Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Playlists and my books

I was talking to my dd about inspirations and influences. She pointed out that I never seem to speak about my playlists and the music that I listen to incessantly when I am writing a particular novel.
Like any good inspiration, it changes with each one. Some songs set the tone and just seem to speak to me.
For example, going back to Gladiator's Honour, it is Boden and Spears "Prickled Eye Bush". For A Noble Captive, I listened to "Holding Out for Hero" from Shrek 2. Every now and then, my youngest will say -- put in C minor. For some reason, I don't remember S&S's song. I think it was from Disney's Hercules. "A Star is born" With TRVM, I know I was listening to Eva Cassidy --"Fields of Gold", and then the album for "What Women Want". With Taken by the Viking, it was the Runrig live album which has since disappeared. I suspect my children have hidden it. My eldest who now works on the weekends at Langley Castle came back recently and stated: the wedding had Runrig and he had to grit his teeth. Also the theme song from Disney's Tarzan. For ACWW, it was some of the wassail songs. Then we come to VWUW, and I started off by listening to Runrig but rapidly became entranced with Les Miserables. My dd had just been in Les Mis. In particular, "Bring Him Home".
My dd says that there are a few others, and she now actively aids and abets me. We tend to listen to things while I take her out to her riding. When she does her riding, I write in the car. My youngest and eldest have the habit of hiding the cds!
And when the copy edits or the finished version of a book comes, my dd says -- okay one last chance to play xyz.
SO does anyone else have this habit of listening to one song over and over again?

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Yup, for one scene it was Justin Timberlake 'Rock Your Body' and another Corinne Bailey Rae 'Like A Star'... and I'm sure my neighbours hated one particularly bad week when all I played was Keith Urban's 'Raining on Sunday'.

Jane said...

I've been known to do that with
U2's "With or Without You" and Coldplay's "Yellow" and "The Scientist."

Michelle Styles said...

Oh good, thank you Biddy and Jane. It is good to see that I am not the only one who listens to one song over and over again, and then changes the song for the ms.
I know some people come up with elaborate playlists, but I really tend to have one or two songs.
The Taken song was in indeed PhilCollins YOu will be in my heart. Iti s the theme from Disney's Tarzan.

Kate Hardy said...

I have to admit to 'mood' playlists for writing. But practically any track on each of them would do to put me in the right frame of mind.

When I sneak in a musician hero, that's when I'm at my worst. Last book, I was playing cello pieces. And then trying to find my cello transcriptions of my favourite piano pieces... (And yes, I know it was a medical!)

With Biddy on the Keith Urban :o) - though I tend to use 'Tonight I Wanna Cry'.

Nell Dixon said...

Animal instincts was written to the Sugababes 'Cos I know how I feel about you now.'

Anonymous said...

For my last Romance book, there was one song/YouTube I could not get out of my mind. I only had to hear the intro and I was into the storyworld.

Bird York, In the Deep.
The lyrics are magical.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DnJLgyonhNA

Human brains!