Writing About Music to Write To

We all have our musical rituals and habits whether we're aware of it or not.



Whether it's coming home after an exhausting day and turning on the radio for comfort, listening to Bob Dylan while driving, falling asleep with your iPod safely by your side, being energized by regular live gigs or shuffling for artistic inspiration.

I'm a screenwriter. I make up stories about made up people and situations. It can be a struggle and sometimes I need silence to get things done, other times I'll seek out the perfect tune to get the creative juices flowing. Of course this depends on what I'm writing, but there are some artist that have helped me more than others and have become part of my inspirational ritual to date.

Looking back at my writing histoire The Shins play an important role as they really helped me through the feature script crisis of 2004 in New York City. Summer was peaking and I remember pushing myself to go upstairs to my room and write in the heat. With the air conditioner on and a cool drink in hand I would play Caring is Creepy over and over as I hammered through my first feature. I had no idea how to do this, but I figured it out sooner or later.


The Shins

I also listened to The Clientele a lot that summer and was even so lucky as to see them live at The Knitting Factory. They're the perfect writing partner, the ideal music for those inspired sessions, as they have never disrupted my creative flow. I guess I could call it background music but that's selling The Clientele short. They're amazing.


The Clientele

Here's Bookshop Casanova from The Clientele's most recent album, God Save the Clientele:



And I did end up finishing my first draft, although to this day it still remains just that. A draft. Maybe I need the heat and humidity again to finish it.

The Shins and The Clientele still pop up during my creative sessions, but now I've swapped Caring is Creepy for some of their more recent stuff. And as their creative inspirations and expressions grow, so does mine and now I finally know how to write a screenplay. Or so I keep telling myself.

I give thanks to The Shins for being there for me during the heat wave. It was tough on this Icelandic chick.

Silencing the Bird

Fact: I'm an animal lover, no one will dispute this, and I have a special fondness for birds. You know, they can fly = freedom, and all that.

Lately however I've been wondering what would be the most effective music/noise to blast out my window in an attempt to get rid of the teeny tiny feathered birdie that lives in the backyard tree outside my bedroom. This guy doesn't chirp like any ordinary nightingale, but sounds more like an 80's digital alarm clock. So when Birdie wakes up at 3 o'clock in the morning, so do I.

I know. I've heard of earplugs. I just don't like them. Call me weird but I want to be able hear it when the neighborhood burglar enters my room with a hacksaw. Heads up is nice.

Therefore I've been pondering (for the last 5 minutes or so) the worst music I can think of, anything I could play for Birdie and subsequently drive him out of the hood. There just isn't enough room for the both of us in this area code I'm afraid.

What I have so far is this:



Kenny G, Scooter, Vonda Shepard (the annoying piano lady from that annoying TV show Ally McBeal), Mariah Carey, anything American Idol, 70's disco music, bad country (there is good country), Styx, Michael Bolton, R Kelly, Enigma (Birdie probably likes Enigma though), Celine Dion...


Enigma - Return to Innocence 90's shudder. What's with all the frickin' oooh ayeee oaa?

It's risky. Birdie might have extraordinary bad taste in music and my selection would provide him with a buffet of bad ass moves on the dance-branch.

Earplugs it is. They're just so bloody itchy. Maybe I'll try earmuffs like Kenny G.

Birdie 1 - Me 0

To Be Continued...

The Black Keys

The Black Keys are here to give us a killer good time, but at the same time they're here to remind us that we're all late bloomers. For the longest time I figured these guys with all their beards, old soul voices and style were in their late 30's, early 40's. With five albums out and talent beyond heaven and hell, I must admit I did some gaping when I realized that The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, are younger than me and most of us. These guys are our age dog-gon-IT!

Praise and honor.

Being the late bloomer I truly am, it did take me a while to decide that I liked blues-based Black Keys. My friend kept praising them and sending me Black Keys recommendations, he even thought he'd scored a cool point when he told me that he'd met half the band at one of their gigs. This meant nothing to me and I shrugged at this in my habitual stubborn and horrid manner.



So now, finally I get all the hoopla and what can I say, it's genius. But I guess we all go through this from time to time, the need to discover things on our own. Now I look at my friends photo of him and drummer Carney with a hint of girlish jealousy, cause well, if rockers are sexy then The Black Keys win the prize.

Oh and their music is pretty awesome too. Check out the new album Attack & Release definitely, produced by Danger Mouse, but don't leave out Rubber Factory or Magic Potion, their earlier releases. I must admit I haven't listened to their first two albums at all, so I still have something to look forward to.

Here they are performing Girl Is On My Mind (Rubber Factory) at some gig I wished I'd been at:


I love this song.

The whole making of process for the Just Got to Be music video, makes it all seem so awkward, but the end result is what it's all about.

