Category Archives: Music, Movies, and other Muses

A line from a song, an image from a film, an unexpected moment of beauty in everyday life – my mind absorbs them all

More Music to Write By

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I’ve written several posts about how music inspires my writing. So I’ve decided to share three more of my favorite songs and how they help me with my current WIP.

Angelit – Garkit

This song could serve as a soundtrack for various scenes, as well as being simple inspiration/mood-setting. Angelit is a Sami folk-rock band from northern Finland, and they usually sing in their own language of Sami. The parts of my book that take place in the real world are set in Finland, and most of it is the northern part of the country known as Lapland.

“Garkit”—which means “escape”—is the perfect song to get me into a mood for writing a fast-paced adventure scene. There’s a battle—and an escape—in the climax of my story, so I often used this song to gear myself up for writing it.

Johanna Kurkela – Oothan tässä vielä huomenna

This is a love song—the title translates as something close to “Will you still be here tomorrow.” It’s by the Finnish singer Johanna Kurkela. It’s appropriate that I use Finnish songs, since—as mentioned earlier—the story begins in Finland, and most of the characters are from that country.

I use this song kind of as the “love theme” for the two lead characters, and listening to it helps put me in a frame of mind to write a romantic scene. Please note, for any romance or erotica readers out there—my book would probably be rated PG. Maybe PG-13, but that’d be due only to the battle scenes and one or two swear words. If you’re looking for steamy romance and lots of innuendoes, this is not the book for you.

But if you like just a dab of romance to liven up the fantasy adventure, then I’ve got that. And no matter what level of romance you prefer in your books, this song is worth a listen. I don’t worry about trying to understand the Finnish (I can catch about three words in the whole song). But the music and her voice are enough to put me in a mood to write.

Värttinä – Kutsu

The song is also Finnish, by the world music band Värttinä; it’s titled “The Call.” The lyrics are simple: “Come to my elfin dwelling. Come into the light.” It fits with several other songs on the album Utu, which tell stories of witches, conjurers, elves, and enchantments.

While my story doesn’t feature witches or elves as such, it is about a world of myth. It’s a world where folk tales have come to life, and ordinary things like the night sky and rivers in the woods aren’t always what they seem.

This song is haunting, creepy, and other-worldly—just the sort of sound I need to inspire me when my protagonists are skulking through the woods and jumping at shadows.

So these are my top three tracks right now for listening. What’s your music to write by?

Music Review – Buranovskie Babushki – Бурановские Бабушки

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I love folk music, I love electronic dance music, and I love minority languages. So what could be better than a band that is all three of these things? For my first music review of 2013, I’ll be talking about Buranovskie Babushki, or “The Grannies of Buranovo.”

The eight ladies of the band are all grandmothers, and they hail from the tiny hamlet of Buranovo in Udmurtia, a region in central Russia. Most of their songs are in Udmurt, their local native language, which is actually more closely related to Finnish than it is to Russian.

They rose to international fame in 2010 and again in 2012 when they competed in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2012, they won the Russian competition, and traveled all the way to Azerbaijan for the final international showdown of Eurovision.

They have two albums under their belts – a self-titled album, and a maxi-single of remixes of their 2012 Eurovision song. Their recent international popularity sometimes seems a sharp contrast to the Grannies’ simple home life and old fashioned values.

At home in Buranovo, they still farm, raise animals, and make clothing the way their ancestors did. They sing their own grandmothers’ traditional songs, and write new songs in the same style as those of old. And then they add a fast techno beat and other sounds of electronica music, and behold—a whole new world of music is born.

Their self-titled album “Buranovskie Babushki – Collection of Songs” is a patchwork quilt of the warbling traditional tunes of the Ural mountains, electronic beats worthy of any dance club DJ, and songs with riveting titles like “Long, long birch bark and how to make an ishon out of it.”

And then, just when you think you’re getting used to this idea of old-world Russian grannies mixing with post-modern techno, they toss in a few cover songs.

Their version of “Yesterday” by The Beatles captured my attention for more than one reason. First off, it’s not every day you hear a group of old ladies singing a Beatles’ song—a capella, no less. Secondly, they translated it into Udmurt. Just a little bit different from Paul McCartney’s original.

This slow haunting song of beautiful melancholy is preceded on the album by the dance song “FooDoora.” At first listen, you might not realize that the same group of ladies had produced both songs, they’re so different. “FooDoora” would be a favorite among any Tiësto-loving club-goer , and then “Yesterday” captures the beauty of the human voice and makes you want to cry, even if you don’t understand Udmurt.

The album opens with their 2012 Eurovision hit “Party for Everybody,” sung partially in English and partially in Udmurt. Ending the album is “Chastushki,” a toe-tapping folk song with a polka rhythm—and of course a nice underlying track of electronica.

If you like folk music, if you like techno, or if you like songs in Udmurt, I would recommend the Grannies of Buranovo. Even if you don’t like any of those things, they are still worth hearing, for their uniqueness if nothing else. How many grandmothers are willing to juggle a rural farm life with international concert touring? Buranovskie Babushki prove that anything is possible, and that you’re never too old to do something new.

The Grannies’ website:

http://buranovskiebabushki.ru/en/

“Party for Everybody” – 2012 Eurovision song

A Year Uncaged

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“What do you fear, lady?” he [Aragorn] asked.

