Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Fun with Polls Music to Write By

I find that "Trailer Park" by Tank Wilson a good CD to write to. The songs are bland and unremarkable so they don't offer a distraction, but it is noise in the backround.

Tank (who generally likes to have backround noise when he writes but occasionally needed quiet when working out a more difficult part... back when he was a fic writer)

Continuing the trend of wandering off topic onto a simple list of favourite music, here's a random selection of artists/music from my CD collection:

Sting, The Corrs, Annie Lennox
Doris Day (do not laugh, she's better than you might think!)
Gerry Rafferty's latest CD (but there's only one track I actually like)
Harvey and the Wallbangers (hands up anyone who's heard of them )
Oscar Peterson, Alanis Morissette, The Beatles, Norah Jones, George Michael, Queen, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Pass, Pink Floyd, Billy Joel, Tears For Fears, Genesis, Sinead O'Connor
James Bond Theme Tunes
Love Songs I and II (compilation albums)

Then there's the other stuff:
Mahler 2 and 8 (oh, and 5, but I only ever listen to the totally sublime 4th movement, which was used in Death In Venice)
Bach Partitas for Violin
Rutti Choral Music
Rachmaninov 24 Preludes
Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet
Mozart, Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Grieg, Brahms Piano Concertos
Dvorak Violin Concerto
Britten A Boy Was Born
Poulenc Motets and other stuff
Granados Goyescas

etc, etc, etc...

Yvonne
(who suspects that 'pop' list dates her somewhat )

Tank said:

That's funny, I have that album too - on tape, not on CD. And, yes, I like it.


Wendy

I guess I should know I'd find someone who likes this kind of music too, but somehow I'm really surprised. I'm not used to it, I guess.

AnnaBtG. (big fan of latin music and Mexican soap operas, especially 'La Usurpadora' )

LOL, I'm sort of surprised too, actually. But surprises are good.

Julie

Well, I've just begun writing again after a very long work-induced hiatus. I voted yes to the first question and 'other,' to the second, so here's my explanation. I do choose music that reflects the mood I'm trying to create in a story, but often this will mean listening to one song over and over on endless repeat. I know this would drive most people absolutely insane, but for me, the music should create an atmosphere without being distracting and a song I know really well can definitely fit this role. (Incidentally, listening to a song with which you are very familiar and listening to a song you've never heard before are two very different processes for your brain. A new song will get your full attention and will distract you from other things, whereas with a song you already know well, you're brain really only tunes in to something around 10-15% of it and it fills in the rest for you. The brain is so cool :p )

If I'm trying to write angst (and these days, when am I not? ) I can listen to Coldplay's "Warning Sign" on infinite repeat. Previously, when I was working on a non-fanfic project and I was trying to write a secondary character's reaction to a main character's death, I had Third Eye Blind's "Background" on infinite repeate because the song's bridge, "The plans I make still have you in them...," to me, captured perfectly that time when death isn't real and the person isn't really gone; when you're still completely in denial and your brain can't imagine tomorrow with that person not there, and so it doesn't. If I hadn't already sworn up and down not to write a TOGOM re-write, I'd definitely have this same song on infinite repeat while working on it.


Rac

Depends on what I'm writing. Usually I like silence. Once in a while, I'll put on something soothing like Yanni, Enya or David Arkenstone in the background. I've been known to listen to movie soundtracks like the LoTR or Star Trek soundtracks as well. I just can't have anything with distracting lyrics when I write. About the only artist with lyrics I can listen to while writing is Enya, and I also like James Darren's CD of Sinatra's music (he played a hologram on DS9).

I voted yes, because silence sometimes creeps me out. I get really nervous when I'm alone and trying to write something and there's no background music.

I tend to listen to a lot of varied artists. I have lately had my Chris de Burgh moods whenever I would write. Whenever I listen to 'Carry Me (Like a Fire in Your Heart)', I tend to write more sappy (not romantic) but tear jerker scenes. Chris de Burgh's music is a bit of genius for me. I could listen to it 24/7 and never grow tired of it.

I also like musicals, so when I get something like 'The Lion King', 'Cats', or 'Beauty and the Beast', then I can generally write pretty well.

Josh Groban, Cliff Richard, John Denver, Phil Collins, and Rod Stewart are other artists I can listen to while writing.

I've never been able to work in silence and I have the hands-down, absolute best CD to write LnC fanfic to...the LNCTNAOS Soundtrack. I bought it a few years ago and I do actually pop it in to the walkman when I know I want to seriously sit and write. It'a all instrumental background music from the show and it really does help to set the mood.

Cool poll! I do miss a lot of good stuff.

I write much better with music on, because it helps me to concentrate. It isn't for mood-setting, though (but I still picked the "yes" answer for the first question.) I also find I get interrupted less often when I've got something playing - weird. Maybe the rest of the family just stays well away from my favourite music?

It has to be something that isn't going to distract me, so nothing I haven't heard before. I work best when I have songs I practically know backwards - I'll sit warbling away, but it's all totally unconscious. I did some of my best writing listening to a set of three CDs on a loop - Sting's Mercury Falling, Sting's Brand New Day and Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick (yes, I *can* sing every word of that without paying attention. Scary. )

I've been collecting Al Stewart CDs recently and listening to them in the car. If I get familiar enough with the lyrics, they might form my new playlist.

And while I'm on the subject, does anyone else think Sting's All Four Seasons in One Day is a perfect description of S1 Lois?

Mere