More liner notes from my Soul Beauty, Vol. 2 project:
“Are You Listening” is a song I began writing in the summer of 2007. At the time, I felt like most love songs written for guys played it close to the vest, and women were the ones who ‘put themselves out there’ lyrically. Knowing that I (and I’m sure other guys) have felt head-over-heels before, I wanted the lyrics to be honest and vulnerable. I remember my homegirl, singer/songwriter extraordinaire Kristan Sock really feeling the chorus, so I knew at that point I had succeeded! Although it’s an example of a song that demonstrates that I’m definitely not a singer, I hope it shows my capacity as a songwriter. The outro I wrote much later on, hoping to get a vibe reminiscent of Erykah Badu’s “Time’s A Wastin’,” which I was only able to partially pull off after figuring out how to mic my drumset better than I had before.
Give it a listen, why don’t you.
-BrotherSpanky
