Music was my first love, so it’s not surprising that it can have a huge impact of my productivity, serving as a distraction or inspiration while I am writing. For example, no matter how many studies are done on the intellectual stimulation provided by Mozart I for one can’t write a decent word with that danged harpsichord twanging in the background.
Perhaps it has more to do with the fact that with the odd exception of a particularly melancholy aria I have never been a fan of the 18th century soap operas he penned. My working soundtrack idiosyncrasies don’t stop there, as besides being unable to dance to save my life, it is clubbing anthems that get my creative juices flowing. That, and heavy rock. Artists such as Filter that combine the two can help me to plough through even the toughest assignment.
The topic of background music for writers came up on Twitter the other day, and I was intrigued to read Suzanne Vega’s list of top tunes to write to. Alas, no kindred spirit there, but some of her recommendations such as The Like have made it into my library none the less.
In the meantime, it’s back to Lady Gaga and a mile long list of blog posts to be edited and published. I’ll leave you with a quote from Vega that I have identified with this week as the sun shines and I the noise of kids splashing in the pool drifts in through my stuffy studio window…
The hardest part of writing anything is knowing you’ll be at your desk by yourself while other people are doing really fun things.
Nice! Plus you wrote this on my birthday…um, two years ago, but still!
Yes, music is what makes the creative juices flow! Right now, I cannot get Pat Benatar’s “Invincible” out of my mind. Perhaps it is the way I feel right now!
Cheers!
Helen
Happy birthday Helen!