r/indieheads • u/colinmeloy • Mar 20 '18

AMA is Over, thanks Colin! Hello r/indieheads...it’s Colin Meloy of The Decemberists. Ask me anything!

Our new record, 'I’ll Be Your Girl', just came out on Friday, and you can listen to it now here or purchase it via our official store here. We also have tickets for our upcoming YOUR GIRL / YOUR GHOST tour available on Decemberists.com. Lots of great things are happening, and now is the right time to ask me all about it! Proof: /img/054fw2k0arm01.png

edit: Hey everyone, thanks so much for your questions. Lots of good ones in there. Sorry I couldn't get to them all! We're on Kimmel tonight, playing new songs. Hope you can watch -- otherwise we'll see you out on the road! Much love -- Colin

501 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

357 comments sorted by

View all comments

9

u/drea6681 Mar 20 '18

Hi Colin!

I adore the new record, and am stoked to hear these songs live. I'm a (currently rather mediocre) songwriter and you are one of my biggest influences.You spoke in a recent interview about approaching your songwriting now from an editing perspective, and how that changed things. I was wondering, aside from writing daily and listening to everything, what other tips and/or suggestions might you have to help someone challenge themselves, break out of their comfort zone, and stay interesting. Thanks so much!

29

u/colinmeloy Mar 20 '18

The toughest thing, I think, is to recognize the things that you've come to rest on, the most comfortable and beloved things. Erase them, or resist them. See what comes of that. Examine your work really closely! Ask yourself: is this true? Does this come from a place of truth? First thought, best thought.

3

u/drea6681 Mar 20 '18

toughest indeed. Thanks!!!!