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Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The Usefulness of Soundtracks

I cannot watch TV while writing. I doubt anyone could do so and produce something worth reading at the end.

I do listen to music, though, and I've found my choice of music quite important to what I am writing. The songs cannot have any other meaning attached to them. For example, Michelle Branch's Goodbye to You is forever burned into my brain as the song Tara leaves to in the sixth season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Nothing is remaking that image, thank you, Joss Whedon.

I like to make soundtracks for my stories. It's harder to do now that I have cds instead of tapes. Yes, geek readers, that's a dichotomy to you but there it is. Since I don't keep my music on my computer, it takes more steps for me to burn a cd or download an MP3 than to put in a cassette tape and press record. I am not ashamed to be old-fashioned.

The "official" soundtrack for Elementals includes Annie's Song as sung by Roger Whittaker (though most know it from John Denver), She's Like the Wind from Dirty Dancing, Desert Rose by White Heart, I Will Be Here by Steven Curtis Chapman, and Loved By the Sun from Legend, to name a few. Soundtracks will be available at the back of the auditorium. (hehe!)

However, since my radio is across the room and cassettes require flipping, I've settled for playing the Robin Hood Prince of Thieves soundtrack as I finish the book. It's a shame such a good soundtrack got stuck to such a not-good movie. I hate saying that because I love the actors, but, really, that movie only got made because Kevin Costner was on fire that decade. The script stinks.

When (and if) Elementals gets published, you can enjoy the full experience by throwing on your cd of Robin Hood (and I don't know anyone in college in 1990 who didn't have a copy) and settling in for a good read/listen.

For the record, track 3 goes with Dyana's fight with the boarase, and tracks 2, 6 and 8 go with any other fight scenes. The rest just sort of works itself out.

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