What's on your playlist?

I actually have 71 songs in my playlist, but there are a few I've been skipping and there's one whole soundtrack and parts of others, so I'll try not list everything, just the ones that are inspiring me. And I never listen to music while writing. I just can't. But I listen a lot while driving and thinking. Sometimes together. Sometimes not.

1. Last Of the Mohicans Soundtrack
2. Sail - AWOLNATION
3. Animal - XOV
4. Various songs from all three Hunger Game Soundtracks
5. Runnin' (feat. Belle Humble) - Cutline on UKF Dubstep 2011
6. Various songs from Dances with Wolves Soundtrack
7. Various songs from Lindsey Stirling
8. The Heart Wants What It Wants - Selena Gomez
9. Graduation - Gemini on UKF Dubstep 2011
10. Animus Vox - The Glitch Mob
11. Just a Kiss - Lady Antebellum
12. Beating Heart - Ellie Goulding
13. Take Me to Church - Hozier
14. Show Me a Sign - Modstep
15. Falling slowly - Len Hansard
16. Bloodlust - KillSonik on UKF Dubstep 2012
17. Various songs from The Piano Guys
18. Animals - Maroon 5
19. Always - Dubba Jonny on Ukf Dubstep 2012
20. In Every Corner of the Forest Pt. 3 - Bill Miller
21. Another Day - Modstep
22. Suffocate - The Prototypes on UKF Dubstep 2012
23. Still With Me - Tritonal on UKF Dubstep

Nothing. Nothing is on my playlist because I downloaded the iTunes update this morning and it erased ALL of my playlists! *weeps*

Oh really? Thanks! I didn't realize they could help with something like that. I've been going through my iTunes all morning but the only one to survive is the "most played" list. I need my "Colin Firth Loves This List" back!

Ugh, Only 30 seconds? I wonder how that can even happen. iTunes is nice, but when it bugs out it drives me up a wall!

Bass

I am a musician as well as a writer, thus I never ever listen to music while writing, as I only listen actively; to analyze how something is done, to admire it or blow it off as not working. It's all too distracting. Music is not something to have in the background for me.

Where has this thread been all my life? So many good suggestions!

Right now, for the novel I'm working on, I have:

Albatraoz - Aron Chupa
All of Lisbon's songs
Broods (both albums)
No Sugar in my Coffee - Caught a Ghost
Boss Mode - Knife Party
All of SOHN's albums
Betty Who (a bunch of her songs)

An eclectic mix

I don't exactly have a "playlist" but I have certain songs I'll revolve back to that get me more in the mood/relaxed for writing:

"Party Hard" - Andrew W.K.
"What Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" - Iron Chic
"It's a Hit" - We Are Scientists
"Hell" - Tegan and Sara
"Blindness" - Metric
"Anytime" - Journey
"Love You Madly" - Cake
"Get Over It" - OK Go
"Saturnine" - Polaris
"Blood Red Summer" - Coheed & Cambria
"Across the Sea" - Weezer
"Fever" - Hello Ninja

I'm going to share the songs on the playlist on my current WIP.

"Out of Time" - The Rolling Stones
"I Got Stripes" - Johnny Cash
"The Mercy Seat" - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
"Eminence Front" - The Who
"I Was Young When I Left Home" - Bob Dylan
"When I Hear My Name" - The White Stripes
"Feeling Good" - Nina Simone
"Public Image" - Public Image Ltd.
"Son of a Preacher Man" - Dusty Springfield
"Cross Road Blues" - Robert Johnson
"Baby Blue" - Badfinger
"Free Bird" - Lynyrd Skynyrd
"The Sky Is Crying" - Elmore James
"Cat People [Putting Out the Fire]" - David Bowie
"In The Air Tonight" - Phil Collins
"All Along the Watchtower" - Jimi Hendrix

I mostly listen to full albums that carry on one main theme or sound concept throughout while writing.
Woods of Ypres - Woods IV
Nirvana - Bleach
Fugazi - 13 Songs

My current obsession: I Remember How Those Boys Could Dance -- Carrie the Musical

https://youtu.be/Qe0H1BXrBFg?list=FLXGteLsLYorkAShQN3CvMyQ

That's not ominous at all.

