Have you heard this song? I totally thought it was some massive hit since on my Friday drives out to see my darling, it has been blowing up my radio stations. But it's very mysterious. I can't find any info on it, other than it is by some group called The Angry Kids who have a single video -- the one below. And it has a mere 74,000 (or thereabouts) views. Not much for a music video.
Some of the mystery surrounding The Angry Kids is dispelled once you clicked through to their Facebook page. But still -- on the rest of their platforms, I am actually loving the mystery. And I am love love loving this song. Don't be surprised if it winds up on one of my "Music that inspired RoboNomics" soundtracks!
Friday, January 31, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 5!
Hey everyone! Another week, another chapter soundtrack. Chapter 5 is a big one!
In this chapter, which you can read over on wattpad.com, Andrea has to prepare for the RoboNomics press conference -- in more ways than one. Not only has she been asked by Jay to hand out namecards with the robot that took her job, but she's also been recruited by Chris to sabotage the presentation of the RoboNomics' Interactive Instructions Units to the world. Who will she help? And what will happen at the press conference? You'll have to read Chapter 5 to find out!
Mark your calendars -- Chapter 5 drops this coming Monday, February 3rd at midnight EST!
In this chapter, which you can read over on wattpad.com, Andrea has to prepare for the RoboNomics press conference -- in more ways than one. Not only has she been asked by Jay to hand out namecards with the robot that took her job, but she's also been recruited by Chris to sabotage the presentation of the RoboNomics' Interactive Instructions Units to the world. Who will she help? And what will happen at the press conference? You'll have to read Chapter 5 to find out!
Mark your calendars -- Chapter 5 drops this coming Monday, February 3rd at midnight EST!
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
The Problem with Movie Music
I'll admit it: I listen to quite a lot of soundtracks. Having no lyrics, I find that movie soundtracks are great background music for times when I really have to focus on the written word: when imagining new scenes, when drafting those scenes or when revising. They are atmospheric enough to make me feel what I am trying to write without being too distracting.
Most of the time.
But there's a problem with Movie Music. Take one of my favorite tracks in any movie ever, Yoda's Theme:
It's an amazing piece of music. But just try and listen to it without automatically visualizing Yoda. He's using the force, isn't he? He's using the force to lift Luke's fighter-plane-spaceship thingy out of the swamp, isn't he? It can be a huge problem when trying to imagine new scenes or plot points for a novel or for trying to imagine new stories. It also distracts when attempting to draft those scenes and during revision. The visuals that are undeniably called up when listening to an iconic track can be just as distracting, for me, as lyrics tend to be.
I find that there are two really good ways around this. The first is to listen to soundtracks of movies I've never seen. Philip Glass is usually a pretty good bet:
Unless you've seen the movie "Koyaanisqatsi" I'm guessing that you're like me and you have absolutely no mental pictures attached to that track.
The other way around becoming distracted by movie soundtrack is to have a bad memory. Now, I realize that not everyone can achieve this. I am a little lucky in this respect, in that if I've seen a movie once, I don't remember it. Unless it was completely and utterly mind blowing, I couldn't tell you anything about the characters' names or more importantly the plot points of a movie after having seen it a single time. And so I get to listen to some fun tracks from iconic movie without having any distracting mental activity. Such as:
Yep, I've only seen that movie once. Yes, it was an interesting movie, of the sort that I enjoy most: speculative, makes you think. But I don't really remember the scene that corresponds to that track in any detail. Maybe people were falling? Or am I thinking of the Simpsons send-up of Inception? I have no idea.
So I'm free, because of my own bad memory, to allow the music to help me imagine whatever scene or plot point I like. Or rather, I am free experience whatever my fertile imagination comes up with when I listen to that track. As for Yoda's Theme -- it, for good or bad, will always be Yoda's Theme and nothing else.
Most of the time.
