Your Mind on Music

Caffeine.  Alcohol.  A toke, a toot.  Everyone's got their favorite stimulant, but when it comes to working on a draft, the overwhelming drug of choice for most writers I know is music.

Four screenwriters interviewed in Karl Iglesias’s fine and useful book, The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters talk of their dependence on music as muse: Ron Bass likes to write to jazz; Steven DeSouza uses soundtracks from movies similar to the genre he’s writing in; Scott Rosenberg goes for rock’n’roll; Nicholas Kazan prefers Gregorian chant ("I need something constant and neutral.  I find it’s a wonderful aid that sort of massages the right hemisphere of my brain").

References to writer-as-listener abound in the realm of screenwriting interviews.  My own habit coincides with that of Mr. Bass, who notes: "I like to play the same CDs over and over because I like the music to disappear."

True that.  When I find a piece of music that evokes the sensibility of what I’m writing, I put it on Repeat and play it for hours.  (This method’s only drawback is that when you wear out a piece this way, you really do wear it out; certain songs I used to love are dead to me now, sadly.)  Lately, I've been stuck on a song called Diamond Heart by the group Active Child (fans of Roxy Music's Avalon may enjoy, but if Neo-80s synth and romantic langeurs give you the hives, steer clear, plus this is the only song from the album I've gotten so attached to, so the real hook may be something subjectively idiosyncratic, i.e. the sound of a C# alternating against a C with a D# above it just says HELLO to my heart). 

Diamond Heart is an exception that proves the rule, in that it has vocals, something usually to be avoided, but the lead vocal is so aurally tweaked that it took me a dozen listenings to realize that the words "diamond heart" are used in the lyrics.  Generally non-vocal music serves the task best, and my perennial search for instrumental music that’ll work often unearths great stuff that defies categorization (what exactly do you call Four Tet's Smile Around the Face, which sounds like the union of a benignly berserk robot drummer and the Lollipop Kids on helium in a toy factory?). 

My default fall-back is a pair of hardy perennials that never fail to get the fingers moving: the music of Steve Reich and Johann Sebastian Bach.  The perpetual motion and ethereality of Reich (particulary the more minimal early works) eases my right brain into gear, while Glen Gould playing Bach's keyboard music stokes the left side into more active alertness.  There's just enough muted and/or ambiguous emotionality in both composers' work to keep it engaging, and it abounds in that "constant and neutral" quality that Kazan spoke of.

I did a similar post on this writing methodology some five years ago, and got a lot of good suggestions for Music To Write By, but I've since exhausted those sources (played into its grave are The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid's two hours of beautifully spooky, languid otherworldliness, and my first novel thanks you).  Once again, I’m on the lookout for writing-stimulation. 

What music have you found that gets your blood moving and keeps your creative juices flowing, when you're working on a draft?  Living Rom-Com wants to hear.

Comments

[JustMe]

I was just thinking about this today. I usually happen upon one song that "sums up" the particular script I'm working on.

I tend to listen to Top 40 Pop when I'm writing...I have no idea why...but I'll occasionally build mixes for certain scenes. I've been listening to a lot of intense, dark techno for this most recent script - which is a bit difficult since that's not my favorite type of music, but it puts me in the right headspace.

I always recommend Ben Harper for a good dramatic scene. :)

[E.C. Henry]

For many of the specs I've penned I've actually got soundtrack music to accompany it. The current, dark, urban drama I'm working on has an EXCELENT soundtrack to it, just hope I can write up to the music I've selected...

The right song really helps me crack scenes and characters. So I'm ALWAYS on the listen out for music I can use in one of my specs.

Too bad most modern music SUCKS. I really expected more from this generation. BUT I think today's musicians are lazy; they're not working hard enough to create art that's worthy of consideration compared to that of their predesors. Britany Spears? Lada Gaga? Come-on, these Madonna wannabees who will NEVER be as good as the original was. And where's the next Journey (80s rock band refernece) going to come from?
Dude, today's generation is incapable of making music like the pros of old. You'd think over time things would get better and better, improved technology and the furhering of the medium. But today's music is getting worse and worse and worse.

When I write I CAN'T be listening to music. I've tried doing this several times and it just is too distacting. RATHER, I like to listen to music as related to my scripts when I'm on my way to work, or on my way home. The music is a bond to the writing, and as I said earlier; helps me get futher into characters and scenes.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

[Noah]

Creating the perfect playlist for each script I write is essential to my process. It's like Pavlov's Bell for me, creatively speaking. I choose and then repeated listen to carefully selected songs to evoke emotion and mood that immediately transport me into my story world like a drug.

