Music to Write To

Anything by Cradle of Filth makes me exceedingly happy. They can effortlessly go from the thrashing of Cannibal Corpse, to soft and melodic work, like early Metallic or modern Coheed & Cambria. Cradle of Filth's Nymphetamine remains one of my favorite albums of all time. The duet between the singer (who is a frightening person, sometimes) and the woman's voice is erethreal and great.

My Chemical Romance's Welcome to the Black Parade is a good CD. It's brimming with story, and it sets a wonderful mood. I write to it a lot.

Serenity: Soundtrack, I got and actually can't always write to, because it's distracting. There are pieces in there with a cello that are just heart-rending.

Kingdom of Heaven had a really good soundtrack, especially to write to. I have that on when I'm just puttering around the house sometimes. Haunting and beautiful.

anything by Thea Gilmore. Seriously. I don't' care if you're writing, or what, just go listen to her and pay attention. She's one of the strongest lyricists we have had since Paul Simon's early days.

(edited to add)

How could I forget...?

Type O Negative. I don't care what album, but my favorite remains "October Rust," and not just for songs like "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend," which is like Rob Zombie filtered through the Adaam's Family. Other songs on the CD, like "In Praise of Bacchus" are beautiful to write to.

(I keep editing to add bands I forgot the first time)

Nightwish. Any of their albums, although my personal favorite is Once. With songs like Planet Hell, Nemo, and my all-time favorite, Ghost Love Score (I've written three stories that have been based on that song's mood and named Ghost Love Score. I've changed the name and sold two of them.) it's a really, really impressive album. Absolutely gorgeous.

And if you're into metal, go find yourself some Helloween. "The Dark Ride" and "Metal Jukebox" are both really fun. Mr. Torture is a great song, as long as you don't listen to the really...really...silly lyrics. And on "Metal Jukebox," you can hear a metal cover of an ABBA song...and it's good.

Sage said:

I can't get into the Serenity soundtrack for some reason. I like "Serenity" & "Going for a Ride" & then it loses me. But I adore the Firefly soundtrack, especially any track that has "River" in the title or an Asian feel to the song.

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Skip toward the end of the CD, songs like "Funeral" and thereafter. Beautiful. MOstly, it's the cello pieces, I think, that break my heart.

The middle stuff IS a bit forgettable, which makes it decent writing music...in that I write well, until I get to the songs at the end with cello, and then I'm distracted and glum for a few minutes.

Firewater, but most especially The Ponzi Scheme and Get Off the Cross. Tom Waites. Leonard Cohen. Anything with a complex sense of humor and a nasty, articulate cynicism. (I'm a sucker for a lovely turn of phrase.) Anyone who approximates my fascination with religion. Nothing sentimental, nothing too angsty. NOFX and Rob Zombie and Gogol Bordello. In high school, I stole my dad's Low & Sweet Orchestra CD all the time. I have no problem with noise or with clever lyrics in the background while I write. I like my music to be slam-dancing, or else covertly smirking. The ideal combination is simultaneously charming and misanthropic. The punchline is, you would never guess this from looking at me, or from reading any of my stories.

Depends on my mood. I write to a number of things, ranging from Rob Zombie remixes, Nevermore, and Iron Maiden to Stan Getz, Charlie Parker, The Eagles (especially the Desperado CD), and sountrack compilation of Italian Western themes and background music. I don't write to classical much. Metal and Jazz are my two standbys. I find they really get my brain moving.

I quite like having the radio mumble away in the background, or if music, whatever I'm into at the time.
Which just now happens to be Julieta Venegas. The woman is a genius.

I've been developing soundtracks for my characters. Music that I can loop and let fade into the background.

Birol said:

I've been developing soundtracks for my characters. Music that I can loop and let fade into the background.

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Never in a million years would that have occured to me.

Birol said:

I've been developing soundtracks for my characters. Music that I can loop and let fade into the background.

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I like that.


I did once play a single track all evening long while I was working on a particular piece. Anything else, and I couldnt write somehow.
It then took me a year or so to be able to listen to it again. It was something by Natacha Atlas, and do you know, I'm that recovered I can't now think of the title. Something about Rose....

Birol said:

I've been developing soundtracks for my characters. Music that I can loop and let fade into the background.

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I do that too. Or sometimes it will be a soundtrack to a short story, with theme songs for particular characters and songs to highlight particular scenes. If I buy a track from itunes, it's almost always because I just thought of the perfect song for a character or situation and I have to have it, otherwise my soundtrack won't be complete

I'm really into the soundtrack from the '05 movie verision of Pride and Prejudice - great music to write to for me.

Also, Eagles, Jim Croce, and of course Neil Diamond when I really rocking!!

Birol said:

I've been developing soundtracks for my characters. Music that I can loop and let fade into the background.

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So I'm not the only one who does that.

Pagey's_Girl said:

So I'm not the only one who does that.

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Nope, I've been doing that also!

Pagey's_Girl said:

So I'm not the only one who does that.

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I do! I use my media player to make playlist just for a certain character. The cowboy in my novel has a lot of, what else, Garth Brooks' Greatest Hits. The heroine has a lot of angst, so Fuel, Audioslave, Incubus, and Staind is on her soundtrack. Weird combo, huh?

The Moon and Antarctica by Modest Mouse gets my vote for most-listened-to album for writing. Modest Mouse in general, with long looping guitar licks and subtle songwriting (though not the singing, oh not the singing). But this album sets the tone for angst and depression.

Wilco's live album, Kicking Television. A selection of great music, and clever lyrics.

The Who's Tommy. A rock opera for writing your epic. I could get lost in it.

ELO is good for writing, and the Clash (London Calling especially). Abbey Road.

The Marie Antoinette soundtrack. (Anything with that new york punk sound, really. Strokes. Sonic Youth. New Order.)

Um.... T-Rex is good for writing. Melodic, rocking, and everything runs together after a while.

The Shins. Beck. The Apples in Stereo's new one.

....okay, that's enough. Just pick one and put it on repeat. That's all you really need, right, when it comes to writing. Something to push out extraneous thoughts and keep the internal editor distracted.

I tend to have a mix on in the background with tracks ranging from heavy thrash metal to american indian music, pagan music etc. If i'm writing late into the night and my partner is asleap i'll put on one of the american indian radio stations via the web and have that on low in the background that way he doesn't wake up and I can happily write without distraction.

I like either jazz or classical.

The idea of a soundtrack is interesting, except it wouldn't work for me. I do most of my writing either at work or in a public place (favorite is Izzy's diner. I don't know why, I'm always inspired there...maybe it's the lean corned beef?) or the library.