Oh my goodness, the demo's giving me shivers. My thought running through as I listen to this is that this is art; raw art that is supported by this story. That's why I appreciate you both as artists who let people into this deeply personal process.
This context is so valuable and important here, for a listener of this demo. Of course, there are elements that someone who prefers more polished art may consider "jarring", but the unity of the chaos and the context is why this works. I also hear a line in the background that I think may be omitted in the final piece, like "I know you had to", or something, and I'm very glad to have heard that.
All in all, it is very beautiful to hear the struggle with the DAW, it's beautiful to hear Sara almost "patch it up", for want of a better phrase. The arguments with critics, expectations from record labels, etc kinda just all seem like pointless barriers. We're personally invested in your art, whether it's yours, Sara's or born from shitloads of arguments in a boring co-writing setting, haha.
So cool to have a "behind the scenes" from Sainthood (still one of my fave album, maybe my fave). I guess it’s a bit too late for the Sainthood X tour now, but maybe the last years don’t count as they were a total mess. Anyways, Sainthood deserved/deserves better.
Tegan, I loved this so much. I'm sure that most of us here already knew that you guys write separately and that Sainthood was the first album to have a true co-write, but it was really cool to know how it came about, and how you were both thinking about it before bringing it up and actually going through with it. I loved the story behind Paperback Head, the demo is like the perfect overlap of something you created with something Sara created, just incredible, thank you for sharing! Also, this is the perfect opportunity to bring up the songs that contain the lyrics "if it was you" and "love you to death", that never made into the albums, are we ever going to get to hear them?
I think the beef between Damon and Swift could be a genre based thing. He came from the world of Brit-Pop and has battled his own demons so I think there is some bitterness towards the music industry.
Also that demo is shit hot god damn. You could release that on Bandcamp today and you'd have a fanbase building of electro-funk-emo-heads...if they exist.
whoA! good idea. Maybe we should release our demos at some point ha! And yeah, I agree that the stigma for song writing is genre based. For sure. Good point!
ahah! YES! We were already experimenting with keyboards and pop and electronic stuff as early as So Jealous, but we didn't really choose anything like that until The Con (Are you Ten Years ago) and then Paperback Head, Nightwatch, Alligator on Sainthood. Those songs are totally electronic/pop and were the blueprint for Heartthrob! GOOD EAR!
Cool. Thanks for the insight. I think society needs to give up the judgement and stop hating on women who are successful without men. It's just not right. I'm glad that both of you have continued to push again that norm and not allow it to swallow you and your career up with it. You are amazing strong women and I think Tegan is right, it shouldn't matter whether you wrote or co-wrote. It's all in what you, the lead singers of your band, want it to be. Love both of your songs whether written together or separate because they have so much heart and soul. Interesting that you write so differently though. Looking forward to what LPX sounds like and learning more about how you collaborated to create it.
Absolutely 100% agree Jessica ❤ Tegan and Sara are so much more than their music and I see them as a force to be reckoned with. They stand for so much more in the community and I have huge respect for that. I'd love their music no matter what genre "box" it fit into. Best thing is...they don't put themselves in a box.
I loved reading more about your experience with songwriting/co-writing! Personally, whenever I listen to your music (which is all the time), I never really think about you and Sara as one if that makes sense. You have your own way with lyrics as does Sara and I think that is what I love so much about the songs that you’ve created; each song you both write are distinct and I love that.
Along with the songwriting of the both of you, I have really enjoyed getting to witness your collaboration with each other on the past few albums, especially for HIJLY. I was wondering if when you send a song to Sara or vice versa, do you know which songs you want to collobarate on instantly? Or does it happen when you’re recording and you later find out that the collaboration on a song fits?
Thank you for including the Paperback Head demo!! I hope to hear more of these demos in future newsletters!
To hell with Damon Albarn and others..I started listening Tegan and Sara 6 months ago, listening to all your songs,but not only did I listen to you,I wanted to get to know you, and I saw that we had something in common(LGBTQ+)..I'm impressed by your LGBTQ+ support outside of your music career and you both have a strong personality, and I understand that from what you're writing here and in other social media..You're already succesful but it's not all about success in life, I think it's about personality and character..For example Eminem god of rap, yes but I never respect him because he made fun of Michael Jackson in 2004....I love you both(Tegan and Sara) so much❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
When I discovered you both in 2020 pandemicness- I assumed that both of you wrote the songs together and then switched off who sang the lead of the different parts of the song. And then I realized how wrong I was. I couldn’t tell whose voice was who yet, so I googled it. According to google- Sara’s voice range is slightly higher than Tegan’s. So once I paid more attention, I could tell who was who. Listening to “high School” also helped. So As I listened back to your previous albums, I got to see how each of you writes completely different. I listened to a podcast about your entire discography, which had a lot of insight into your different writing styles. I find it fascinating.
