Hey everyone! I'm doing this a day earlier since I'm all booked up for tomorrow. But I just wanted to let you know that RoboNomics Book II Chapter 21 comes out on Friday, and as I mentioned it will be the last chapter posted of the year.
I've been looking over my plans for 2015, and it looks like Book II will be fully posted on Wattpad as of May. Then I'm going to be working on getting into ebook and print format for you all, with a tentative release date of September.
However, in the meantime, Chapter 21! In which something finally goes right for Andrea. However, before leaving it off for the year, I leave the story on a mysterious. So make sure you check it out on Friday.
The track that inspired me for this chapter is more of a scene-setting piece. I hope the reasons are, by now, clear to you:
So, I haven't been able to up my cadence of chapters released during December. I was hoping that I'd be able to release more than one per week, but December is after all, the least productive month.
However, I do have a chapter for you that's coming out on Wattpad tomorrow, and I will have another one for you on Friday, December 19. After that, I'm taking two weeks off but I'll be back at it in January. So that means Chapter 22 will come out on Friday, January 9.
In the meantime, here's the track that I found most inspiring while I worked on Chapter 20:
Chapter 20 is almost entirely new material. It focused on Andrea's relationship with Austin, and specifically what Austin's been doing with his time ever since the two arrived on Mars. It really does explain a lot about the culture in which they find themselves. I hope you'll like it! :)
Hey, I know I talk a lot about +Anna Wilson on my blogs. But you know, she's my sis and my best friend and we talk quite a bit and exchange internet things too. This morning she posted this song on Facebook and the accompanying video is just making me smile and smile today:
I'm baaaaack! I finally have time to again present to you the music that inspired my story, RoboNomics.
Tomorrow, Chapter 19 of Book II comes out on +Wattpad. And in that chapter, we see Andrea continuing to adjust to her new life in New Rome.
The track that inspired this particular chapter is weighty with irony. It pretty much paints a picture of how Andrea, our heroine, could feel, but doesn't. Plus, it's just such a catchy tune. And it reminds me of the name my mom would call my sister and I whenever we misbehaved as kids.
Can't wait for you to read it! See you tomorrow! :)
I have a tendency towards fetishism, but it's not what you think. This one time I lived in a building that looked like a castle -- collegiate gothic that made me want to listen to Nick Drake and read big, leather-bound books and wear spectacles.
These days, I live in a small town. And there's something about the dry, snowless November/December that we've had (usually for this part of the world) with its trees and grass of brown. Something about this little city awash with mid-century browns, its criss-crossing freight rails, its grain silos, its shabby houses on the bad side of town (is there a good side?) and the mix of classic rock and lo-fi indie that they play on the radio. It all adds up to make me feel like I'm a character in a movie about being broke in the eighties. Pretty in Pink, you know, that type of thing.
But isn't that just the thing about being inspired by a setting? In a book or movie, settings always have specific characteristics that help us become familiar with the strange by using touchstones that we may already be familiar with. And for me, one of those touchstones is music. It seems to me that my brain is hardwired to connect genres or songs with specific times and places in the world and in my life. And so now classic rock and indie makes me inspired to write a story about a small town in November. :)
I heard this track some time ago and loved it. Kept it in my back pocket for an especially busy week. This one fits the bill; it's been hellish! TGIF!!!! Oh and happy halloween if it's still a thing you enjoy!
For my inspirational track this week, I really went back -- all the way back to the mid-nineties, to one of the very first tracks that inspired me to create my fantastical world of Omorbia.
This was the first track off of a double cassette (yup) set of classical standards that I received as a Christmas gift when I was in either fifth or sixth grade. Possibility fourth -- not really clear in my memory. And yes, I really was that kind of kid. I listened to that thing I don't know how many times, whenever I wanted some Omorbia-related inspiration --- I remember tracks from Romeo and Juliet, the opera, and this one, in particular. Oh, and the Magic Flute. There was something on there from the Magic Flute.
Anyways, this being the first track and an overture, it always made me think about the beginning of the stories. I could see it very vividly: how the Omorbia epic would begin with the reader's descending through clouds, as if flying, and opening onto a land of green surrounded by shimmering seas...
Of course, such cinematic panning doesn't really translated very well onto the page. And neither does the unfolding of an entire story in 8-odd minutes. So the story has morphed and changed over the years. But drawing inspiration from this particular track never seems to.
It comes out tomorrow, and I've been working really hard to get it into fighting shape, and to introduce the central conflict of Book II now before I completely and totally lose the plot!
Anyways, as I alluded to in Chapter 12, here we are on Mars. And so it shouldn't be surprising that the track that inspired this particular chapter is the quintessential song about Mars, inspired by Mars. Mars, Mars, Mars. Now I'm craving chocolate.
Anyways, hopefully none of this is too heavy handed with the symbolism and such, and yet somehow I know it is. You'll have to keep reading to find out why!!
Yay! It's preview day once again, friends. And today I've got a preview pic of Chapter 19 of the Mage's Apprentice which is due out on +Wattpad tomorrow!
I've also got a preview track, of course. This Chapter continues the plot of Chapter 18, and in it Val (aka the mage's apprentice) has a little breakdown. I was inspired by a very specific song in writing and editing this particular chapter. I hope you think it's apropos. You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out!
