274: Finish Songs Fast or Let Them Sit? (Raw Emotion VS Refining Over Time)

The Self-Recording Band

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Episode show notes:

Have you ever written something in a burst of raw emotion - only to cringe at it a year later? Or maybe the opposite - you sat on a song too long and lost the magic?

In the age of AI-generated music and the flood of music that's technically fine and engineered without flaws, but still incredibly boring, what is it that music fans want most?

The human connection. Stories. Emotion. Art that is relatable and authentic.

So let's talk about that part of producing music some more. Let's explore different ways to approach it and how they lead to different results.

What you'll learn from this episode:

Writing/producing fast and in the moment vs letting it sit for a while
Writing songs in the moment, when you are going through something versus writing them some time later
Same with producing
The Emotional Argument:
- In an AI-dominated, overpolished era, what listeners crave isn’t just clean production—it’s connection.
  - Why immediacy can lead to:
    - Raw energy
    - Honest storytelling
    - Unfiltered performances
  - Why hindsight can lead to:
    - Deeper insight
    - Refined songwriting
    - Better arrangement decisions

“Is one more ‘authentic’ than the other - or is it just a different kind of truth?”

As an example we talk about Manel's upcoming and already partly released album.

And his experience producing the album (writing the songs 2/3 years ago, then revisiting them 1 year ago, and mixing them now)

What changed emotionally or musically during that time?
Were there parts he wanted to keep but didn’t connect with anymore?
Did letting things sit help or hurt the creative flow?

We also mention some famous examples, like Taylor Swift, Kurt Cobain, Metallica, Radiohead, or the Foo Fighters.
And finally, we talk about the producer’s dilemma:

When producing others:

Do you push for emotion in the moment or help refine over time?

As a self-recording musician:

Are you capturing a moment—or sculpting art from memory?

And, of course we add some practical advice and action steps for you before we wrap it up.

Enjoy!

For links to everything we've mentioned in this episode, key takeaways, as well as full show notes go to: theselfrecordingband.com/274

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