As a composer, being asked, “What is your inspiration?” is a daunting proposition. My initial response is EVERYTHING!
It’s true. There are the obvious sources of inspiration: personal joy and/or pain, childhood remembrances, David Bowie, love/hate for someone or something, a beautiful day, David Bowie, a crummy day, a great sandwich, Peter Gabriel, the theory of relativity, Bob Moog (Google him), the beach, David Bowie, the mountains, world affairs, catered affairs. Really, the possibilities are endless.
I’ve never met a subject or emotion that I didn’t feel the need to memorialize in melodies and suitably appropriate orchestral/percussive/electronic arrangements (my specialty, by the way). I could sing my heart out over my love of frequent lunches at my most favorite sushi spot while having written the song in a way that leads the listener to believe I just met the man of my dreams. A little bit of musical bait-and-switch – another Curly Girl trademark.
To wit, my song “Delicate One” plays like I’m a maniac out for blood after toying with the emotions of the one I am about to dispatch. When I perform this song live, I ask the audience in advance to listen to the lyrics and tell me what they think it all means. It’s lots of fun – and it usually means the crowd stops texting for a moment and actually listens! Predictably, I get variations of the scenarios I’ve outlined above – doomed love, confronting an enemy, the clear fact that I’m a loony, etc.
Actually, it’s a song I wrote in about 20 minutes on a bright Sunday morning after – wait for it – killing a spider in the kitchen. HAH! How ’bout that for recognizing the moment you’ve been handed everything you need for a well-constructed song with a twist and race directly out to the studio to get it all down?
So, with many thanks to Gretchen at Second Blooming for the inspiration to write this post, I give you “Delicate One.” (http://curlygirl.com/audio/DelicateOne.mp3) And, if you could separate yourself for a minute from what I just told you about the song, what would you think the song means?
{Delicate One written by LFK, performed by Starfish Lily. © Curly Girl Music. All rights reserved.}
Curly Girl's Music World 