I'm obsessed with this 12 minute-long instrumental guitar piece by John Butler called "Ocean." Here's a link to YouTube. It's absolutely perfect for FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, and I used it to write another manuscript too about five years ago. I've never heard so much emotion put into a single instrument! I had to convert the YouTube video of him playing it to an MP3 because every time I went to put it on YouTube in the background, I just end up watching it because his playing is so mesmerizing. Watch the video, seriously!

(I can't believe I haven't used this thread before. What's wrong with me?)

I usually keep my playlists as songs from the MC's pov. It helps me slip into their voice as I write. Or brainstorm. Since I'm doing pretty massive rewrites on the space opera, it's time to break the playlist back out and get back into my hero-in-the-making's mindset.

Since it's long-ish (and growing), I'll only list a few choice tracks. But, if you're curious about the whole thing, you can listen here. (Uses Spotify, btw.)

Halo - Starset
It Has Begun - Starset
Shake the Ground - Cherri Bomb
Raw. Real. - Cherri Bomb
Test on My Patience - Dead Sara
Living Dangerously - Fools for Rowan
How to be a Human - Powerman 5000
Don't Know How to Stop - Halestorm
I am the Fire - Halestorm
I'll Follow You - Shinedown
Gone - Sevendust
The Feast and the Famine - Foo Fighters
Vitamin - Incubus

Sometimes I CANT write without music! Right now I find Sam Smiths latest album In The Lonely Hour (Deluxe) to be absolutely inspiring! Every song has its own story and feel to it. Very good album , highly recommended.

I have hundreds of songs in my playlist.
Here are a few ones that I listen to all the time.

Bruno Mars&Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk
Chris Isaak - Wicked Games
Tom Odell - Can't Pretend
Polly Scattergood - I hate the way
Take That - SOS
Imagine Dragons - Battle Cry
The Pretty Reckless - House on a Hill

Thanks to Sage for linking this thread in another one... I'm a playlist junkie and have been since the 80s, when we still made actual physical mixtapes.

I built a playlist for my WIP, and still tend to play it during editing sessions (it's on YouTube here). Some of the songs are just for me, and some are referenced in the two MC's own playlists in the MS itself.

Hayley Kiyoko - Girls Like Girls
Gia G - Only a Girl
Sixpence None the Richer - There She Goes
Panic! At the Disco - Girls/Girls/Boys
Ani DiFranco - In Or Out
Lily Sevin - Jenny (Studio Killers cover)
Tegan and Sara - Fix You Up
Missy Higgins - Unashamed Desire
Zolita - Explosion
Mary Lambert - She Keeps Me Warm
Jen Foster - She (SHE4ME 2014 remix)

I just discovered Troye Sivan, and his whole Blue Neighbourhood album is massively influencing my current project. "YOUTH" is my favourite!

...Can you tell that my MC is angry? The album titles + years are because this idea is super contemporary and I was curious to see if it was born out in the years of the artist. The conclusion: mostly, surprisingly, except when it isn't.

I CAN'T write with music, though. I need to be able to hear the characters talking to one another to know what they say. I'm kind of baffled by all you people who can. (I think I do listen to music when they're at a party or something and so music is naturally playing, but turned down quiet so I can still hear the characters think). But generally I use my playlist to hype me up and get me in the character's frame of mind and the book's mood.

1. Control by Halsey
2. Ya Hey by Vampire Weekend
3. Internet Killed The Radio Star by the Limousines
4. Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day
5. L.G.F.U.A.D. by Motion City Soundtrack
6. My Head Is Full of Ghosts by Bad Religion
7. Mother by Pink Floyd
8. You Don't Know Me by Son Lux
9. Teenagers by My Chemical Romance
10. The Eton Rifles by The Jam
11. Getting Away With It by Electronic
12. England Skies by Shake Shake Go
13. Buzzcut Season by Lorde
14. True Faith by New Order
15. England by The National
16. Get Hurt by Gaslight Anthem

The_Ink_Goddess said:

I CAN'T write with music, though. I need to be able to hear the characters talking to one another to know what they say. I'm kind of baffled by all you people who can.