TGIF! It's been a long week for me, but you know I just have to leave you with one more thought before the whole thing starts up all over again.
And so it's my Just for Fun Friday track. Another radio jam for you. As an audiophile from way back, I'm really appreciating this satire of modern pop music lately:
Oh, yeah! I've been waiting for this one for a long time! RoboNomics Book II Chapter 12 is a little chapter in which you'll get some insight into what the heck has been going on so far in Book II. But it's got some beauty, folks, as maybe you can tell from the Chapter 12 preview pic!
Bam! Right in your senses!
The inspirational track for this chapter is one that I've been dying to share with you as well. And now is finally the time. This track is so achingly beautiful it just had to be the one to inspire Andrea's journey above the clouds. Can't wait for you to hear it, and to read the corresponding chapter when it comes out tomorrow!!!
Chapter 18 of The Mage's Apprentice, newly titled, is all nicely edited and ready to go for tomorrow. But for this chapter, I really had a lot of trouble putting together a preview pic. I feel like I've phoned with one in -- partially because I wanted to highlight the creature that the chapter revolves around, but it's not exactly the easiest thing in the world -- finding Creative Commons or Public Domain pictures of creatures that don't actually exist. So I went with a forest scene instead.
However, the track for this chapter was not as difficult. While I was editing, I was immediately able to recall the track that had helped to inspire this scene, and this chapter:
Picture by Liftport. License under CC 3.0. Cropped, filter added, text and label graphic added.
Tomorrow I am releasing Chapter 11 of RoboNomics Book II. I really messed around with this chapter -- cutting it up and reordering events so that they make more sense and that they'll be a little more exciting for you.
However, I have to admit that this is not a big bang-up chapter. It's one that hints at big revelations to come (like the one hinted at in the preview pic), but we're not there just yet. Maybe from the picture and its attribution you can guess where all this is headed, but maybe you'll be wrong!!!
It really is another transition chapter -- part of what was a much longer single transition chapter. I'm transiting from one part of Andrea's story: the one that happens in Toronto, to the next big part: the one that takes place....somewhere else! ;)
And so another song for this chapter that really represents, for me, that transition. Next chapter really steps up the wonder fact and such, but for now I've been inspired by a song that for me, represents the quiet, automated, and human-light world that Andrea moves through in Chapter 11:
To be fairly, I've probably gone through way more edits of RoboNomics than I have of Omorbia. And I've put massive amounts of online 'marketing' into RoboNomics. It's the thing that I've pushed, it's the thing that, at least among a very small online community, I'm known for. So there's that.
But it's also been suggested that I try a different title. And by suggested, I mean I read the suggestion in a +Wattpad book and I think I should give it a try. "Children of a Dark Wood" is original. Wonderful. But it's also vague. Along with my description, it doesn't really tell you what the book is really about?
So what's it really about? The upcoming adventures of the three kids? Or is it really Val's story? Should I call it "The Mage's Apprentice", then? It's not original, it doesn't really capture my imagination. But maybe it'll capture the readers' imaginations? I guess it's worth a try.
So look for that.
At any rate, today I've got a preview pic and an inspirational track for you! This track, I think, captures the spirit of Fav and Val's growing friendship. Every time I hear this track, I can't help but think of the two of them and more generally, Val's story. Which, surprisingly, I guess Book I is turning out to be.
I've got another motivational track today to add to my long list. I've been hearing it on the radio lately:
I just super love the themes of sticking to your vision and believing in yourself. The music industry could churn out 10,000 songs in 10,000 different styles, but as long as they all contained that theme in the lyrics, I'd pretty much love them all, I suppose.
Well I fell off the horse, didn't I? Blame it on Canadian Thanksgiving -- I took a little break for the holiday. However, here I am again, back to editing RoboNomics Book II chapters and posting them on +Wattpad. Aren't you glad?
So tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day that Chapter 10 goes up. So I thought I'd whet your appetite, as usual, with a preview pic and an inspirational track.
Chapter 10 is a transition chapter. After the big revelations of Chapter 9, Andrea has time to digest the information as she moves through an entirely new world of luxury. But that doesn't mean she's having the easiest time with the transition, especially as her world is becoming infiltrated once again with the automated machines that took her job as schoolteacher in the first place!
So the track that inspired Chapter 10 reflects that transition from destitution to affluence, from human to machine-wrapped world, and the corresponding changes that Andrea and Austin's relationship is going through.
So, I'm behind the curve on this, apparently. But I'm loving Kiesza's 'Hideaway':
Yay Canada! Et cetera. Actually, really it's pretty much guaranteed that if you release a song heavy on the electronical blips and stick a soprano over it, I'm going to love it. Maybe having to do with memories of junior high dances and Dance Mix '95. Remember that? No?
Which reminds me of something exciting. So two tracks today. Because guess what? LA ROUX IS BACK! :)
RoboNomics Book II Chapter 9 comes out tomorrow, and it's an important, surprising chapter. There's more than one fact revealed about the mysterious events that have happened at the end of Book I and into Book II. And just like Andrea will be, I'm hoping you'll be bowled over.
As for the track that inspired Chapter 9, I'm choosing "Other Side" by Madi Diaz, which has been added to the Book II 'Soundtrack'.
