NPR｜Charlie Puth explores the ghosts of cringey past

ADRIAN MA, HOST:
The way that Charlie Puth describes his creative process is almost like he's engaged in solving some kind of sonic puzzle.

CHARLIE PUTH: I usually hear the entire song completely done in my head, and then it's a matter of reverse engineering it.

MA: He's what you might call a musical polymath - a composer, a singer, a master of multiple instruments and music theory. And in addition to being a chart-topping musician, Charlie Puth - or Professor Puth as he sometimes goes by online - he's kind of become known as a pop-star music teacher.

PUTH: Making a song is just like making a cake. The cake has layers. We'll start with the first layer, the bass. And maybe you want to add some strawberry puree to that spongecake. The added strawberries would be the electric guitar. And now it's time to add our third layer, the piano. Here's the entire song cake.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHANGES")

PUTH: (Singing) There's been some changes in our life. I can feel the distance...

MA: That track, by the way, is off Charlie Puth's latest album called "Whatever's Clever!" And the more you listen to it, the more it seems that Puth is really trying to evoke a specific era.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHANGES")

PUTH: (Singing) I don't know why there's been some changes...

MA: When I listen to this album, I feel like I am plunged into the '80s. It has that montage energy, like, suddenly, all these things are happening. You have the snare drums that go, whack.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHARLIE PUTH AND KENNY G SONG, "CRY")

PUTH: Yeah.

MA: And then it's echo for days, and you have, like, gospel choirs.

PUTH: Yeah.

MA: Kenny G even makes an appearance.

PUTH: Yeah.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHARLIE PUTH AND KENNY G SONG, "CRY")

MA: What's going on here?

PUTH: I would describe the album as being delightfully on the nose. What's funny is that the music usually happens first in my head. But for this album, it was about what I would be singing about, which would happen first, and then the music would follow. It just felt good to - writing a - that song you mentioned is called "Cry" featuring Kenny G, and it's about emotions and not being afraid to show those emotions.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CRY")

PUTH: (Singing) It doesn't matter. You don't have to ever keep it all inside. Cry, cry, cry.

And it just, for whatever reason, felt really good to put a huge gated snare kind of nudging to that transitional production time of 1989, going into the '90s.

MA: There's, like, a strong current of, I guess, compassion or earnestness that comes across. It's as if you are trying to kind of put your arm around somebody and say, like, everything will be OK, right? And maybe...

PUTH: Yeah.

MA: ...It's just because I'm picking up on some of the lyrics. Like, on one song...

PUTH: Yeah.

MA: In the chorus, you say, don't beat yourself up.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BEAT YOURSELF UP")

PUTH: (Singing) ...And on. But it's OK. Please don't beat yourself up, oh, whatever you do 'cause it doesn't do nothing but just break you in two.

MA: Where is all this coming from? Like, do you have somebody specific in mind when you're singing these words?

PUTH: Yes. That would be myself. That would be myself 'cause in the 10 years that I've been really fortunate to be in this music industry, there were a lot of mistakes along the way and a lot of wrong things I said in interviews because I was just so certain that my music wasn't good enough to stand on its own.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BEAT YOURSELF UP")

PUTH: (Singing) You've got a voice, got a voice. It belongs in this world. So hear me out, hear me out, hear me out. How do you feel now? Please don't beat yourself up.

And I could beat myself up and be like that's - now you're 34, and you should've acted the way you act now. But it's just - that's kind of useless thinking. I'm here because of mistakes I've made. Gosh, that song has a big fat snare drum in it too.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BEAT YOURSELF UP")

PUTH: (Singing) Live one more day.

MA: There is a strong sense of humor throughout this album.

PUTH: Yeah.

MA: Even when you're singing about some dark things like death. What's behind that impulse?

PUTH: I know you're asking me questions, but now I'm asking you questions.

MA: Yeah, yeah.

PUTH: Have you ever seen the show "Friends" or "Seinfeld?"

MA: I have.

PUTH: Even "Full House" there - when they were talking about heavy subject matter at times, they would have the sad music playing. And then Uncle Joey would crack a joke and make everybody feel better to break the ice a little bit. That's - the reason why I'm saying that is because I do talk about death. I do talk about organizing interventions for people who I love and who need them at the time and just stuff I've never sung about.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WASHED UP")


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