“I hate my rhymes but hate everyone else’s more.”
It’s one of those lines that’s remained with me from Linkin Park’s Meteora album. There are times when it feels acutely close to home, and that’s when I know it’s time to get moving.
I remember how Barcelona wiped the slate clean, I got there and had no-one and no way of being distracted. I returned with a book full of lyrics.
Rudi and I met for a drink soon after that. He’d been listening to the Beatles, their 27 number one hits album. Some of those songs are awesome. Some of them are the weirdest, silliest lyrics and tunes which only make complete sense if you’re completely under the influence.
Such was the 60s, was it not?
Rudi and I are more fairly about the songwriting process. The new album sees influences like Civil Twilight – Soldier, Letters From The Sky and Human are vibes we’re enjoying. Coldplay and Sting as well.
Rudi’s also had a long-time loyalty to Incubus albums, the rhythms and variations in timings and such.
I like the idea that there’s a God who transcends music. Yes, music is a tool. But God is bigger than hooks and melodies.
For me, it’s looking at both parochial and profound ideas. Some ideas are really simple, and a lot of the hits of the decades have been just that. But I always want to give people what they paid for – something a little deeper, a little bolder, a little more than the superfluous.
I look to guys in the industry who have been there a long time. Guys like Jars of Clay, U2, The Smashing Pumpkins, TobyMac… artists who have seen many things and who still have hearts big and wide open. Those guys inspire me.
And more than ever, the biblical stories are a source of great joy for me. Perhaps I am getting older. But they truly are the shiz, and a big influence right about now.
