Mainlining the Muse
When beth_bernobich posted today about this song, I thought, "Yeah! I use that one, too!"
Many writers live for that lightning-strike high when the creative gateway to the subconscious opens wide and all you have to do is sit back and let the fingers dance. But those passionate, all-consuming creative sessions (whatever the medium--music, art, writing, movement) come with frustrating rarity for most of us, so we try to manipulate our brains into a semblance. And one of the easiest ways is with music.
I've noticed while reading across the boards that more and more writers share my preference for soundtracks, or music that functions as soundtracks. And that isn't always the music I love best. Like Puccini. I can't write to him because he keeps me firmly grounded in the hear-and-now, engaged directly with the music. But I can write to Rimsky-Korsikoff, and once did a massive project while my magnificent Advent speakers thundered the entire Ring Cycle through several times.
What I am always on the lookout for is music that evokes certain images, moods, emotions; characters can sometimes have their own songs and tracks, stories can, themes can. The "Dance around the world with joy" vid linked above helped me fashion the mood for a certain thing, though early in one of my kids crashed my fugue state to say, "Mom, if you play that thing again I'm gonna die." So I had to put on the headphones, though they make my head even more sweaty in this unrelenting heat.
Anyway, if anyone wants to share recent discoveries, that would be great! Right now I'm listening to some awesome Russian folk music that Norilana turned me onto. And also Albannach and Schandmaul, and for soundtracks, Steve Jablonsky's Transformers, and Les Choristes--which by the way I thought a fantastic movie.
Many writers live for that lightning-strike high when the creative gateway to the subconscious opens wide and all you have to do is sit back and let the fingers dance. But those passionate, all-consuming creative sessions (whatever the medium--music, art, writing, movement) come with frustrating rarity for most of us, so we try to manipulate our brains into a semblance. And one of the easiest ways is with music.
I've noticed while reading across the boards that more and more writers share my preference for soundtracks, or music that functions as soundtracks. And that isn't always the music I love best. Like Puccini. I can't write to him because he keeps me firmly grounded in the hear-and-now, engaged directly with the music. But I can write to Rimsky-Korsikoff, and once did a massive project while my magnificent Advent speakers thundered the entire Ring Cycle through several times.
What I am always on the lookout for is music that evokes certain images, moods, emotions; characters can sometimes have their own songs and tracks, stories can, themes can. The "Dance around the world with joy" vid linked above helped me fashion the mood for a certain thing, though early in one of my kids crashed my fugue state to say, "Mom, if you play that thing again I'm gonna die." So I had to put on the headphones, though they make my head even more sweaty in this unrelenting heat.
Anyway, if anyone wants to share recent discoveries, that would be great! Right now I'm listening to some awesome Russian folk music that Norilana turned me onto. And also Albannach and Schandmaul, and for soundtracks, Steve Jablonsky's Transformers, and Les Choristes--which by the way I thought a fantastic movie.