Classy Christmas

Less of a list of inspirational songs to write to this week, and more of a pre-holiday theme. I thought I'd do something a little more festive, since yesterday I had to go out to do Christmas errands. There was no avoiding it any longer. And like every year, by the time I get around it, it seems that the world has been immersed in Christmasland for at least a month. Driving from mall to book store to food store, I had to blast ACDC on the radio so that I could decompress from all the corny holiday jingles that were piped over mall speakers.

But then someone amazing happened. I stepped into the grocery store for a few minutes and they were playing one of the only Christmas songs I can actually tolerate:

Yay! Forget the peppy '50s ditties. That's much more like it. It's-so-cold-I'd-rather-be-sitting-on-a-beach Christmas. But I have to admit, it's not the only song that I don't totally regret being forced to listen to this time of year. I guess I have a few others. Tunes to which I can imagine that everyone celebrating Christmas has the same taste as me: champagne cocktails at the Nutcracker intermission. Total lack of gifts and instead formal affairs and conversations about the modern implications of the cultural appropriation of the Yule Log from Celtic pagan by early European Christians to increase the new religion's appeal. Or something.



Apparently, I have a thing about traditional British Christmas music. And, of course, A Muppet's Christmas Carol. It's the only Christmas movie that matters.

All right, well that's it for me, kids. Have a good holiday! See you in 2014! :)

Retro Motivation

Sometimes, I need a little kick in the bum when it comes to getting the writing on the page. Especially this time of year, when there are lovely and fun distractions such as writing holiday greetings to friends or buying gifts or attending tacky Christmas sweater parties. I personally need motivational soundtracks galore over the next two weeks to remind myself not to throw in the towel early.

And so, I present my Retro Motivation playlist:



Some of the inclusions I've made are obvious. But others need explanation:

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - They All Laughed: Sure, it's about a love affair. But it can easily apply to a work of fiction, art -- any endeavour really. Especially since Ella and Louis reference historical endeavours that were once laughed at.

Irene Cara - What a Feeling, Rocky Theme Song, Survivor - Eye of the Tiger, Chariots of Fire: All mega motivational anthems, retro style!

Dolly Parton - 9 to 5, Avenue Q Original Broadway Cast - What do you Do with a B.A. in English/Sucks to be Me: I guess these are more "I'm not the only one feeling this way" songs. Toiling away, chipping away at the steps, working towards a dream sort of songs.

Eminem - Lose Yourself, Travie McCoy feat. Bruno Mars - Billionaire: All right, all right. Not so retro. But still motivational. And besides, does anyone remember the last time Eminem was bleached blonde?

Jessie J - Price Tag: Again, not so retro. But also not exactly of the moment, is it? I needed to add this song at the last moment, as an antidote to the previous track. Lately I've been feeling like I don't want to think that I am writing for money's sake. Maybe I want to create art because I have to. That, for me, is motivational in itself.

Scenes of Romance

I don't know about you, but I find writing love scenes of any sort extremely awkward. Whenever my characters happen to be a pair of lovers -- they are involved in a scene of romance or a quarrel -- I have to stop partway through the drafting of it. I try to let go of whatever hang-ups I have by writing out the phrase "So Awkward" in the midst of the happenings.

My theory is that I have an allergy to cheese. As soon as things stray into romance territory -- whenever a plot calls for a love scene -- I feel myself cringing. I always want my writing to be at least somewhat believable. I don't want it to become saccharine. Besides, gooey sweet love stories are not something that I personally enjoy. And so I balk at the prospect altogether.

But plots will call for what they will. Characters, fictional as they may be, don't always do what we want them to. And so I present to you my playlist for writing romance scenes. There is quite a bit of cheese included here, but that's because I need it in order to bring out my inner (deeply buried) romantic.

I used to have a playlist player here. It's not working for me anymore -- don't ask me why. However, the list lives on on YouTube! You can see it if you follow the link above.

Oh, what? You don't think it's that corny? I could do much, much worse I guess. I could indulge in a lot of songs that are as phony as artificial sweetener. But that's it. That's as much cheese as I can handle, thank you very much.

It's not like I think fictional characters shouldn't fall in love or something. It's more that I know a million and a half ways to screw up romantic subplots. And I am terrified of screwing them up. So, here's to silencing the inner censor with love songs.

What do you think of my list? Is it too romantic for you, or not quite sweet enough? What do you listen to while writing love scenes?

Action Scenes

Yesterday, I was revising one of my high-paced action scenes and I was having a little bit of trouble with it. What happens next? I kept having to ask myself, but I couldn't come up with a satisfactory answer. My characters were reacting to high-stakes happenings by meandering. They dawdled in replying to demanding questions and didn't seem to care that time was of the essence.

Then I realized the problem. I was listening to one my usual soundtrack for editing and revision: barely-there ambient soundscapes. So I switched to another revision soundtrack. This one was a mix of classical tracks. Still, not exactly helping me to get in the right frame of mind. Then I just broke down. Sure, I was in the midst of revising and not technically at the drafting stage, but I needed some drafting music. Specifically, music for drafting action scenes.



For me, nothing quite compares to thumping bass and action movie soundtracks for suggesting movement and urgency. When I played these tracks, a strange thing began to happen. My pen matched the rhythm of the scene. Suddenly, words were flying from it as fast as my imagination came up with them. My characters were running, fleeing, and getting it done. For me, it's the best way to get a scene moving when it's stalled. Plus, it's actually pretty fun. Maybe you'd prefer a different mix of music: metal or drum and bass or what have you -- but still, you should try it.

