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Hey Gang,
Anyone else like to write to music? I tend to try and lay out a soundtrack for my stories before I write them. Stuff I think the characters would listen to, to get me in their mindset.
My new novel features a bunch of teenagers so I got anything from Green Day to Avril Lavigne on there and it really does help with the writing.
Am I crazy? Anyone? Beuller? Beuller?
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9:55 am
May 24, 2008
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Matt
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Yeah, I often write to music. I don't go as far as setting up a specific playlist for a project, but I do utilize Pandora.com and set up channels there that match the theme or mood I want to hit. Another example was while I was writing “Reggie vs. Kaiju Storm Chimera Wolf” — I kept the music of Akira Ifukube in a constant loop.
Of couse, while writing “Brave Men Run,” I drew heavily on eighties music, specifically music released before April of 1985. That way, musical references made by the characters were accurate.
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I have listened to literally the same three albums during the writing process of my second novel. And when I say literally, I mean literally. I'm not the sort to say literally when I mean figuratively.
Anyhow, my writing music is The Hold Steady, just the best rock band around right now. They have a new album out this summer, so I will be able to write to 4 albums for the next novel!
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Cool…good to know all these things. Drew I'll definitely check out The Hold Steady…I love a good rock band as much as the next guy.
Matt, I looked into Pandora but sadly they don't allow listeners outside of the US right now (I'm in Canada) due to “licensing constraints.”
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10:11 am
May 29, 2008
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Matt
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drewbeatty said:
Anyhow, my writing music is The Hold Steady, just the best rock band around right now. They have a new album out this summer, so I will be able to write to 4 albums for the next novel!
Since it's possible The Hold Steady might prove a useful muse for other folks, here's where to find them.
Drew, is your project thematically similar to the themes of their music, or is it just a good vibe to be creative to?
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10:12 am
May 29, 2008
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Matt
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James Melzer said:
Matt, I looked into Pandora but sadly they don't allow listeners outside of the US right now (I'm in Canada) due to “licensing constraints.”
Aw, drat. Blame the RIAA, ASCAP, and BMI for that, not Pandora. Too bad. Well, maybe we can put the word out there for a similar resource.
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I listen to a lot of music while I write though much of it comes from the catalogues of Magnatune and Jamendo.
While Jamendo offers free downloads, you really do need to weed through a lot of crap. A few artists that I particularly enjoy there are: MYHUBRIS (Retro Rock and Instrumental), Triplexity(Electronic / Instrumental Jazz), SaReGaMa (Electronic / Instrumental Jazz), Whiteroom (Trip-hop), Ruth Theodore (folk-rock), Pushing Globe (Rock), Amelie (Retro Rock), Eva Garcia (Folk), Celestial Aeon Project (Anime / Game Soundtrack), Frozen Silence (Anime / Game Soundtrack), & Matti Palaanen (Accoustic). The current pick is MYHUBRIS' album Pretty Scares, which I am listening to while prepping a book that I began recently.
Magnatune is pay for download or CD, but the staff are careful to accept music of at least a set quality, thus saving a lot of bandwith. A few artists that I recommend are: Mandrake Root (Rock), Minstrel Spirit (Folk), Jade Leary (Alternative Rock), Brad Sucks (Alt-Rock), Yongen (Alt-pop), Junoon (World Rock), Falik (World Electronica), The West Exit (Retro Dance), & Mercy Machine (Avant-pop / Country).
A stand-alone album that I frequently listen to is Harvey Danger's Little by Little, a CD that they released for free download a few years back.
I also have Shannon Noll's album Lift to get me back in the mindset for writing. It has a lot of nice tracks on it, and I would add, good storytelling.
For those interested: Magnatune now has a streaming download service available via paid subscription. There is also a monthly download service where you can pay like $20/month for unlimited downloads. Not bad value if you ask me.
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Matt said:
Since it's possible The Hold Steady might prove a useful muse for other folks, here's where to find them.
Drew, is your project thematically similar to the themes of their music, or is it just a good vibe to be creative to?
Excellent question! Actually, I was writing a short story with similar characters to the type the hold Steady sing about (burn outs, people who don't grow up, and down and out losers who just try to keep on rocking) so I listened during the week or so it took me to knock that story out. When I finished, it was just a habit, so 95% of my writing is to the Hold Steady. The novel is pretty different, although still urban, and I actually have the charachers go to a Hold Steady concert in the book.
Reading that it seems a little obsessive and weird. But it actually is logical in the book, and the scene shows a lot about the morality of the main characters, and then give them a chance to be kick ass heros.
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5:55 pm
June 22, 2008
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Matt
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drewbeatty said:
I was writing a short story with similar characters to the type the hold Steady sing about (burn outs, people who don't grow up, and down and out losers who just try to keep on rocking)
I can dig it. I have a future novel, a non-genre work, that I already know will have albums by Jets to Brazil (”Orange Rhyming Dictionary, especially) and Jawbreaker as writing music. The book will be quasi-semi-kinda autobiographical, and JTB / Jawbreaker music was especially important during the time of my life the book will be loosely based on.
Shameless, related plug: listen to all the music that's in “Brave Men Run” and make your own official soundtrack here!
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Matt said:
drewbeatty said:
I was writing a short story with similar characters to the type the hold Steady sing about (burn outs, people who don't grow up, and down and out losers who just try to keep on rocking)
I can dig it. I have a future novel, a non-genre work, that I already know will have albums by Jets to Brazil (”Orange Rhyming Dictionary, especially) and Jawbreaker as writing music. The book will be quasi-semi-kinda autobiographical, and JTB / Jawbreaker music was especially important during the time of my life the book will be loosely based on.
Shameless, related plug: listen to all the music that's in “Brave Men Run” and make your own official soundtrack here!
If either of you had mentioned Bananarama or Neutron Dance I would have raised an eyebrow. :D
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keiko_mushi said:
If either of you had mentioned Bananarama or Neutron Dance I would have raised an eyebrow. :D
I heard that's what Sigler writes to. Strange, but true!
(actually, not really true. but funny to imagine.)
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drewbeatty said:
keiko_mushi said:
If either of you had mentioned Bananarama or Neutron Dance I would have raised an eyebrow. :D
I heard that's what Sigler writes to. Strange, but true!
(actually, not really true. but funny to imagine.)
How about: It's Raining Men? :D Sigler loves his hard rock, that is for sure. It really does set the mood for his podcast novels. It sounds like he has a good relationship with the bands in his local area. I wonder what Mur Lafferty or P.G. Holyfield write to… I really don't think that either would be big listeners of Black Sabbath during the writing process.
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