Ben recently wrote the first part of a multi-part series about helping Eric write his next record. I’m not a musician, and I’ve never recorded anything but a concert, so I found this fascinating, honestly. Especially:

When I listen to a song I’m mostly trying to gauge what it’s attempting to communicate and whether it communicates that thing well. If I had to name the quality I’m looking for, I’d call it “focus.” Is the song littered with throwaway lines? Is the lyric overly poetic or overly plain? Is there an economy of well-developed ideas and metaphors? Or are words and images thrown around carelessly? Is the listener going to feel the emotion or understand the idea at the core of this song?

Focus is also a quality I look for in the music. Are there moments that distract from the lyric, seem out of character, stagnate, or belabor some musical theme? Or does the music support the lyric well, propel it forward, give it a comfortable place to sit?

Worth a read … and remember, please help support Eric’s Next Record.

Congrats to Ben Shive, whose release from earlier this year - “The Ill-Tempered Klavier” - was listed by Christianity Today in their “Best of 2008″ reviews.

I’ll agree with CT on this one. Ben’s CD is one of the most lyrically and sonically brilliant works of art I’ve heard in a long time.

Track listing:

1. A Name A Name A Name
2. Out of Tune
3. Rise Up
4. Do You Remember
5. She is the Rising Sun
6. 4th of July
7. ‘97
8. New Year
9. The Old Man
10. Nothing for the Ache
11. Binary Star
12. Wear Your Wedding Dress

You can get yours at The Rabbit Room store. You’ll love it.