Erin McKeown: I learned how to have a little bit of distance when I ex...

Lenelle Moïse's poems render the abstract - policy, disaster, history, diaspora - specific. Her words make the political not just personal, but corporeal: the beautiful system of the human body as canvas and subject, perfect in all its attendant complications and complexity, and still ruled, undeniably, by a warm, beating heart.

Erin McKeown

perfect heart beautiful

As I've gotten older, I have gotten a lot better at finding the pleasures of making music despite the business of it.

Erin McKeown

despite findings pleasure

So many policy decisions that effect musicians are being made without any input from musicians at all.

Erin McKeown

musician input decision

The only really weird part for me was making sense of the person on the TV at the same time as the person who I am friendly with and do something so friend-intimate with as text.

Erin McKeown

tvs who-i-am friendly

It's funny because my main awkwardness around writing the song had little to do with the method.

Erin McKeown

writing littles song

Really, everything for me comes from "Manifestra." It was an incredible gift of a song; it really describes an important moment in my life.

Erin McKeown

incredibles important song

I started to understand what the song could be about. The ache of nostalgia even for things we don't like, the commitment to keep moving despite that ache. It made me think of how I relate to my privilege - as a white person, as someone who grew up upper middle class.

Erin McKeown

song commitment moving

I always write from rhythm first, so if I need a song fast, I have to start there. Then I just threw some electric guitar at it.

Erin McKeown

guitar writing song

I wanted to touch on the piece where often politicians use "god" to excuse their actions.

Erin McKeown

pieces use action

I like garage band for writing because you only have crayons and there are only five crayons in the box. Your choices are limited and I find that to be very good for me.

Erin McKeown

band choices writing

I am really pleased to hear each of my songs described as a total surprise. This is what I want!

Erin McKeown

surprise want song

I didn't realize at the time that if I wrote about something, I was going to have to talk about something. A lot. Ad nauseum.

Erin McKeown

ads realizing ifs

When I began writing songs, there was a pretty direct line between what was happening in my life and what I wrote about. So my first album was really all about my failed attempts to make a particular relationship work.

Erin McKeown

albums writing song

When I'm recording something (especially because I produce my own music) I might consider how hard it would be to replicate a song on stage.

Erin McKeown

would-be song might

I think I have come across as "unafraid" because I really cannot control what comes through me in my writing.

Erin McKeown

unafraid writing thinking

My approach to writing and recording now is pretty much the same as when I started. Except now I worry even less about what people will think of what I made. And I am not drunk.

Erin McKeown

writing people thinking

As a consumer of culture, I like a wide range of emotions to be touched in art. It's funny but on the other side of it, I do feel that people that are trying to sell culture would like to see a narrower range of expression from their content-makers. Easier to sell I guess.

Erin McKeown

expression people art

As a listener, I like a wide range of sounds.

Erin McKeown

range listeners sound

Mostly, the people in "the room" are paid lobbyists representing interests that could afford to pay them. No wonder policy isn't being made that helps smaller, independent musicians or those unaffiliated with a larger entity.

Erin McKeown

independent musician people

I learned how to have a little bit of distance when I explained songs and a little bit of distance when I wrote them. I think this is more interesting any way in art.