Sara Beth Yurow On the Making Of “Twenty One Night Stands”
Can you share any interesting or unique musical elements or production techniques used in "Twenty One Night Stands?"
“Twenty One Night Stands” is probably one of the most unique songs I’ve ever written because I’ve never gotten a vision for anything quite like it before. It’s just so dynamic. But when you get a vision, you have to go with it. I think the most unique part of the song is the crow. If you listen really closely, there’s a crow sound in the chorus. The vision that came to me had a sort of creaking, squawking element to it during the instrumental part, and for the longest time, I couldn’t figure out how to make that sound. I even remember opening and closing doors in my apartment, trying to get the right squeak from the door hinges, but it just didn’t sound right. So finally, I went down to San Diego to visit some family, and I was taking a nap on my grandmother’s couch, and I heard a crow squawk really loudly outside and just bolted right up, like “That’s it!” and I incorporated that crow sound right into the chorus.
What was the initial spark or idea that led to the creation of "Twenty One Night Stands?"
The initial spark came from a conversation I had with someone I was involved with. He had a bit of a promiscuous past, and one night he told me that he wished he could take it all back for me, which I thought was just the sweetest thing, but he said sort of sadly, and I remember thinking, “Why is this sad? Don’t you see how beautiful that is?” I saw his transformation as the most beautiful, inspiring thing, and even after we broke up, I just remember sitting on the bus one morning and just being in awe at how amazing his metamorphosis was, so much so that I wanted to immortalize it in a song, so I did.
What has been one of your favorite memories along the path to making this track?
The song all really came together for me while I was visiting one of my best friends in Stockton. It was in the middle of the pandemic when there was a lull in between surges, and I was visiting her family from LA for Thanksgiving. We were taking a walk with her sister and their dogs along a levy, and I just remember it was freezing and my hair was fading from being dyed rainbow and we were walking and laughing and I was just so incredibly happy. And Everything just came together for me in that moment in my mind; how the song was supposed to feel, the melody, the instrumentals, everything while we were on this walk.
How do you balance crafting relatable stories with maintaining your unique voice as a songwriter?
I don’t feel like there’s any friction between the two. I fundamentally believe we are more similar than we are different, so I feel that while we are all unique in our own special way and I am no exception to that it is those personal, “unique” experiences I write and sing about that are still hopefully relatable to others. That being said, I am mischievous and snarky as hell, so I don’t worry too hard about sounding like everyone else.
Who are some of your biggest musical influences, and how have they impacted your own sound?
Avril Lavigne taught me how to write. Her lyrics are so honest and raw it really feels like she’s talking right to you and that was so effective and impactful on me I guess that always stuck with me as the way to go. I started writing songs around the same time that I started listening to her, and I think you can hear the influence.
Christina Aguilera and Whitney Houston were big vocal influences for me; I was trained quite young to riff and to belt, and Selena Gomez also influenced me quite a bit now that I think about it. It’s subtle, but while I worked as a nurse during the pandemic, I would carpool with a coworker who refused to play anything for the first month or so but Selena Gomez. She wasn’t my first choice to listen to initially so it got frustrating at times, but I gotta admit her mixes are excellent and I learned quite a bit about pop hit structure; how beats, bass, and synth weave in and out to create a hit. I don’t think my coworker has any idea, but riding to and from work with her became like my little study sessions.