3 on Thursday – 1/5/23

3 on Thursday, Ask Me Anything, New Music, Recommendations, Songwriting

Read time: 3 min

This week’s 3 on Thursday is sponsored by Court Report Alumni mugs. The perfect gift for anyone who’s ever been featured in the court report. Available this week only so buy now.  

I hope you’ve been having a good week. Here’s what’s in this week’s 3 on Thursday.

  1. AMA: “What songs did you listen to most last year?” – Isaac
  2. Aaron Performs a Verse and Chorus of “Court Report” on His Studio Couch. 
  3. On Songwriting: When Is the Best Time to Write?

All right, here we go…

1

“I’m curious to know your Spotify 2022 Wrapped. It’d be interesting to know what songs/artist you listened to most last year. Would you mind sharing?”  -Isaac

Hi Isaac –

I don’t mind at all. You might be disappointed, though. Spotify sent me this snapshot of my 2022.

As you can see, my kids own my Spotify account. I didn’t even know Otacore was a genre!

I do have a separate account. However, the message from Spotify might surprise you even more:

Truth is, I don’t listen to a lot of music. Partly because I’m often busy making it, and my ears get tired (physically tired) of sonic information. (I blogged about this a while back here.)

When I am listening to music, it’s usually instrumental stuff. I like this Spotify playlist a lot.

Something you might find interesting is my Shazam playlist. I like it because it’s a good filter for songs that have stopped me in my tracks and made me want to learn more them. I don’t listen to it as a playlist, but it’s a great indicator of what interests me musically. And I think that’s probably what you were wondering in your question. Here it is:

Thanks for asking!

Love, 
Aaron

2

Aaron Performs a Verse and Chorus of “Court Report” on His Studio Couch

A few days ago, my wife Heidi said, “Do you think you should do more performance videos?”

And then I said, “Yeah, probably.” 

So here you go.

Watch the YouTube Short here.

3

On Songwriting: When Is the Best Time to Write?

A great movie writer and director was reportedly heard telling a group of students that he likes to write early in the morning before anyone has hurt his feelings.

Think about that for a second.

There is so much truth in that one little tip that I’ve tried to abide by it since hearing it years ago. In fact, I’m doing it right now. It’s 8 AM. My confidence is high. I’m typing with purpose, without questioning every word.

Because I know at some point today, someone will say something or I’ll do something that will hijack my brain. With a hijacked brain it’s difficult to be creative. I turn into what I call the Delete Monster, where I start trashing everything I’ve created up until that point in the day. It’s usually around 3 PM.

I have a rule now that I don’t delete anything after 1 PM. I know my brain is fatigued by then or soon thereafter. I try to get all my writing done early.

Try it out. Write before you check social media and email. Before you turn on the radio or converse with anyone. I bet you’ll discover the words come easier and you’ll stave off the Delete Monster. 

Thanks for reading! As always, feel free to reach out to me for any reason.

Love,
Aaron

P.S. I had no idea Karen Carpenter could rock the drums like this!