Music for Cupcakes: Recent Episodes
Candice Kortlever
Do you love discovering random indie songs that almost no one else has heard of? Do you enjoy learning fun facts and juicy backstories about angsty, catchy anthems? Candice Kortlever has been writing indie pop songs for over a decade, but they've just been gathering dust in her mind and on her hard drive. In this podcast, she'll be diving into the past to reminisce about her old songs, how she wrote and recorded them, and why other people might enjoy them.
For my final episode of Season 2, here are the stories behind the songs I wrote for my children while I was pregnant with them. I talk about why I call my unborn babies "mooncakes," how I feel about playing instruments at home, and the upscale technology I used to record the vocals. This episode also includes the premiere of my newest song "Welcome," written for my third little mooncake - who is just a few weeks away from making his grand entrance into the world!
Probably the biggest departure from my usual genre(s), "Loyalties" is a song based on the fantasy book "Aurora Knights: Loyalties" by Robert Wiesehan, a friend from my undergrad years. I talk about the layers of symbolism in the music and lyrics, a stagger-breathing trick I used to make it seem like I can sing long phrases, and how I duplicated myself to create a crowd of both female and male voices for the final chorus. I also got to have a little chat with Rob himself about the inspiration behind his book, and his thoughts on adaptations of literature in other art forms.
I wrote this song in 2014 about some of my frustrations with social media back then. Things have only gotten worse these days, but there are still some redeeming qualities. Maybe. I talk about both the positive and negative effects social media has had on my life, as well as a few fun tidbits about the musical aspects of the song.
This is the story behind a sweet lullaby my partner Ben wrote, while desperately trying to teach our firstborn how to sleep on her own. I recorded him singing it and created a whimsical lullaby around his melody, and it's been our signature family lullaby ever since. I talk about our daughter's sleep training journey, a few small changes I made to the song, and Ben joins me for an interview about his songwriting process.
Welcome back to Season 2 of Music for Cupcakes! First up is a song that I lovingly describe as "if Burt Bacharach's 'Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head' had a really mediocre baby with the Sesame Street theme song." Paired with some cynical lyrics about how relationships need a lot of hard work, this song is one of my favourites. I talk about how I came across the main chords, and what changed between the first demo and the final demo.
To wrap up the first season of my podcast, here’s an episode all about the song I surprised Ben with during our first dance on our wedding day!
On the surface, this song might seem like a grand romantic gesture (which it was!) but it actually began as a coping mechanism for dealing with the silly nonsense that is wedding “planning” (let’s be honest, I barely planned any of that ceremony).
I talk about the circumstances that led to the song’s creation, the extreme lengths I went to in order to keep the recording a secret from Ben, why the lead switched from acoustic to electric guitar in the final version, and why the song was played at our reception instead of our wedding ceremony. I also talk about why I greatly dislike wedding culture, what frustrated me the most about our engagement period, and why we never celebrate our wedding anniversary to this day.
And as a special bonus, I interviewed Ben himself about his reaction when I surprised him with the song, and what it means to him today after almost 8 years of legal marriage.
This is kind of a harsh song, but writing it was a form of much-needed therapy during a particularly frustrating season of my life. I talk about the weird situation that inspired the song, (and why it was the first domino on the path towards our Australian relocation), why writing this was so important for my mental health, and the reason I swapped out some 8-bit synth sounds for an organ in the final version.
This episode is also rated as explicit for some strong language (like, barely) - just a fair warning!
This week’s song is a 2-minute folksy tune that was maybe part of a joint project that never came to be. It was the first song I wrote after moving to Seattle, and brings back a lot of memories of my “honeymoon period” in the Emerald City - before the rose-tinted glasses got inevitably blown off by the Seattle Freeze, naturally! I chat about my poetic lyrics, what I needed to change about the verses to turn it into an instrumental soundtrack, and a few thoughts and reflections about my four years in Seattle.
Not gonna lie, this was a challenging episode to make. It’s about a song I wrote when I was really upset with my family and their philosophy about adult life decisions. I talk about my feelings on parenting and letting go of your children, why it shouldn't matter how people perceive your actions (or should it..?), and why the almost-completed studio version had some amazing, theatrical moments that really brought the song to the next level.
This is a song about a semi-fictional love triangle, written back in 2008. I talk about the concept of love triangles, using the bridge as the intro (again! my favourite!), and what makes the verse melodies of this song so unique (for me).
Back in 2008, I wrote a custom wedding song for my then-roommate Abbie. She recorded the lead vocals and the song was professionally produced at a studio, and it was played at their ceremony as a huge surprise for her husband-to-be Darren - but none of that was actually the plan in the first place! I talk about the journey of the song’s existence, how it was influenced by an old Damien Rice song, and why my original demo brings back memories of Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar soundtrack.
Abbie is also my very first podcast guest!! She very generously shared her memories and reflections about the recording process, and talked about what the song means to her and Darren after almost 13 years of marriage.
You can also view Abbie and Darren's 10th Anniversary slideshow, featuring this song: https://youtu.be/ciRusBxiDOA
Special Guest: Abbie Broekhuis
Every songwriter needs to pen at least one ukelele song, right? About... politics and journalism..? In this episode, I discuss the silly reasons why I bought a ukelele in the first place, the recent-ish historical tragedy behind the lyrics (it's probably not what you'd expect), and the huge embarrassing secret behind how I record guitar/ukelele parts.
I wrote and recorded this song in one day, as part of a project to help stave off boredom while my then-boyfriend was on a road trip. It's about job-hunting, which is not the greatest songwriting genre, but the studio version of this song is one of my most polished-sounding tracks. I talk about why syncopation in the bass makes the chorus more fun, why I added a glottal stop to the verses in the studio version, and for some reason I also brought out a really hideous recording of me trying to sing a creepy Donny Osmond song. Spoiler alert: I was eventually able to pay the water bill.
This bittersweet mutual breakup ballad is an ode to inevitable goodbyes. "People need to hear this song," a former coworker of mine told me once after sharing it with some of his friends. In this episode I talk about what inspired this song, my favourite bridge, and why I kept the terrible-quality demo string part in the studio version.
This simple yet catchy breakup anthem is one of the very first songs I ever wrote and recorded, and it's still one of my favourites. Here's the evolution of how a few clunky keyboard chords transformed into a playful pop-punk number. With lyrics inspired by some terrible poetry I wrote in college, I'm sure it's something almost everyone can relate to today, especially during this resurgence of Self-Love and Boundary Setting. You are more than just a flavour of the week. I promise.
Hi there! Before I dive into my songs and the stories behind them, I should probably introduce myself and how I got into songwriting in the first place. Here's a little origin tale about how music and creative writing shaped my childhood, and what inspired me to start crafting my own songs as a young adult. I even dug up some really old recordings from childhood recitals and concerts, and some of my very first songwriting demos (eek) to help illustrate my story. Enjoy!
Hi! I'm Candice, and I'm a songwriter. I've been writing songs since 2008, but I've never done anything with them professionally. I've decided to start this podcast as a way to reminisce about my old songs, and to share a part of my story with you. I'll be sharing background stories about my songs, my songwriting process, fun facts and hidden gems, maybe even a song or two I've never shared with anyone else. I won't give away all my secrets though! I'm so excited to share my songs with you. If you'd like, please subscribe. In the meantime you can check out some of my music on candicek.bandcamp.com and soundcloud.com/cupcakecandice. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you soon!