Andrea has started to have contact with intelligent machines again. Over the past few chapters, she's encountered an automated helicopter, automated Learjet, as well as android-nurses. As she falls back into this world, the music that inspires me is increasingly 'electronic' in feel. But I still hear that human side to it: some analog instruments, human voices.
The rise in this song really helped me in writing towards the conflict that occurs at the end of the chapter. And thematically, going towards the 'Other Side' is how I see Andrea's current progression through the rapid changes in the story.
It's that time again, everyone. That time of the week where I give you a little preview of tomorrow's chapter.
Chapter 16 of Children of a Dark Wood again focuses on Yafoya, in her interactions with the unicorn herd rather than with her mermaid friend, Jaoshu. In this chapter you'll find out why Yafoya's existence within the herd is a little less than harmonious and have a little foreshadowing of some of the herd's drama that lies ahead!
For my inspirational track for this chapter, I'm highlighting a track that I've always considered 'Yafoya's theme':
Yup, it sure is corny. I know. And the lyrics have nothing to do with a little girl with antlers raised by a herd of unicorns. But we writers come upon inspiration from wherever, don't we?
When Children of a Dark Wood was in its infancy and called by a different name, I'd imagine Yafoya's run from the shores of the sea of Thothao back to the herd while listening to this song. I'd also imagine something else that happens to her rather soon...something thrilling, something that she does because Vuya eggs her on, and something she gets in deep trouble for...but the event will help her find what she's been looking for through the story so far: Humans.
And of course what would a preview be without an inspirational track!
It might seem like an unusual choice...it's very different from the other songs that have informed the atmosphere in the story so far...heavy on the electronic blips, beats and breaks. But I guess I felt inspired by this song because it is as far as you can get from electronic music. And it's so bluesy...it just fits with Andrea and Austin's plight in dystopian near-future Toronto.
So, as I get back to work after moving, I find myself wanting to promote my other +Wattpad story, Children of a Dark Wood. So I scrape out some time in my schedule to post two chapters a week as well as offer up some promotional material. And in honour of that endeavour, here's a track that I've found inspiring to my epic teen fantasy. I'm not sure whether it's the music or the dance or the fact that it's not quite like anything I've seen or heard before. Probably a mix of all those factors. It just reminds me, somehow, of that land-within-my-head, Omorbia:
I've also made a preview photo for Chapter 15!
Yay! So look for the chapter coming tomorrow, in which we catch up with Yafoya after many years, and Jaoshu plants the seeds of mischief.
So I've switched from 'soundtracks' and 'playlists' for each of RoboNomics Book I's long chapters to a single track for each tiny RoboNomics Book II chapters. And I've finally got my rhythm going, and am able to highlight those tracks on this blog.
In Chapter 7, Andrea has more interaction from the mysterious man who appeared in Chapter 6. And in talking to the man, she'll be faced with a decision that could change her and Austin's lives dramatically.
So I'll let you in on a little secret: this track didn't exactly help inspire Chapter 7. Rather, it's a bit of a top-down approach. I had something in mind; a type of music that captured the environment that I've created in the story to come. Then I look for it. I looked back at my old friend Noise, but much of noise was created in the 60s and 70s, and so wasn't electronic enough for my purposes.
Then Songza posted a couple Chiptune playlists and I found what I had sought for so long. The track above is not exactly the most chiptuney song in the world, but that's good. Because I wanted to establish in Chapter 7 a sort of foreshadowing to what that 'mysterious man' will eventually come to represent.
Lately, I've been thinking about songs that prominently feature a certain character or point of view. It all started one day last week when I was driving around town, and the song "Copperhead Road" came on the radio.
I've always liked the tune and the guitar hook, but never really paid much attention to the lyrics...other than that line about doing two tours in Vietnam. I was vaguely aware that it was about someone with a vastly different life story than mine.
Should I be concerned that a lot of the songs I've chosen are about anti-heroes at best and villains at worst? I know some folks who are into acting, and who have explained that when you play a character, you are not wearing the character like a costume or inhabiting a different person but you're bringing out aspects of yourself. Maybe it's the same for writing. When you write a villain, it's the villainous in yourself that you examine and write about.
So maybe I'm craving to write a story about an anti-hero. Maybe that's what I'm trying to tell myself...
Hey kids. I realize that this blog, compared to my other two, has been suffering. Other than my perfunctory 'Just for Fun Friday' posts each week, I've been neglecting this one.
But, fret not, I have a few planned entries in my back pocket...one of which I might actually post this week!
There's a line of thought that runs through most of his latest work that just keeps me coming back to these songs. That of motivation/inspiration for anyone (read: me) who feels the weight of obscurity, lack of recognition while working on artistic projects, et cetera.
And while it may be that Eminem has hit his AC-like era (as all artists seem to do as they reach middle-age...why is that, btw?) and maybe has gone soft -- hey, I'm a fan...so maybe that's evidence enough of going soft? I mean, in his different incarnations, Eminem has been one of those artists who's been around since I was a teenager, but I couldn't like his music back then. I couldn't even listen to it. I was all rock, all the time. Entertaining anything else was just not allowed. That's how things worked in my teenaged world. Now that I can listen to his music, I find it oddly...fortifying. Maybe we all go a little soft when we hit the thirty- or forty-somethings.
