EXPERIMENT: Junkmail Jukebox
How to write fresh lyrics that totally surprise you
Midnight Voice Memos ‘EXPERIMENT’ posts are quick, playful, and slightly addictive ways to jump-start your music-making brain.
Junkmail Jukebox is an experiment in making music from trashy ephemera
It will help you
Loosen your understanding of where song ideas come fromÂ
Write fresh lyrics that totally surprise you
YOU WILL NEED
A promising song with unfinished lyrics, access to spam emails
TRY IT
Harvest some spam (3 mins)Â
Open your junk email folder and scroll through the subject lines. Copy down 5 subject lines that strike you as unintentionally funny, bizarre or weirdly compelling.
Rearrange your subject lines (5 mins)Â
Using only the subject lines you’ve copied down, start arranging their words into lyrics, allowing absurd or unusual juxtapositions. You can use words multiple times.Â
Experiment with your melody (10 mins)Â
Using your existing melody, or improvising over your existing chords, sing your junk mail lyric lines. Record your improv to capture initial ideas. Listen for lines that feel like they belong to the song.
OTHER MIDNIGHT VOICE MEMOS GOODIES
7 Ways To Write A Song A Week (free, or PWYW)
Music-making Limitations Bingo (free, or PWYW)