Saturday, January 29, 2011

Other People's Music


I've posted many a time about how essential music is to my writing process. Each of my novels has a playlist as I'm drafting and when copyedits are done the book gets a soundtrack. You can see the Nightshade playlist and soundtrack and the Wolfsbane playlist on my web site.

Discovering new music is one of my favorite things. I find a lot of songs through the incredible Minnesota Public Radio station The Current, which I'd recommend to everyone. You can stream it online no matter where you live. For ambient, mood music I often turn to Digitalis on Soma FM, which I'll sometimes stream as I'm writing.

But even better than finding music on your own can be the joy of learning about the songs and bands that other people love. David Levithan, author and editor extraordinaire, conducts a yearly music poll wherein his friends send in their favorite albums and songs of the year. David compiles the list and then gifts us all with an amazing compilation of music recommendations from some very music savvy peeps.

If you're looking for new music I'd check out these recommendations.

And here's a 2010 single on my list: Yeasayer's O.N.E. I love this song and am now obsessed with the video - it's like if a dystopian world decided the 1980s should be revived. It also kind of makes me think that this might be a club where the capital citizens of Panem might be found slumming it. (Sorry I can't embed the video here, but I'd highly recommend watching it. It's a hoot and a half!)

Enjoy!

7 comments:

  1. I love Yeasayer. They were such a great find.

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  2. Hey Shaun! Agreed - I also love how creative and weird all their videos are.

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  3. My house would never get clean if I didn't have my Ipod to help me through it! I just posted a debut video from a new band that is quite awesome - and the lead singer is a redhead, like yourself! Check it out if you have a chance!

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  4. That is a good song! I've been listening to a lot of Jeremy Messersmith lately. I LOVE The Current! Best music ever.

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  5. I've got my revision's play list on my blog right now... and you're one thousand percent right. (Okay... maybe not 1000%... but 999.9% at the very least.) It really helps set the tone in your mind.

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  6. Writing with music is great. I find myself changing what I write depending on what I'm listening too. My craziest poetry is inspired by 'Astronime Domine' live from Pink Floyd's Ummagumma album.

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  7. I listen to music while i write - i pick songs that rep the mood of the chapter. :)

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