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To me, it feels like I'm processing the music and the writing on different "channels", for lack of a better term. I do tend to listen to classical or piano jazz while writing (except for this playlist, which I have burned into my brain now), so that I don't distract myself with the lyrics.

I have to first confess that I have been morosely stuck in listening to both Ziggy Stardust and Black Star repeatedly since Bowie left us. The two albums have become the playlist to my life of late. My Stardust vinyl was worn out in the 70s when Bowie originally saved my life.

My playlist for the novel I'm currently working on, though, is:

1. Divine - Native Love
2. Divine - Walk Like a Man
3. Divine - You Think You're a Man
4. Divine - I'm So Beautiful
5. Dead or Alive - I'd Do Anything
6. Dead or Alive - Misty Circles
7. Dead or Alive - What I Want
8. Dead or Alive - Far Too Hard
9. Dead or Alive - Absolutely Nothing
10. Marilyn - Calling Your Name
11. Culture Club - White Boys
12. Culture Club - Time
13. Culture Club - Love is Love
14. Ministry - Every Day is Halloween
15. Trans X - Living on Video
16. Elton John - Levon
17. Elton John - Tiny Dancer
18. Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls
19. Bronski Beat - Small Town Boy
20. Greg Holden - Boys in the Street

My WIP is YA Urban (is that the right word if it takes place in the real world?) Fantasy that takes place in the mid-90's but a few of these songs help me when I think of key scenes. I've been hooked by the band Eisley since they have a unique magical feel to their music and I most certainly believe the first song gives me a feel for the story as a whole.

"Wicked Child"- Eisley, Currents
"Drink the Water" Eisley, Currents
"The Fire" - French Horn Rebellion, Next Jack Swing, Pt 1
"Black Cat" - Janet Jackson, Rhythm Nation 1814
"The Knock" - Hop Along, Painted Shut
"I Wish" - Eisley, Combinations
"Jam" - Michael Jackson, Dangerous
"Baby Baby Baby" TLC, Oooooooooohhh...On the TLC Tip
"Spiderwebs" - No Doubt, Tragic Kingdom
"Diggin' On You" TLC, CrazySexyCool
"Sunday Morning" - No Doubt, Tragic Kingdom
"Tragic Kingdom" - No Doubt, Tragic Kingdom
"Nightlight" - Silversun Pickups, Better Nature
"Imaginary" - Evanescence, Fallen
"Finally" - CeCe Penison, Finally
"You Gotta Be" - Des'ree, I Ain'T Movin'
"How Deep Is Your Love" - Calvin Harris ft. Disciples
"Go Away" - Eisley, Combinations
"Well Thought Out Twinkles" - Silversun Pickups, Carnavas
"Checkered Floor" - Silversun Pickups, Carnavas
"All That You Want Me To Be" - Incognito, Beneath the Surface
"Lost Enemies" - Eisley, Currents
"A Crow Left of the Murder" - Incubus, A Crow Left of the Murder
"Uptight Downtown" - La Roux, Trouble in Paradise
"Please" - Eisley, The Valley
"The Valley" - Eisley, The Valley

Greene_Hesperide1990 said:

My WIP is YA Urban (is that the right word if it takes place in the real world?) Fantasy

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"Urban" implies a city setting, at least in part. I wouldn't say "urban fantasy" to describe a modern-day fantasy that takes place entirely in the countryside, for instance. I think "contemporary" might be a better general descriptor.

I'm an audiophile and can't write without music. Hell, I can barely function at all without music...


I've got three novels that I'm currently working on. The one I actually stopped writing earlier because I got sidetracked on here *ahem* is a YA Urban Fantasy set at a boarding school.


My four MC's each have their own theme song.


Brooklyn Orth - "Beloved Freak" by Garbage
Rene Cohen - "Bones Of A Rabbit" by Young Heretics
Eve Jammison - "Brave" by Sara Bareilles
Elle Roxi - "Black Bullet" by Kidney Thieves


My Spotify playlist for this novel includes the following, in no particular order.

