About two weeks ago, the charming Heather of Sometimes I'm a Story nominated me for The Lyric Medley Tag. (Thanks Heather!)
And I am finally getting to it.
If you want to know what I’m supposed to be doing
here, you should probably visit Heather’s blog. Because when it comes to things
like this, I’m really bad at following directions. I get so many thoughts for
different spins I can put on a given idea, sticking to a set of bullet points
feels like licking a barbed wire fence. Just not as exciting. So basically, I’m
going to pick ten songs from my editing “collection”. Then I’m going to tell
you why they’re on the list to begin with. But I won’t give you my favorite
lyrics because I enjoy songs for the impression they give as a whole, and I
feel that—at least for myself—when I pull a beautiful bit out of context, it
loses some of its magic. (Also, I was supposed to make a collage representing
my taste in music, but I nixed that because of space/time constraints.)
"Team"—Lorde
Just as a disclaimer, I’m not a huge fan of everything
in Lorde’s repertoire, only a few select gems. Still, when I sit down to edit,
I want to listen to the same song over and over (for hours) in order to keep
the mood and some sense of continuity. Last year, I discovered “Team” had the
perfect tone for the story I was writing, and now it’s a classic.
"Same Old, Same Old"—The Civil Wars
At the risk of sounding too dramatic, this song breaks
my heart every time. I’m not sure whether it’s their wistful ante bellum vibe
or their contradictory take on love, but something about their music speaks of
the depth and complexity of human relationships. Also, their sound is mellow
enough for background listening.
"I Want You Here"—Plumb
Unlike most of the others, I can’t listen to this one
over and over because it gets to me after a while. But the sad, desperate
message is just right for a sad, desperate scene. See, I’m one of those
cold-hearted writers who views her characters, not as friends, but as assets. I’ll
hand them pain and difficulties without batting an eyelash if I know I’ll
benefit from the bargain. So occasionally I need help entering in emotionally.
"Beyond Reach"—Jennie Muskett
From time to time, lyric music messes with my
concentration, especially when I have a migraine. And if you love Miss Austen Regrets as I do, you’ll
understand what this piece means both on a mental and an emotional level. The
entire soundtrack, with its sighing piano and its whispering violin, turns pain
into something regal and beautiful.
"Colder Weather"—Zac Brown Band
Every time I hear about the gypsy-souled man and his
abandoned love, I wonder at the romantic tinge to their unfolding story. There
is something lovely in their tragic brokenness, yet I can never quite figure
out what. Maybe it’s a lie, like the lie that claims war is glorious.
Eventually I may see how this plays out in a novel—if the supposed reality
reveals itself to be a thin veneer covering brutal ugliness, or if the lyrics
hold solid to the truth. Either way, it gets the brain juices flowing (and yes,
I promise never to use that phrase again.)
"Who We Are"—Imagine Dragons
While I enjoy Imagine Dragons, I’m not the sort of fan
to tackle you and brandish a canister of mace in your face if you disagree with
me about their obvious talent. I also realize it might be somewhat pathetic of
me to write my own book while listening to the soundtrack for someone else’s
book-to-movie success. Or at least, my inner editor tells me it’s weird. But, Catching Fire or not, the song is
ambiguous enough to compliment just about anyone’s story.
"The Music of the Night"—The Original London Cast
From time to time—not often—I venture forth into the
land of opera and bring back some small treasure to file away in my brain
forevermore. Even before I read the book, and even before I watched the movie,
I fell in love with the soundtrack for The
Phantom of the Opera. Much like Rigoletto,
it deals with the juxtaposition and clash of the lovely and the ugly, the
desirable and the undesirable, the inside and the outside. I like stories best
when they portray the complexities that define every human being.
"Brothers in Arms"—Celtic Thunder
Can I just say? Ryan Kelly has the most marvelous voice
on the face of the planet. Okay, so that
might be a bit of an exaggeration. Fun fact:
While I spent hours upon hours researching agents (which is about as enjoyable
as licking a restaurant floor or shaving an angry cow), I numbed the pain with
Celtic Thunder. Now whenever I listen to my playlist, I get the sudden urge to
do more agent questing. I haven’t decided yet whether this is good or bad.
"A Sky Full of Stars"—Coldplay
I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t point out
the tremendous genius that is Coldplay. While “A Sky Full of Stars” is sad and
lonely, it is also yearning, wistful, and tragically hopeful. There are so many
emotions to capture, and so many ways to capture those emotions. I could write
a hundred books and not be through listening to this song.
"A Place Only You Can Go"—Needtobreathe
That first verse gets me every time. For my writing’s
sake, I like to be reminded that everyone has a past. No one gets by in life
without a few scars, bumps, or bruises. My characters would merely be faded
photographs if they didn’t have their own broken hearts to nurse, their own
haunting mistakes to regret, and their own bitter pills to swallow.
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So that’s just a sampling of what I listen to when I’m
editing. Sometimes I like louder music sometimes softer. It really varies on my
mood, and the weather, and quite possibly on what color I’m wearing. Trying to
give you a list of my top favorites would be as impossible as trying to
categorize the ones I have mentioned. But I think these ten songs convey the
general idea of the mood I go for when I’m editing.
And now, here’s where I admit to another bit of
cheating. At this point, I’m supposed to tag five other bloggers to follow in
my footsteps. However, the problem is, I don’t actually follow too many blogs because I generally spend all my free time
writing (or banging my head against the wall in lieu of brainstorming). Thus I
don’t really know any bloggers. Not
enough to tag them. That said, if you blog and you want to write your own take
on the Lyric Medley Tag, just let me know in the comments section, and I’ll
gladly link to your post.
Last but not least, one final shout out to the
brilliant Heather!