“Co-writer” seems to have this bad reputation - like you weren’t talented enough to be able to write a song on your own. Some people always just look for the negative in anything.
I agree. Co-writer has negative connotation when attached to women. But I hope by writing this piece, and by what happened between Damon and Taylor over his comments helped people understand co-writing more. Sometimes someone literally writes ONE chord in a chorus and gets a cowriting credit. It might be for 2% of the song. We've given 5% to cowriter before for inspiring a section. I think people think if it's a cowrite it means you did it all together and shared equally. But a lot of songs are not crafted that way.
Love the insight into your writing process and I’m sad you had to scrap Sainthood. What Damon Albarn said really pissed me off. He wouldn’t have said it if he was talking about a dude. I hate the way female artists are treated by other artists (especially male artists) It’s even worse for queer female/trans artists because you have to deal with the misogyny, homophobia and transphobia. I mean he mentioned Billie Eilish as being a songwriter yet she co writes with Finneas so what is different between her and Taylor. It seems to be a cool thing to shit on Taylor, so many treat her with so little respect. Paperback Head is one if my favourite songs off Sainthood. I love your different writing styles and that we have Tegan Songs and Sara Songs. Also love the collaborations like HIJLY. It’s been such a privilege to be able to have witnessed you writing together as well as still writing tour own songs. I wouldn’t worry about Damon, he’s always had his self important head up his own ass.
P.s. From another drummer, so cool that you played the drums on the whole of Sainthood. Have you played since? Do you still have your drummer’s tick? Love you both. Xx ❤️
I really loved this post (article? entry?...). I'm in awe with anyone who has any creativity, but especially when it comes to songs/music. I am fascinated with how arrangements come together, all of the intricate layers superimposed...I've been fortunate to witness all of this in a recording studio and what not, but it still blows my mind every single time.
Yes, collaboration is hard because to some degree, the goal is to arrive at a consensus. If you're the only one calling the shots, you control your destiny. As soon as there's one other person involved, everything shifts. Being an EDM fan, I really enjoyed your collaborations with Morgan Page and Tiesto. I often wonder if we'll ever hear any more explorations in that genre.
You both are amazing at constantly challenging the status quo, whatever that means. We're lucky to keep being on the receiving end of your creative output, so thank you. Much appreciated. =)
I've always loved the fact that you guys write your own songs, and I remember being so excited when I found out that Paperback Head was co-written by you both. This was a great read.
Sainthood remains one of my favorite of your albums, so reading about some of the process behind it was awesome.
Also, the Paperback Head demo sounds amazing!! Pretty different from the final version, but still so good. I hope you guys release more of the Sainthood demos, and maybe even demos for songs that didn't make the record? A Sainthood B-side I truly love is "Sheets", a song I wish had made the record upon the first listen!
Something I find interesting is that you guys have said you've written up to 30+ songs for albums, which means there's lots that don't make the record. I've always been curious about that process, selecting which songs will be on the record, as well as what happens to the songs that didn't make it. Is it based on which songs are sonically cohesive, or maybe songs that tell a story well when sequenced in a certain way? I'm dying to know :)!
This is interesting! We'll be sure to share more about our process of how we select songs for an album, and how we choose which demos to record, and more just generally about how we do shit. I think that could be fun to share. We plan on sharing A LOT more than we ever have, giving you all access to our emails we exchanged, the arguments we had, and so much more. We definitely want people to see how much work, how much energy, how many feelings go into all these things (making albums, touring, writing, just being).
"Sara made me sing that part" 🤣
Oh my goodness, the demo's giving me shivers. My thought running through as I listen to this is that this is art; raw art that is supported by this story. That's why I appreciate you both as artists who let people into this deeply personal process.
This context is so valuable and important here, for a listener of this demo. Of course, there are elements that someone who prefers more polished art may consider "jarring", but the unity of the chaos and the context is why this works. I also hear a line in the background that I think may be omitted in the final piece, like "I know you had to", or something, and I'm very glad to have heard that.
