Music and fandom and writing, oh my!
Sorry I haven't posted for so long. Sometimes I think of things to say, but then I realise that these things are not very interesting, after all. Sometimes I think of things to say, but then I realise that, to say what I want to say properly, I need to do lots of finding and copying and pasting and linking, and then it's bedtime, and stuff.
So instead, I've been lurking, and reading, and occasionally commenting. I shall now commence to ramble.
On the bus to and from work, I sit and listen to my iPod, and sometimes I think about fandom and wish I was a vidder, or that I could commission people to do vids for me, or something. There's a funny sort of relationship between music and fandom, and between music and writing. Sometimes I find myself listening to a piece of music, and wishing I could write something that had the same feeling, the same emotion, the same indefinable something, that I'm getting from this music. I suppose that's the sort of impulse that leads to so many songfics being written. Argh, cursed form! *makes sign of evil eye*
Personally, I tend to find songfics clumsy and awkward to read -- the lyrics, shorn of the music, become flat and lifeless. If I actually don't know the song referred to, then it's difficult to find any significance in the words at all. They just butt up against the author's own words, being almost-but-not-quite relevant, intruding on the story.
It's difficult to mix writing and music anyway, I think. Our emotional reaction to music is very personal, and it's hard to communicate that to the reader, who may not share that emotional relationship. You tend to get a lot of music in fic, even non-songfic, and I must admit, it often throws me out of the story. I just find myself thinking, ah, this is the author's fave new band then...
It's not just fic, either. For example, my friend galactic_jack (hi Jack, sorry to take your name in vain like this, but I'm sure you don't mind) hates the film Garden State with all the pure white-hot hatred of a thousand burning suns. His hatred is all encompassing, and his rants on the subject have entertained all who know him, but he particularly dislikes the bit where whatsisname, the main bloke wot played JD in Scrubs (I believe that's his official title) is in the hospital waiting room, and the other one, the girl one out of Star Wars (again, official) goes, "'Ere, just have a listen to this here band The Shins, they're great, they are!" And he goes, "You're right, they are great. Everyone, you must all go out and buy The Shins immediately, but not until you've finished watching my film kthx!"
Or something. I actually really like The Shins, and I don't hate Garden State all that much, but I knew what he meant.
Where was I? Oh yes. Not that it's all bad! No. My own attempts to incorporate music in my fic have, of course, never been anything less than brilliant, because I am a genius. I participated in shanalle's Two Lines challenge (in which you're assigned two lines of a random song, and have to write a fic based on them) a few years ago, and that was lots of fun, notwithstanding the fact that it was incredibly, handchewingly difficult! Then I went all self-indulgent and stuffed it full of lots of other music that had nothing to do with anything, and then I went and did another really clever thing that no one noticed but it didn't matter because I knew it was there. Er. And that's enough of that.
But yeah. Self indulgent. I think that's often the problem with music in fanfic. In fiction, even, because professional writers aren't immune to it. (Everyone, this is your cue to come up with loads of references to music in fiction that worked really well and made you feel special and fuzzy). But I think music is often essential to the process of writing. Do you have songs that relate to certain fics in your mind, even if they don't actually feature in the story? Whenever I hear The Wicker Man, by Pulp, I think of my first Lotrips fic, Holding the Pose. Although, come to think of it, I think that's the only one that has a really strong connection in my mind.
I particularly like finding songs for characters, though. It's a good iPod-on-the-bus game. Some characters have more songs than others. I have discovered that many, many songs, for instance, seem to be about RayK from due South. There are far fewer about Fraser. Incidentally, I spent an entire bus journey devising the most wonderful due South musical. It would have been an incredibly moving story of love and angst, and all the songs would have been from the The Magnetic Fields' back catalogue. Seriously, it was a great idea! Why does nobody ever understand my unique vision? *sigh*
The songs don't have to be about the characters. They just have to fit them, in some obscure way that feels right in my head. I spent an hour last week trying to find a song for Captain Jack Harkness from Doctor Who. It turned out to be The Modern Way by The Killers. Don't ask me.
Yesterday I found some songs for the Doctor himself. They are as follows:
1. One of These Things First by Nick Drake
2. A song by Augie March wot I don't know wot it's called because sophrosyne31 kindly put it on a CD for me but forgot to write the title. Does anyone know? The chorus goes "Not money, not flesh, not happiness / But this, which makes me sing." Anyone? No? Anyway, it's good.
I demand that someone make a vid for me out of one of these songs! I demands it, I does!
Naked As We Came by Iron and Wine is also a very good song, but it doesn't seem to fit anyone in any fandom. I just thought I'd mention it.
Hmm. Maybe when I get some time I'll upload some music so you can hear what I'm going on about. I'm reminded that damson tagged me a million years ago to do that music meme that was floating around. I actually did start it but never got round to choosing all the songs. I saved the bit I started though. Here it is:
1. Iron & Wine - Naked As We Came
2. ELO - Mr Blue Sky
3. The Delays - Valentine (probably)
4. Dolly Parton - Jolene
5. Morrissey - First Of The Gang To Die
6. The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet
Can't really remember the specifics of why I chose these now. They were all things that were going round in my head at the time, for one reason or another.
