Writing Song List Updated
Finally got around to updating my Writing Song List!
For those of you who don't know (or don't remember), "Writing Songs" are songs that I listen to when writing either fanfiction, stories, or essays, that block out distracting outside sounds (like my evil suitemate) but don't distract me from what I'm working on, and can help inspire me when writing. The songs can't be too loud and distracting, or too soft and sleep-inducing (if one is working late), and typically have inspiring, or powerful, or artistic lyrics.
15. "Coming Clean
" by Hilary Duff [wiki entry on song
]
"'Cause different/ Doesn't feel so different/ And going out is better/ Than always staying in"
(Yes, I know a song by Hilary Duff can cause eyerolls, but I can't help it. This was one of those childhood songs of mine that just brings me back when I hear it. But seriously, the lyrics again are those that can hold many different meanings in them. It begins very "mystic" sounding, gradually speading up and getting louder (which for those who haven't figured it out yet, I love in songs), and comes to the semi-loud but not distracting chorus. The song's basic message that I think at least is that of trying to be oneself again after a while of trying to be someone or something else, or admitting some sort of truth that is obviously fairly life-affecting. The language in the song is fairly wide-ranged, not childish at least, which is also another point to it.)
16. "Fly
" by Hilary Duff [wiki entry on song
]
"Open up the part of you that wants to hide away"
(Yes, another one. Screw it, she's got some good songs. I consider this basically an "inspiration song". I feel like it's about being inspired and just letting your imagination flow, not restricting it or editing your words before they're even out. Once again the song also has a very "mystic" sound to it, and is again one of those songs that can probably have a thousand different meanings to it and thus works for many different types of writing and subjects. This is just one of those songs that I feel inspired just hearing, and with the song's encouraging lyrics, I usually do end up doing so. I also personally think this is one of Hilary Duff's best songs as well.)
16. "How Do You Do
" by Shakira [wiki entry on song
]
"Have you ever felt starved?/ Or is your belly always full?"
(To anyone who ever thought that Shakira only puts out sexually-laced love and dance songs, I answer with this song. Probably the FARTHEST thing from what people who are not very familiar with her think of her songs.Since I first became a fan of hers and heard this song, I was in shock and immidieately addicted to it. The song is basically about the singer speaking to God, and seriously asking questions about various religions (directly, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity) and God Himself ("how does feel to be so high?" "you've made mistakes/well that's okay 'cause we all have") and is just such an amazing and beautiful song, questioning aspects of relgion yet not sounding anti-religion at all. Fantastic song, that definitely makes me want to write in a different way, or about something serious and powerful.)
17. "I'm Still Here
" by Vertical Horizon
"If you were right and I was wrong/ Why are you the one who's gone"
(A very sad though ironic song, that i think is something like the sequel to the song "Finding Me", about how a person who was supposed to be helping the singer and thought that they had all the answers to the singer's problems has gone and left them, but the singer thinks they found the answer to the problems a different way and is starting to heal themself, wondering where the other person has gone. Of course, I could be completely wrong, but that's what I get from it.)
18. "Illusions
" by Ryan Cabrera
"Just leave these illusions behind/ And run with me"
(Another one of my favorite songs, that follows along the same lines of "Look Through My Eyes" and "Keep Your Mind Wide Open", about seeing the world for what it is, and how trying to follow other people's views of what life should be leads to nothing but frustration and unhappiniess, and you can only find what you want and what you need by breaking through those walls the world set up for you and discovering yourself through being out there.)
19. "Look Through My Eyes
" by Everlife
"There's so much to understand/ Take a look through my eyes/ There's a better place somewhere out there"
(I like this version much more than the Phil Collins version (and there are differences in the lyrics I came to realize). Just the theme of taking the moment to see another person's point of view, see the world from another perspective. How seeing the world as a brighter and happier place is ultimately better than seeing it through a cynical way--how even though there are times things get hard and difficult, just hanging on will lead you to a much better life. I also like this version better because it also has that "mystic" (or i guess pop music?) type of sound, while Phil Collins has more of a...tropical, jungle, Rafiki
type of sound...)
20. "Outside Looking In
" by Jordan Pruitt [wiki entry on song
]
"You don't know what it's like/ To be your own best friend"
(Although I'm not the biggest fan of Jordan Pruitt, this song is probably one of the best out there about being "left out" or ostracized as a kid or preteen or even teenager. As such, it's probably one of the perfect songs to listen to in order to get into that frame of mind when writing. It also is mostly guitar as far as the music goes, so it's not incredibly distracting either, never getting too loud or too soft. Very unique sounding voice as well.)
21. "A Thousand Miles
" by Vanessa Carlton [wiki entry on song
]
"If I could fall, into the sky/ Do you think time, would pass by?"
(I suppose this one could qualify as a "staple" writing song as well, given its fame. I think the original title for the song would also make it more obvious, "Interlude". The entire song is about a moment drifting off into thought, about what could happen if one could go back in time and change something, to meet up with a certain person again who they can't stop thinking about. Wanting to back in time, to be with that one special person who you wish you could've stayed in contact with who you didn't realize how much they meant to you until later, I think can also fit a more variety of situations than you can think of at first. Beautiful music as well, and the piano is loud enough to keep interest but not to the point that you'd lose concentration on something else.)
22. "Winter's on the Wing
" by The Secret Garden
"And you'll be here to see it/ Stand and breathe it all the day/ Stoop, and feel it. Stop and hear it./ Spring, I say"
(One of my favorite songs from the musical The Secret Garden, about the change from winter to spring. Beautiful song, that goes from soft to loud (but not too loud), and uses a wide range of vocabulary in the lyrics. Spring could easily be a metaphor for something else (such as inspiration), and following that, winter can be a metaphor as well. Fantastic song.)
