Q: how do you push past the songwriting stage of "i wrote this riff/line/jam and it sounds good but i can't shake this feeling that somebody else wrote this somewhere else and i just recreated it by ear", or does it not bother you because every note has already been used in some context or another
A: if it feels too much like something that's been done before, then i'll take some extra steps to throw it further outside the box. with passion -- not with reluctance. if it's done doubtfully then that would just take away what's good about it. instead, eagerly slam it into outboxlyness