I find I have a real synergy with the road. Whether as driver or passenger, I find ideas flow as I cruise down a county road or highway. Often driving goes hand in hand with music. In fact, I have soundtracks for many of the places I have been.
The other day, I heard Tiny Dancer by Elton John pipe up on the radio. It instantly took be back to a 2003 month-long road trip my husband and I had taken. We had packed up our Suburban with rock climbing and camping gear. We took an inflatable mattress so we could sleep out of the back of the vehicle. We showered in isolated places out of the view of others.
At the time, we lived in the Phoenix Metro area. We drove to
Before getting into the meat of our trip—and in the days where CDs were more prevalent than iPods—we stopped and purchased Elton John’s Greatest Hits, listening to it for a good chunk of the trip. For me, it has become the soundtrack for that journey.
I find myself creating soundtracks for my manuscripts and characters, as well. Music is so inextricably linked to writing, characters, and pop culture in so many ways. In fact, Tiny Dancer—in addition to reminding me of our 2003 road trip—always reminds me of this:
Do you have soundtracks for your life, your travels, or your manuscripts?
Yes. Music is very important to me. Certain songs I hear and it brings back memories. I remember where I was and what I was doing. I remember when I first heard "Heartbreak Hotel" by Elvis (before the Memphis sessions became popular) A new girl I met while The Charts sang "Desiree" (played in the movie "Mean Streets"). Yeah I got soundtracks. One of the reasons I like Quentin Tarantino, he never uses New muisic, just previously recorded stuff. The music made Travoltas comeback movie "Pulp Fiction" very fascinating.
ReplyDeleteFor writing though, I tend to hear, not listen, to chamber music as background. Schubert, Mozart, Hayden, Boccherini those guys.
Interesting. It's not so much I think of songs that relate to my writing, more that I hear songs in my head when people use certain phrases. Like 'I Believe' by Tears For Fears if someone starts a sentence with "I believe " :O)
ReplyDeleteA lot of my novels and my trips have had soundtracks. The most recent was Joshua Radin's Simple Times album -- unexpected side effect has turned out to be that I only need to put it on to slip into the mood to work on that book!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love Tiny Dancer! It's amazing how evocative songs are.
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