Backstory on Songs
So, I decided to experiment with songwriting and AI back in July. At first, I was just using AI to help me with rhymes—nothing fancy. I didn’t really know much about songwriting structure either, so let’s just say I was a genuine beginner in this new creative world.
Somewhere along the way, I stumbled upon Suno, an AI music platform. For my first test run, I uploaded an old love poem I’d tucked away in a box for years. These poems were written for someone I was crazy about in the late ’80s. I picked one that I always felt had the potential to be a song. To be clear, as of July, I didn’t know how to play an instrument well enough to make that happen on my own. But I had a gut feeling that this particular poem would work as a song.
Originally, the poem was called “Sin, Sin, Cincinnati” because I’d flown out to visit my love interest while he was touring with his band through college towns. I was working in Manhattan at the time and surprised him in Ohio at the gig. The poem vividly recounts what it felt like to leave him at the airport that weekend at Gate 68. So, I ended up renaming it “Gate 68” because the whole Cincinnati thing was really just an inside reference between us.
For my first attempt, I pasted the poem directly into Suno’s lyrics text box. I picked a vibe and a vocalist style I had in mind and hit generate. And just like that—voilá—Suno created two versions of the song. I was blown away. It was the first time AI really left me speechless, and I’ve been around AI for a while, in various forms.
After that experience, I started turning other poems into songs. Besides “Gate 68,” below are a few more songs borne from my ’80s poetry collection. I’m adding 2024 songs here too. You can listen exclusively to the Indie/Alternative songs from my catalogue here.
Another airport poem—this one written after that tough goodbye.
A bit of a strange one. I was on a commuter train from Manhattan to, I think, Stamford, CT, and I kept getting these eerie “flashes” of him on the train. Weird, right?
This poem captured my uncertainty about his feelings for me and nailed my insecurities in a way that still hits hard.
In this one, I was a little overconfident, thinking I could somehow make our relationship happen through sheer willpower. Spoiler: I couldn’t.
• Sky Blue
There’s actually some debate about what inspired this poem. I have a crystal-clear memory of the event, but he says it never happened. Either way, it reflects my feelings when I processed he was in love with someone else.
This was a tough one. My ex-husband died suddenly, unexpectedly last month. It was hard on me and my kids, despite the turbulent memories that included a divorce. In the end, we appredciate the love he gave and wished him a blessed Rest in Peace.
Line in the Sand (coming out 10/11 to streaming platforms)
This one slipped out while I was trying to forget my troubles at a 3rd place bar/restaurant. I started jotting a poem in my notebook, et voilá, it became a song. Torture. I need a new hobby. Pickleball, maybe.
These poems-turned-songs were the foundation of my AI music experiments with Suno. I’ve included them in a Spotify playlist called, “Original Indie/Alterative.”
Once I got the hang of things—like how to tweak the sound and edit the songs (because Suno sometimes throws in some weird endings)—I uploaded them to SoundCloud so I could share them on streaming platforms.
In my next post, I’ll dive into how I started writing brand-new material.