Make your own kind of music, sing your own special song...

How important is music to your creative process? The past few weeks I've fallen into a nice little routine: I walk my partner part of the way to the station each morning (weather permitting), then I jog to the gym, come home, make a proper breakfast, and then settle into my workday with "Morning Becomes Eclectic" streaming on KCRW.

I've noticed that since my design style is eclectic, it helps to have a similar music source. There's something about musical repetition and rhythm, soaring or sentimental lyrics, and conjured emotions that can keep me going through a long day. Outside of home, I've been lucky to work in places where I can stream my own radio stations or (even luckier) have colleagues with similar musical tastes. At FIDM, I was caught rocking out in the studio more than once, headphones firmly planted over my ears.

(Bonus points to any reader who's guessed that the title of each of my blog posts comes from a song. Can you guess who sang each one?)

The Style Council, in particular, would always transport me back to the '80s, a time when anything seemed possible if you had a great idea and a witty sidekick, or lived in a cheap artistic loft. Cue the montage sequence...



"A Solid Bond In Your Heart" is a little obscure, but the video for my first choice, "Long Hot Summer" featured a young Paul Weller writhing in the grass and summer sun...not entirely appropriate, I thought.

The jingly-jangly guitars and melodies of the Trashcan Sinatras always take me back to my (original) college days, when I seemed to care more about music and art and the latest trends. I guess one must care in this industry, but for me it kind of ebbs and flows. I depend on KCRW to keep me apprised of the latest music as well as old classics, the same way I look at interior/shelter magazines and blogs for design trends. In my interiors, I find there are some timeless pieces I'll always gravitate toward, like a good trusted song.