Answer: Amazing lyric writers. people/bands who inspire me (in no particular order): tom waits, coco rosie, devendra banhart, emily wells, hope sandoval, shara warden, billie holliday, gershwin, the dodos, beirut, neutral milk hotel, cursive, st. vincent, david byrne, mark hollis, travis morrison, the flaming lips, arcade fire, the pixies, land of talk... there's probably tons more but that's all I can think of at the moment. also I think it's helpful to have other songwriter's critique your work. if you are game, you can send me something and I'll give you some thoughts on it.