Flatline

Album: The Ride (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The second single from The Ride, this emotional song along with the rest of the album was produced by John Congleton of the band The Paper Chase. The two met through Annie Clark of St. Vincent and had a musical chemistry from the moment Nelly entered his Dallas studio. Furtado told Billboard magazine the story of how she linked up with the producer.

    "I met Annie Clark from St. Vincent - she and I were both playing a festival in Tokyo called Summer Sonic and we struck up a friendship. One day I asked Annie to give me John's phone number. I asked what he was like to work with, and she spoke very highly of him. John and I met up for a drink in a hotel lobby in LA, and I think he was mixing the Earl Sweatshirt album at the time. He and I chatted for a long time and really got along.

    I flew to Dallas and was staying at this tiny hotel called The Belmont -- not far from his recording studio called Elmwood Recording, which used to be a mortuary. At the time, I was managing myself because I had just ended a 20-year professional relationship -- our friendship has remained, but we just went in different directions professionally. I found myself having this thrill of being completely independent, and I got a shuttle ride over to John's studio. That first day we wrote the song 'Flatline,' which ended up being one of my favorites of the album."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Who Wrote That Song?

Who Wrote That Song?Music Quiz

Do you know who wrote Patti Smith's biggest hit? How about the Grease theme song? See if you can match the song to the writer.

Amanda Palmer

Amanda PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Call us crazy, but we like it when an artist comes around who doesn't mesh with the status quo.

Psychedelic Lyrics

Psychedelic LyricsMusic Quiz

Whoa man! Do you know which band came up with these cosmic lyrics?

Graham Parker

Graham ParkerSongwriter Interviews

When Judd Apatow needed under-appreciated rockers for his Knocked Up sequel, he immediately thought of Parker, who just happened to be getting his band The Rumour back together.

John Parr

John ParrSongwriter Interviews

John tells the "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" story and explains why he disappeared for so long.

Song Cities

Song CitiesMusic Quiz

Nirvana, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are among those who wrote songs with cities that show up in this quiz.