002: Glue it, clamp it, wait.

 Most things take time.  Songwriting is one of those things.  So is baking.  I'm not a baker, but this is an apt metaphor, so stick with me.  

Timing is everything.  It doesn't matter so much at some stages of the process, but at other stages it is paramount... 

You can let a song evolve in the rock-tumbler of your mind for as long as you want... but at some point, you have to put it through the oven of the recording studio.  If you don't, it will never be edible.  Of course, this metaphor breaks down because bread dough is edible... however, you don't want to eat too much of it.  (Actually, I'm not sure what normal bread dough tastes like... I'm only familiar with cinnamon roll dough).  

Another metaphor is that of gluing things.  My middle school art teacher, Ms. Gilly Brown, taught me how to glue things the proper way: wipe the glue sparingly but thoroughly on the entirety of both surfaces... let it dry till it's pretty tacky, and only then join the two surfaces together.  Works like a charm.  The key is that extra wait time.  In songwriting that wait time, that letting both sides get tacky, is the extra time you give the song to roll over and over in your mind.  Too little and you can end up with jagged edges, too much and you can miss the window of opportunity for your song to hit the world.  

I've pretty much always missed the mark by not leaving the song in the oven for long enough... not leaving the surfaces clamped for an adequate amount of time.

Here's an example of a great song that could use just a little more time in the oven.  Perhaps I'll make that happen this year.

--Lucas--

https://lightninglucas.bandcamp.com/track/meremortals 

And of course, consider checking out a few episodes of the podcast at www.LightningLucas.com

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