Subtle Maneuvers

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Musicians & composers

Cindy Lee knows the secret
“Doing it is where it’s at I think.”
 • 
Mason Currey
15
Viv Albertine’s brilliant memoir of creative frustration
“Every day the task seems hopeless and I feel like giving up.”
 • 
Mason Currey
25
Pat Metheny’s compulsive productivity
The jazz guitarist’s amazing pre- and post-show routine—plus, a request for your patronage!
 • 
Mason Currey
23
A megalomaniac with extremely low self-esteem
Nick Cave’s songwriting routine
 • 
Mason Currey
4
Erik Satie: “An artist must regulate his life”
Presenting the composer’s “precise daily schedule” on this 155th anniversary of his birth
 • 
Mason Currey
4
Duke Ellington’s hungry ear
A trove of quotes on the great jazz musician's composing process
 • 
Mason Currey
Ennio Morricone’s “mysterious process”
Plus: Advice on kindling your own excitement
 • 
Mason Currey
2
John Cage on music and mushrooms
“I have come to the conclusion that much can be learned about music by devoting oneself to the mushroom.”
 • 
Mason Currey
Giuseppe Verdi could only compose in the country
"Somehow there everything comes at once, quite without effort, and I am more contented."
 • 
Mason Currey
Grace Jones’s dressing-room necessities
Plus: Advice on figuring out what your “thing” is
 • 
Mason Currey
Joseph Haydn could not be idle
"The distribution of hours and the resultant order might seem machine-like to some of my readers."
 • 
Mason Currey
© 2025 Mason Currey
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