Songwriters and composers, lend me your ears/eyes/brains for 20 minutes here, this is IMPORTANT and critically timely. And it affects writers globally, if your music is streamed in the US. Please take time to read this and research a bit.
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Alternative
Alternative music (also called alternative rock, alt-rock or merely alternative) is a style of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. In this instance, the word refers to the genre’s distinction from mainstream rock music. But the term’s original meaning was broader, referring to a generation of musicians unified by their collective debt to either the musical style or simply the independent, DIY ethos of punk rock, which in the late 1970s laid the groundwork for it. The term is a broad umbrella term consisting of music that differs significantly regarding its sound, social context, and regional roots. By the end of the 1980s, magazines, and zines, college radio airplay, and word of mouth had increased the prominence and highlighted the diversity of it, helping to define some distinct styles (and music scenes) such as noise pop, indie rock, grunge, and shoegaze.
– Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
Washington Drive: Be Punk, Do It Yourself!
Hi, my name is Gus Goldsmith. I’m sixteen years old. I’ve been writing and recording songs in my house for about three years. It’s always just been me, a microphone, and as many instruments as I could teach myself to play. When I couldn’t find anyone to play music with, I did it myself. When I didn’t have anyone to publish my music, I sent it out myself. If I can get my music to mean something to anyone but me, then my goal is accomplished.
Banned From Rock N Roll: Evil Kim Evil!
I grew up at war with the rest of the world.
Years later, I still fight the same battle.
Truths that no one wants to see
For me making music has always been about finding hidden lumps of pain, lighting fire to them and watching them disperse into the ether…
WEIGHTLESS/SINKING is the sonic representation of one of the most confusing periods of my life: I was simultaneously getting to grips with how much I had suffered from / attempted to forget the fact that one of my parents is a double cancer survivor, helping my family move out of my childhood home and trying to find my place in the mind-boggling metropolis that is London. I thought that the paradox of feeling like I was weightless yet at the same time sinking perfectly described the emotional soup I was in.
(I’m) a sparrow’s feather
on a lake: weightless/sinking
Reconcile Differences Through Music
by Joseph Gara
It’s hard for me to write about my music without being pathetic. That’s why I wrote this text about the backgrounds of my band Reddmond & Joey in the form of an interview.
Why I started Vlogging aka Sunday Songwriting
by Aviva
I just wanted to keep it real.
Kind of like how meditating gives us a focused space for our peaceful energy to flourish, having a vlog has helped me to take my connection with my listeners to essentially a sacred space.
I often think deeply about the whole picture and how can I as an artist create safe spaces during quality entertainment experiences. I want to give people a window into my songwriting process and other aspects of me being because we are all creating this world together. I get inspired often by intense things clouded by introverted struggles with no release but music. And I didn’t want just those intense songs to be all I gave the world. Perhaps a good analogy is that not cleaning for weeks results in a big beautiful cleaning. And weekly songwriting is like weekly maintenance cleaning.
No Turning Back
by Daniel Olert
I think, at heart, I was always a musician. I would always have a tune in my head and would spend my free time messing with an instrument or audio software. My heroes where rock stars. However, as I grew older, I felt pressure on myself – from both myself and from others – to fit into a certain expectation.
I wanted to live up to those expectations, so music became secondary. I pursued a degree in engineering to live up to those expectations, but I never felt like I fit in. I continued my musical development after classes as an outlet, but it wasn’t enough. Upon graduating, I realized that there was a difference between who I was trying to be and who I actually was, so I began a musical journey of finding myself.
Following My True HEARTBEAT
by Nicki Kris
HEARTBEAT is the album I’ve always dreamed of releasing and It’s the result of several years of hard work after putting my creative life on hold for many years.
My return to music began in 2011, after a conversation with my oldest son about following his dreams. I realized at that moment that I hadn’t been true to my own dream of pursuing a music career. I don’t know if it was an epiphany or a mid-life crisis, but I decided then to fully dedicate myself to music.
Afraid of Going Nowhere
by Julian Sarkissian (Slow Arpeggio)
Hello, I’m Julian.
At the time of writing this I am 14 years old, a freshman in high school, and chock-full of angst. I write music to express how I feel— so basically just to bitch to the universe about whatever shit is happening in my life — however, I take it seriously and put a lot of effort into what I make because it makes me happy.
In this post, I will go through each of the songs on my debut album, “Going Nowhere”, and explore the backstories to each of them.
This is Why Devin Tait Plays Synthesizers
by Devin Tait
Photo by Jessica Perry
Devin Tait grew up on a farm in rural northwestern Kansas to a family who had been involved in agriculture for generations. So how did he end up as a synthpop musician based in West Hollywood, California?