Filler/Random Rules
Sometimes I wish I had a microcassette recorder.
I know there's digital ones out there, but I like the idea of holding a little tape for some reason, like if I put ideas into it, plant it in mulch, chuck in some Miracle Gro, and leave it in the sun, it will emerge a fully realized novel read on tape by me, waiting to be transcribed.
I had a fantastic scene in my head last head, which occurred, much as it always does, right before I went to sleep, when my body was ready to relax and my mind was finally free from tedium and worry about pointless shit like whether I remembered to put the recyclables in the trash can as the city ordinance now demands, or last-minute criticisms of the most recent episode of Heroes and how, to borrow a line from Teddy KGB from the movie Rounders, "just like a young man coming in for a quickie, I feel so unsatisfied." I could think about plot, at long last.
There was distraction though. It was warm enough to open a window but windy enough that I had to constantly get out of bed to raise the blinds just a little higher. The temperature dropped, I huddled a little closer under my blankets to the massive nest of pillows I've built, and for a moment it felt like I wasn't sleeping in the bed alone. Then of course the blinds clacked against the windowframe and I had to adjust them again, and spent the next hour trying to recreate that right positioning, the correct crumple of blankets, the perfect angle of the lean.
It's these kind of pathetic moments in my life that make me thankful I'm a writer, because while I can acknowledge that it's pathetic, I could also take the moment, throw it into a story and say, "No, this was inspiration."
***
Typical Random Rules - First 10 songs on your music player on random. No skipping. No cheating. Justify.
1. Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Dani California" - I'm really not that much of a Peppers fan. I mostly got this because I couldn't understand how they could stay that this was ripping off "Mary Jane's Last Dance" by Tom Petty. Ended up being a case of similar chord progression. Even Tom Petty had to say that a lot of music overlaps and sounds the same nowadays.
2. Sarah McLachlan - "I Will Remember You" - Songs like this make me glad I'm gay, because if I wasn't I'd have a much harder time justifying having this song on here. To be honest my favorite by her is "Ice Cream", but I don't have it. This is the closest afterward, and I guess it's also cos I'm graduating and there'll be a lot of people I'm going to leave behind, and it always leaves you wondering if you had any impact.
3. Marilyn Manson - "The Fight Song (Slipknot Remix)" - Try to figure that jump out. What can I say? I'm a child of the 80s and 90s. I love pissed off rock and Manson is damned good at it. Also, he gives a fantastic interview in that he's nothing like you *want* to expect. I love it when metal artists turn out to be much more intelligent and socially conscious than the media portrays them.
4. Noel Gallagher - "Help! (Live Acoustic)" - Wow. Oasis covering a Beatles song. Who'd have thunk it? I've always been a Noel fan, so I particularly bristle at someone calling them a second-rate Beatles cover band. I say "fuck you" to that. They're First-Rate, dammit!
5. Tool - "Parabol/Parabola" - Eventually Tool would have to show up, I've got every one of their songs on here. Tool is my lifeline for inspiration while writing City Dwellers, because the themes and lyrics all evoke a lot for me, not to mention how much the band means to the main character.
6. Charlotte Martin - "Beautiful Life (Live)" - I originally heard this song in Simlish, meaning I heard it while playing The Sims 2. I checked the lyrics, and searched for the song online, and found a live recording at the National Archives site strangely enough. It ends with her giving the backstory for what's simply called "The Stalker Song". I've since bought the studio version and it's on the City Dwellers 2 "soundtrack".
7. Fuel - "Won't Back Down" - I have Pandora to thank for this one. I asked for a station to would play Tool and music like Tool. I heard this song four times an hour and eventually like any music played excessively, I got into it. It was on the Daredevil soundtrack. That in and of itself should be cause to pity me.
8. Oasis - "Lyla" - Partly because I'm a huge Oasis fan, and partly to piss off one person and make another one happy. I heard it, checked the lyrics, and told a friend it reminded me of her relationship with her fiancee'. She got it, checked the lyrics, and absolutely loved the song, and then proceeded to tell her intended about it. It caused their very first vicious fight ever because he claims there is no way that some shitty Beatles cover band will be played at his wedding. He refuses to listen to the song. I know he's terrified he might like it and his Jack-Black-in-High Fidelity facade will crack.
9. Chad Kroeger and that guy from Saliva - "Hero" - It's soundtrack rock. I like it. I will not apologize. If you want the patently obscure then read the A.V. Club.
10. The Prodigy - "Voodoo People (Long Version)" - Sent by the Nice Ex who claims to be the only person in his tri-state area who bought the Hackers soundtrack. When you're brainstorming on the go, techno is fucking great for setting up an action scene. Unfortunately for Hackers, screwing up all the stoplights in NYC at once in one scene did not "own" this song.
