I almost always listen to music when I write. My extensive digital playlist is mostly made up of music from movies, and some classical too. They are songs that I have fallen in love with, and listen to over and over. I was wondering which tracks I listened to most and couldn't quite nail it. I then reached out and asked the Spotify bot, and was surprised at the results.
When I'm in the zone, writing or editing, I almost always listen to music. That said, I can't listen to any tunes with singing. The words are too distracting and take over my limited headspace. Classical is good, yet can lack the drama I need to lose myself. Soundtracks are my thing. Always have been since I saw my first spaghetti western with Ennio Morricone's haunting score. I was hooked and have been ever since.
I was trying to figure out what I listened to most and couldn't quite work out what my top tunes were. So, I took to Spotify and ran their Top Tracks feature, and, have to admit, was surprised at the results. I don't write slow books; the opposite, in fact, yet, with the exception of one or two tracks, almost every one of these songs is pure melancholia. Perhaps that's what I need to write pacy books. Who knew?
I'm always looking for new music so if you have any recommendations, please tweet me at @davyfennell
Variation 15
Benjamin Wallfisch, Edward Elgar • Dunkirk (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Goodbye Brother
From The "Game Of Thrones" Soundtrack
Ramin Djawadi • Game Of Thrones (Music From The HBO Series)
Song for Bob
Nick Cave, Warren Ellis • The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford
Life
Marc Streitenfeld • Prometheus
Walk to School
Philip Glass, Paul Leonard-Morgan • Tales from the Loop (Original Soundtrack)
Cloud Atlas Finale
Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil, Kristjan Järvi, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra • Cloud Atlas
A Small Measure of Peace
Hans Zimmer • The Last Samurai: Original Motion Picture Score
Dr. Ford
Ramin Djawadi • Westworld: Season 1 (Music from the HBO Series)
Evenstar
Howard Shore, Isabel Bayrakdarian • The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Gravity
Steven Price • Gravity (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)