Measure for Measure - How-to-Write-a-Song Blog

The New York Times has created a blog with successfull contemporary songwriters passing on hints about how to write songs. Now, that's a great idea. Us humble wordsmiths out here in hicksville would love to have some idea how to write a chartbuster, right! So here's your chance to hear the tricks that work straight from the probably-often-hoarse mouth: http://measureformeasure.blogs.nytimes.com/?ex=1222574400&en=d07a298be1751724&ei=5087?excamp=NYT-E-I-NYT-E-AT-0402-L10&WT.mc_ev=click&WT.mc_id=+NYT-E-I-NYT-E-AT-0402-L10

Two notable contributors ...

Rosanne Cash is a Grammy award-winning artist who has released 14 albums, most recently "Black Cadillac" (2006), and 11 No. 1 singles. She is also the author of a short-story collection, "Bodies of Water" and a children's book, "Penelope Jane: A Fairy's Tale." Her essays and fiction have appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and other publications. She is currently working on a new recording and a book of non-fiction to be published by Viking this year. Ms. Cash's collaborator here is Joe Henry, whose 10th album, "Civilians," was released last year. Her Web site is http://www.rosannecash.com.

Suzanne Vega, (photo above) a singer and songwriter whose success in the 1980s helped establish the acoustic folk-pop movement, has released eight albums, including the platinum-selling "Solitude Standing" (1987) with the hit single, "Luka," and the 2007 recording, "Beauty and Crime" on Blue Note Records. She is also the author of a book of poetry and was a host of the public radio series "American Mavericks." Her Web site is http://www.suzannevega.com.