“A cage,” she [Éowyn] said. “To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire. …Yet I do not bid you flee from peril, but to ride to battle where your sword may win renown and victory. I would not see a thing that is high and excellent cast away needlessly.”

Like any good fantasy writer, I’m fond of Tolkien’s work, and during the Christmas/New Year’s holiday, I was having a Lord of the Rings moment. (Quick confession—at the time of this writing, I have not yet seen The Hobbit. I know, absolutely shameful).

So since I wasn’t spending money at the theater to see the newest film, I decided to re-watch The Two Towers (because nothing says “Christmas holiday” like orcs storming Helm’s Deep, right?)

The scene I quoted above is from the book of The Return of the King, although it was put into the film of The Two Towers. It works well either place, I think. Éowyn’s words ring true, for all of us here in the real world.

Usually the bars in our lives are self-inflicted, or at least are under our control to one degree or another. Fear of taking that risk that would have outstanding rewards if you succeeded? Fear of the unknown? Shame from having made that resolution last January that you gave up on by February? Weariness from being so busy doing what everyone else says you should do instead of pursuing that dream that’s buried inside?

Remove the bars before your regrets outweigh your desires. As Éowyn says, don’t run away from challenges, but ride into battle—not taking stupid risks or being careless, but go towards that thing that’s holding you back. Your sword—your effort and determination—can win you renown and victory, or whatever you desire.

Every person is uniquely created, “a thing that is high and excellent.” Don’t cast yourself and your potential away needlessly. There is someone somewhere who is waiting for you to accomplish that task or make that change or go after that dream.

Let’s make this a year of no regrets. Remove the bars in your life and live uncaged!

Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come

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For the month of December, my posts will all be Christmas-themed, just to be festive (or annoying, depending on your point of view). You can love it or hate it, celebrate it with joy or celebrate a different winter-time festival—but either way, Christmas is here and so is its impact on our culture. So I figured it would be appropriate if my blog reflected that.

For everyone who celebrates Christmas, the presents have been unwrapped, the food has been eaten, the pictures have been uploaded to Facebook. Even if some things happened or didn’t happen this holiday that made you unhappy or stressed, I hope that you can find at least one thing that you can be thankful for.

I love Christmas, and my memories of Christmases past are pleasant ones. The tree, making Christmas cookies, dinner with family and games after. I grew up listening to a wide variety of Christmas music, and every year I add to my mental and physical playlist of Christmas songs.

Christmas present this year was especially fun, because my nephew is now old enough to unwrap gifts and play with toys. Watching him pushing his new wagon around, wearing his ugly Christmas sweater (which, of course, on a baby is cute), adds a new level of magic to Christmas day. More memories for Christmas past.

I hope to have many more Christmases yet to come. There’s more Christmas music to listen to, more toys to give my nephew, more gingerbread houses to build and pictures to take. It’s a season of kindness and charity—which really should exist at all times of the year—that the world sorely needs. I hope I always keep love and generosity in my life, so that my future isn’t like the doom that was predicted for Scrooge by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

Here’s to many more Christmases in the future, and to a great 2013!

Xmas 120

Christmas Music to Write By

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For the month of December, my posts will all be Christmas-themed, just to be festive (or annoying, depending on your point of view). You can love it or hate it, celebrate it with joy or celebrate a different winter-time festival—but either way, Christmas is here and so is its impact on our culture. So I figured it would be appropriate if my blog reflected that.

I did a post a few months ago about Music to Write By – music that inspires me and that is my choice listening material when I want to get into writing mode. At Christmas time it’s no different.

Usually, listening to Christmas music gets me into a mode to write something Christmas-y, which may or may not be appropriate to whatever I’m actually working on at that time. But I do have a few (or rather, a lot) of Christmas songs that inspire me to write in general. So here are a few tracks and the reasons that I use them as music to write by:

In the Bleak Midwinter – by Loreena McKennitt

Canadian musician Loreena McKennitt is one of my favorite singers to begin with, and I love her Christmas music as much as I love her non-seasonal stuff. This track in particular is good writing music mostly because it’s instrumental—I can’t actively write if there’s a song with words playing. But whether I’m listening and brainstorming or listening and writing, this elegant rendition of a classic Christmas carol is simple and beautiful.

 

Adam Lay Ibounden – by The Mediæval Bæbes

I don’t know if this technically a Christmas song, but I’ve heard it performed at Advent services leading up to Christmas. There’s nothing like a 15th century Middle English song with a hurdy gurdy whining in the background to get my creative juices going. In my current WIP, the fantasy world the characters travel to is very primitive, especially musically. Simple tunes sung with straight tones is very appropriate to get me into medieval-ish fantasy world mode.

 

Af álfum – by Frostrósir

I’ve got to put a non-English song in this list, of course (Old and Middle English don’t count). The Icelandic Christmas group/concert called Frostrósir (Frostroses) puts on a spectacular live show (in Iceland, of course), with a different cast and selection of songs every year. “Af álfum” (Of Elves) is a fun song that always makes me smile and perks up my mood if I’m down. I have trouble writing if I’m grumpy, so this song is a good pick-me-up.

 

The Lost Christmas Eve – by Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Trans-Siberian is Christmas music. Like a lot of their songs, it captures the magic and the mystery of Christmas, both in the music itself and in the lyrics. If I could write lyrics half this good, I could be a great poet or songwriter.

 

Does anyone out there have a playlist of Christmas songs for their writing?