My son loves the Noggin program Jack’s Big Music Show. His favorite show features Andrew Bird, who was quirky and cool, playing his violin like a guitar. Subseqently we learned that he was a violinist in the band The Squirrel Nut Zippers and now has several solo albums. We bought his album and got on his mailing list. Today I received an email about Andrew’s blog for the New York Times: http://measureformeasure.blogs.nytimes.com/ He talks about his songwriting process and how he always has melodies in his head but that the words come more slowly.  It’s a fascinating look into the mind of a highly creative person.

 Andrew says that his creative process is aided by riding his bike, which he takes with him in the bus when he’s on tour. He rides around unfamiliar towns and his mind is free to brainstorm.