I am celebrating, this week, the fact that I found a radio station in this small town that actually plays indie rock! Oh man am I happy to have an escape from the neverending parade of christian crossover, countrified tunes, and the kinda acceptable Top 40 and Classic Rock stations. The other day this new found station actually played:
So you may have noticed that I've changed the publishing schedule for RoboNomics Book II on Wattpad. Instead of a single large chapter each Monday, I'm opting for two tiny chapter each Tuesday and Friday.
So in preparation for tomorrow's release, here are the songs that helped inspire RoboNomics Book II Chapter 2. Stay tuned for more!
Ugh, the other week I had a run-in with someone who was trying to explain to me which minute daily life choices to make. It didn't even really matter one way or the other which choice I made. It wasn't as if it was going to determine the entire path of my future life. So it shouldn't have gotten under my skin. But it did. And so now I can't get this song out of my head:
Contrary to everything I argued yesterday about non-reciprocal responsibility: once I've made a decision, big or small, there's nothing anyone can do to change my mind. Before I make a decision, sure, I'll ask advice. But if I didn't ask, like the song says, just forget it. Especially if you think you know better than me. Ya don't.
(the one in red and the second verse, in case you don't remember Canada 1993).
Anyways, seeing that got me to thinking. I know that Chromeo, having hit up some festivals south of the border earlier this summer, is finally getting some recognition in the States. And so it's gone for some of our other acts recently: Tegan and Sara, Feist, et cetera. Bands and artists that we Canadians have loved or at least known about for ages on end.
But here's the thing: for every Canadian musical act that makes it big down south after years of being famous in their own land, there are at least 10 that have not. Much more, probably. It is weird to consider the fact that Organized Rhyme isn't a part of the cultural landscape anywhere else in the world.
So this got me to thinking. I think we can all agree that in terms of at least the English speaking world, the United States is kinda the centre of entertainment. Perhaps it's a stretch to say it's the centre of culture, but English entertainment I think we can agree on. What with Oscars and Emmys and Tonys and Grammys, plus their massive entertainment corporations, I think this point would be hard to argue. The rest of us English speaking countries have our little niche entertainment industries, but unless they remake the Office and set it in Scranton or some other such thing, our cultures are our own.
But here in Canada, things are a tad different. Not many folks outside our borders have heard of "A part of our history" Heritage Minutes, or Today's Special, or Air Farce. (God, to live in a world where "Doctor, I smell burnt toast" means nothing to you!) So too I'm sure for Australian soap operas or local British music groups. But unlike those other parts of the world, something like 90% of us live within spitting distance of the America-Canadian border. And do you know what that means?
Direct all-access to American culture. All of their TV channels, if we so choose. All of their music, including their top 40 shows blaring over our radios. Immediate access to American movies. I don't know for sure, but it seems to me that this is the only place on Earth where people have access to two sets of English-speaking entertainment: our own, as well as that produced by the biggest budgets (again in the English-speaking world).
And it's because of that fact that I am grateful. It's like we all get to be unrepentant pretentious hipsters. When Americas attend a festival and discover this awesome new artist, we get to all be like, "oh yeah, them. I've known about them for like, 10 years."
Maybe that's the reason why there's so many Canadians in Hollywood. We've all overdosed on the arts...
Or perhaps I'm wrong about this theory. Maybe I'm just blowing smoke out my ass. Dunno.
And you know what that means -- next Monday, September 1 is the release date of RoboNomics Book II Chapter 1. So excited for you to read it! But in the meantime, I am going to restart a routine that I established during posting RoboNomics Book I. You know you've missed this!
So here it is: the first of RoboNomics Book II soundtracks. The chapters are shorter this time around, and so too are the playlists:
This long weekend, +Anna Wilson was down for a visit. So we decided to take our Saturday and go out to 'the County'. The entire goal was to go to the farmers' market. But once that was over and we had an iced tea break at a small cafe, the only thing we had left to do was pick up some peach cider.
And that's when it happened. Driving down those winding country roads, we started to see tiny signs advertising an Elvis impersonator show at one of the wineries.
And it was on our way. It just seemed like the thing to do on a perfectly sunny summer's day -- especially since it was free.
The concert was loud, and the audience consisted of -- as you can imagine -- aging boomers in fold-out camp chairs with build-in cup holders. So we passed all that and took to the winery's dock. And sitting out on the end of that dock with our feet in the water -- it hit me. It was the first time this summer that I've actually felt like it was summer. 'Elvis' sang Hound Dog as the jet skiers across the bay from us stopped and danced on their tiny craft to the song. There were clouds -- but they streaked the sky in white lines.
Once we crossed the road to visit the winery's animals: pigs, goats, sheep, bunnies, ducks and chicken; we made our way to the cider place. On the way, I began to see these wild flowers that grew up by the road that I couldn't identify. "What, have we stumbled into paradise?" I asked, since I've actually never seen such beautiful roadside wildflowers before. When we got back home I had to look them up: Hollyhocks. Related to hibiscus, so there's the paradise connection.
I haven't had such a happy day in a very long time. And then of course there was the music. For some reason, the radio was cooperating with us, only playing summer-happiness songs. And so in honour of the memory of that day, I've put together a perfect summer's day playlist consisting of highlights of the songs we heard. I'm sure that I'm missing some, but +Anna Wilson can help me out with that. For now, here is the rough-up:
And it's topically, too. A reminder to myself that in learning to be an author of fiction, I have to learn even the boring bits about language.