Motivation in Contemporary Times

When I last maintained the blog "Inspiration Music for Writers", I had one or two posts that had to do with motivational music. And while I fully intend on revamping those entries and reposting them here, the world has moved on since then. And in the meantime a whole new crop of songs have been released and are currently part of the zeitgeist. And so, here it is: my list of songs on modern popular charts that remind me why I am doing what I'm doing, and keep me doing what I'm doing. Especially potent when played first thing in the morning:

1. Britney Spears - Work B**ch: At first, I paid no attention to this song. What little of the lyrics I caught seemed silly and nursery-rhyming. "Tell everybody in your town", or some such nonsense. But then one day I really listened. And suddenly I realized that the message was super simple and powerful: sure, Will.i.am (one of the song writers) refers mainly to material goods, but it can apply to anything: contrary to some belief systems, no matter what your goal is, you're going to have to work your ass off for it. I like to think of this song, when I listen to it, as a little pep talk to myself. Tough self-love, let's say. It also works for workouts. Which is why the video doesn't really mesh for me with the message. Here I am giving myself a pep talk and meanwhile Britney Spears is involved in some kind of weird slavery imagery? Ick. Also, product placement. Ick.

 

2. Katy Perry - Roar: This song, for me, is about finding one's inner strength. Beyond all the Rockyesque references, for me it's about getting it done even when I don't want to. Again, pretty lame video. Spearing a banana it's quite the achievement that comes to mind.

 

3. Sara Bareilles - Brave: Brave, something that a writer or artist of any kind requires every step of the way. Even writing a first draft can be difficult if you have other people's criticizing voices in your head. And every time you submit a piece of writing to literary magazines, to agents, publishers, and eventually to the public, there's always a chance of rejection. Even telling other people that you're a writing, aspiring or published, requires immense amounts of bravery...since most people judge. At those times, it's a good idea to remember the lyrics of this song.

 

4. Hedley - Anything: And then when judgements come, there's always this ditty by Hedley to remember. Its such an awesome stance towards the haters. Also, I really like the idea of momentum. Because again, anything worth doing requires work. And the more I work, it seems, the more work I am motivated to do.

 

5. Down with Webster - One in a Million: I like this song for times when I am filled with self-doubt. There are so many folks self-publishing these days or having their books traditionally published. Sometimes it feels like deciding to be an author is the decision to enter a heavily saturated market. But I have to believe. I have to know that I can do this, and that even though my chances at success are small, there are not non-existent. Don't think you can do it? Belief. There's one thing you need.

 

6. Classified - Inner Ninja: But you also need to know your stuff. To master your craft. And that's the lesson I learned from "Inner Ninja." If you want to be the best at something, especially an art, you have to learn it and you need to practice it. Belief, work, persistence. That's all we need.

 

7. Beyoncé - Grown Woman: Another one for the haters. The message is simple: just leave it alone. It's my decision to write, and that's what I'm going to do.

****Update: Bonus Motivation Track: Rollin' by iSH! So good!****

Futuristic/Robotic Music II

I approve of these songs
(robotic voice)

Hey, kids! I thought I'd start this blog off by doing a comprehensive Part II of the music that inspired my manuscript, RoboNomics. Futuristic, robotic, great stuff like that. Some of it I covered over on my other blog, but I couldn't help but feeling, even as I wrote that post, that it left out some essential tracks.

Here's a run down of the tracks I covered there:

1. ON AND ON - The Hunter: For amazing use of robotic-like vocals

2. Grimes - Genesis: Spooky, otherworldly, ethereal. Love anything weird for the use of inspiration.

3. Massive Attack - Karmacoma: Trip-hop may be a thing of the past, but its association in my mind with movies like The Matrix will forever mean that it is futuristic, for me.

4. Goldfrapp - Human: More trip-hop, but that actually asks, "Are you human?" Spooky.

5. Fever Ray - Concrete Walls: Because if you're writing speculative fiction, you just gotta have some Fever Ray.

6. Crystal Castles - Courtship Dating: Soundtrack for an automated world

7. Kanye West & Bon Iver: Lost in the Woods: Because nothing says robots quite like auto-tune.

Definitely has some holes. So here's some other tracks that are more emblematic of the atmosphere I am trying to capture in my manuscript:



1. Allez Allez - Weird Science: Electronic beats. Enough said. In fact, here's some more:

2. Kate Boy - Northern Lights: Yummy and atmospheric.

3. Imagine Dragons - Radioactive: For some reason, this song has been inspiring me lately. Maybe
it's a mixture of the particular sound with all those lyrics about apocalypse.

4. Portal 2 OST - The Future Starts with You: Definitely have to have some Portal 2 in there. If you want to write about an increasingly electronic world, this is kinda what it would sound like. Am I right?

5. Björk - Army of Me: How could I have even written that first blog post without a little Björk? How is it even possible to write any sci fi without a little bit of her weird playing in the background? Seriously??!

6. Florence + the Machine - Cosmic Love: Maybe I just love the mix of electro beats and the emotional vocals. Similarly,

7. Ellie Goulding - Under Control: Add some bleeps and blorps and we've got a future city.

8. Janelle Monae - Many Moons: No robotic playlist would be complete without a little Janelle Monae and her obsession with androids.

9. Röyksopp feat. Robyn - The Girl and the Robot: A song that's actually about human-robot love. Haha.

10. Tiësto feat. Tegan and Sara - Feel It in My Bones: Quite a lot of umlauts on this playlist. Germanic language speakers and robots = gold? Can this be a coincidence?

So what do you think about my playlist? Did I miss anything (other than sci fi movie soundtracks, which I left out on purpose). What do you listen to while writing sci fi?

Welcome!

I started another blog! This was is a revitalisation of an old blog that I kept a couple years ago. It was a pretty popular one and also it was fun. So here we go again peeps, a blog that hopes to bring to you all things inspirational in the audio department. Listen to the music that I recommend and let new worlds be opened to you!

Hooray! :)