Diane Warren | The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan
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How does Diane Warren approach songwriting?
Who's singing when you're writing?
Well, sadly, it's me.
I'm always oriented to, I've got to sing my own song. Yeah.
You're lucky you're a great singer.
I mean, you are a song assassin. I love it.
I love that.
Is it 1,500 songs at this point? You're up in Irving Berlin territory of first songs written. I've written a lot of songs. That's what the internet says, 1,500.
Wow. You know, the data that matters is, does it make the hair on your arm stand up? Does it make you feel something?
So... I'm intrigued about the cave. Do you have a name for the cave?
I mean, I didn't name it the cave. So it's a place I've been writing for.
But what do you call it?
I just call it my disgusting writing room. I don't know. I mean, you know, Robert Hilburn one time wrote an article on what used to be called the calendar. It was a magazine. It was a really long time ago. And he called it the cave. But I never called it that. I mean, I don't call it anything really. I just call it my room, you know. I've had it for almost 40 years.
I've seen the pictures.
Yeah, it's kind of... I mean, I like it in there. I was there today. I start every day there, you know?
What time do you start every day?
About nine, a little after nine.
And is it... Okay, what's your normal work day?
Because I read some... I just, you know, I... My normal work days, I show up like around nine o'clock and just start writing. Then I also have a building where my studio is a couple of blocks away. So I usually start out at my old place.
And then go record whatever you're writing?
Yeah, not necessarily recording, but I go have lunch and then I might have a meeting or I might, like today, I was just recording something before I got here. So it's all kind of, but I like to start out the day just by myself. Like I have my company that used to be at that place.
Okay.
And then the COVID shutdown happened and everybody stayed home. And I was like, but I went there every day. I go, I really like it. I like being here by myself. And I just bought the other place and I was making that to be where the company would move to.
So just a bunch of keyboards, drum machines. Like what is your kind of work path?
Yeah, drum machine, like, you know, keyboards. And I have a couple of rooms in my old place. And I have a piano, a grand piano in one room. So I kind of just kind of float around all those rooms. And then I go to the other one and I write in the studio sometimes.
So you touch my heart when you talk like this because... You and I have a very similar experience of just thousands and thousands of hours by ourselves. Yeah. In a bedroom.
Isn't that weird that it's weird? It's weird. Like people go, God, you write songs by yourself. I go, yeah, why is, it's weird that it's weird.
What is the significance of 'The Cave' in Diane Warren's creative process?
It's my happiest place. Me too.
Me too. Like it's like life to me.
It's where all the dreams come true or something, right?
Yes. I love it.
So I really, when you're talking, I can feel it. Yeah, you get it. Yeah.
But no, the, it's so weird now there's so many people like there'll be like 10 people in a room like a writing camp I'm like that you know I mean I you know can I talk like that I'll be believing me a lot um but yeah so uh it's to paint the picture for our great audience like
I know there's stuff all over the floor. There's cassettes.
Yeah, there's... I don't know.
Is there DAT tapes? Are we going like... Oh, there's DATs.
There's cassettes. There's everything. I mean, it's like... There's probably like dinosaur eggs in there. I don't know. I've been there so long. Who knows what's there? I'm either... I'm probably immune to every disease because like I've been there for 40 years without cleaning it.
Yeah, it's all like mold and... Yeah.
So... The mold won't even go in there.
When you go in to write, are you focused on one idea that captures your attention? Are you in a free associative state and then go back and review?
I mean, I like just to work on one song at one time. Because I have to give it my full attention. Because I have to really make that song as good as I can make it.
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