Shop Indie BookstoresI was asked by an awesome girl with awesome pink streaks in her hair who has an awesome name (Airaseem) at my Anderson's Bookshop signing outside Chicago what music I listened to while writing; if DARKER STILL had a playlist. It does, in fact, and I'd meant to share it publicly (I made mix CDs for the Sourcebooks staff) so thanks, Airaseem, for the reminder.
Now while I'm writing, I can't listen to music with lyrics, so I listen to 19th Century classical music and movie soundtracks. Classical music puts me in the historical mindset of the time-period and soundtracks (like Harry Potter) give a sense of movement and magic in the background. But that doesn't mean that's the only influential music.
Any writer will tell you that half the time spent writing a novel is daydreaming about said novel. I live in New York City, I daydream A LOT on the subway, with my iPod in my ears, listening to evocative music that plays like a movie trailer to scenes from my book that I play in my mind's eye and mull over. THAT process has a soundtrack, and here are the top songs I've listened to while daydreaming MAGIC MOST FOUL saga, songs that on some level have some sort of material or thematic connection to my work. Some of the tracks here are from famous bands, some not, so I hope you'll check them all out. Specifically, Over The Rhine is my favorite hometown indy band from Cincinnati, their music ranges from indy rock to blues to folk, and what I love about them is their versatility and their gorgeous songwriting. Across the spectrum is my favorite Goth / Darkwave / Electronica band, VNV Nation. (VNV = Victory Not Vengeance). I love VNV because it's killer club/dance music (I'm a Goth girl and have been since way back in the day) and the melodies and lyrics are poetic and oh-so-gorgeous. All this stuff is available on iTunes, or you can also support the bands directly from their websites. Happy listening!
Beloved - VNV Nation
Hush Now - Over The Rhine
I Will Follow You Into The Dark - Deathcab for Cutie
Jar Of Hearts - Christina Perri
I Go To Sleep - Sia
Bridge - Lucy Wainwright Roche
In This Shirt - The Irrepressibles
Rhapsodie - Over The Rhine
Illusion - VNV Nation
Standing - VNV Nation
What's your writing and reading soundtrack?
Great post. I love reading what other authors listen to when they write. Sometimes I end up with new favorite bands that way!
ReplyDeleteI don't have soundtracks for my books, but I do sometimes have theme songs for them.
Of those on your list I'm familiar with, I rather like them! I'll have to look up the rest. I love Deathcab for Cutie!
ReplyDeleteI have pretty varied tastes in music, so it could be anything from Bond to Florence + The Machine to Nightwish. A lot depends on my mood and a lot depends on what I'm reading or writing, too.
I love this post! I'm always curious about authors' favorite music. Your process sounds similar to mine, in that I listen to a lot of music during the daydreaming part. When I'm actually writing, I only listen to wordless music. (Also, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who does my brainstorming while I'm listening to my iPod!)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, thank you for introducing me to VNV Nation. I hadn't heard their music before, but I'm browsing through their albums right now!
Jo - Thank you! And I agree, I love learning from other authors' playlists! And yes to theme songs. Useful and fun when trying to sum up the sentiments of a whole work.
ReplyDeleteHoundstooth - OH! I LOVE Bond! And Florence + The Machine, and Nightwish! You're such a kindred spirit! :) And yes, mood is very important.
Kat - you are definitely not alone! :) Thanks for dropping by and for taking a listen, I hope you love VNV, keep me posted, I think their two best albums are EMPIRES and FUTURE PERFECT.