Songwriters on Process

05/25/2026

NEW INTERVIEW ALERT! "A great way to write is to overwrite. Write more verses than could be contained in a song. Then take the best of what's there," says Rostam Batmanglij . I cannot agree more: good writers know that the first pass is never the time to decide what to keep and what to leave out. Overwriting will be faster.

Of course, overwriting for Rostam comes easy because when he's not writing, he's thinking about writing. "I'm always collecting building blocks," he says. "Lots of kernels all the time. I've never truly let go of an idea."

Rostam's latest album is "American Stories." Listen to the pod! Link in bio! 📸

05/04/2026

All you need to know about Maya Hawke's dedication to wordcraft is summed up in this memory: "The day I fell in love with my husband was the day we got into a fight about free verse poetry versus formal poetry." (Hawke's husband is singer/songwriter Christian Lee Hutson, whom I interviewed last year.)

Hawke is of course an actor and a visual artist, but she's really a poet, first and foremost. Rarely have I encountered a songwriter with such passion for the literary artistry of the words on the page: how they sound, how they feel, how they look, what they mean. By the way, Hawke was on the side of formal poetry in that argument. Loved having her on the pod, so take a listen!

https://www.songwritersonpodcast.com/maya-hawke/

04/28/2026

Sneak peek at my episode out this week! Love this story about how she fell in love with her husband arguing over free verse vs formal poetry.

04/23/2026

NEW INTERVIEW ALERT! is the master of the pull quote for the songwriting process. His words are wise counsel for any songwriter. To wit: "A good song asks questions rather than provides wisdom," and "When I have writer's block, it's because I'm not reading enough."

I'll quibble slightly with the latter quote only because I cannot imagine Woods getting writer's block: the last three minutes of this episode are nothing but Woods listing all the authors who inspire him. And that includes the iconic poet Paul Muldoon, a recent guest on this show whom Woods and I spend a few minutes swooning over.

The latest EP by Donovan Woods is "Squander Your Gifts." Listen to the pod! Link in bio!

04/17/2026

From Fallon to Songwriters on Process! Looking forward to going deeeeep into the songwriting process with next week.

04/16/2026

Loved having Sasha Spielberg (aka Buzzy Lee) on the pod this week!

I wasn't surprised when Sasha Spielberg--an actor, visual artist, and musician who records as Buzzy Lee --told me that she once cried listening to the score to E.T.…

04/12/2026

04/07/2026

Here’s Cameron Picton on why creating every day isn’t a part of his songwriting process. Link to the complete pod episode in bio!

03/25/2026

Had an incredible convo today with Ben Gibbard for the pod. We went deeeeeep into the songwriting process. Stay tuned!

03/24/2026

NEW INTERVIEW ALERT! “I very much consider myself a writer,” Lindsey Jordan (Snail Mail) says. And any good writer has a ritual. Part of Jordan’s ritual involves the balance between keeping the writing process precious and recognizing that too much preciousness can create a rut. Regardless, Jordan’s love of reading (and poetry!) makes her one hell of a lyricist.

Snail Mail’s latest album is “Ricochet.” Listen to the pod! Link in bio! 📸