Such a better track than the Marvin Gaye rip-off that it spoofs! I never actually listen to that song when it was everywhere last summer. But now that Weird Al has spoofed, I can see why everyone called it 'catchy'. I can't get this song out of my head! :)
So I've been working on a new "About Me" page for my author blog and for a new author website that I've been setting up, all in advance of RoboNomics becoming a featured story on Wattpad. And while I've written out my story, it has taken on a definite...hard-headed tone.
For some reason this made me think of the various Motivationalplaylists that I've shared with you in the past. And it also put me in mind of the very large blind spot that I intentionally had in sharing those playlists. That is, I didn't want to admit to listening to some of the most ridiculously corny songs when I need a motivational pick-me-up.
Maybe over-the-top songs about obtaining one's goals are required once you've decided to pursue a career in the arts. Reading, training, learning and practicing. Drafting and revising and line editing -- all of this takes time. So much time that it's hard to keep my 'eye on the prize'. And so once in awhile I have to indulge. I have to remind myself why I'm doing this. I need obvious lyrics and bad instrumentation to knock me over the head with my original intention.
Maybe it's strange to feel this way about a song that so peppy, but I just love it. I love it for reasons of self-reflection: that reminder that I need sometimes of refining (and self-defining) what the "Good Life" entails. Does having "Mountains of Things" really mean that you have a good life? Are expensive consumer goods like cars and gold watches and diamonds, etc., just a way to distract me with bright, shiny objects from actually finding real fulfillment?
To heavy for a blog about inspiring music for writers? Bah! It got me to write about this questions, didn't it? :P
Well, despite my cold getting worse (ugh, summer colds. Be gone, illness!), I'm pulling a Proust. So I've got a Just for Fun Friday for you. Another musical friend from years returns:
It was probably a pal in undergrad who first introduced me to Meshell Ndegeocello. Or maybe it was Audiogalaxy. Anyone remember that? Anyways, her music is unlike anything I've heard before or since. Amazing, inspirational, what else is there to say? Okay, time to take care of myself. Also known as, sleep time!! :P
I was sitting in my car the other day, waiting on my love who was running on errand. I turned on the radio to this song and instantly loved it. I Shazamed it and found out the track heralds the return of my old dear friends, Silversun Pickups. Wheeee!
So good. So happy. :)
I also love when I find bands that seem to evolve with me. When I first heard "Lazy Eye", I was obsessed with it. But I don't listen to that song much these days because I'm not in that emotional place anymore. But "Cannibal" just so corresponds with where my head is these days, I'm pretty sure it's going to become my new obsession.
Having recently completed a move that included a journey across part of this continent, I thought I'd focus on songs that make me think of journeying.
There have always been stories of traveling in all world literature. And much has been written about how journey stories are metaphors for a human's journey through life -- traveling from major life event to major life event rather than from place to place. I, for one, have yet to write my own big journey story that I have on my back burner. But in my life, I've always moved around. In 33 years I've lived in 9 different places. I haven't seen much of the world, but I have seen much of this continent we call America of the North.
So it might not be surprising that I am inspired by songs about traveling that have a definite folksy-country vibe. Here are just a few of these songs, starting where I started this journey: in the Wilderness of Manitoba.
And then of course there's Johnny Cash's "I've Been Everywhere" which is like a musical North American travel bingo. Of course, this move we crossed only a few of the places in the first verse off the list! Two provinces: Manitoba and Ontario. Six states: North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. And we passed through numerous cities: Winnipeg, Grand Forks, Fargo, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Baraboo, Madison, Chicago, Flint, Sarnia, London and Toronto. It was a long trip.
But I've realized that this enjoyment in travel, or rather, in moving from place to place is not a joy shared by many. I'm a rare breed: someone who likes moving. I've noticed that there are a couple members of my extended family who have that wanderlust, but beyond our family I don't know too many people who actually like the prospect of moving every few years. But it's something that has marked my adult life. The last time I lived in one place for a long time was between the ages of 3 and 17. Since then, I haven't lived in a city for longer than 3 years at a time.
So I've thrown in a few rambler anthems into this mix. If you're going to write a journey story, I hope you find that these songs give you some inspiration!
Also, be sure to enjoy the video for "Hopeless Wanderer." That one took me by surprise with its silly secret. :)
Hey kids! This week, I'm posting a super hit. Why? Because this song totally gets me super nostalgic.
I
wasn't going to post the official video. Sometimes I'll avoid posting
the official music videos if I think they are boring or just don't
really adequately capture the spirit of the song. And in this video,
there is definitely a lot to be bored about. Namely, random chicks with
lingerie stuck in their butt cracks.
****TANGENT ALERT****
On
the topic, I've never been quite sure why naked or half naked chicks is
still in 2014 seen as edgy or pushing the envelope. Do you know how
many naked chicks I've seen in music videos, in movies, on TV, on the
internets in my lifetime without having sought those images out? Even
time they cut to a scene of some girl in her undies, my vision actually
blurred from the deep ennui I felt. BORING!!!!!