However, the downside as you mentioned, is these songs become dead to me after the script is finished. I only associate them with that specific project in the future and any special meaning the song had is lost on me. That's why crafting the writing playlist is very tricky, because you don't want to put your favorite songs on it.

Also, editing my playlist is a perfect way to procrastinate so I rarely change it after I select my original songs.

As Duke Ellington said, "Music is my mistress."

[Rob in L.A.]

I actually can't listen to music while I'm writing intently because it's so distracting. Leaving some comment on the Internet, I'll listen to music, but not for my major writing projects. When I do listen to music while writing — to drown out other distracting noises and the like — I listen to (bah! Nicholas Kazan beat me to it) Gregorian chants, especially "Perotin" by the Hilliard Ensemble.

I also find Steve Reich's music unlistenable. It's so distracting that it's hard to concentrate on anything else. Once, a friend called me up, and he was playing Reich in the background: I couldn't pay attention to what he was saying because the music was monopolizing my attention. I asked him to turn it off during the phone call. Reich's music as something you can't ignore? I think I might have paid a composer I don't like the ultimate compliment.

[Josh K-sky]

I can listen to this mix over and over again.

http://danschwartzblog.com/post/155471975/space-camp

Based on your preferences I think you will enjoy it.

[mernitman]

JustMe: Dark techno definitely creates a specific head space. Ben Harper for drama, eh? In-teresting...

EC: Sure, listening when thinking about a draft-in-progress, or prepping for it, sounds like a fun pursuit. Whatever works!

Noah: I hear that. I used to make elaborate playlists as well and had exactly the same issue (procrastination) - recent years, I try to simplify the selection.

Rob: Pretty funny Reichian reaction. I feel that way about Philip Glass (with the sole exception of his very first solo album). In truth, I tend to write to music more for revisions, and go with silence for first drafts. But since so much of the writing process IS revision...

Josh: Thanks so much for the mix! I'm familiar with roughly half of these selections, and I look forward to getting familiar with the rest.

[Terri Osburn]

I can't listen while writing but I do create playlists for my WIPs. (Books, not scripts though.)

For instrumental that might keep you going, I'd try 2Cellos. One came around on my iPod this morning and I realized if I ever wanted to write a chase scene, that was the perfect song. It was their instrumental cover of Michael Jackson's Annie Are You Okay.

[The Unknown Lyricist]

Rock'n'roll is my music of choice. I usually play the same CD more than once at a low volume. I start out hearing it and then it just fades as I get into the zone.

Some recent stuff on the "turntable":

--REM, Life's Rich Pageant

--Van Morrison, Moondance

--Bruce Sprinsteen, Greetings

--Mike Doughty, Golden Delicious

--Rockpile, Seconds of Pleasure

[mernitman]

Thank you Terri for the 2Cellos tip.

Unknown Lyricist: That's a list of classics, and I'm happy to see the unsung auteur of Soul Coughing getting his due in your rotation.

[Ailith Blesington]

A smile explains a million things. Just like money, it makes the world go round. That's a jolly band picture right there! Oh, how I miss my band.

[Judith Duncan]

Hey Billy,
Finding the right music is imperative for me when I write. It's hard to sit down at the computer with all the 'stuff' of the day in my head. If I find the right music,it unlocks the door to another world and guides me through. Then hopefully I can bring back some of that other world into my writing. I do love youtube,because I can follow the bread crumbs to amazing discoveries,music I haven't heard before or need to be reminded of. I recently re-discovered This Mortal Coil-The Cocteau Twins version of Siren Song ,I was writng a piece of flash fiction an evocative horror and this music carried me through it. I've just left a very stressful job and have started a new screenplay a teenage zombie comedy and I'm listening to Rodrigo y Gabriela,they are fantastic for the action scenes. I'm lucky my local library has a very eclectic mix of CD's to borrow and I do make the most of it. Sometimes I also listen to Bach's Cello suites and anyone is interested in Cello music,Adam Hurst is a great Gothic/alternative cellist. A great song i'm listening to at the moment is 'Somebody I used to Know' by Gotyi

:)Judith

P.S. E.C,there's so much good music out there being made now,just look past the commercial stuff.

[mernitman]

Ailith: I miss my band, too.

Judith: I'm a big fan of the cello suites, too. I'll look into Adam Hurst, as well as your teenage zombie soundtrackers - thanks for all! (And I second your p.s. to EC)

[Tony Conniff]

Bill,
I can't write to music myself, but if you're looking for instrumental 'background' music - Eno's Music For Airports is the original and still the greatest, if you ask me...
TC