The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters

Inspired by Paul Zollo’s Songwriters on Songwriting, which focuses on North American songwriters, writer and musician Rachel faithfully, though unremarkably, gathers similar material from 23 British songwriters, including Ray Davies, Mick Jones, Sting, and Annie Lennox. Some, like Davies, see their profession simply as a part of their life: “I still wake up in the mornings and wonder what am I’m going to do when I grow up. Why am I a songwriter? That’s the way it ended up.” Others, like Laura Marling, have no inkling how they got into songwriting, but can’t do imagine themselves doing otherwise: “I think out of necessity is the reason why I keep doing it: it’s a necessary exercise. I don’t know the reason why I started doing it.” Jimmy Page openly reveals his approach to writing: “Coming from the guitarist’s point of view, I’ll start with the music first. That’s the essence of the key ideas and then I’ll work on those.” Paul Weller, of The Jam, “can’t imagine a time when I wouldn’t want to write; it’s a catharsis of a kind; it’s who I am.” For Joan Armatrading, writing is a “very, very happy time... sometimes if you would see me writing you’d probably think I was mad because I’m quite animated: I move around, I jump around, I dance.” These are fans notes that will appeal to those obsessive about the details of songwriting. (Oct.)