****TANGENT OVER****
However, I had to post this video. Because the particular summer that it reminds me of -- back when I was 21 ( don't ask me what year that was
-- let's just tell you it was this millennium at least) -- one of the
friends I went around with actually raced cars in his spare time. So on
top of the song reminding me of that summer, parts of the video do as
well.
It
was a summer to remember. Of summer of dance clubs every weekend, of
cottage parties, of unending parties. Sure, some really messed up stuff
happened that summer. A couple things to me, but mostly really weird
stuff around me. But more than the things that happened, it was the
feeling of that summer. A long, hot summer between years of ungrad.
Hasn't my entire life from that point to this been just an endeavor to
recapture that feeling?
Hey all! As promised, I've put together a soundtrack for RoboNomics Book II over the past couple weeks. From my perspective, it's as though you can trace the broad outline of the plot through these tracks. That's probably impossible, however. You will have no way of knowing what's going to happen in the story from just listening to this music.
However, might a fun exercise to try and guess! :)
Before I leave the story, at last, to the care of the world, and start work on RoboNomics Book II, I would like to give it a good send off. And so, I've compiled the very best and most inspirational tracks from all of my previously 'Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter..." playlists into a master list.
And so, here it is kids, RoboNomics the Soundtrack. A massive list of the music I listened to while imagining the plot, coming up with character foibles, and revising -- the endless revising that I put into RoboNomics Book I.
Stay tuned for another little goodie next week...
Oh, I can't not tell you! I'm planning on releasing a preliminary music taste of Book II in the form of a RoboNomics Book II Soundtrack! Can't wait! :)
Hey everyone! A little late in the week, I know. But it's a busy one. And now I have the last RoboNomics Book I inspiration playlist until I start posting RoboNomics Book II on September 1.
In the meantime, here's the inspiration playlist for Chapter 16. Remember to check out the story on Wattpad this coming Monday, April 28th at midnight EDT. Can't wait!
Hey! Do people have today off in North America? Europe? What's going on, is it a long weekend? Working from home means that you don't know these things. Plus I'm not exactly a Churchy Joe so Easter always seems to creep up on me and take me by surprise.
It's like: oh, it's April. Past my birthday, just sitting here waiting for May and summer...do da do da do...
AHHHH!!! Long weekend? What do you mean it's a long weekend?????
Oh well. We'll celebrate in our own way, shall we? With a visit from my sister (so excited!!!!), cheap chocolate bunnies after the fact, and a song:
So peppy and fun! Although the video ends up being a bit...ummm...of a downer? :P
Man, what a week this has been. So busy -- no time for blog posts. Okay, I had some time yesterday but after I wrote a post my piece of crap computer lost the whole thing. I was too tired to rewrite it. So never mind that. Onto the fun stuff!
The playlist of tracks that inspired the penultimate chapter of RoboNomics Book I!
In chapter 15, crazy exciting stuff happens to Andrea, our heroine. I actually did quite a bit of revising to the chapter this week -- so it's going to be a lot of brand spanking new material! Fancy that.
When we had last left Andrea, she had just lost Austin in the crowd in front of Toronto's Economic Relief Center. When chapter 15 opens, Elizabeth is trying to convince her friend to leave the place. But can Andrea trust Elizabeth, now that her former friend has joined Chris and his Anti-Robotists? And what happened to Austin?
Can't say too much about the plot of Chapter 15 without giving too much away. I guess you'll just have to head on over to Wattpad on Monday, April 21 at midnight EDT to find out!!!! :P
Okay, okay. I know. This song was part of yesterday's post: music that inspired RoboNomics Chapter 14. But this track has been stuck in my head for ages. And it's awesome.
Isn't that what fun Fridays are all about? Tracks that I just can't get off my mind!!
Hey everybody! Another week, another chapter, another playlist! I am very proud of the playlist this week. I feel like it's almost an encapsulation of the entire RoboNomics Book I story in five songs.
RoboNomics Chapter 14 comes out, funnily enough, on Monday, April 14 at midnight EDT. In this chapter, things for Andrea and Austin go from bad to worse to worst. However, just when our favorite couple along with all the other citizens of Toronto are ready to give up hope, the government swoops in acting as hero and opens "Economic Relief Distribution Centers." There's only one problem: the centers rely heavily on robots. Is another clash with frustrated, desperate citizens inevitable?
You'll have to read Chapter 14 on Wattpad to find out!! ;)
Since I am still going through my music collection, I thought I'd indulge your patience and make this Friday about that as well. Yesterday I came across a certain song that I have just about a million versions of, and I just can't get it out of head today:
After all the high-stakes drama that happened in chapters 10 through 12, this chapter is a step-back that deals with the aftermath. In Toronto, the city is dealing with the aftermath of the Queen's Park riot. After it's been decided to abolish obsolete labor unions in Ontario, the citizens are feeling abandoned and desperate. Meanwhile, Andrea has to deal with the aftermath of what happened between her and Chris. Not only does she have to worry about what he'll do with the incriminating information he has about her, but she also has to worry about her worsening financial situation.
What's going to happen to Andrea? Is she going to lose her freedom, her husband, the entire life that she's constructed for herself?
So the spring cleaning this week continues. I'm just going to flat out ignore the fact that it's April 1st, since I fail at pranks.