For those of you who don't know (or don't remember), "Writing Songs" are songs that I listen to when writing either fanfiction, stories, or essays, that block out distracting outside sounds (like my evil suitemate) but don't distract me from what I'm working on, and can help inspire me when writing. The songs can't be too loud and distracting, or too soft and sleep-inducing (if one is working late), and typically have inspiring, or powerful, or artistic lyrics.
15. "Coming Clean
" by Hilary Duff [wiki entry on song
]
"'Cause different/ Doesn't feel so different/ And going out is better/ Than always staying in"
(Yes, I know a song by Hilary Duff can cause eyerolls, but I can't help it. This was one of those childhood songs of mine that just brings me back when I hear it. But seriously, the lyrics again are those that can hold many different meanings in them. It begins very "mystic" sounding, gradually speading up and getting louder (which for those who haven't figured it out yet, I love in songs), and comes to the semi-loud but not distracting chorus. The song's basic message that I think at least is that of trying to be oneself again after a while of trying to be someone or something else, or admitting some sort of truth that is obviously fairly life-affecting. The language in the song is fairly wide-ranged, not childish at least, which is also another point to it.)
16. "Fly
" by Hilary Duff [wiki entry on song
]
"Open up the part of you that wants to hide away"
(Yes, another one. Screw it, she's got some good songs. I consider this basically an "inspiration song". I feel like it's about being inspired and just letting your imagination flow, not restricting it or editing your words before they're even out. Once again the song also has a very "mystic" sound to it, and is again one of those songs that can probably have a thousand different meanings to it and thus works for many different types of writing and subjects. This is just one of those songs that I feel inspired just hearing, and with the song's encouraging lyrics, I usually do end up doing so. I also personally think this is one of Hilary Duff's best songs as well.)
16. "How Do You Do
" by Shakira [wiki entry on song
]
"Have you ever felt starved?/ Or is your belly always full?"
(To anyone who ever thought that Shakira only puts out sexually-laced love and dance songs, I answer with this song. Probably the FARTHEST thing from what people who are not very familiar with her think of her songs.Since I first became a fan of hers and heard this song, I was in shock and immidieately addicted to it. The song is basically about the singer speaking to God, and seriously asking questions about various religions (directly, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity) and God Himself ("how does feel to be so high?" "you've made mistakes/well that's okay 'cause we all have") and is just such an amazing and beautiful song, questioning aspects of relgion yet not sounding anti-religion at all. Fantastic song, that definitely makes me want to write in a different way, or about something serious and powerful.)
17. "I'm Still Here
" by Vertical Horizon
"If you were right and I was wrong/ Why are you the one who's gone"
(A very sad though ironic song, that i think is something like the sequel to the song "Finding Me", about how a person who was supposed to be helping the singer and thought that they had all the answers to the singer's problems has gone and left them, but the singer thinks they found the answer to the problems a different way and is starting to heal themself, wondering where the other person has gone. Of course, I could be completely wrong, but that's what I get from it.)
18. "Illusions
" by Ryan Cabrera
"Just leave these illusions behind/ And run with me"
(Another one of my favorite songs, that follows along the same lines of "Look Through My Eyes" and "Keep Your Mind Wide Open", about seeing the world for what it is, and how trying to follow other people's views of what life should be leads to nothing but frustration and unhappiniess, and you can only find what you want and what you need by breaking through those walls the world set up for you and discovering yourself through being out there.)
19. "Look Through My Eyes
" by Everlife
"There's so much to understand/ Take a look through my eyes/ There's a better place somewhere out there"
(I like this version much more than the Phil Collins version (and there are differences in the lyrics I came to realize). Just the theme of taking the moment to see another person's point of view, see the world from another perspective. How seeing the world as a brighter and happier place is ultimately better than seeing it through a cynical way--how even though there are times things get hard and difficult, just hanging on will lead you to a much better life. I also like this version better because it also has that "mystic" (or i guess pop music?) type of sound, while Phil Collins has more of a...tropical, jungle, Rafiki
type of sound...)
20. "Outside Looking In
" by Jordan Pruitt [wiki entry on song
]
"You don't know what it's like/ To be your own best friend"
(Although I'm not the biggest fan of Jordan Pruitt, this song is probably one of the best out there about being "left out" or ostracized as a kid or preteen or even teenager. As such, it's probably one of the perfect songs to listen to in order to get into that frame of mind when writing. It also is mostly guitar as far as the music goes, so it's not incredibly distracting either, never getting too loud or too soft. Very unique sounding voice as well.)
21. "A Thousand Miles
" by Vanessa Carlton [wiki entry on song
]
"If I could fall, into the sky/ Do you think time, would pass by?"
(I suppose this one could qualify as a "staple" writing song as well, given its fame. I think the original title for the song would also make it more obvious, "Interlude". The entire song is about a moment drifting off into thought, about what could happen if one could go back in time and change something, to meet up with a certain person again who they can't stop thinking about. Wanting to back in time, to be with that one special person who you wish you could've stayed in contact with who you didn't realize how much they meant to you until later, I think can also fit a more variety of situations than you can think of at first. Beautiful music as well, and the piano is loud enough to keep interest but not to the point that you'd lose concentration on something else.)
22. "Winter's on the Wing
" by The Secret Garden
"And you'll be here to see it/ Stand and breathe it all the day/ Stoop, and feel it. Stop and hear it./ Spring, I say"
(One of my favorite songs from the musical The Secret Garden, about the change from winter to spring. Beautiful song, that goes from soft to loud (but not too loud), and uses a wide range of vocabulary in the lyrics. Spring could easily be a metaphor for something else (such as inspiration), and following that, winter can be a metaphor as well. Fantastic song.)