Project Song from All Songs Considered

Project Song participants only have two days to write and record a song, but Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla and Jawbox's J. Robbins had it even tougher: They had never met before entering NPR's performance studio. Watch as the two create "Mercury," a soaring song inspired by a cataclysmic scenario.

Witty singer-songwriter Nellie McKay had three days to write and record a song. The end result is an intricate three-part tune named after a London hotel.

The duo makes smart, infectious pop with tight harmonies and jangling guitars. It's an upbeat and innocent sound, heard most recently on Places. Georgie James visits NPR's Studio 4A for the Project Song challenge: Write and record a song in two days.

From a group of six photos and six words, Magnetic Fields guru Stephin Merritt picked "1974" — and an image of a man wearing a kind of suit covered with baby dolls. Two days later, the song they inspired was finished.