Instead, I'll tell you about what I've been up to this week. Cleaning out my laptop for the first time since I bought it (which was early 2009) including my massive music collection. When I began the other day, I had 36 days (yes, you read that right) of MP3s. Now I've got it down under 34 days, but I've only gone through the numbered titles, and then all the way (backwards) from titles starting with Z to part way through S.
And I've uncovered some gems. Like this number, which my parents used to sing when I was little (my father especially used to sing any song about food including 'yes, we have no bananas' and 'when the moon's in the sky like a big pizza pie'). But I had forgotten about:
I'll have to let you know what else I uncover. In the meantime, how about you? Are you thinking of downsizing your music collection? I have to admit that since the advent of Songza and other streaming music apps, I am feeling less and less attached to having a digital collection of my own music. When I was younger I certainly used to horde digital music files. Now I just don't care. :P
This week for a fun Friday I thought I would do something a little different. Instead of my latest favorite jam, I'm going to feature a track that I love because of its writerly nature. "Let's Not Talk About Love" is an ancient song, but one for which the lyrics are fast paced,clever and fun. Sure, some of the references are super dated, but maybe that adds to its charm?
At any rate, every time I listen to it I feel inspired to write a poem...or something short but witty.
And because I'm a music nerd, I've included two versions:
Well, here it is: the music that inspired RoboNomics' next chapter.
Chapter 12 is a small chapter, but by no means lacking in action and excitement. There's a big reveal, so I don't know that I want to say much more about the chapter other than that. Instead, I'll let the music do the talking:
Hope you enjoy it! And don't forget, RoboNomics Chapter 12 comes out on Wattpad this Monday, March 31 at midnight EDT! Can't wait for you to read it! :)
This blog, so far, has been about songs that are inspiring for writers in general, writers of fiction more specifically, and me in particular.
But there are quite a lot of songs out there that have been inspired by literature. From epic fantasy or Western canon novels to poems to characters, these are just a few of my favourite songs that have been inspired by literary works:
And of course, in a full circle manner, I have to admit that I find some of these songs inspiring in their own right. The great thing about human creation, human specificity of situation and the human brain is that each and every one of these creations can inspire us all in different ways: calling up different memories and different associations, rearranging and melting together until something new, and sometimes unexpected, comes to light and reveals itself as a piece of art.
So the other day I was thinking about my novel, RoboNomics. Sheesh, what else do I think about these days? But for the longest time I've been constructing this novel with the idea that I want people who read it to be scared. I want them to think about the trials of my main character, Andrea Anderson, and the fact that her intellectual industry job (schoolteacher) has become obsolete because of a robot with advanced artificial intelligence and think, "Geez, that could be me." I wanted it to be a novel about how dystopias happen. There are no many science fiction narratives out there in the world that are about dystopias after the bad shit has gone down. And a lot of robot and artificial intelligence take overs follow this format. So on top of RoboNomics being a metaphor for the 2008 global economic crisis (something no one could have imagined back in 2006 or so), I wanted it to go from a normal world, familiar to a reader in say, modern Toronto, to a dystopia. So far, some the comments I've had on the story have been more along the lines of "That would never happen here," than of "oh my god that could so easily happen to me," which is interesting and not all that surprising. But then I think of the thousands of times this sort of thing has happened before: the total breakdown of a political system, a social contract. I think of the 1990s, when Yugoslavia went from having the world's highest rated quality of life to being a war zone. My point is, stranger things happened in reality than could ever occur in my fiction... But there's a word for that, isn't there? Whenever a social or political system changes, wherever it slides from comfortable apathy to dystopia: Revolution. Upheaval that lasts only a little while or a long while, until a new political agreement is reached (or imposed) and a new normal is established. And so, here's my playlist for today -- songs for a robotic revolution of a different kind:
And don't mind the bit of music geekery book ending the playlist. I just had to include a song performed what? 50 years apart. Perfect.
I've always loved my birthday. Ever since I was a kid, I thought it meant something super special that I was born on March 20th, the first day of spring. (No, not March 21 most years you silly Gregorian calendar ninnies....)
When I was turning something like 20 or 21 (so we're talking 2001 or 2002 here), I had some friends in my uni dorm who were as excited as I was to celebrate my bday. So they trotted into my room after classes and one of my buds sat down at my computer, opened Napster (hey, it was 2001!) and downloaded a track for me. Then he hit play and declared that that was my birthday present from him:
It's funny. I've long, long since lost all track of that friend. It's not only that we've fallen out of touch, I just have no idea where he is. I think it was one of those early 20-something things that happen where he dated one of my friends and then they broke up and I was obliged to be on her side and then he starting dating someone else and then....
Well, you've probably been there. But I have never forgotten about that gift or that song. And not a year goes by that I don't listen to it. It's such a great '90s track, such a great '90s video. And it always reminds me how awesome my birthday is! :)
So I know that over the past two and a half months (has it really been that long?) I have been posting these 'inspirational' playlists on Thursdays. But this week, two things are happening: 1. I'm super excited about Chapter 11, coming up on wattpad.com this coming Monday, March 24 at midnight.
2. I'm not sure what to write about this week.I wrote about this topic in a really loopy entry on my other blog, but when it comes to that primary blog, I've already got another idea for tomorrow. Woot! But when it comes to inspirational music for authors of fiction, well -- I'm a little short of inspiration today.