But there's a problem with Movie Music. Take one of my favorite tracks in any movie ever, Yoda's Theme:
It's an amazing piece of music. But just try and listen to it without automatically visualizing Yoda. He's using the force, isn't he? He's using the force to lift Luke's fighter-plane-spaceship thingy out of the swamp, isn't he? It can be a huge problem when trying to imagine new scenes or plot points for a novel or for trying to imagine new stories. It also distracts when attempting to draft those scenes and during revision. The visuals that are undeniably called up when listening to an iconic track can be just as distracting, for me, as lyrics tend to be.
I find that there are two really good ways around this. The first is to listen to soundtracks of movies I've never seen. Philip Glass is usually a pretty good bet:
Unless you've seen the movie "Koyaanisqatsi" I'm guessing that you're like me and you have absolutely no mental pictures attached to that track.
The other way around becoming distracted by movie soundtrack is to have a bad memory. Now, I realize that not everyone can achieve this. I am a little lucky in this respect, in that if I've seen a movie once, I don't remember it. Unless it was completely and utterly mind blowing, I couldn't tell you anything about the characters' names or more importantly the plot points of a movie after having seen it a single time. And so I get to listen to some fun tracks from iconic movie without having any distracting mental activity. Such as:
Yep, I've only seen that movie once. Yes, it was an interesting movie, of the sort that I enjoy most: speculative, makes you think. But I don't really remember the scene that corresponds to that track in any detail. Maybe people were falling? Or am I thinking of the Simpsons send-up of Inception? I have no idea.
So I'm free, because of my own bad memory, to allow the music to help me imagine whatever scene or plot point I like. Or rather, I am free experience whatever my fertile imagination comes up with when I listen to that track. As for Yoda's Theme -- it, for good or bad, will always be Yoda's Theme and nothing else.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Just for Fun Friday!
In love with this song! And there's been more than one the bird and the bee song lately that I've discovered! There's nothing quite like the feeling of discovering a great new (to you) artist! Addicted to novelty? Why, yes I am! :)
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 4
Hey, all! Welcome to another installment of soundtrack preview for RoboNomics. Chapter 4 is coming out on Wattpad Monday, January 27th at midnight EST! Excited? I know I'm excited for you to read it!
In Chapter 4, we find Andrea coping with the day of day of her post-teaching existence. She's come back to the United Workers Protest Group headquarters and she's working at her robot technician job part-time at her old school. However, things are not straightforward in the new job. She makes a discover about the teaching android, the I.I.U., that is frightening...but also opens up a possibility for the Protest Group to really make some waves. The question is, will Andrea let them?
While I was working on the chapter this week, here's some of the tracks that inspired me:
In Chapter 4, we find Andrea coping with the day of day of her post-teaching existence. She's come back to the United Workers Protest Group headquarters and she's working at her robot technician job part-time at her old school. However, things are not straightforward in the new job. She makes a discover about the teaching android, the I.I.U., that is frightening...but also opens up a possibility for the Protest Group to really make some waves. The question is, will Andrea let them?
While I was working on the chapter this week, here's some of the tracks that inspired me:
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Fantastical Music
Today I thought I'd take you through some of my classics of inspiration when it comes to writing fantasy plots.
It's quite a mix, isn't it? And yet it is so easy for to curate all the songs that have, throughout the years, inspired me to write fantasy. It is my first genre. Some of the tracks are not surprising: In the Hall of the Mountain King and the Lord of the Rings-inspired Ramble On.
However it also struck me, while I was putting together this playlist, that many of my "fantastical" songs are very young and hopeful in nature. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that when I think fantasy, I think young adult novels. Just the nature of my project, I suppose.
I've tried to front-load some of the more peppy, youthful songs and have the list of the list contain more of the predictable or strange, dark songs. Songs about traveling, songs about far-off places. This is my personal list of songs that inspire fables, fairy tales, fantastical adventures. I hope you enjoy!
It's quite a mix, isn't it? And yet it is so easy for to curate all the songs that have, throughout the years, inspired me to write fantasy. It is my first genre. Some of the tracks are not surprising: In the Hall of the Mountain King and the Lord of the Rings-inspired Ramble On.
However it also struck me, while I was putting together this playlist, that many of my "fantastical" songs are very young and hopeful in nature. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that when I think fantasy, I think young adult novels. Just the nature of my project, I suppose.
