I was 17 and just starting to get into songwriting when I first heard Sinéad O'Connor. Her music cut through everything else.
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Articles on Songwriting
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This case was about more than Sheeran’s artistic integrity; it was about protecting the common musical ‘currency’ that underpins all songwriting.
The UK has now chalked up a record 16 second place finishes. But what would it take to go one better and win the whole thing?
Stormzy’s new album contains some deeply personal reflections on faith.
Swift, like all writers, draws from her literary forebears to craft new works.
Through songs such as ‘The Pill,’ Lynn addressed issues confronting all women. The country star died on Oct. 4 at age 90.
Anyone involved in the creation of a song is a songwriter.
He fearlessly pushed at artistic boundaries, and believed in the spontaneity of live performance; Freddie Mercury’s legend continues.
The ‘Eureka!’ moment is a myth – an altogether naïve and fanciful account of innovation.
When a 14-year-old Paul McCartney watched Little Richard in the hit film ‘The Girl Can’t Help It,’ he couldn’t have imagined that the two would one day take the stage together.
The story of the album, which was released 40 years ago, is a classic tale of how bands struggle with unchecked egos and competing visions.
The music of Scott Walker was central to the Golden Age of songwriters. It has inspired a multitude since, from David Bowie to Thom Yorke.
Most people have strong opinions on what makes a song good or bad. But is anyone actually right?
New research claims to have found a link between types of chords and the lyrics they are typically paired with.
Cohen’s label declined to release the album containing Hallelujah, a song that has now inspired over 300 versions.
Perhaps more clearly than Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen showed that songwriting can be a literary art. Within his apparently simple words lies a profound sense of playfulness and enigma.
In 1913, an Indian literary giant named Rabindranath Tagore was the first non-white person to win the literature prize. He wrote over 2,000 songs and, like Dylan’s, they still resonate today.
To the chagrin of many, Bob Dylan has become the first singer-songwriter to win a Nobel Prize. But this James Joyce expert is fully in support.
‘Trump made a tramp out of me,’ Guthrie lamented, denouncing his landlord who barred black families and pocketed federal funds.
A new book and documentary tell us more about the story behind Men at Work’s song Down Under – and the court case it eventually led to. They also prompt questions about current Australian copyright law.
Top contributors
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Senior Lecturer in Music, Lancaster University
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Professor, Queensland University of Technology
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Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Creative Practice, Queensland University of Technology
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Research Assistant, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology
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Reader in Modern Literature, University of Leeds
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Senior Lecturer in Popular and Contemporary Music, Newcastle University
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Professor of American Literature and Culture, University of Central Lancashire
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Professor of Music Education, University of South Florida
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Professor of Experimental Psychology, University of Iowa
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Senior Lecturer in Commercial Music Performance, University of Westminster
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Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music, University of Minnesota
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Professor of Writing and Literature, Deakin University
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Associate Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Winchester
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Senior Lecturer in Music, Southern Cross University
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Director of Music Industry Program & Associate Professor of Musicology, Oklahoma State University
