For example, Caravan arrangement by Duke Ellington puts me in mind of the desert (I was a band nerd in middle school and we played this song. We first had to listen to it with our eyes closed and I fell in love with it) Suavecito by Malo makes me think of the ocean/beach, from the smell, to the breeze, to the taste. What songs do you turn to for inspiration when coming up with your setting?
Two come to mind. Tracy Chapman's She's Got A Ticket is forever attached to the book Dreams of Dawn by Marti Steussy. I bought both the same day and read the whole book while jamming out to Tracy. In a more general sense, Zero 7's Give It Away is a road trip in a sweet vintage car across the open midwest, hitting a blunt.
I just found this video, which captures some of the essence of my opening scenes in my novel (with the exception of the stupid dog photos in the videos.) It's a tune I've always liked, especially when played with a fiddle and a banjo. I included it by name in my story, a bit later on. This video is more the way I'd envisioned it being played IN my story. But with a much different background (an 1880s ranch house kitchen.) I like the roughness of this version.
Radiohead - Ful Stop, works for me in the opening titles of my second book which is underway. How did you guys post the link to youtube?
I just copied and pasted the bit at the top that begins with https:// Not sure what that's technically called. IRL? Maybe....
When I interned at my University archives, the archivist used to play Folk Celtic Radio. This reminds me a lot of the type of songs that would come on
It's the kind of music I've loved all my life. Traditional music. It plays a central role in my novel in a few chapters.
This song is on my gym playlist. This was one of the songs that played on that radio station and I instantly loved it. It reminds me of a "never give up" anthem and there aren't even words in it! It gets my heart racing and makes me try harder at whatever I'm doing.
I've heard of these guys. They're Scottish, aren't they? I never saw the CD cover before though ...yoiks! Good stuff.
My soon-to-be-published novel, and my current WIP in progress are both set in Bournemouth. My MC can often be found skulking around bars and nightclubs he's probably too old for, so I tend to listen to a lot of clubland shite to get me in the mood. He's stuck in the '90s (metaphorically, not literally, as cool as that would be) , so I stick to stuff from that era.
Do you see a figure emerging from the sandstorm in Gobi desert? That's my boy and that's Gobi desert.
When I'm writing, I see less setting and feel more atmosphere. I usually listen to a lot of bebop when I write, (Mingus, Coletrane, Basie,) but for my next project I keep jumping to and writing chapters before I should, I need 90's industrial and trip hop (NIN, Portishead, Tricky,) and I definitely see setting in my head. It's dark, obviously, urban and industrial. Gotham City, more or less. It definitely works for this cyberpunk serial killer story. Music I've listened to for years always brings back a very specific setting and time. Odelay reminds me of driving a car I had in high school, The Blue Album reminds me of a hacky sack day at a friend's house twenty years ago. The song "Rock Lobster" takes me back to mornings at Bonnaroo in 2008. The list is endless, but I almost feel transported. When I start my highly fictionalized, semi-autobiographical piece I've been outlining, I'll probably switch albums by scene just for the feel of it. ETA: Props on the Ellington. Very cool. Are you a jazz fan?
I like a lot of everything, really, but Jazz is a big part of my family. My dad and his family are from New Orleans, so my dad would play big band music sometimes or hop on the keyboard and play jazz music, and my brother and I would join in with our instruments. In middle school, my brother and I joined our school jazz band (which was where I first heard Caravan and had to learn how to play Ellington's arrangement). Though I didnt stick with band, my brother did and went on to get his BA in music. He now plays with various jazz bands when they need a saxophonist.
I totally get this! I picked up an old WIP thats a sci-fi. I have a Robert Miles house/trance Pandora station that really sets the atmosphere for me
That's very cool. I come from more of a rock family. My dad played sax and guitar in bands starting in the early 60's. He started out in soul, if you can imagine four small town West Texas white boys in crew cuts playing James Brown in 1962, but graduated to a rock, blues and soul mix that was apparently hip as hell. They even toured! I wish I could have heard it, but he quit his last band over a decade before I was born. To this day, in his seventies, his favorite thing (other than his grandkids) is when my brother and I bring over our guitars or my ukulele and jam. As for jazz, I had to discover all of that myself over the years. I especially love classic vocal jazz, swing and bebop. Most of my favorite music exists somewhere in the spheres of rock and indie, but my favorite artist of all time is Billie Holiday.
Not to take it off topic, but have you ever listened to Dorothy? To me they have a old school rock/jazz sound, mainly because her voice reminds me of some of those smokey alto jazz singers. If you haven't, I recommend Raise Hell and After Midnight. Also, that sounds like some serious fun, playing around like that.
Back on topic, I have a discarded story(dystopian fantasy) that I always associated with "Symphony of Destruction" by Megadeth. Metal and Classical tend to be the songs I associate with Scifi/Fantasy, especially the darker stuff. Also, I seem to have a tendency to name my short stories based on either relevant quotes or song titles.
If the scene I'm writing is akin to this... Then the music will be like this. For me FRONT242 always embodies the destruction of reality down to the subatomic particles.
Feel the breeze between your fingers and look to the horizon. We're dreamers, you and I. There's no wrong path to take, just don't lose yourself exploring the world before us. For my current IP about exoplanet colonization, I wanted to convey an aesthetic of freedom and natural beauty, as seen through the eyes of cyberbalkanized virtual-reality addicts from the slums of Earth. It's very much inspired by American romanticism art.
interesting, I've heard Raise Hell before. I think it came across one of my Pandora station, but I didnt pay attention to who it was by. Its something i'd listen to. My music taste goes through mood lol.
