![\"Issue37-melissa-etheridge\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Issue37-melissa-etheridge.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nGoing into her 13th studio album, Melissa Etheridge had two songs written and was well on her way to recording another set of driving, heartfelt pop-rock tunes\u2014the type that have earned her two Grammys and a devoted fan base\u2014but then she realized something. \u201cI can make Melissa Etheridge songs until the cows come home,\u201d she says. So she dramatically shook things up, collaborating with outside songwriters including Jon Levine (Nelly Furtado), Jerrod Bettis (OneRepublic), Jerry Wonda (Wyclef) and RoccStar (Chris Brown). The result is This Is M.E.<\/i>, an album where rock riffs, hip-hop beats and bluegrass strings live together in perfect harmony.<\/p>\n
Is this your most pop album yet?<\/b><\/p>\n
Depending on what you think pop is, yes. And that was intentional. I wanted to do the best of what I do but put it in the latest-model car. It seems that music listeners, especially my kids\u2014I have two teens\u2014enjoy a very real musicianship in their music. They know it when they hear it. I was challenged and said, \u201cI want to create something very real, very musical\u2014and yet put it in this new sound that technology can provide.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI Won\u2019t Be Alone Tonight\u201d sounds like Springsteen\u2019s \u201cDancing in the Dark.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
Oh yeah, it was complete respect\u2014a tribute to Bruce Springsteen from the glockenspiel on. The beat was like how Springsteen used to take old \u201950s rock beats and create a song and melody from it. It was so much fun. And \u201cAll the Way Home\u201d is very \u201cBorn to Run\u201d\u2014cars and guitars and girls or boys, whatever you like.<\/p>\n
How did these collaborations work?<\/b><\/p>\n
What worked with Jon Levine was he would provide the beats while we came up with chord structures. Then I would write the melody and lyrics. With Jerry Wonda, I would create the chords, and he would create the beat. Then we would work on melody and lyrics as I was sitting there. Roccstar\u2014he got up and started freestyling lyrics with me. He really helped with the rhythm and the attitude.<\/p>\n
Your thoughts on rap lyrics?<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019m like, \u201cOh, my God, what are you talking about?\u201d Yeah, there\u2019s that. But rock \u2019n\u2019 roll, the very definition is to incite change and discomfort\u2014and hip-hop takes that on. It pushes that envelope of sex and society, so I\u2019m not pushing against it. I certainly don\u2019t walk around memorizing raps like my son does, but I understand what it is.<\/p>\n
\u201cMonster\u201d is a declaration of LGBT pride.<\/b><\/p>\n
We had worked up the beat the night before, and I was like, \u201cThis is such a great beat\u2014what do I want to sing about?\u201d I didn\u2019t know exactly what. I knew it was \u201cI am a something<\/i>.\u201d What am I? Before I went to the studio, I actually went to the U.N. to speak. It was the first time their human rights started recognizing LGBT rights. It was really important. [Openly gay NBA player] Jason Collins and Martina Navratilova were there. It was really moving. I left that going, \u201cI am a monster. Everyone thinks I\u2019m a monster.\u201d But you see Jason Collins, and he\u2019s the sweetest, most beautiful human being. What\u2019s going on? People think we\u2019re monsters?<\/p>\n
Was collaborating helpful?<\/b><\/p>\n
I usually sit down with a guitar, beat myself up about how horrible I am\u2014and then I write. It really helped to do it in front of people. Some of those first ideas I was so quick to throw away\u2014\u201cThat can\u2019t be good!\u201d\u2014when you do it in front of people, they\u2019re able to say, \u201cThat\u2019s a great idea.”<\/p>\n
\u2013Kenneth Partridge<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MELISSA ETHERIDGE Collaboration takes the Grammy-winning rocker in new musical directions Going into her 13th studio album, Melissa Etheridge had two songs written and was well on her way to recording another set of driving, heartfelt pop-rock tunes\u2014the type that have earned her two Grammys and a devoted fan base\u2014but then she realized something. \u201cI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[2270,7660],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14673"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14673"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14675,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14673\/revisions\/14675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}