So pull your finger out and get listening.

There Can Be Only One

For some reason I never saw Highlander during my formative years or any of its supposedly horrid sequels. So I jumped at the chance to finally see the cult film this past weekend. And with pizza in our bellies, it was far from being a disappointing experience. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time and sort of felt happy that I hadn't seen the film as a kid as my expectations of its greatness might have been shattered somewhat.



Starring the hunky Neanderthal Christopher Lambert as clansman Connor MacLeod, said to be born in Scotland in 1518 but who for some reason speaks with a French accent. Let the laughing begin. Apparently Lambert hardly spoke any English at the time and was most likely picked for the role due to his raw and animalistic good looks, but that's beside the point. Well, the film follows MacLeod, an immortal Highlander on a quest for the ultimate prize century by century. This includes regular flashbacks to his time in early Scotland, being beaten by his clansmen and then kicked out of his clan. He is then trained by a Spanish pirate type called Ramirez, played by Sean Connery, who for some reason speaks with a strong Scottish accent.



MacLeod must deal with a monstrous opponent, The Kurgan, all while falling in love with some squealing chick with a red perm. Then there's the curious flasher jacket and some bad-ass car park back flips. It's all very delightful.

Have a look at the trailer for Highlander:



The music that accompanies the film is equally as delightful. It features an excellent soundtrack by Queen, which includes some of their biggest hits, such as the lovely Who Wants to Live Forever and the supercool A Kind of Magic. Subsequently their 1986 album, also titled A Kind of Magic, was based on the work they did for the film. Excellent trivia.



And here's the hotness, Princes Of The Universe from the Highlander soundtrack:


Oh Freddy.

I'll end this wee post with two memorable Kurgan quotes from Highlander:



"It's better to burn out than to fade away"

and of course,

"There can be only one!"

And there can be only one Highlander film I'll ever see as the tagline for Highlander II: The Quickening reads like this:

In the future, Highlander Connor MacLeod must prevent the destruction of Earth under an anti-ozone shield...

I just don't think I can.

Jumping for Joy

Now here's a video that's bound to make you feel out of breath.

It's directed by Dougal Wilson for Goldfrapp's latest single Happiness:



The new album, Seventh Tree, hasn't been getting the best reviews lately and I must admit that Happiness is the only song I've heard so far of the album. It's an alright song, so so, and I might give the album a full listen, but the video is a winner. Think It's Oh So Quiet, but instead of Björk add a jumping man in a white suit.

M83 - Saturdays = Youth

I have fallen in love...



with an album.

M83 has captured my heart.

I haven't been this excited about an album in a long time and I don't even really know this band. It was love at first listen.

The album, Saturdays = Youth, is Mew meets Fleetwood Mac. Mid-Romantic 80's meets late-Shoegaze 00's. It has those elements I like about bands like MGMT, Van She and Chromeo. That return to old skool electronics mashed with post-rock/pop and the ability to have fun. It makes romance seem cool.

Track 2: Kim & Jessie sounds very Mew-ish, something to do with those lingering and haunting choir-boy vocals, the repetitive drum style and lyrics that go: "somebody lurks in the shadows, somebody whispers..." So sombre.

Track 3: Skin of the Night has those echoing drums that can be found in the old but gold Simple Minds song for The Breakfast Club, Don't You Forget About Me.

It really brings you back:


And then have a look at the video for Graveyard Girl, track 4 on Saturdays = Youth



Yeah. Exactly.


Track 5: Couleurs - sounds just like those classic 80s movie montage songs. The "I won't give" up montage or the mandatory "preparing for greatness" montage.

Much like this training montage in Rocky IV:

Did he win? I forget. He must have though.


Track 7: Up! really goes for the Donna Summer (I Feel Love) comparison, but instead of Donna, Kate Bush seems to be singing the lead vocals.


My point:

Saturdays = Youth could be the soundtrack to any 80s teenage romantic comedy and it's perfect for anyone sick of the actual 80s, but who still has a nostalgic longing for those simple days of harmonious pastels. So let's move on and away from the 80s and be influenced by them instead.


This album has and will continue to be on REPEAT for the unforeseen future.

10 FREE tunes

Just click n' load:

Hang Them All - Tapes n' Tapes

Paper Gown - Midlake

Revolution - Nina Simone

Phantom Limb - The Shins

In A Cave - Tokyo Police Club

Woman King - Iron and Wine

Druganaut - Black Mountain

Baby We'll Be Fine (The National) - Mobius Band

Are You the One? - The Presets

Aly, Walk With Me - The Ravonettes


No more "ennui".

