, and then that could inspire a whole song, lyrically.
I'd rather not get into what I'm talking about lyrically. I think it's impossible not to demystify a song when saying what it's about. Music and art can be damaged severely by too much information; I say that as somebody that has participated in that.
I think I'm alright as a lyricist, you know? But then what will happen every couple of months or so is that I'll hear a song I've never heard before and feel I've gone right back to square one.
It blows me away the number of truck drivers or macho guys that will call, and then I start peeling back the layers, and I find out they've been listening to me for 10 or 15 years, and they know every lyric to every sappy song.
If Madison Avenue advertising executives were to pick a song that would best represent America, the last one they would choose is 'The Star Spangled Banner.'
I think we have a creative impulse where suffering can magnify our work, but so can joy. You can be in love and write the greatest love song ever. Sometimes I think too much suffering makes it difficult to do one's work.
Tori Amos had a major influence on how I craft words in a song. Until I heard 'Little Earthquakes' all my lyrics used really obvious analogies like rain for tears.
Tori Amos had a major influence on how I craft words in a song.
I want to be role model for people to be like, 'I don't need a major label to be a successful artist and to have a successful song.'
It is easy to misunderstand what a comedy song is, or what its potential is. I’m used to musical comedy being maligned as an easy artform.
That song has the full extent of my mandolin abilities; I'm not a good mandolin player at all.
I wrote 'Jungle' in my bedroom when I was having a manic time with a particular girl. Everyone thinks it's this really upbeat song, but it's not; it was just a really manic time, so I wrote a song about it.