All in all, it is very beautiful to hear the struggle with the DAW, it's beautiful to hear Sara almost "patch it up", for want of a better phrase. The arguments with critics, expectations from record labels, etc kinda just all seem like pointless barriers. We're personally invested in your art, whether it's yours, Sara's or born from shitloads of arguments in a boring co-writing setting, haha.
So cool to have a "behind the scenes" from Sainthood (still one of my fave album, maybe my fave). I guess it’s a bit too late for the Sainthood X tour now, but maybe the last years don’t count as they were a total mess. Anyways, Sainthood deserved/deserves better.
PS: I co-wrote this comment
lol
I second to this. (Am i the co-writer???)
I guess...
Love the Paperback Head demo! The song is one of my favorites of yours. I wish it would find its way back into the setlist. 😂
oh lord.
lol
Tegan, I loved this so much. I'm sure that most of us here already knew that you guys write separately and that Sainthood was the first album to have a true co-write, but it was really cool to know how it came about, and how you were both thinking about it before bringing it up and actually going through with it. I loved the story behind Paperback Head, the demo is like the perfect overlap of something you created with something Sara created, just incredible, thank you for sharing! Also, this is the perfect opportunity to bring up the songs that contain the lyrics "if it was you" and "love you to death", that never made into the albums, are we ever going to get to hear them?
maybeeeee
the demo is INCREDIBLE. more please!!
There will be more demos~!
I didn’t think I needed Tegan singing Gaga, but I guess I did! Love it! ❤️
I think the beef between Damon and Swift could be a genre based thing. He came from the world of Brit-Pop and has battled his own demons so I think there is some bitterness towards the music industry.
Also that demo is shit hot god damn. You could release that on Bandcamp today and you'd have a fanbase building of electro-funk-emo-heads...if they exist.
Shalom
whoA! good idea. Maybe we should release our demos at some point ha! And yeah, I agree that the stigma for song writing is genre based. For sure. Good point!
The sainthood demo is too good!! Didn’t know it had sounded more electronic! Heartthrob makes even more sense coming after sainthood and the con
ahah! YES! We were already experimenting with keyboards and pop and electronic stuff as early as So Jealous, but we didn't really choose anything like that until The Con (Are you Ten Years ago) and then Paperback Head, Nightwatch, Alligator on Sainthood. Those songs are totally electronic/pop and were the blueprint for Heartthrob! GOOD EAR!
Alligator!
Cool. Thanks for the insight. I think society needs to give up the judgement and stop hating on women who are successful without men. It's just not right. I'm glad that both of you have continued to push again that norm and not allow it to swallow you and your career up with it. You are amazing strong women and I think Tegan is right, it shouldn't matter whether you wrote or co-wrote. It's all in what you, the lead singers of your band, want it to be. Love both of your songs whether written together or separate because they have so much heart and soul. Interesting that you write so differently though. Looking forward to what LPX sounds like and learning more about how you collaborated to create it.
Absolutely 100% agree Jessica ❤ Tegan and Sara are so much more than their music and I see them as a force to be reckoned with. They stand for so much more in the community and I have huge respect for that. I'd love their music no matter what genre "box" it fit into. Best thing is...they don't put themselves in a box.
I loved reading more about your experience with songwriting/co-writing! Personally, whenever I listen to your music (which is all the time), I never really think about you and Sara as one if that makes sense. You have your own way with lyrics as does Sara and I think that is what I love so much about the songs that you’ve created; each song you both write are distinct and I love that.
Along with the songwriting of the both of you, I have really enjoyed getting to witness your collaboration with each other on the past few albums, especially for HIJLY. I was wondering if when you send a song to Sara or vice versa, do you know which songs you want to collobarate on instantly? Or does it happen when you’re recording and you later find out that the collaboration on a song fits?
Thank you for including the Paperback Head demo!! I hope to hear more of these demos in future newsletters!
