Introduction
Welcome back readers!
Today’s post will discuss the role music has played in my life and how it’s shaped the creation of Palingenesis. Music has been a part of my life since before I was born. When my mother was pregnant with me, she would play Atomic Dog by George Clinton, a fact I learned when I heard the song on the radio for the first time and my mother asked me if I liked it.
Music has always been there for me when I was sad, angry, or just needed to chill. Were it not, I might not be here today.
Millennial Mix Tape
I was bullied a lot as kid and there were days I’d come home and lock myself in the bathroom with my music turned up so loud no one could hear me sobbing. I’m not gonna lie. There were days I wanted to kill myself and days I wanted to kill my bullies. I was a big old ball of rage and hurt.
But music was there to sooth me.
As a kid I listened to Motown, R&B, rap, and soul like everyone else in my neighborhood did. But things changed at eleven when I heard Nirvana perform Smells Like Teen Spirit on MTV—back when they played music instead of infinity reality shows. Eleven-year-old me connected with the undercurrent of rage in that song and other grunge bands. And as time moved on, I discovered classic rock bands like Zeppelin, the Stones, and CCR. And when Nu metal hit, I devoured bands like Disturbed, Linkin Park, and Limp Bizkit.
Their angry lyrics and guitar riffs spoke to me like nothing had before, and I’d spend hours in my room listening to them and daydreaming about how I was strong and powerful. And little by little, that was how the Idea for Palingenesis formed.
Songs as Story Fodder
When I turned sixteen, we got a cable modem, which allowed me to surf the internet at much faster speeds than dial up. Aside from all the porn I looked at, I stumbled into the world of AMV’s (animated music videos), where people made music videos of their favorite shows set to a song and later slash videos, that is AMV’s that focused on same-gender relationships.
I was, and still am, struck by the ability to tell stories by piecing together video clips set to a song. And throughout the course of writing my book, I’ve tried to make it a cinematic experience by having music play a role in the story such as when Travis and Josh bond over listening to music. Or Travis’s ability to recall in perfect detail anything he’s heard and how he uses this to help him learn various human and allien languages.
Moreover, when I don’t know how to write a scene or am stuck, I listen to music and write what I see in my head. My go to songs for fight scenes are anything by Disturbed or Linkin Park’s first two albums. And when I’m having trouble with romantic scenes, I cue up songs by Savage Garden, Ben Folds, and Trading Yesterday. I’ve also listened to certain songs to set the tone. For example I listen to I Will Not Bow by Breaking Benjamin whenever I write a fight scene between Travis and Oblivion, latter of whom is evil incarnate.
And when I’m not feeling in the mood to write I cue up Not Afraid by Eminem or Get Up by Shinedown. In fact, I have a whole playlist of songs I listen to when I’m down. If you’d like the link for this playlist let me know.
There are also certain songs like Lux Aeterna, Rise by League of Legends featuring The World Alive, and Heart of Courage by Two Steps from Hell that put me in the mood to write something epic.
On the whole, music has been a panacea to me and I hope you enjoy the influence it’s had on my work.
Conclusion
Music at its core is about the human condition and when combined with an artist’s touch, the experience can be nothing short of sublime. Below is a link to the playlist I created specifically for Palingenesis. I’d love to hear what you think of it. Also, be sure to share this post with your friends on social media and join my mailing list.
No comment yet, add your voice below!