Oh yeah, and I meant to announce the fact that my website has upped and moved. It is now here:
www.tadorna.net
Please to be updating of your links and bookmarks if you so desire.
I will now go away and be quiet.
So instead, I've been lurking, and reading, and occasionally commenting. I shall now commence to ramble.
On the bus to and from work, I sit and listen to my iPod, and sometimes I think about fandom and wish I was a vidder, or that I could commission people to do vids for me, or something. There's a funny sort of relationship between music and fandom, and between music and writing. Sometimes I find myself listening to a piece of music, and wishing I could write something that had the same feeling, the same emotion, the same indefinable something, that I'm getting from this music. I suppose that's the sort of impulse that leads to so many songfics being written. Argh, cursed form! *makes sign of evil eye*
Personally, I tend to find songfics clumsy and awkward to read -- the lyrics, shorn of the music, become flat and lifeless. If I actually don't know the song referred to, then it's difficult to find any significance in the words at all. They just butt up against the author's own words, being almost-but-not-quite relevant, intruding on the story.
It's difficult to mix writing and music anyway, I think. Our emotional reaction to music is very personal, and it's hard to communicate that to the reader, who may not share that emotional relationship. You tend to get a lot of music in fic, even non-songfic, and I must admit, it often throws me out of the story. I just find myself thinking, ah, this is the author's fave new band then...
It's not just fic, either. For example, my friend galactic_jack (hi Jack, sorry to take your name in vain like this, but I'm sure you don't mind) hates the film Garden State with all the pure white-hot hatred of a thousand burning suns. His hatred is all encompassing, and his rants on the subject have entertained all who know him, but he particularly dislikes the bit where whatsisname, the main bloke wot played JD in Scrubs (I believe that's his official title) is in the hospital waiting room, and the other one, the girl one out of Star Wars (again, official) goes, "'Ere, just have a listen to this here band The Shins, they're great, they are!" And he goes, "You're right, they are great. Everyone, you must all go out and buy The Shins immediately, but not until you've finished watching my film kthx!"
Or something. I actually really like The Shins, and I don't hate Garden State all that much, but I knew what he meant.
Where was I? Oh yes. Not that it's all bad! No. My own attempts to incorporate music in my fic have, of course, never been anything less than brilliant, because I am a genius. I participated in shanalle's Two Lines challenge (in which you're assigned two lines of a random song, and have to write a fic based on them) a few years ago, and that was lots of fun, notwithstanding the fact that it was incredibly, handchewingly difficult! Then I went all self-indulgent and stuffed it full of lots of other music that had nothing to do with anything, and then I went and did another really clever thing that no one noticed but it didn't matter because I knew it was there. Er. And that's enough of that.
But yeah. Self indulgent. I think that's often the problem with music in fanfic. In fiction, even, because professional writers aren't immune to it. (Everyone, this is your cue to come up with loads of references to music in fiction that worked really well and made you feel special and fuzzy). But I think music is often essential to the process of writing. Do you have songs that relate to certain fics in your mind, even if they don't actually feature in the story? Whenever I hear The Wicker Man, by Pulp, I think of my first Lotrips fic, Holding the Pose. Although, come to think of it, I think that's the only one that has a really strong connection in my mind.
I particularly like finding songs for characters, though. It's a good iPod-on-the-bus game. Some characters have more songs than others. I have discovered that many, many songs, for instance, seem to be about RayK from due South. There are far fewer about Fraser. Incidentally, I spent an entire bus journey devising the most wonderful due South musical. It would have been an incredibly moving story of love and angst, and all the songs would have been from the The Magnetic Fields' back catalogue. Seriously, it was a great idea! Why does nobody ever understand my unique vision? *sigh*
The songs don't have to be about the characters. They just have to fit them, in some obscure way that feels right in my head. I spent an hour last week trying to find a song for Captain Jack Harkness from Doctor Who. It turned out to be The Modern Way by The Killers. Don't ask me.
Yesterday I found some songs for the Doctor himself. They are as follows:
1. One of These Things First by Nick Drake
2. A song by Augie March wot I don't know wot it's called because sophrosyne31 kindly put it on a CD for me but forgot to write the title. Does anyone know? The chorus goes "Not money, not flesh, not happiness / But this, which makes me sing." Anyone? No? Anyway, it's good.
I demand that someone make a vid for me out of one of these songs! I demands it, I does!
Naked As We Came by Iron and Wine is also a very good song, but it doesn't seem to fit anyone in any fandom. I just thought I'd mention it.
Hmm. Maybe when I get some time I'll upload some music so you can hear what I'm going on about. I'm reminded that damson tagged me a million years ago to do that music meme that was floating around. I actually did start it but never got round to choosing all the songs. I saved the bit I started though. Here it is:
1. Iron & Wine - Naked As We Came
2. ELO - Mr Blue Sky
3. The Delays - Valentine (probably)
4. Dolly Parton - Jolene
5. Morrissey - First Of The Gang To Die
6. The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet
Can't really remember the specifics of why I chose these now. They were all things that were going round in my head at the time, for one reason or another.
Oh yeah, and I meant to announce the fact that my website has upped and moved. It is now here:
www.tadorna.net
Please to be updating of your links and bookmarks if you so desire.
I will now go away and be quiet.