Words are words,
right? Fiction or song – both tell a story, both paint a picture. I guess
different songs resonate with different people, but we all have songs that fill
our minds with image and atmosphere. I remember listening (all those years ago)
to David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs album for the first time. I found Future Legend
quite frightening. It immediately conjured up a dystopian world of death,
destruction, and decay. Even now, it makes me think of dark alleys, fractured
neon signs, hopelessness and depravity. Bowie created a fascinating world, and
it’s one I keep meaning to tap into. It would make a great setting for a novel.
The BBC used Nick
Cave’s utterly brilliant Red Right Hand in Peaky Blinders (I know, here I go
again!). Although it’s a modern song in a (an?) historical setting, it works.
In fact, they couldn’t have chosen anything more perfect. It chills you to the
bone, and you immediately know what sort of world you’re entering. And it’s no
fairy tale. Here’s the excellently splendid video. As an aside, I used to work
at the record label and remember Nick Cave in his druggy days, staggering about
the office. He’s turned out rather well!
As I’m writing gangy
stuff, I’m also listening to the soundtrack to Rocknrolla. It’s great because
it has little spoken clips from the film. Yes, they’re modern day gangsters
but, hey, a villain is a villain, so it all helps.
Nine Inch Nails are
also good to listen to. Another band I used to work on, and the reason I
decided I’d had enough of the music industry – but that’s another story.
Whether you like their music or not (and I love them), it’s hugely atmospheric.
It’s good for writing angry scenes, although Hurt is quite poignant. In fact,
Johnny Cash released a version of it after, I believe, the death of his wife.
Ramin Djawadi’s stuff
is good for battle scenes. The splendidly clever Liz de Jager recommended his
soundtracks to me. I know she listens to them while writing and boy does she
write a good battle!
And smuggling. I’ve
always wanted to write a smuggling story. Fingals’s Cave is perfect, as is
Peter Grimes.
You can use music as
background to create the right atmosphere. You can use music to create images
that can turn into stories. You can use music to get you in the right frame of
mind, to stir your emotions. And if writing becomes a chore, you can put some
music on and dance. Or is that just me? Sugababes anyone?
