Berklee Staff

Notes from the Room: When Writing Room Walls Talk

On November 23, 2020

Veteran songwriter, author, and Berklee alumnus Billy Seidman reflects on the many experiences he’s had in the songwriting world. In this three-part series, Billy shares some of that hard-earned wisdom.

By Billy Seidman ’72

With years of song cowrites to reflect on, scenes such as the following have been a reminder for me to go with the flow, but having a backup plan can also save the day. Consider this scenario, inspired by my own experiences:

Taylor the “Pop Shark” was stalking an idea, pacing in a circle doing his usual routine; speak-singing nonsense syllables trying to tease out a melody.

Jordan had been lobbing titles at Taylor and me for 45 minutes; “How about ‘Too little, too late,’ or ‘The Wheel’,” he said hoping one would click and stick.

The clock was coming up on an hour and 15 minutes since the three of us settled into BMG’s NYC writing room and…nada.

The College Vote: A Waking Giant

Posted by Berklee Staff

On October 26, 2020

In Faculty

By Deborah Bennett, associate professor, Liberal Arts and Sciences

Image used by permission via the Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) license

If the mid-term elections of 2018 taught us anything, it is that the youth vote is seen as a threat to the Republican party. Upending the stereotype of an uniformed, unenthusiastic constituency, a 79% jump in voter turnout amongst youth tilted the scales for Democrats in senate and gubernatorial races in places like Wisconsin, Nevada and Montana. A younger, more diverse host of candidates such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York and Ayanna Pressley in Massachusetts inspired young voters in 2018. Two years later, some are asking if 2020 will be the year of the youth vote, while others worry that voter disenfranchisement will put this waking giant back to sleep.

‘What You’re Supposed to Do’: Finding Success on a Nontraditional Career Path

Posted by Berklee Staff

On October 19, 2020

In Student Experience

By Ravi Lad

Album art for the single “Proud,” by Ravi

My head was going wild. “Would this be the right choice for me? Am I good enough? Would they approve?” I took a deep breath and clicked “Submit Application.”