Video Alert - Hot Chip

Down below you'll find the brand spanking new video for Hot Chip's latest single, taken from their highly acclaimed album, Made in the Dark. The song is called One Pure Thought and, if nothing else, it should provide you with some rather slick new moves for those Friday night dance sessions.






...and Play

The One I Keep Coming Back To

I've never been a fan of questions that have to do with my favorite this and my favorite that. Favorite film, colour, animal, book, season, song, actor etc. Perhaps it has something to do with my general non ability to make definite choices and my fear of being put on the spot, causing me to stutter out some lame ass answer.

When I was a kid, my cousin and I used to competitively draw great pieces of crayon art; trees with disproportionally large apples, flowers with happy faces, cats that looked like dogs and a smiling sun that always shone from one corner of the paper like cobweb. Then when finished we would ask my mother, which drawing she preferred. Which one was her favorite? An artist herself she was bound to understand the true aesthetic pleasures our creations ignited. But to our constant disappointment she always had the same answer. "Oh, I can't choose, they are so different".



We never really understood this evasiveness. For us there were no compromises. Of course, looking back, she didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but at the time it just seemed like one of those weird grown up responses. Very irritating.

The moral of that tiny tale being that it's very difficult choosing between contrasting things and therefore I never feel I have good enough answers for those: What's your favorite... questions. So in recent years I've grown accustomed to having pre-picked answers on hand if and when anyone dares ask me what my favorite film, colour or actor is... Chinatown, yellow and Johnny Depp. Not really a lie, but still. But seriously, how do I choose between Chinatown and Anchorman? I guess maybe I've got numerous favorites. Is that even allowed? What is the protocol here? Meh.




Favorites or not, there are certain things that you keep coming back to, mostly because they never seem to let you down. Things that stir up something good within you. Whether it's Chinatown, the colour yellow, a curled up cat, a book by some obscure Russian author, the smell of spring, a song that reminds you of a loved one or that unknown something about Johnny Depp that never seems to get old. On the other hand, as lovely as the colour yellow is purple is pretty cool too and I'd find it hard to choose between the silence of a snow heavy winter and the sweet smell of spring.

All this brings me to my main point, to the album I keep coming back to. It's not my favorite album, but I do cherish it. Behind it lies pure talent that seeps through every song. It's truly beautiful and it brings out the sap in me as is evident.

I am talking about Ella & Louis.



This album is absolutely perfect and that album cover is so delightful. Just look at it. The chemistry between those two is amazing and you can't help but be drawn into the album's timeless joy as it leaves a silly smile on your face and feelgoodness in your belly. Yup some big words being typed here and I totally mean it. No sarcasm this time.

Ella's smooth charming voice matched together with Louis Armstrong's raspy vocals is genius. Add the subtle backdrop of the album's low key instrumentals and Louis's, or Satchmo's, exquisite trumpet playing: Great!

"Take it Ella, swing it" - Cheek to Cheek.

Listen:



And here is Ella doing some scat singing:


Now who can argue with that?


Satchmo

If you like jazz you've probably heard this album before, if not, go for it. You have my blessing and more. And if you loathe jazz, I know there are some of you out there, well... you know what rhymes with jazz.

x

Snippets, shreds, fragments

With days of too much alcohol, unemployment, body scribbling, losing at pool and jabbering about getting tattoos behind me, I feel like lying down on my heavily carpeted floor and letting the following songs lull me into a state of yawn and rational behavior:



1. Psychotic Girl - The Black Keys

"just a physcotic girl and I won't get lost in your world"

2. Old Enough - The Raconteurs

"And how have you gotten by so far/Without having a visible scar?/No one knows who you really are/They can’t see"


The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely


3. Real Emotional Trash - Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks


Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks


4. I Lust U - Neon Neon

"I love you, I lust you, I curse you... if the price is right."


Neon Neon - I Lust U


5. Tell Me - Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

"I'll take you where you want to go"


Sharon Jones


6. Kelly - Van She

New tune, yet it takes me back to a time when my hair had self-made wings.


Van She - Kelly


7. Hang Them All - Tapes n' Tapes



8. On & On - Film School

Meh. I dunno. Just like this song. Maybe cause it hammers on and on and on and on... with a hint of teenage angst.




9. Right Away - Pattern is Movement

Nice travel speed, although the highs are better than the lows. Sorta weird, but the "good weird" kind. You know what I mean. Non? Piano, drums, chanting, cello... Stir it all together.

10. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? - She & Him


She & Him - Zooey Deschanel & M.Ward

Like em separately, like em together. Like em like sweet pudding with cream and sprinkles.


(11. Ashley - The Dodos)


Download for FREE on MySpace:

Take it Back - She & Him
The Severe - Pattern is Movement
Trades and Traffic - The Dodos
100 Days 100 Nights - Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings



and FADE OUT.