songs for a new record

I've been working A LOT lately on getting songs ready my next record.

I've been writing a lot -- even more than usual -- for the last year and a half. So I've been sifting through about a hundred ideas... and about 40 songs. Pulling the songs out, seeing if I really, truly like them... how they sound, what they say... and then, if they feel worth it, I put them under a microscope and make sure they're really done... and then I play them for close friends to see what they think. I might record them, as rough demos, and drive around listening to them... and let my brain just float around, thinking of how they might be arranged better, or what instruments would sound good, or listen for ideas about harmonies, or complementary parts... always staying open to new ideas that could change all or part of a song...

I'm also starting to think about what *kind* of record this could be. Looking at the songs and starting to thinkg about how they could fit together... like puzzle pieces. Imagining what that larger picture might look like. Very early stage.

They ("the recording people") call this step, preproduction.

I'm really excited about these songs! And this next record! More excited than I've ever been about any record, actually.

Here are the songs that I feel are strong, tonight... (these things can rapidly change):

carousel
don't follow virginia
psalm 151
paper plates
the turnaround
do you know my name
same scar
ghosts
good heart
let it rain
thinking 'bout god
somebody ought to break down
following cynicism

Here are the songs that are still in the running... for different reasons:

walter whitman
i do, i don't
right now
pass that bottle down
don't need you
messy mind
together
black ribbons
clara
to know you
lift this man up
the letter
farmer's only son
into the light
artificial day
in the dark

I love this part of the process...