Does anyone else have a playlist for when they write? I find myself often writing with a soundtrack blasting, a cashed bowl, and the night burning away.  ;D

My last script I wrote I actually put the music into the script that I wrote, not uncommon, but usually I choose the soundtrack afterwards, This was a very organic experience. The script is an action/black comedy btw.

The White Stripes - One More Cup of Coffee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLb909GFccs

The Flaming Lips - Worm Mountain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z9HDrk6gFg

Manu Chao - Bongo Bong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvQ5o50CPxU

The Strokes - Heart in a Cage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G3KBcE9KYY

Seven Nation Army - Hard Fi
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/wm-A10302B00002404911/hard_fi_seven_nation_army_official_music_video/

The Prodigy - Run With The Wolves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi1uMSsZ_4k

The Mars Volta - The Widow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2VPW0Yu9uM

David Bowie - Ashes to Ashes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-IkC3isMoc

Cage the Elephant - Drones in the Valley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkRwNw3keQ8

What about you guys? Do you write with soundtrack ad what's blasting on your stereo?

Not a playlist, per se; more a genre that sets a mood.  I'll usually go to Pandora and turn on a station that best reflects what I'm writing.

When I'm writing a comedy, I'll flip on the They Might Be Giants station, so I have something wacky and upbeat to keep me in that mindset.

But when I was writing my thriller, I played a lot of stuff like Tool or Marilyn Manson so that nary a happy thought was left in my head.

I knew a girl though who would play the SAME SONG on constant repeat while she was writing her scripts.  She identified a particular song as being connected with the script and would just play it over and over again.  I could never do that.

Yeah, I agree, I'm more about the genre (usually Twi-Rock, if you'll pardon the use of such a cheesy term). Although, for my fantasy drama, I just cannot go past Florence + The Machine. I'm actually looking for something else with a similar sound because I've listed to Flo so much that the effect has worn off:)

I subscribe to Pandora.com and have several channels of music set up.  Some are very specific (like Bruce Springsteen or Sarah McLoughlin).  Others are very general (like folk music or jazz).  It all depends on what I'm writing.  When I wrote The Brass Ring, I listened to Springsteen; when I wrote Bad Penguin, it was Cherry Poppin' Daddies.


Phil

Quoted from dogglebe ...when I wrote Bad Penguin, it was Cherry Poppin' Daddies.

That makes a strange sort of sense to me. I really can't articulate it but nevertheless... cool.

Music plays a significant roll in the way the majority of my scripts turn out. I'm constantly listening to music when I write. Occasionally, I'll make conscious decisions on what to listen to while writing but for the most part, I really don't break with my tastes at a given time (although I do try to listen to a variety of music). I think the majority of my music's influence is subconscious but sometimes I'll write scenes directly inspired by songs, not necessarily the lyrics but rather the moods and images the music conjures up.

For my last script, Frozen in Time, I was listening to doom metal bands Cathedral and Goatsnake, punk band Dropdead, Marilyn Manson (the song Devour) and the Kill Bill, Vol. 2 soundtrack. Cathedral was a conscious decision because their last album (The Guessing Game) was very spacey and progressive which fit the time travel concept perfectly.

My next script has a full blown soundtrack which I'm actually writing into the script itself (like in Anthony's Grand Avenue). A special case which I would never do if it weren't for the particular nature of the script.

I don't listen to it WHILE I'm writing.  I like it quiet.  But when I'm not at the computer, I do have a playlist of specific songs that I think would communicate well in the story.

Right now, I'm working on a feature called 'Thistles' and the songs on the list are

Hang Down Your Head - Tom Waits
My Parent's House - Hayden
In the Ghetto - Elvis Presley
Time - Tom Waits

(P.S.  -  It's not a comedy.)

I also wrote a song for it called 'These Shitty Sidewalks', but I didn't record it.  I've found myself going to the guitar and playing it quite a bit before I head to the computer, though.

I prefer quiet when I write.  No TV, no radio.  Just ambient sounds around the house; the hum of my PC, the fridge running, the wind-chimes on the porch, that kind of thing.

Actually, absolute silence for me.  Can't have any distractions at all.  Which is funny, because music and TVs just fine if I'm drawing or sculpting....

No music when I write.  I prefer quiet.  BUT, I do imagine a soundtrack as I'm writing a script and write the scene to fit the mood of the song I imagine playing during it.

Yeah, I know.  Not the same thing.

Future World Music is da $hit.

http://futureworldmusic.com/