#songwriting

#songwriting

I didn't think anything of it, he says. And then two years later, we heard some quite bizarre whispers that Rosalia had somehow heard it. It was true: six months ago, Maltese was sent the Spanish pop star's demo of the song. He tried not to get too excited, even when, a few weeks back, a blurred-out photo of a Rosalia album tracklisting appeared online. On the WhatsApp group we were like: I think that says Magnolias!

In September 1974, when they were hopeful teenage unknowns in Deptford, Squeeze created a concept album, Trixies, set in a fictional south London nightclub. Believing they had come up with a substantial work, they recorded the 10 tracks on a borrowed Revox tape machine and expected the world to fall at their feet. But nothing happened. All our friends liked it, says singer and lead guitarist Glenn Tilbrook, who turned 17 just before the recording.

See the full lineup of 40+ speakers, including Grammy-winning producers, chart-topping songwriters, A&R leaders, mastering engineers, music technologists, and industry insiders ready to help you level up your craft, share your demos, and get feedback from the pros. Music Expo 25 November 14-15, 2025 - Friday 1-6p - Songwriting Workshop Day - Saturday 11a-6p - Full Conference & Expo + Raffle/Mixer The Midway, 900 Marin St., San Francisco

Ed Sheeran is one of the most prolific musicians of the 21st century, with eight top-five albums on the Billboard 200, nine top-10 songs, the second-highest-streamed song on Spotify ever, and four Grammy wins from 17 nominations. But did you know that, in addition to his own hits, he's also worked with many artists on their own music? He's worked with everyone from Bon Jovi to Justin Bieber.

The week before, after surviving bouts of bronchitis, then COVID, then a cold, she'd performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in New York, alongside Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami. In between her bicoastal appearances, she flew to Korea and said on a radio show that she's been so busy that she's only had time to sleep for three to four hours a night.

I was still learning about songwriting and by the time I got to Something/Anything? [1972, featuring I Saw the Light] I was slipping into formula verse, chorus, bridge and so on, always about the girl or boy who broke your heart. I moved my hands about the keyboard and 20 minutes later that song was done. It's partly why I went completely off the grid for my next album, A Wizard, a True Star [1973]

The constant oscillation between tenors over the album's 12 tracks creates a battle to maintain lyrical focus and intensity, which Nokia handles to mixed success. She's at her best when she locks into the understated flow rooted in the tradition of her city's boom-bap rap that barely rises above the whisper: "I'm drinking blood in the mountain, I got the fountain of youth/I'm scaring men off with rumors, can't tell the lies from the truth," she raps along ghostly shrieks

Hannah Frances's exhilarating sixth album is an unruly ecosystem: nature sprawls, resurfaced family trauma unearths unrevealed roots, an unexpected rupture creates fertile ground for new understandings to blossom. The deep steadiness of the Vermont songwriter's previous album, last year's Keeper of the Shepherd, is replaced by ramshackle clusters of kindling-snap drums, nervy woodwind, jabbing brass, all swarming together like a cloud of bees. Her awkwardly beautiful chord changes evoke ornate wood carvings; her tempos are always wayward.

remembers the magazines, hidden under the bed like other boys his age. But the feeling was different. They weren't looking at the women with desire but with longing: quiet, unspoken. A yearning that had no name then, one that would later take shape in " Playboy 1973 ," a song from their forthcoming album "Running with Scissors." Acoustic and electric guitars intertwine with strings that seem to hold their breath.

It's easy to appreciate his way with a hook, and his vocal range remains impressive beneath all the effects. You might wonder if a Tobias Jesso Jr.-style future writing for other artists is in the cards. Plus, he's surrounded by talented people: An album with Prince's guitarist Wendy Melvoin on several songs and Shawn Everett on the mix is guaranteed to groove and sparkle in all the right ways.

"The sink thank you," which opens her latest album, 8 Tips for Full Catastrophe Living, comes together like move-in day, starting as an empty room with nothing but some muffled, tentative strings before other additions begin to fill the space: slot machine sound effects, snare drums, faraway chimes, a thumping bassline, keys that sound straight out of Fiona Apple 's "Valentine," a smattering of handclaps; until finally, White's delicate voice creeps in.

Since 2017, this singer and songwriter from Shreveport, La., has put 10 singles on Billboard's Country Airplay chart - five of which have gone to No. 1 and none of which has peaked lower than No. 7. Among his hits: "Buy Dirt," which was named song of the year by the Country Music Assn. in 2022; "Next Thing You Know," which earned the same award from the Academy of Country Music in 2024; and his latest, "Bar None," a clever drinking song in which he recounts "getting goner than your long-gone boots."

It's fun to have a song like that in your pocket. I'll be in front of a bunch of people playing more quiet gentle music, and then I've got ones like that to pull out.

Like some ancient astrologer connecting the stars into constellations to tell epic stories of grief and love, Adrienne Lenker traces her memories into songs that define the vast cosmology of Big Thief. Clothespins strewn on the floor commemorate a blossoming friendship, the kind that brings the warmth of your childhood home rushing back into your heart. The image of a lover drinking a beer in the yard evokes the yearning and resentment you feel for someone who loves you carelessly.

Having made two albums with a chamber vibe, I was thinking, Where do I go from here? I started hearing your Suedes and Saint Etiennes, and Blur were referencing stuff from the 60s and 70s too. I could see the way the wind was blowing. That sounds quite knowing, but I already loved John Barry, the Kinks, Adam Faith and, of course, Scott Walker. I'd come up with a very eurocentric chord sequence, not the type you get in rock'n'roll, almost slightly Pet Shop Boys.

Not all the politicking on Gung Ho landed right Stange Messengers is unbearably clumsy but Glitter in Their Eyes' plea for a younger generation not to get hooked on materialism is impressively punchy and potent, abetted by the presence on guitar of her old sparring partner, Television's Tom Verlaine. Like its predecessor, Gone Again, Peace and Noise was an album awash with loss and mourning.

Yet, before greeting his highly appreciative audience - and delivering an amazing 2-hour-plus show of some of the best music in rock 'n' roll history at the 2025 BottleRock Napa Valley - the legendary guitarist for The Doors would sit down backstage with me for an exclusive interview. It was an absolute honor for this massive Doors fan to chat with the 79-year-old Los Angeles native, who is one of rock's finest guitarists and arguably an even better songwriter.

(Fatherhood) changes everything, the lens you see every bit of life through just changes and priorities shift," Nick Jonas said. "As a songwriter and as an artist, I think you just look at the world very differently and we've been fortunate enough to be able to tell some of our stories about our journey as fathers and husbands.

Paul Simon's "The Afterlife" presents an amusing vision of heaven, likening it to waiting in line at the DMV and suggests pickup lines fail even past life.