beaglejuniorleague - The Monday Morning Memo

“I write backward — I write the music first and then I write the words. Most people write the words first and then they write the music. Keith Richards was explaining his method of songwriting. He calls it ‘vowel movement.’ They come up with a riff, and it’s like sounds, and whatever sound . . . like ‘start me up’ — ‘up’ works because it has a consonant at the end of it, but if you go ‘take me home,’ it wouldn’t have worked. I kind of subscribe to that. It has to sound right sometimes even more than being a poetic lyric. It’s a struggle to fit words onto music, and I want it to be really, really good, so I take a long time. I love having written, but I hate writing.”

- Billy Joel, to Andrew Goldman in The New York Times, May 24, 2013

More Information

Contact Us

Address