Hello again,

I hope you all enjoyed Episode 3 of Platinum Hit!

It's been fun watching the show, as I see and learn so much as a viewer now, that I was not privy to as a host or judge. How about the relationship developing between Jes and Johnny? No idea how that will work out for them, but one has to admit they would make a super cute emo couple.

Being a songwriter is such a bizarre job in so many ways. You are trying to take something that does not exist and has never existed, and pull something beautiful and real out of thin air. The process is everything. Learning to let it flow through you quickly before it can be too tainted by too much thought is important. Having the skills and craft down so that you can capture an emotion, and embalm it, if you will, in a flash -- as quick as it's felt -- allows the process to stay pure. The more you muddle and question and mess with a great, pure feeling, the more diluted it becomes -- and the more watered down it becomes to your ears. That's why spending time and practicing and developing your instincts is so important. Then when a great idea comes, it can flow through fast and not be missed by too much mucking about.

Great professional hit-makers are usually quite fast. It's quite a thrill to be in the room with great writers. They have finely tuned instincts and move quickly toward the best idea -- toward the best melody, words, and chords that deliver an unadulterated emotion that can be like a drug straight to the vein. We all know that feeling when a song comes on and it is like a prayer you needed to hear. It can make you cry with sorrow or joy, or it can make you feel free and alive. . .

In this episode, I see our writers coming to terms with identifying the fact that they each are not perfect and they each have room to grow. They are trying to identify what their weaknesses are and how to compensate for them by using the strength of their co-writer. We all have weaknesses. No writer is so perfect that they have nothing to learn. It behooves each of us to know our own weakness, or to know when someone has a stronger idea than us. Otherwise what's the point of a co-write? Sometimes being a great song writer is the ability to identify your own weaknesses and supplement them with the strength of another songwriter.