Prince on songwriting:"Sometimes I hear a melody in my head, and it seems like the first color in a painting. And then you can build the rest of the song with other added sounds. You just have to try to be with that first color, like a baby yearns to come to its parents. That's why creating music is really like giving birth. Music is like the universe: The sounds are like the planets, the air and the light fitting together."

On this Mumcast, it's part one of a two part discussion on songwriting. I am emceeing a songwriting contest in July (the subject of part two), and decided to see what people think makes a great song. This episode quotes listeners from social media, and some great artists opinions culled from interviews. We spoke to singer/pianist/songwriter Lee Anna Crane Atwell about her process, and sampled a beautiful song of hers, "Dreamer's Lament", on which she's backed on guitar by phenom Mike Kelsey. It's all about what makes a good song, and what makes a song good.