I've tried to front-load some of the more peppy, youthful songs and have the list of the list contain more of the predictable or strange, dark songs. Songs about traveling, songs about far-off places. This is my personal list of songs that inspire fables, fairy tales, fantastical adventures. I hope you enjoy!
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 3
Hey everyone! I'm working on some stuff for my other blog, as well as working hard on RoboNomics Chapter 3! While you wait for all that to be complete, enjoy the soundtrack to Chapter 3:
Hey at least I managed to get a Chapter 3 preview pic out! Lots of work this week!
Hey at least I managed to get a Chapter 3 preview pic out! Lots of work this week!
Monday, January 13, 2014
Music for Revision
I'm working on some editing and revision bits today and so I thought I'd post up a playlist of the songs I prefer to listen to while undertaking such tasks. For me, I need to do my revisions and editing with as little distraction as possible. Since the tasks involve heavy amounts of reading one's own work, what I need most is focus. And being a wordy sort, I just can't focus when someone is singing words that I understand or want to understand.
Drafting is a different story. When I am writing a first draft or when I am brainstorming I can let my mind wander as much as I want. I can sit at a desk with music playing of any sort and just let the ideas come. But for revision, I turn to one of three main types of music for concentration: symphonies/classical music, trippy or sparse ambient soundscapes, or movie scores.
You'll notice a lot of those tracks are looooong. That's good for me. The longer, the better. Even a jarring transition from one short song to the next can be distraction enough. But the funniest thing about editing and revision, for me, is that I pretty much always need to have music playing. If I don't, the silence is almost as distracting as having lyric-heavy ditties playing in the background.
What about you? Can you concentrate on editing if you're listening to singing?
Friday, January 10, 2014
Just for Fun Friday
This might become a series. A song on a nice Friday to kick off your weekend. A song that inspires me, gets me revved up, motivates me to write, or feels atmospheric. For this week, It's "Needle" by Born Ruffians.
I don't know what it is about this song. It starts off feeling depressing. But there's something about the chorus that really gets me pumped. And then there's something about the lyrics that makes me feel as if I could write the character who would sing along with all earnestness.
What are you listening to on this fine Friday morning? Soundtracks for writing Action scenes? Love Scenes? or perhaps some wordless soundscapes for revision?
I don't know what it is about this song. It starts off feeling depressing. But there's something about the chorus that really gets me pumped. And then there's something about the lyrics that makes me feel as if I could write the character who would sing along with all earnestness.
What are you listening to on this fine Friday morning? Soundtracks for writing Action scenes? Love Scenes? or perhaps some wordless soundscapes for revision?
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 2
See? I told you! RoboNomics is taking over this blog! But I promise this will be the last week that I will have two posts concerning the serial novel since I intend these playlists in particular to be little tantalizing previews of Next Monday's Chapter. That first chapter playlist was just a catch-up since this is the first week back from holidays.
So the format of this blog will go from a once a week entry to a twice a week entry: one concerning RoboNomics inspiration, and the other concerning music that inspires other aspects of the writing process in general. Cool. All right. Now onto the list!
There's no way you can figure out what will happen in the chapter by listening to the music. That's not really the point of the list. Think of it more as a soundtrack to the chapter or the soundtrack to my frame of mind when I wrote the first draft.
So the format of this blog will go from a once a week entry to a twice a week entry: one concerning RoboNomics inspiration, and the other concerning music that inspires other aspects of the writing process in general. Cool. All right. Now onto the list!
There's no way you can figure out what will happen in the chapter by listening to the music. That's not really the point of the list. Think of it more as a soundtrack to the chapter or the soundtrack to my frame of mind when I wrote the first draft.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Music that Inspired RoboNomics - Chapter 1
Hey everyone! Back from holidays. And I'm afraid that my big 2014 project -- RoboNomics in serial form -- is going to occupy quite a lot of this blog.
And so, in celebration of my having guts enough to release my work into the world, I give you a very special playlist: the songs that inspired RoboNomics Chapter 1:
And so, in celebration of my having guts enough to release my work into the world, I give you a very special playlist: the songs that inspired RoboNomics Chapter 1:
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