by Mike Errico | Oct 4, 2022 | Uncategorized
Here’s the latest: My conversation with astrophysicist Janna Levin on the art and science of repetition, whether it’s in a three-minute pop song or a spiral galaxy 300 million light years away. Some of it is excerpted from Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter, but I added nuggets, because the James Webb telescope is sending back mind-blowing images, and because what Janna gave me was more than an explanation of musical repetition—it was a new interpretation of reality itself. What Pop Stars and Actual Stars Have in Common A songwriter and an astrophysicist discuss the art and science of repetition By Mike Errico (excerpt) Songwriters and astrophysicists have an affinity for repetition. It’s frequently used as a tool in music, but for astronomers, there seems to be an assumption that repetition implies forces that are purposefully at work, perhaps even intelligently so. Absolutely. One of the things SETI—the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence—does is that they look for very regular mathematical signals because they assume that nature won’t provide such a thing—nature’s messy, and so nature can’t do anything so regular. So if you find an incredibly regular signal, you’re hoping that it was sent by somebody who controls their environment, who made it go that way. What does it say about humans that we’re so intrigued by repeated information? I am a big believer that we inherit mathematical structures because math made us. Evolution is guided by forces of nature—that’s how we evolve—and those forces, not surprisingly, leave an imprint in the structure of our minds. Of course they have to be mathematical. And in some...
by Mike Errico | Aug 9, 2022 | Uncategorized
it’s true
by Mike Errico | Jan 31, 2022 | Uncategorized
So, this was fun. Thank you to David Constabile, Peter Zizzo, Ed Grauer, Jacob Slichter, Brian Koppelman, David Levien, and all at...
by Mike Errico | Oct 18, 2021 | Uncategorized
Errico is a musician and teacher with a knack for explaining complex songwriting concepts in simple terms, drawing on experts from other fields for context (like astrophysicist Janna Levin, who explains the benefits of repetition). His book covers a lot of ground, but we’re going to dial in on chapter 8: Mission Songs, to examine the songs that make the statements for the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Mary J. Blige, and Britney Spears. Read the article here. Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter “The songwriting class you always wish you’d taken, taught by the professor you always wish you’d had.” Coming November 15, 2021 on Backbeat Books PRE-ORDER HERE: Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Books Are Magic MUSIC Bandcamp | iTunes | Spotify | SOCIAL Instagram | Facebook | Twitter ...
by Mike Errico | Oct 18, 2021 | Uncategorized
Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter is a wonderfully written book that will inspire songwriters to be themselves…Mike Errico does a fantastic job of giving his readers much to think about when writing a song. I recommend this book to anyone who is or wants to write creatively. Read the rest here. Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter “The songwriting class you always wish you’d taken, taught by the professor you always wish you’d had.” Coming November 15, 2021 on Backbeat Books PRE-ORDER HERE: Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Books Are...
by Mike Errico | Nov 20, 2020 | Uncategorized
A couple of snapped cables, and the world’s largest radio telescope is being decommissioned. If you know me, you know my love of the Carl Sagan (@saganism ) book Contact and the 1996 film starring Jodi Foster and the Arecibo Observatory (@thearecibo.observatory). My songs “Ok to Go,” “Grace,” “Arecibo,” and others were inspired by it. So much of the artwork on my albums “Skimming,” “Wander Away,” and especially “Minor Fits” draw from it. Here’s my Spotify playlist of my songs that were inspired by Contact, and Arecibo. A few years back, I dragged friends across the crazy bumpy roads of Puerto Rico to see Arecibo, and now I’m glad I did. And I’m glad I sprung for the coffee cup. Time marches on…and bends and warps and amazes. ...
