Musical experiment

Nice thread. Although I kind of hate you for mispelling Pink Floyd.

Every book I write, I make a playlist, and I'll listen to it over and over and over again, whether I'm writing or not, just trying to get into the vibe. And I ALWAYS go to iTunes and find a song with the name of my protagonist. It's amazing how well these songs tend to fit the book...Josiah by Peter Himmalman and Happily Ian by....somebody have been some of my favorites.

My playlist for this book:

We are Nowhere and It's Now by Bright Eyes

Calendar Girl by Stars

No Rain by Blind Melon

The Blower's Daughter by Damien Rice

Hate Me by Blue October

Extraordinary Girl by Green Day

How To Save a Life by The Fray

Home by Deep Blue Something

Passenger Seat by Death Cab

Cannonball by Damien Rice

Sasha by Splitsville

and, most importantly:

The Only Child by Jackson Browne

There are songs that fit with different characters and scenes in my current WIP.
Wilco's song "Hummingbird" fits my character Daniel, because he's dead but lingers through other characters pretty heavily. With lyrics like, "his goal in life was to be an echo" and "remember to remember me" how could it not?

Okay, I know a lot of authors do this music thing, but I totally don't. My books definitely don't have a soundtrack in that sense, and I don't want them to. I think this is partly because my literary foundation is firmly rooted in poetry (even though I'm not a big poetry person), and in a sense I want my writing to have a "rhythm" that creates its own soundtrack. If that makes ANY sense at all.

On the other hand, you know how some books have like a quote or two in the beginning that kind of sum up the theme or the inspiration of the work? I think that's kind of similar... sometimes, after I finish writing something, I'll happen upon something that makes me think, "Yes! Exactly!" For the book I'm shopping now, the thing that captures the spirit perfectly is a poem called "You Are Big in Love," by Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Unfortunately it's originally in Russian and there is no good translation online, so I can't link to it. But I love it so I'll share. Here it is. (BTW it is from a man's POV)

You are big in love.
And bold.
My every step is timid.
I'll cause you no harm,
and can hardly do you any good.
Seems you are leading me
off the beaten path through a forest.
Now we're up to our waist in wild flowers
I don't even know
what they are, these flowers.
My previous training is of no help here.
I'm uncertain
what to do or how.
You're tired.
You ask to be carried in my arms.
You are already in my arms.
Ahead of us stretches all that is pure,
early,
young,
and what bids us journey on.
How quiet you are!
As you breathe,
your high bosom
raises your dress.
"Do you see?
What a blue sky!
Can you tell
what birds sing in the forest?
Well, what are you waiting for?
Well?
Carry me then!"
And where shall I carry you?

Oh darn, the formatting didn't come through. Oh well.

I don't have a soundtrack, but I will say my novel's major inspiration is "Vaccination Scar" by the Tragically Hip

Jo--that poem is fantastic, and I'm SO not a poetry person.

If you had to choose a little bit, I'd make it this part:

Seems you are leading me
off the beaten path through a forest.
Now we're up to our waist in wild flowers
I don't even know
what they are, these flowers.

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I like that part.

I have a quote from one of those songs, that I love--

"And so it is
Just like you said it should be.
We both forget the breeze
Most of the time."

That's from The Blower's Daughter.

Aw, now I just look like an idiot.

I'm big on coordinating music to my writing, even if I don't often listen to music while I write. I made a soundtrack for my in-progress novel that I often listen to on my drive to and from work. Like Shady Lane said, it's a good way to stay with the vibe of the novel, even at those times when you're not able to write.

Let's see if I can remember all the songs on it...

The Town Halo - A.C. Newman
Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect - The Decemberists (my main character's theme song)
Hold On, Hold On - Neko Case (main character's girlfriend's theme song)
Sleeping In - The Postal Service
Mass Romantic - New Pornographers
Birdhouse In Your Soul - They Might Be Giants
Doctor My Eyes - Jackson Browne
Angel with an Attitude - The Ditty Bops
The Bleeding Heart Show - New Pornographers (I'd pick this one as the novel's theme song)
Brown-Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
Love Her Madly - The Doors
The Likes Of You Again - Flogging Molly

Oh, actually there is a song that kinda fits that same book... Cat Stevens' "Hard Headed Woman." Without all the repeated verses:

I know a lot of fancy dancers,
People who can glide you on a floor,
They move so smooth but have no answers
When you ask, "What'd you come here for?"

I know many fine feathered friends
But their friendliness depends on how you do.
They know many sure-fired ways
To find out the one who pays
And how you do.

I'm looking for a hard-headed woman,
One who will take me for myself.
And if I find my hard headed woman,
I won't need nobody else, no, no, no.

