I have a hard time writing when there’s music playing that has lyrics. It’s something that’s changed as I’ve gotten older. In college I’d play my favorite CDs on repeat while I was working on a paper or studying for an exam. Now, if I’m working at my desk for my day job as a blogger or any sort of personal project, I can’t have lyrics. Instrumental? Great. White noise? Wonderful. The ambient sounds of a coffee shop or restaurant? You got it.
But that doesn’t mean that music doesn’t inspire my work. In fact, I keep a running collection of songs that spur bits of creativity within me to come together in the form of new passages or ideas. It’s a playlist specific to this project, and I’ve been adding songs as I decide I can’t live without them for about 10 months.
Something all the songs have in common is that they’re very emotionally wrought, either in their lyrics or the way the verses build into the chorus and the chorus into a bridge. And holy heck, sometimes a sax or guitar solo can just crack open my core.
Sometimes, a (wo)man-versus-nature theme is present in a song, and that’s what has landed it on repeat on my playlist. Lately “Swim” by Mating Ritual, “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” by Alexa Melo and “Too Far” by Laurel have been in my head.
Take a listen and enjoy!
