A lot of my fellow Thursday's Children writers have WIP playlists that they've been sharing and since I've started a new story, I've got a new playlist.
Confession time: I'm so not a fan of happy songs. I'm not sure what that says about me, but they never feel terribly genuine. So my regular playlists tend to be named things like:
Got Prozac?
It's Not a Celtic Love Song Unless Somebody Dies
Bad Choices
Fairly Angsty Love Songs
I'll Give You Something to Cry About
(Once I made a mix CD for a dear friend with that title - she returned the favor with an even more depressing CD called, No, I'll Give YOU Something to Cry About, Bitch. To this day, it remains a favorite.)
For this new WIP, I've got a mix of traditional Celtic stuff along with more contemporary stuff. Given the vibe of the story it totally works. I also thought I'd share youtube videos of a couple songs that are in super heavy rotation on this story. (Below the list.)
I Am Stretched on Your Grave - Kate Rusby
Family - Noah Gundersen
Albatross - Susan McKeown and the Chanting House
After the Storm - Mumford and Sons
In the Sun - Joseph Arthur
Rootless Tree - Damien Rice
Who Will Sing Me Lullabies - Kate Rusby
Broken Crown - Mumford and Sons
Brittonik - Circa Paleo
The Old Ways - Loreena McKennitt
Angels of the Silences - Counting Crows
An Nighean Dubh - Susan McKeown
Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley or Rufus Wainwright
The Blower's Daughter - Damien Rice
I Am My Mother's Savage Daughter - Wyndreth Berginsdottir
The Wanderer - Mumford and Sons
Santiago - Loreena McKennitt
32 Flavors - Ani Difranco
A Mhaire Bhruinneall - Susan McKeown
Cold Water - Damien Rice
Dark Black Clouds - Circa Paleo
Not a Pretty Girl - Ani Difranco
Collide - Howie Day
One Safe Place - Marc Cohen
The Story - Brandi Carlile
Your current song choice was shaped by the songs your mother sang to you at bedtime! I totally get that since I also sang my children "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" as a lullaby. That and Dumbo. We all cried ourselves to sleep. :)
ReplyDeleteTess, your comment made me laugh. And reminded me of my daughter begging my husband to stop singing the "Inchworm" song because it made her sob uncontrollably.
DeleteWe don't call them Mom's Wildly Inappropriate Lullabies for nothing! :D
DeleteI should do a post on that one of these days...
I absolutely LOVE the titles you and your friend gave your CDs. OMG, too funny. But also some very beautiful music. I like my melancholy via bagpipes.
ReplyDeleteI love me some bagpipes! They've definitely starred in prior WIP playlists. :)
DeleteHallelujah (the Jeff Buckley version) is one of my all time favorite songs. It's just so melancholy and beautiful at the same time. I love his voice.
ReplyDeleteYeah - I can listen to that version all day long. In fact, today I might! :D I really like the Wrainwright version, too.
DeleteOMG, I love the CD titles too. Brilliant. I can't wait to listen to these. Thanks for posting them! I'm always looking for new songs. I guess I need to make a playlist now...
ReplyDeleteThank you! :D I can't wait to see what's on your playlist. I'm always up for new music! :)
DeleteI approve of this playlist. :0)
ReplyDelete:D Thank you! It's so nice to be among my own kind. ;)
DeleteOh. My. God. You have some of my favorite songs on here! "I Am Not A Pretty Girl". "The Blower's Daughter". "Collide". Love! May I humbly submit "Crucify", by Tori Amos. Similar sound. Delightfully depressive. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThis is so great - it's like fining my musical tribe here. :D I *love* Crucify. And, you know, Tori. I think Little Earthquakes will always be one of my favorite albums. :)
DeleteLOL - yes those CDs sound like collectors items. It's a great week for musical inspiration for Thursday's children. Looking forward to finding some new faves in your list!
ReplyDeleteLOL - collectors items - I like that! I hope you find some stuff that inspires you! :)
DeleteYou and I have scarily similar musical tastes. Do you like Mary Black or Capercaille? I also scared off more than one boyfriend with mixtapes and yes, we're talking actual tapes. I'm so old!
ReplyDeleteI do like Mary Black! I haven't head Caprcaille, but I suspect I'll be rectifying that, today! :D Don't worry, I too am from the land of mix tapes... In fact, I was cleaning out the stereo cupboard a while ago, and my youngest found one and literally had no clue what it was.
DeleteNice! Love me some sad/thinking music as well... You've listed a few of my faves. Have you listened to Alexi Murdoch? Super wonderful. How about Elliott Smith (assuming you have) - talk about angsty and dark.
ReplyDeleteI haven't listened to either of those artists - but I'm gonna, now! :) Do you have any song recs?
DeleteWoah... a new WIP already? Haha. Congrats, you're a machine.
ReplyDeleteI liked the YouTube songs you shared. I find the angsty stuff more inspiring too — they just have an innate sense of conflict that stirs something inside you. After all, stories aren't about happy people, they're about people looking for happiness.
Thanks for sharing!
That's it! It's the stirring conflict that makes the Sad-deep songs more interesting. :)
DeleteYes! This! This right here -> "After all, stories aren't about happy people, they're about people looking for happiness." Perfect!
DeleteMe, Too. I sing Jazz every week and I ALWAYS pick the sad songs to sing. My pianist always wants me to sing swing, or upbeat songs--BLAH! What is it they say: "The Devil gets to sing the best tunes..." I don't have any idea how that quote goes, maybe you can correct me. Though I must admit, maybe from being a musician, I find it EXTREMELY difficult to focus on writing with music playing in the back ground. Music demands too much of me, I'll start listening to a riff, or the lyric--completely pulled from my concentration. So I sub-divide. Music during music time--write, when it's writing time. BUT, I WILL make a play list--one day. Have FUN!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a musician - other than a few occasionally picked up instruments and I do love to sing, so I understand getting sucked into the music. But most of the time I can compartmentalize. :)
DeleteI just made a WIP playlist called "Weary." We share many of the same musical tastes :)
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is a singer, and her voice coach keeps giving her a hard time about her song choices. Her coach says, jokingly, "You should sing songs that make your audience happy, not depressed and suicidal." lol
ReplyDeleteI love your CD titles!