I love music. I love to sing along in the shower… and the car. Keep staring buddy, cause I’m not stopping anytime soon. I don’t mean to brag (okay, maybe a little) but I even have a few karaoke trophies. Before my husband and I found out that we had conceived the most awesome kid ever, we had plans to start a band. My man-beast is quite the drummer.
One of the saddest moments in my writing career was when I discovered that I couldn’t listen to my favorite tunes while writing. It’s like I’m humming along, typing out this badass fight scene, when suddenly the lyrics seep into my brain and love is a battlefield that my character has to break on through… wait, what?
So, yeah. If I’m rocking out on the job, the songs can’t have lyrics. Or at least, not English lyrics. That works too. My musical appetite has expanded in some interesting ways due to this little setback. Here are a few favorites from my current work playlist:
“Fade to Black” by Apocalyptica (a Finnish metal band with killer cellos)
“Alech Taadi” by Cheb Khaled
“Love in Portofino” by Pink Martini (a cross-genre group from Portland)
The American McGee’s Alice video game soundtrack (in its delightfully morbid entirety)
“Morning Girl” by Switchblade Symphony
“The Art of War” by Vanessa-Mae (and everything else by her)
Everything by Bach
Chanting monks and Tibetan sound bowls
Nature sounds (especially storms and running water)
Tribal drums and pan flutes
I still very much enjoy music I can sing along to, and I can totally listen to whatever I want when I’m daydreaming and brainstorming with my sticky notes and plot board. My brain wants to explode just thinking about narrowing that playlist down. So let’s call this next set some of my favorites from the daydreaming soundtrack, in no particular order:
“High on Sunday 51” by Aimee Mann
“Superhero” by Ani DiFranco
“Sunday Morning” by Ani DiFranco (I love everything she does so hard)
“Tango Shoes” by Bif Naked
“No I Don’t Remember” by Anna Ternheim
“Our Last Night” by Better Than Ezra
“Dreams” by Brandi Carlile
“Turpentine” by Brandi Carlile
“Waltz #2” by Elliott Smith
“Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac
“Insider” by Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks
“Coconut Skins” by Damien Rice
“Volcano” by Damien Rice
“Your Ghost” the cover by Greg Laswell
“Wish You Were Here” by Incubus
“Each Coming Night” by Iron & Wine
“Better Angels” by Lesley Gore
“Born” by Over the Rhine
“Glory Box” by Portishead
“All You Did Was Save My Life” by Our Lady Peace
“As Fast As You Can” by Our Lady Peace (I heart them hardcore too)
“Safe & Sound” by Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars
“Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons
“Step Off” by Kacey Musgraves
“Behind the Moon” by Matt Costa
I know I’m leaving a few songs off the list that I’ll kick myself for later, but this set does make my heart sing. So I’m dubbing it finished. For now. Time to press play and get back to work!
Urban fantasy author Angela Roquet lives in Missouri with her husband and son. When she's not swearing at the keyboard, she enjoys painting, goofing off with her family and friends, and reading books that raise eyebrows. GRAVEYARD SHIFT, the first novel in Angela's Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. series, is now available for FREE on Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, and more. You can find Angela online at www.angelaroquet.com
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