October 16, 2026
A room that already knows the words
There's a particular moment I'm chasing, and I haven't had it yet with this band. It's the second chorus, and you look up from the mic and the whole room is already singing it. Nobody was told to. Nobody had to learn it. It just got there.
That's the thing a song can do that nothing else I know of can. It takes a hundred strangers who came in with different weeks and puts them on the same line at the same time.
It's also why I write choruses the way I do. Short. A few words you can say with your mouth full. Something that works whether you've heard it twice or twenty times. I used to think that was simple writing. I've changed my mind. It's the hardest writing there is, because you can't hide behind a clever line.
A Friday is the right day for it, too. Everybody's been holding a whole week in their shoulders. A song with a good chorus is a way to put it down.
So this one's for the end of the week. Whatever you're carrying, you can set it down for about three and a half minutes. Sing the chorus if you know it. Hum it if you don't.