HF and Music

Ludmilla · Post by **Ludmilla** » Tue November 16th, 2010, 2:08 pm

Music, or any noise, can be very distracting when I'm trying to read. I'm not a writer... I'm a reader pure and simple. But there are songs that create stories in my head when I listen to them, which is why I will sometimes replay them over and over again while I let my imagine run away. There are also some songs, either in their message or mood, that will remind me of books or characters, much the way they say some scents will evoke memories (or so I'd like to think).

EC2 · Post by **EC2** » Tue November 16th, 2010, 3:22 pm

Ludmilla, just as a listener, I have always enjoyed songs with stories or really strong imagery. If it has an emotional charge, so much the better. I suspect that is part of what is behind my love of Springsteen and Meat Loaf.

sweetpotatoboy · Post by **sweetpotatoboy** » Tue November 16th, 2010, 4:45 pm

I also love songs that tell a story, rather than just the usual platitudes about love etc. Or ones that leave you guessing what it's actually about - prompt you to fill in the blanks and build your own story and characters around it. (Possibly why I like country music so much.)

One particular story song that comes to mind is Richard Marx's "Hazard". Others that hint at a story are LeAnn Rimes' "Probably Wouldn't Be This Way" and Roch Voisine's "Am I Wrong". Probably are better examples but that's what comes to mind immediately.

EC2 · Post by **EC2** » Tue November 16th, 2010, 5:34 pm

[quote=""sweetpotatoboy""]I also love songs that tell a story, rather than just the usual platitudes about love etc. Or ones that leave you guessing what it's actually about - prompt you to fill in the blanks and build your own story and characters around it. (Possibly why I like country music so much.)

One particular story song that comes to mind is Richard Marx's "Hazard". Others that hint at a story are LeAnn Rimes' "Probably Wouldn't Be This Way" and Roch Voisine's "Am I Wrong". Probably are better examples but that's what comes to mind immediately.[/quote]

Agree very much. Weren't they going to make a film of 'Hazard' at one point? That's a very enigmatic song. Did he do it or didn't he? That now makes me think of Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue and Where The Wild Roses Grow. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chF244LWWqg
I like the emotion to be felt in the song too, and it's amazing what a different arrangement can do to make a song feel fresh and new or put a different nuance on it. I was thinking that when I saw Matt Cardle's performance of Hit Me Baby One More Time on the X Factor. Wow.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4mfUyjfuA0
Or Bon Jovi's Living on Prayer the slow version as opposed to the fast one. There's a world of difference. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK3_3McSMKI (I used this one on the soundtrack of Shadows and Strongolds when the going was tough).

Ludmilla · Post by **Ludmilla** » Tue November 16th, 2010, 6:02 pm

Some of Snow Patrol's songs do that for me. I often find myself wishing for a book that made me feel like some of their songs and the stories I attach to them.

Does anyone remember the 90s band Miranda Sex Garden? Their first album (I think) was madrigals set to music. You can sample them here. Unfortunately, I managed to lose all three albums I had collected in my moves over the years.

Madeleine · Post by **Madeleine** » Tue November 16th, 2010, 8:18 pm

Oh yes, Hazard is a perfect story all wrapped up in a short pop song. I've always thought Springsteen and Bon Jovi were very cinematic, especially BJ's late 80s/early 90s stuff, like Wanted Dead or Alive which I think is very evocative.

Funnily enough a while ago I heard a song I hadn't heard for ages - Stiltskin's "Inside" - and it hit me how perfect it would be for John Marshal - listen to the chorus! You can find it on Youtube.

wendy · Post by **wendy** » Tue November 16th, 2010, 9:03 pm

[quote=""EC2""]Ludmilla, just as a listener, I have always enjoyed songs with stories or really strong imagery. If it has an emotional charge, so much the better. I suspect that is part of what is behind my love of Springsteen and Meat Loaf.

[/quote]

A girl after my own heart - I love Meat Loaf - and my vehicle tag is "BRNTORUN" (for obvious reasons)!

EC2 · Post by **EC2** » Tue November 16th, 2010, 9:41 pm

[quote=""Madeleine""]Oh

Funnily enough a while ago I heard a song I hadn't heard for ages - Stiltskin's "Inside" - and it hit me how perfect it would be for John Marshal - listen to the chorus! You can find it on Youtube.[/quote]

Oh yes, I know "Inside" - love the voice. Those smoky rock voices get me every time. It's Waltheof's theme from The Winter Mantle - the pathos despite the strength of the voice. I have found that Seether have something of a Stiltskin sound and they have become one of my all time favourite bands - they don't so much tell stories and explore emotional reactions to stories. So you get a song like 'Rise Above This' which is about the affect on relatives of the lead singer's brother's suicide.

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Tue November 16th, 2010, 10:51 pm

Joan Baez did an album of folk ballads, largely old English ballads filtered through Appalachia, which I used to listen to over and over again. Definitely a historical angle there.

When I was writing an article about the French troubadour Bernart of Ventadorn for the now-defunct fanzine for Blackmore's Night, I made a point of listening to some modern recordings of troubadour music. Some I liked, some I didn't. There's a definite Middle Eastern influence to some of it, and the ones with that influence were among the ones I liked best.

I like Hildegard of Bingen's music, too. Anybody know of a really good novel about her? Her life story is amazing.

I'll listen to music before settling down to write, and I might be inspired to listen to music because of something I'm reading, but I prefer silence while I'm reading or writing.