And so instead I'll tell you about the upcoming Chapter of RoboNomics:
When we last left our heroine, Andrea Anderson, she had just left her friends in the throes of the protest that was quickly devolving into a riot. She's off to find Chris and the other former garbage collectors, who have been absence for the protest so far.
But in Chapter 11, she catches up to them. And what they're about to do makes Andrea complicit in a criminal plot. But does that mean she'll refuse to help them?
I hope you enjoy this week's playlist! Don't forget to check out RoboNomics Chapter 11 on wattpad when it comes out: Monday, March 24, 2014!
Oh, man! What a week! I was much, much busier than I thought I would be with the day job, but I managed to get you all your weekly blog posts! But today's, however, I am going to have to dip back in my Fun track files (which I keep very well organized In My Mind filing system) rather than making a new discovery. Hope you don't mind. I really do need to move onto more important things today, like -- oh, I don't know, line editing RoboNomics Chapter 10 (which usually gets done on Wednesdays!)
Alright, enough whining from me, here is your Fun Friday track:
Yay! Makes me happy every time! Enjoy your Friday! :)
Hey everyone! It's that time of the week again! Time to reveal some of the tracks that inspired me in writing RoboNomics. This week it's Chapter 10 -- a big, actiony chapter that leads into the part of RoboNomics during which shit really goes down.
As may be obvious from some of the songs that I've included this week, the protest against the Ontario government's bill -- which proposes to abolish unions in the province -- takes place. The logic behind the proposed legislation is the fact that because so many jobs have become automated, the members of unions in the province are organized around something that is obsolete -- human labour.
However, the protest doesn't exactly go smoothly for Andrea and her friends. Chris, the leader of their group and the person who fought them to hold the protest, is no where to be found. Thousands of people show up in front of the Ontario legislature. Those numbers prove too much for the little protest group to control, especially without their leader.
And then robots get involved in the chaos...
)
Don't forget to check out RoboNomics Chapter 10 when it's released on Monday, March 17 (St. Patrick's Day) at midnight EDT! Can't wait for you to read it!
One of the pieces of writing advice that I've in tons of different 'how-to write fiction' books and articles is to get to know your antagonist. Stories don't work if the antagonistic character or forces, so goes the advice, does not have compelling, convincing motivation for their actions. A writer should get to know their villain from the inside out, to make a flawed, complicated, convincing human character rather than a silly caricature.
And lately I've heard a few songs that are dark enough, with deep enough bass that remind me of that dark side that we all. That side of human emotion and experience from which I personally drawn on for my fictional antagonists. And so this week I'd like to present my playlist of Villain Theme Songs:
Some of them might be heavy handed. But I find that I require to a heavily creepy soundtrack to get into the right mood to write a villain from the inside out.
But writing a villian, an antagonistic person or force, is more than just 'getting to know you'. About six months ago I had a conversation with one of my friends who's into acting. He said that when you play an evil character on screen or stage, you have to look inside yourself for material. In other words, whatever evil you bring to the character is also inside of you.
Writing a character can be like that as well: all of their motivations, all of their nefarious intentions and evil plots are something that I, as the writer (or you as the write) can tap into.
So let's think of this playlist as one that you can listen to tap into your dark, antagonistic side. ;)
This is just a sampling, of course. And you probably have some of your own favorite villain themes. Care to share? :)
This is going to be a weird one for me. Hedley. Huh. Up until their past two songs releases, I could not stand this band. But now I find I have an affection for their catchy pop hooks.
So what is going on with me lately? I fear I've reached that phase in life when one's musical tastes go from impeccable to total crap. Seriously, if my 16 year old self was transported forward in time to today, she'd sneer at Hedley and listen instead to oh -- I don't know -- Chvrches -- or more likely Metric.
Not that I don't like those bands, but you get the point. I would never have listened to anything so... happy before now. Anyways, I really hope this doesn't mean that I'll have to start wearing matching velour jumpsuits outside or like, khakis and sweater sets as I drive around a giant SUV. Haha.
All right. Enough speculation. Let's just enjoy the song and the fact that it's Friday:
Hey Everyone! So RoboNomics Chapter 9 is coming up this Monday, March 10th. Are you ready? In this chapter, Andrea gets closer to Chris, but she also finds out how dangerous he is. Meanwhile, she and Austin are trying to figure out how to avoid losing their home. Both have become obsolete in their respective jobs, and they don't know how they can make ends meet. Will they lose their home? And what happens if they do? Will Andrea have no choice but to rely on Chris and his volatile personality?
Better check it out on Wattpad this coming Monday to find out! In the meantime, here's a playlist of tracks that inspired the chapter, as taste of what's to come:
Yesterday, on my other blog, I wrote about how I had to deal with trolls for the first time as it relates to my writing. I already wrote about what I have done in response, but I wanted to follow it up with some awesome tracks that help me get back to being a determined, persistent artist who wants to succeed. That, instead of a wallowing pile of self-pity.
A quick note today: still transitioning back into a normal life with my darling actually at home. It's been remarkably busy. But at least now the constant, unending stress is gone and we now know where we are moving to: back to Ontario! So even though I've posted this song like, three times, I think it warrants another. And not only for the beautiful scenes of Ontario summer featured within:
Have a great weekend, everyone! Also yay! No more February! :)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.png)
.png)
