For every Write the World competition, the guidelines include resources and suggestions about ways you might prepare to write your piece: links to interesting articles and magazines, or tips on finding an interviewee. But this month’s competition might require the most enjoyable research yet—listening to a collection of songs you absolutely love. And yet, as Lisa Hiton puts it, “articulating what happens in music can be quite hard.” So, in addition to rocking out to a favorite album, we’re pleased to present you with some tips for tackling your review from guest judge and Australian recording artist Megan Washington. Read on for her thoughts on what an album review means to a musician as well as what elements she sees as crucial to a thorough assessment.
You’re a recording artist. Could you tell us a bit about how you got involved in singing and writing songs?
I’ve always been a singer. I started out singing mostly jazz (I studied jazz composition at university) and started writing mainly because I felt weird singing other people’s stories. The jazz catalogue is mostly the Great American Songbook and those really aren’t my stories at all. So, I started writing my own. Over time, the genre morphed from jazz to something more contemporary.
Which elements of the work should writers consider when writing their album reviews?
I think that largely the best album reviews are ones that really interrogate the lyrics and *mostly* *kind of* leave the music alone. That way the reviewer can avoid being comparative.
As an artist, what does an album review mean to you?
I used to have a blanket policy of never reading them, but as I become more confident in my work I find that policy relaxing. It’s interesting to see how someone else perceives what you’re doing; especially because songwriting is a blend of the conscious and the unconscious, so you’re never completely in control of what you’re revealing. Having said that, I don’t live or die by them. Reviews are not for the maker, they’re for other people.
What are you looking for in a winning album review?
Some people are excellent painters, but they don’t know how to paint so that the painting means anything. Some painters can’t really paint, but they know exactly how to paint to say something. Some people can do both and that’s when the real zing happens. We’re always looking for the zing.
You did a fantastic TedX Sydney talk about having a stutter when you speak but not when you sing. Do you have any words of advice for young writers who feel as though a particular challenge is standing in the way of them reaching their goals?
I’ve learned that the heaviest part of living with any challenge is the way that it affects your self perception. Dan Savage has this great idiom where he says “it’s not a bug, it’s a feature.” Trying to adopt that mentality has been very helpful for me. Also, and I know this seems really off-topic, but getting into fitness really changed the way I saw myself. There’s something about that monk-like practice of devotion to something and having real proof that you’re improving (unlike in the arts, where it’s sometimes only possible to find validation in the opinions of others) made me feel strong, capable, and able to overcome stuff.
Are you working on any projects we can look forward to in the New Year?
I have a new record coming this year, it’s taken too long and I can’t wait for it to be released.