There is also a rather lengthy thread on novel soundtracks here that might interest you.

My current WIP Rhapsody playlist includes:

Bring Me To Life, Evanescence
24, Jem
Fading Away, Jan King
What Kind of Love Are You On?, Aerosmith
Crucify, Tori Amos
Calling All Angels, Jane Siberry
Someday, Nickelback

Then I pick "Bring Me To Life."

Psychic Straits doesn't really have one, but I probably could come up with one if I tried.

Ships That Don't Come In, which is trunked right now, is written in two parts. The first part has an Eagle soundtrack. I listened to them the entire time I was writing it. I even quoted (now I know that's a no-no) Peaceful, Easy Feeling in it. The second half's song is Alibi's by Tracy Lawrence. The title for the novel actually came from a country song by Joe Diffie called Ships That Don't Come In. Here's the chorus and it just sums up the book.

So here's to all the soldiers
Who have ever died in vain
The insane locked up in themselves
The homeless down on Main
To those who stand on empty shores
And spit against the wind
And those who wait forever
For ships that don't come in.

Zoombie said:

I feel like I have to point out that I was really only asking for one song that sums up your novels in an emotional sense, not a soundtrack.

But those are good too

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Shut up.

"The Only Child" by Jackson Browne. Come on, the book's called Singleton...

Though the world may make you hard and wild
And determine how your life is styled
When you've come to feel that you're the only child
Take good care of your brother

Let the disappointments pass
Let the laughter fill your glass
Let your illusions last until they shatter


yeahhhhh

The lyrics aren't tied to my stories, but I've blasted the melody from Sade's Pearls while I wrote the last page or so of all six of the books in my series. The mood of that song captures the mood I'm trying to create exactly.

Damn Right I've Got the Blues by Buddy Guy, and I'm using the song title as my working title.

Really interesting topic. I don't listen to music when I write, but I suppose my stories are very much influenced by the themes in music by the Jayhawks, Wilco, Old 97s -- any kind of "cowpunk"/roots rock music, I guess. Loneliness, heartache, a dash of quirkiness, and everyday strangers just trying to make it.

Ahh I don't even know where to start with this...I don't have a set playlist for my WIP...I've cast off The Playlist because it causes me to forget everything not on The Playlist.

The Only Moment We Were Alone by Explosions in the Sky, but then that could sum up practically everything for me. Freaking incredible. No lyrics, but there are like 4 guitars and it's just so great. It has all the emotions.

It's fun to write something solely based on a song. To try and capture exactly what the musicians did. It's hard for me to re-express something, but I like the results.


ETA: AH! I've got it. "Hercules" by Mercury Rev. If you don't know them, look them up, they're brilliant most of the time. So here's some lyrics:

In the morning your face cracks and falls to the sea
The sun follows your step and leads you back to me
You keep telling yourself that you're here but you're not alone
And you get the feeling that your mind is not your own
In the evening the sun's red gown turns to brown
The moon follows you to the beach then it swallows you down
Strange how you can change and end up at her feet
You keep telling yourself but you know you're not to be believed

You and me and Hercules in between
You and me and Hercules in between

gem1122 said:

Really interesting topic. I don't listen to music when I write, but I suppose my stories are very much influenced by the themes in music by the Jayhawks, Wilco, Old 97s -- any kind of "cowpunk"/roots rock music, I guess. Loneliness, heartache, a dash of quirkiness, and everyday strangers just trying to make it.

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Jayhawks? AH! I haven't heard another human mention them in years. Nice to see another fan. (and of course Wilco - be still my heart.) I'll have to check out Old 97's. If they are anything like the other two, I'm in!

Shady Lane said:

Nice thread. Although I kind of hate you for mispelling Pink Floyd.

Every book I write, I make a playlist, and I'll listen to it over and over and over again, whether I'm writing or not, just trying to get into the vibe.

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I do too! I have to admit, however, that I tend to listen to classical music when I write. I have playlists for different moods. Fights are almost always to any fight music from Star Wars *glares around and dares someone to say a word* The only song that isn't classical on this current playlist is "Overcome" by Live, although a few gamers might recognize "People Seized with Life" from Chrono Cross. But the music that encapsulates this novel? *evil grin* Night on Bald Mountain by Mussorgsky.

I would imagine my WIP being akin to the Eagles' Desperado album in almost its entirety. With the exception that Desperado is a musical Western and my work is a Science-Fantasy, the fact one of the main characters is so hopeless in his life as the bad guy reminds me a lot of the songs within the Desperado album ... especially Doolin' Dalton and the reprise of Desperado itself.