Billy,
you said it right: "I have used many ways of creating songs."
I like randomness, but not to the point of drastic abstraction in music. When I compose my doodles, I like to do it intuitively, trying out new and not very familiar ways. My problem is, I like all kind of styles and genres, can't play none right but wonderful software / hardware combination allows me to "participate" in "bands" and does not judge my skills or my contribution. Different piano (guitar?) strokes for different music folks.(c)

Eddie,
lol, your art? Could also be made into a nice cheese cutting board.

Simon,
This is my secondary, "light" setup that I use when time permits (breaks between work) to compose things, not where I record.
In this setup I have Apogee One (interface), my headphones and ipad. Apogee doesn't have a normal way to connect "stereo" input. My main interface does, but not this little guy.
"headphone volume and clarity will take a hit." I know... just do not know how hard of a hit it would be without trying smile