All my writing takes place during the recording of the master tapes. I never do have songs when I start up an album. I actually write them while I record.
New songs are why artists go on the road. That's why I go on the road. It's a three-prong play. Writing: You're intrigued. Recording: It brings it to life. And then you want to share it.
'Black Hole Sun' was written in a car when I was driving home from the studio one night. Pretty much everything that you hear was written in my head.
Whenever I write a new song, it always happens when I come back from Europe or Egypt or something like that. It's always from travelling.
My songwriting process is based on a formula: Color, tone, words. When I hear production, I initially identify the color that resonates with me. From there, I am able to translate the color into tone or emotion, which may depend on a number of things.
I didn't write songs for a very long time.
If you look at the content of songs people write, it's usually about the things they know best.
I did 'We Can't Stop' for Rihanna, but it never worked. Every time I would play 'We Can't Stop' I was like 'this is the new 'Party in the U.S.A.'' I was like OK if I keep saying this is the new 'Party in the U.S.A.,' why don't I go to the girl who did 'Party in the U.S.A.?'
Being used to scientific terminology and theory it was always natural for me to push this stuff into songs.
Writing every song is a little journey. The first note has to lift you.
It's weird because when you initially write a song, you write it with no understanding that the world is maybe going to hear it one day. So when you go into the studio, you don't see the hundreds of people at a gig or the viewers on TV, you just write a song without any inhibitions or boundaries.
I've written songs sober and I've written songs high.
The songwriting community in Nashville really is all about your talent. It's not about your image, and you have to be humble. You have to be kind. You have to have zero ego when you walk into that writing room.
It's very hard to write a song alone. It's only by jamming that you can get a song together.
There are times pop music is the end result when I'm in the studio, but I don't really go in and say, 'Today I am going to make a pop song,' but it can happen.
Writing music is my one and only passion and joy.
Sometimes you meet people that try to explain to you your work, and how to write a song and how to sing it, and they explain that you are doing it the wrong way. And yeah, it's always super frustrating.
Oh, God. Mate, I've written about 800 songs, and that's no exaggeration!
There's always a group of songs that I'm working at. Some of them are 10 years old, and some of them are just a few weeks old. I'm always trying to adjust these songs to some position where I can bring them to completion.
It's really hard for me to finish a song unless I have a strong visual in my head while I'm writing it.
I don't write happy songs. Who does? I don't know anybody who writes happy songs, really.
Here's the way Static-X has always worked: I write all the songs by myself - totally and completely by myself - I give demos to the other guys, and then they add their parts to it, and then we argue about stuff and compromise and it turns out being Static-X.
It's not like I'm writing full songs or full parts and setting it aside for Slash because, generally, I like him to make the first move and hear where he's coming from and what his concepts are, and then I build from there.
I don't think I'm a good-enough songwriter.
R. Kelly is different - music is always going through his brain. I remember we'd be having a conversation, and he'd choose a word I said and write a whole song to it.
