I see songwriting as story-implying, or at least character-implying.
Terrific National Endowment for the Arts interview with Ben Folds. For a taste of his genius, listen to this.
Ben Folds
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I gave the brilliant Ben Folds a copy of astrophysicist Janna Levin’s magnificent book Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space, selected a passage for him, and he set it to song live at the Beacon Theater.
The real magic begins at 5:03, but it’s marvelous to witness the orchestral arrangement improvisation building up to it, so I’ve kept that in.
More about the book, which tells the story of a very different sonic feat a century in the making, here.
Find both geniuses on Twitter under @BenFolds and @JannaLevin.
It’s important to be off-balance. Most artists believe that they know who they are. [But] the most interesting thing is not someone spouting to you who they are – what's interesting is for them to discover something about that in real-time, in a performance or in a piece.
Wonderful conversation with Ben Folds (who recently put this tenet into practice while improvising about gravitational waves in real-time).
Complement with psychoanalyst Adam Phillips on balance and its necessary counterpoint.
I gave my pal Ben Folds a copy of astrophysicist Janna Levin’s magnificent book Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space, selected a passage for him, and he set it to song live at the Beacon Theater.
The real magic begins at 5:03, but it’s marvelous to see the orchestral arrangement improvisation building up to it, so I’ve kept that in.
More about the book, which tells the story of a very different sonic feat a century in the making, here.