To hell with Damon Albarn and others..I started listening Tegan and Sara 6 months ago, listening to all your songs,but not only did I listen to you,I wanted to get to know you, and I saw that we had something in common(LGBTQ+)..I'm impressed by your LGBTQ+ support outside of your music career and you both have a strong personality, and I understand that from what you're writing here and in other social media..You're already succesful but it's not all about success in life, I think it's about personality and character..For example Eminem god of rap, yes but I never respect him because he made fun of Michael Jackson in 2004....I love you both(Tegan and Sara) so much❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
🤟🤟🤟
When I discovered you both in 2020 pandemicness- I assumed that both of you wrote the songs together and then switched off who sang the lead of the different parts of the song. And then I realized how wrong I was. I couldn’t tell whose voice was who yet, so I googled it. According to google- Sara’s voice range is slightly higher than Tegan’s. So once I paid more attention, I could tell who was who. Listening to “high School” also helped. So As I listened back to your previous albums, I got to see how each of you writes completely different. I listened to a podcast about your entire discography, which had a lot of insight into your different writing styles. I find it fascinating.
“Co-writer” seems to have this bad reputation - like you weren’t talented enough to be able to write a song on your own. Some people always just look for the negative in anything.
I agree. Co-writer has negative connotation when attached to women. But I hope by writing this piece, and by what happened between Damon and Taylor over his comments helped people understand co-writing more. Sometimes someone literally writes ONE chord in a chorus and gets a cowriting credit. It might be for 2% of the song. We've given 5% to cowriter before for inspiring a section. I think people think if it's a cowrite it means you did it all together and shared equally. But a lot of songs are not crafted that way.
I didn’t think about this until you mentioned it. But yes, it does have a negative connotation when speaking about women. Men collaborate right?
Love the insight into your writing process and I’m sad you had to scrap Sainthood. What Damon Albarn said really pissed me off. He wouldn’t have said it if he was talking about a dude. I hate the way female artists are treated by other artists (especially male artists) It’s even worse for queer female/trans artists because you have to deal with the misogyny, homophobia and transphobia. I mean he mentioned Billie Eilish as being a songwriter yet she co writes with Finneas so what is different between her and Taylor. It seems to be a cool thing to shit on Taylor, so many treat her with so little respect. Paperback Head is one if my favourite songs off Sainthood. I love your different writing styles and that we have Tegan Songs and Sara Songs. Also love the collaborations like HIJLY. It’s been such a privilege to be able to have witnessed you writing together as well as still writing tour own songs. I wouldn’t worry about Damon, he’s always had his self important head up his own ass.
P.s. From another drummer, so cool that you played the drums on the whole of Sainthood. Have you played since? Do you still have your drummer’s tick? Love you both. Xx ❤️
I really loved this post (article? entry?...). I'm in awe with anyone who has any creativity, but especially when it comes to songs/music. I am fascinated with how arrangements come together, all of the intricate layers superimposed...I've been fortunate to witness all of this in a recording studio and what not, but it still blows my mind every single time.
Yes, collaboration is hard because to some degree, the goal is to arrive at a consensus. If you're the only one calling the shots, you control your destiny. As soon as there's one other person involved, everything shifts. Being an EDM fan, I really enjoyed your collaborations with Morgan Page and Tiesto. I often wonder if we'll ever hear any more explorations in that genre.
You both are amazing at constantly challenging the status quo, whatever that means. We're lucky to keep being on the receiving end of your creative output, so thank you. Much appreciated. =)
I've always loved the fact that you guys write your own songs, and I remember being so excited when I found out that Paperback Head was co-written by you both. This was a great read.
Sainthood remains one of my favorite of your albums, so reading about some of the process behind it was awesome.
Also, the Paperback Head demo sounds amazing!! Pretty different from the final version, but still so good. I hope you guys release more of the Sainthood demos, and maybe even demos for songs that didn't make the record? A Sainthood B-side I truly love is "Sheets", a song I wish had made the record upon the first listen!
Something I find interesting is that you guys have said you've written up to 30+ songs for albums, which means there's lots that don't make the record. I've always been curious about that process, selecting which songs will be on the record, as well as what happens to the songs that didn't make it. Is it based on which songs are sonically cohesive, or maybe songs that tell a story well when sequenced in a certain way? I'm dying to know :)!
This is interesting! We'll be sure to share more about our process of how we select songs for an album, and how we choose which demos to record, and more just generally about how we do shit. I think that could be fun to share. We plan on sharing A LOT more than we ever have, giving you all access to our emails we exchanged, the arguments we had, and so much more. We definitely want people to see how much work, how much energy, how many feelings go into all these things (making albums, touring, writing, just being).