The One That I Want Playlist
Friday, June 4, 2010 (Don't forget! THIS IS THE LAST DAY to enter the giveaway CONTEST! ALL THE DETAILS ARE HERE, but in a nutshell, buy the book, email the receipt to allisonwscotch@gmail.com, and you're entered to win AMAZING prizes -a Flip Cam! a Blackberry! A subscription to Entertainment Weekly! Much more!- and are guaranteed a signed/personalized bookplate to put in the book! Yay! Do it N-O-W. Also, a very big thank you to Emily Giffin for her awesome words!)
So one of the questions I'm asked often about The One That I Want is how music influenced my writing and the book, so now, with some of you reading it, I thought it might be fun to post a playlist of what I listened to. Without much ado, see below. And then please weigh in: I'M ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW MUSIC SUGGESTIONS, so please share what you're currently listening to and/or what songs have influenced your own writing!
1) Read My Mind by The Killers. I had this song on repeat – literally, I’d listen to it ten times in a row – while writing. I have three different versions on my iPod, and sometimes, I’d go out for a run (where I do my best creative thinking) and listen to all three over and over again. In fact, I listened to A LOT of The Killers while writing: there is something about the grit and the emotion of their songs that really honed in on my characters – especially this song, which is about a small town life and the desperation that can come from both feeling trapped and worrying about being left behind/outgrown. I think there’s no better song that full represents how I feel about this book and my characters in it, though Dustland Fairytale and Human, which I use as the epigraph for the book, are also really evocative and moving for me.
2) Where I Stood by Missy Higgins. This song was like serendipity for me. I’d written some scenes with Tilly, my protagonist, and her husband, Tyler, who felt like he was outgrowing their life, and he says a line akin to, “I don’t know who I am without you and without this town.” And literally, within the same span of writing that scene, I really tuned into this song...I’d heard it before, sort of in the background of life or what not, but hadn’t paid full attention, and lo and behold, there’s a very similar line in the lyrics about how she doesn’t know who she is without her lover, and is thus moving on. I was so moved to hear this that the song became a real anthem for the character of Tyler, and eventually, for Tilly. There’s a bravery in saying that just because you’ve known and loved something your whole life, doesn’t mean that it’s still the right thing for you, and that’s what both the book and this song are about. Haunting. I love it, and in fact, love a lot of her other songs too. I highly recommend listening to Steer as well.
3) Little Silver Ring by The Samples. This song is a really nostalgic one for me, as it reminds me so much of college, but it really helped transport me back to a time when life was sort of utopic, before the bubble was burst and we, well, became full-blown adults. That’s really what Tilly is dealing with to, and it was easy to envision her in her own bubble, in which she felt safe, untouchable, and then pop – as the lyrics say, “Growing old...why aren’t you here for me to hold?” I also love Everytime by The Samples which taps into a similar emotional well for me.
So please share below - what are you listening to now? Or any particular songs that have shaped your own writing?
Reader Comments (10)
Love this! I listened to a lot of opera for my upcoming book, because my main character sees pieces of her life reflected in scenes from the world's great operas ... but my old standbys are Bruce S., Alicia Keyes, Coldplay, U2, Norah Jones, Fleetwood Mac, and a bunch of others. I'm going to check out these songs, too, Allison - thanks! I've also heard Steven King blares rock music while he writes.
Hmm, I don't know that last song, I'll have to check it out b/c I love the other two (Missy Higgins in particular).
I go through different spurts, where I need/want inspirational songs that are relevant to my ms, where I want silence, or where I want high energy music that won't distract me. For the latter, I like listening to groups like the XX or Bonobo -- that style.
The inspirational/relevant songs totally depend on the ms, of course. When I write my YA stories, artists like Avril Lavigne (first album) or Michelle Branch totally take me back to my own high school days. For my story about a young woman who returns to her small Texas hometown, I listen to a lot of country ("Mary's Song" by Taylor Swift, "Austin" by Blake Shelton, "Run" by George Strait). For my paranormal book, Foo Fighters felt really appropriate to the tone. And for my book about a young Asian woman who gets disowned by her mother for marrying a black guy, "I Believe" by Blessid Union of Souls always inspires me.
(Well, so these are all unfinished mss, but I like having a queue of good ideas. And music to go with them!)
So yeah, totally depends. But I love how music can feed into writing. Whether you listen while you write, or just while I think (which is my usual M.O.).
Oh my goodness, Missy Higgins' song was soooooo KEY for me too in the final scenes of my book. I had that song playing on repeat for inspiration, and oddly, it's also proving helpful for book #2 (almost halfway through!!). xoxo
Today, I have been playing over and over and over, Bob Schneider's, "40 Dogs'. Because it is such a joyous, uplifting song for this part of the journey where the novel is complete and I am busy scribbling out a query. This line just defines my mood today, "We're like good times that haven't happened yet, but will."
During my writing process some of my favorites were:
Arcade Fire's, "Wakeup". Such a resplendent intro and just sad but beautiful song.
Gretchen Peter's, "The Way You Move Me" when I needed quiet beauty for key love scenes.
Anything by the wondrous Patty Griffin. The same goes for my boys, U2.
Griffin House's, "The Guy That Says Goodbye To You" helped me with a pivotal scene of trust and love.
Coldplay's, "The Scientist". It's one of those songs that just speaks to me.
Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey" because of it's magnificence.
"Hoppipolla" by Sigur Ros. They're an Icelandic rock band and I can't understand a word, but it truly is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. It just gives me little goose pimples every time I listen to it.
And Pearl Jam's-"Just Breathe". This song stayed with me during the biggest scene of my book.
For me, music is my biggest inspiration. I can't write without my Itunes on.
Pearl Jam's "Just Breathe"
I used Sting's "10000 years" as the inspiration for a story where a man re-enters his former girlfriend's life only to discover she's married with children.
In general Tori Amos is my muse, with Indigo Girls, U2, and classical on heavy repeat.
Thanks for chiming in, you guys! I'm off to Napster to check out these great suggestions.
Sarah - isn't she wonderful? I can't remember how I discovered her a few years ago, but I'm so glad that I did!
LOVE this post and hearing about the "soundtrack" for TOTIW !! It always amazes me how perfectly writing and music can sometimes go hand-in-hand. It's such an exhilarating feeling when you realize there's a song that just clicks with what you're doing. I have a few songs that played an important role in shaping my recent manuscript, especially "The Cure" by Jordin Sparks and "Defying Gravity" from Wicked (which I love even MORE now, after finally seeing the show in NYC yesterday!).
Do you ever have a point in the process when you can't listen to music while writing? Or does it always serve as inspiration?
I was listening to "I Keep Looking" by Sara Evans while reading TOTIW and thinking how well it fits into the story.
I love the Missy Higgins song! Thanks so much for referring to it. I have created a Pandora channel of The Blue Nile and love listening to it when I am writing. I also find that the Pandora channel of film composers I created is great to write to as well. I started with Aaron Zigman. Good stuff.
Oh, I love that The Samples were on your soundtrack. Hearing them now also reminds me of college in that bittersweet nostalgic way. I especially love Feel Us Shaking, Could It Be Another Change, and Johnny Boy by them. I booked concerts for my college for a few years and had them come out and the pre-concert experience was one of the most accidentally comic load-ins I had in those years (second only to G. Love and Special Sauce). I still wear my 1994 Samples 'Crew' t-shirt with its hole in the arm pit all the time.
Loved hearing about how music played a role in your writing and the memories it stirred up for me, too.