I don’t know how to not write shit. Shit becomes me. By that I mean, everything I develop originates as complete unlistenable (unreadable) shit. I wrestle with this question: why do great artists put out shitty songs? Is it because they stopped caring? Or is it an act of protest against pushy label suits? I no longer think shit arises from an abundance of ideas. I think great ideas emerge from shit. And great artists put out shit because they don’t know when to stop.

Revision is the antithesis of shit. It takes supreme patience to revise responsibly, and I think this sets great artists apart. Music has to suck for a very long time before it gets anywhere worth sharing. And conjuring a chorus melody can generate the emotional equivalent of ten simultaneous runner’s highs. Thus, there are countless moments where an idea teases the creator to stop, share and go to bed. But demoitis is creative neglect. Water your ideas with time and perspective, and they may decide not to betray you.

All songs are traitors. You put so much energy into making them come across a certain way and the first word of feedback you receive from another set of ears determines the way that song is perceived for the rest of its life. It’s the entropic curse of this universe; you may think you’re putting all these little details into their wonderful orderly places but it’s all leading up to a moment of implosive conclusive reckoning. All songs are, at their core, full of shit.

As a writer–and I am nowhere near beyond this–one has to humbly accept that particular lines of the greatest works will wreak from around the corner and down the hall. Particular songs of the most rewarding albums will embarrass you so hard you freeze mid stride or shudder in the middle of a conversation about please anything else. Creative work is valuable because it makes us vulnerable. So please, take these incredibly visceral reactions as evidence that your project is working, and take solace in the incredible fact that you have moved beyond jadedness and into to something more difficult and far more enlightening.