Tagging: mythicfox, satyrwilder, chrisondra
Peace.
I know there's digital ones out there, but I like the idea of holding a little tape for some reason, like if I put ideas into it, plant it in mulch, chuck in some Miracle Gro, and leave it in the sun, it will emerge a fully realized novel read on tape by me, waiting to be transcribed.
I had a fantastic scene in my head last head, which occurred, much as it always does, right before I went to sleep, when my body was ready to relax and my mind was finally free from tedium and worry about pointless shit like whether I remembered to put the recyclables in the trash can as the city ordinance now demands, or last-minute criticisms of the most recent episode of Heroes and how, to borrow a line from Teddy KGB from the movie Rounders, "just like a young man coming in for a quickie, I feel so unsatisfied." I could think about plot, at long last.
There was distraction though. It was warm enough to open a window but windy enough that I had to constantly get out of bed to raise the blinds just a little higher. The temperature dropped, I huddled a little closer under my blankets to the massive nest of pillows I've built, and for a moment it felt like I wasn't sleeping in the bed alone. Then of course the blinds clacked against the windowframe and I had to adjust them again, and spent the next hour trying to recreate that right positioning, the correct crumple of blankets, the perfect angle of the lean.
It's these kind of pathetic moments in my life that make me thankful I'm a writer, because while I can acknowledge that it's pathetic, I could also take the moment, throw it into a story and say, "No, this was inspiration."
***
Typical Random Rules - First 10 songs on your music player on random. No skipping. No cheating. Justify.
1. Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Dani California" - I'm really not that much of a Peppers fan. I mostly got this because I couldn't understand how they could stay that this was ripping off "Mary Jane's Last Dance" by Tom Petty. Ended up being a case of similar chord progression. Even Tom Petty had to say that a lot of music overlaps and sounds the same nowadays.
2. Sarah McLachlan - "I Will Remember You" - Songs like this make me glad I'm gay, because if I wasn't I'd have a much harder time justifying having this song on here. To be honest my favorite by her is "Ice Cream", but I don't have it. This is the closest afterward, and I guess it's also cos I'm graduating and there'll be a lot of people I'm going to leave behind, and it always leaves you wondering if you had any impact.
3. Marilyn Manson - "The Fight Song (Slipknot Remix)" - Try to figure that jump out. What can I say? I'm a child of the 80s and 90s. I love pissed off rock and Manson is damned good at it. Also, he gives a fantastic interview in that he's nothing like you *want* to expect. I love it when metal artists turn out to be much more intelligent and socially conscious than the media portrays them.
4. Noel Gallagher - "Help! (Live Acoustic)" - Wow. Oasis covering a Beatles song. Who'd have thunk it? I've always been a Noel fan, so I particularly bristle at someone calling them a second-rate Beatles cover band. I say "fuck you" to that. They're First-Rate, dammit!
5. Tool - "Parabol/Parabola" - Eventually Tool would have to show up, I've got every one of their songs on here. Tool is my lifeline for inspiration while writing City Dwellers, because the themes and lyrics all evoke a lot for me, not to mention how much the band means to the main character.
6. Charlotte Martin - "Beautiful Life (Live)" - I originally heard this song in Simlish, meaning I heard it while playing The Sims 2. I checked the lyrics, and searched for the song online, and found a live recording at the National Archives site strangely enough. It ends with her giving the backstory for what's simply called "The Stalker Song". I've since bought the studio version and it's on the City Dwellers 2 "soundtrack".
7. Fuel - "Won't Back Down" - I have Pandora to thank for this one. I asked for a station to would play Tool and music like Tool. I heard this song four times an hour and eventually like any music played excessively, I got into it. It was on the Daredevil soundtrack. That in and of itself should be cause to pity me.
8. Oasis - "Lyla" - Partly because I'm a huge Oasis fan, and partly to piss off one person and make another one happy. I heard it, checked the lyrics, and told a friend it reminded me of her relationship with her fiancee'. She got it, checked the lyrics, and absolutely loved the song, and then proceeded to tell her intended about it. It caused their very first vicious fight ever because he claims there is no way that some shitty Beatles cover band will be played at his wedding. He refuses to listen to the song. I know he's terrified he might like it and his Jack-Black-in-High Fidelity facade will crack.
9. Chad Kroeger and that guy from Saliva - "Hero" - It's soundtrack rock. I like it. I will not apologize. If you want the patently obscure then read the A.V. Club.
10. The Prodigy - "Voodoo People (Long Version)" - Sent by the Nice Ex who claims to be the only person in his tri-state area who bought the Hackers soundtrack. When you're brainstorming on the go, techno is fucking great for setting up an action scene. Unfortunately for Hackers, screwing up all the stoplights in NYC at once in one scene did not "own" this song.
Tagging: mythicfox, satyrwilder, chrisondra
Peace.