"Gasoline" Halsey
"Insainty" Oingo Boingo
"Do It Like A Dude" Jessie J
"Knights Of Cydonia" Muse
"Raise Your Glass" Pink
"Illisit" Skinny Puppy
"I Am Dust" Gary Numan
"You Are In My Vision" Gary Numan
"Here In The black" Gary Numan
"1996" & "Disposable Teens" Manson
"Going To Hell" The Pretty Reckless
"Hook Me Up" The Veronicas
"One Woman Army" Porcelain Black
"King" The Romanovs
"Bad Girl" Avril & Manson
"Burst" Peaches
"Confrontation" OTEP
"The Knife" Hudson K
"I Wanna Be Your dog" Joan Jett
"All Hail Me" veruca Salt
"Bad Intentions" Digital Daggers
"Come Over Here" Sarah Bettens
"Sorcerer" Stevie Nicks
"Timebomb" Godsmack
"Motivation" Dope
"How To Be A Heartbreaker" & "Valley Of The Dolls" Marina & The Diamonds
"Three Wishes" The Pierces
"Salty Sweet" MS MR
"Miss Nothing" The Pretty Reckless
"Dagger Moon" Chromatics
"Lost In My Bedroom" Sky Ferreira
"Bitches" Mindless Self Indulgence
"Biting down" Lorde
"Volcano Swing" Amanda Jenssen
"Blood" In This Moment
"Oh My" Gin Wigmore
"Oh My God" Pink & Peaches
"Chick Habit" April March
"Demons" Imagine Dragons
"Sleazy" Kea$ha
"B3" Placebo
"Cardinal Directions" ThouShaltNot
"Blood For Poppies", "Not Your Kind Of People", "I Think I'm Paranoid" Garbage
"God" Tori Amos
"The Devil Takes Care Of His Own" Band Of skulls
"S&M" Rhianna
"On Guard" Le Tigre
"Dirty Deeds" Joan Jett
"Oh" & "You're No Rock N Roll Fun" Sleater Kinney
"Virgin State Of Mind" k's choice




(I'll come back later & share my playlists for my other novels, lol)

edutton said:

Hayley Kiyoko - Girls Like Girls
Gia G - Only a Girl
Sixpence None the Richer - There She Goes
Panic! At the Disco - Girls/Girls/Boys
Ani DiFranco - In Or Out
Lily Sevin - Jenny (Studio Killers cover)
Tegan and Sara - Fix You Up
Missy Higgins - Unashamed Desire
Zolita - Explosion
Mary Lambert - She Keeps Me Warm
Jen Foster - She (SHE4ME 2014 remix)

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YUP! No clue what it's about but totally wanna read it based on the playlist!

Arclight said:

"She's Lost Control" - Joy Division
"My Revenge on the World" - Ayria
"Save Your Serpent" - Ego Likeness
"Hill" - Hungry Lucy
"It's the Fear" - Within Temptation
"Endless Reverie" - Azam Ali
"Stupid Girl" - Garbage
"Control" - Poe
"Second Skin" - Ego Likeness
"Sophia" - The Crüxshadows
"Kingdom" - VNV Nation
"Mofo" - U2
“Joy” - VNV Nation
"Damaged" - Assemblage 23
“Bloodlines" - The Cruxshadows
"Stand My Ground" - Within Temptation
"Silence" - Assemblage 23
"Dead is the New Alive" - Emilie Autumn
"Standing" - VNV Nation
"Behind the Crimson Door" - HIM
"Enjoy the Silence" - Depeche Mode
“Hanging by a Moment” - Lifehouse
"Horrible Dream" - Ayria
"Monsters" - The Crüxshadows
"Mad World" - Gary Jules
"Hemorrhage" - Fuel
"Demon Days" - Gorillaz
"Coming Undone" - Korn
"Out of the Shadows" - Sarah McLachlan
"Angel" - Sarah McLachlan
"Temptation Waits" - Garbage
“If I Was Your Vampire” - Marilyn Manson
“Living Dead Girl” - Rob Zombie
"Binary" - Assemblage 23
“The Wanderer” - U2
"Winter Born (Club/Radio Edit)" - The Crüxshadows
"Save Your Serpent" - Ego Likeness
"Human Behavior" - Bjork
"The Farthest Star" - VNV Nation
"Ground" - Assemblage 23

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NOW THAT'S an awesome playlist!.... thankfully it doesn't have Assemblage's "30kft", such a heartbreaking song.