Grammy-winning They Might Be Giants’ John Flansburgh joined us to talk about songwriting from listening and intuitions. Download the lyrics to Outside Brain to follow along.
We talked about:
- Modal writing when you don’t know what modal writing is, and our Songwriting Challenge 2023: Write in a Mode
- Tension between conventions and breaking the rules
- Songwriting as a very plastic medium where the variations are endless
- Using terms like “gold dust” and “kicker” to identify elements or sections of songs
- How learning the I-vi-IV-V became the key to start writing songs
- How John and John typically bring completed songs to each other, but work at editing for a long time until it’s right
- Starting songwriting by failing at cover songs
- John says, rhyming is overrated and bridges are overrated
About They Might be Giants
They Might Be Giants treat the entire history of popular music as a trampoline rather than a rulebook.… Read the rest
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Delyn Grey returned to the show for the third time to talk about her new release My Mind is a Riot and her upcoming album Delynquent. Download the lyrics to follow along.
We talked about:
About Delyn Grey
My Head is a Riot was released in February and is the first song off of Delyn’s twelve-song 2026 project, “Delynquent,” written, recorded, and produced in her garage with her dad.… Read the rest
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For this special episodes, we talked about songs with a post-chorus.
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Nelson Little is a celebrated storyteller from Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, who brought home his third award from the Manitoba Country Music Awards this winter for “Best Roots Artist”, and has also received an Aboriginal People’s Choice Award. Little has opened for Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Major, The Sheepdogs, and Fred Eaglesmith.… Read the rest
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Sunny Zaman is a musician whose main passion is songwriting. He is also a singer and guitar and bass player who occasionally dabbles with keyboards and synths. He wrote his first song at the age of 14 and continues to follow his passion many decades later.… Read the rest
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Garrett Neiles has just released his sophomore EP, “27”. His sound is a revival of the 2000’s era Alternative Pop-Rock concept, infused with refreshing lyrical depth of deep introspection. His unique and meticulous balance of old and new is rooted in the sonic exploration of the past, and features catchy rhythms and unforgettable lyrics.… Read the rest
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Toronto singer/songwriter Greg Wyard is thrilled to announce the release of his latest song, “Suddenly Everything’s All Right.” This track presents a refreshing blend of sounds, reminiscent of Phil Collins infused with the timeless charm of Motown. With its heartfelt lyrics and captivating melody, the song takes listeners on an exhilarating journey of love, discovery, and unyielding optimism.… Read the rest
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VILIVANT is a Canadian hard rock artist who started music at the very young age of 3. First with the piano then picking up the guitar and developing her voice along the way, VILIVANT grew a strong liking to rock music.… Read the rest
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