I was watching a Tom Petty documentary about the making of the album Wildflowers called “Somewhere You Feel Free.”
In one scene they displayed the board where they kept track of the progress of each song. For example, had they recorded the vocals, bass part, drums, etc.
At the very end of the board Tom Petty and his producer Rick Rubin had a column called, “Beep that bleep up.” (You can use your imagination as to what the real words were.)
This was a reminder to always add something surprising to the song. It could be a strange instrument or a weird sound. The goal was to make the listener go, “What was that?”
It’s worth considering adding a “Beep that bleep up” column to every project we’re attempting to finish. From a painting to a presentation, a garden to a new recipe. Wildflowers went onto became one of Tom Petty’s best albums. That column was part of the reason.
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