Songwriter Jennifer Clavin had a big realization when she began writing her new album. The lead singer for the band Bleached decided she didn’t want to sing nonsense anymore.
"When I was younger I would write lyrics about a popcorn machine and people would think it was a love song," Clavin says. "Now the older I get, it's like, OK, I don't want to write meaningless lyrics. I actually want to have these lyrics mean something because it’s time taken up with my voice."
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Clavin came to the decision during a particularly messy breakup. So she decided to write songs about it.
The lyrics depict some personal and even embarrassing moments. One song talks about a lonely night filled with heavy drinking and junk food.
She sang those words again and again. At live shows. In rehearsal. While recording in the band’s hometown of Los Angeles. She says the repetition helped her get over this rough patch in her life.
"There’s like this one form of therapy where if you repeat your story enough times, it becomes just another story -- like not important, the more you repeat it," she says. "That was a chapter of my life and I've been able to close that book now and move on to this next chapter."
Clavin’s breakup songs appeared on the new Bleached album, "Welcome The Worms."
Clavin says she gets messages on social media from people who relate to the new songs. That’s made her even more determined to speak from her heart.
"I have a place to say something and a voice to say it where people are actually listening," she says. "I should take advantage of that and say things that are going to help people through whatever they need."
Writing and playing these songs at her most vulnerable has left Clavin feeling more confident than ever as a songwriter.
