Writing Music
Via
the_zaniak here and
failegaidin before him:
For once, I'm not editing the meme text - it sounds pretty good already. Raw writing, ho!
Song 1: "If These Are The Things", Tracy Chapman - 4:42
The door chimed. She walked in, shuffling her feet.
"Hello, young man," she said. "I would like to return this toaster."
"Not satisfied?" I replied, turning and picking up a form.
She was silent. When I turned back, she was looking at me with a hopelessness I'd never seen.
"I don't want any more," she said.
Song 2: "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)", Aretha Franklin & George Michael - 4:02 (YouTube)
I stood at the bus station, just as I had every day for ... it doesn't matter.
The attendant stepped out, cigarette in mouth. "Morning," she said, and flicked her lighter.
"Evening," I replied.
"You think she's coming?" she asked.
"Yes."
Song 3: "Choke", The Cardigans - 3:27 (last.fm, YouTube)
I don't know what was different about him, that she dropped her guard. I don't know what's different about anyone. But when it stopped, when she was crashing out my couch and I was playing music so she wouldn't think I heard her crying, I didn't care, I wanted him to pay for leaving her like that.
I brought her water.
Song 4: "Because Of Toledo", Lucia Micarelli - 2:38 (artist website)
The violin always brings me back there. Cellos I can survive sometimes, with the piano accompianing, violas only rarely. The guitar is a crapshoot - usually fine, but every once in a while ... well, electric is pretty safe. Oddly, synths are almost always fine.
Song 5: "Ironic", Alanis Morissette - 3:50 (YouTube, YouTube, last.fm)
"I think I like you!" I said, quickly, before I could stop myself.
"...oh," she said. "I, um..."
"No, don't say it," I said. "I know already," I said, though I didn't, really, not until she spoke herself. "I just ... it's worth saying it, isn't it? It means something anyway, right?"
"I don't want to lead you on," she said.
"I know," I said. "I love you for it."
Song 6: "Djanjo", Mamadou Diabate - 4:46
Blue. Green. No, too much, it needs ... "Do you have the yellow over there?" I said.
"Only if you got the red!" she said, gaily.
I laughed, exulting in my poverty. "Tuppence for your red, man!" I yelled the other way.
"Soda!" he yelled back.
"Tuppence!" I yelled.
"Do you even have it?" from the diagonal.
"Ah, you caught me," I said, and started picking my way across the drawing to the kitchen.
Song 7: "The Last Time I Saw Richard", Joni Mitchell - 4:17
I sketched as quickly as I could, rushing to hold the last wisps of smoke on my paper as her candle sad, blown out. The smoke curled, twirling with her cigarette, two smokes together, and behind them the woman, shielded in her hazy armor and her dark corner. Five lines were the gesture, and a smile to pay when she glared at me.
Song 8: "All The Pretty Girls Go To The City", Spoon - 3:12
The bar, source of my agony, was vanquished tonight.
"Hey, look at that," I said.
"What, there?" she said, holding my arm. "I don't want to drink in a bar tonight."
"All those pretty girls, got it made, don't they?"
"Nah, I do."
Song 9: "Song for R.", The Be Good Tanyas - 4:16
I opened the box. Two letters today, and when I pulled them out there was a slip too. "A package," I said, surprised, and turned to the desk.
The man at the counter already had it. "Quite a day, getting a package, isn't it?"
"Dunno," I replied. "I'll have to open it."
"Oh, do," he said. "Save me having to come bother you later about it."
Assenting, I tore the paper, and opened the box inside, pulled out the newspaper, and ... "A Walkman?"
"Play it!" he said.
I pushed the button.
Song 10: "Mean Mr. Mustard", The Beatles - 1:06 (YouTube)
"C'mon, let's get you home, pops," the cop said.
Postmortem: Oh, for another thirty seconds apiece! But I think it was a good exercise.
(Humorous: the very next song - see the current music line - is 8:08.)
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Put your music player of choice on shuffle (all music, or at least your Top Rated playlist), and wrote a story for the first ten songs that played. You can only write for the duration of the song. Concept, execution, final draft - you have between 90 seconds and 10 minutes to write each story. (depending on how long your music is, of course.) If you want to fix up the writing, post it separately - this is to show quick, raw work.
For once, I'm not editing the meme text - it sounds pretty good already. Raw writing, ho!
Song 1: "If These Are The Things", Tracy Chapman - 4:42
The door chimed. She walked in, shuffling her feet.
"Hello, young man," she said. "I would like to return this toaster."
"Not satisfied?" I replied, turning and picking up a form.
She was silent. When I turned back, she was looking at me with a hopelessness I'd never seen.
"I don't want any more," she said.
Song 2: "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)", Aretha Franklin & George Michael - 4:02 (YouTube)
I stood at the bus station, just as I had every day for ... it doesn't matter.
The attendant stepped out, cigarette in mouth. "Morning," she said, and flicked her lighter.
"Evening," I replied.
"You think she's coming?" she asked.
"Yes."
Song 3: "Choke", The Cardigans - 3:27 (last.fm, YouTube)
I don't know what was different about him, that she dropped her guard. I don't know what's different about anyone. But when it stopped, when she was crashing out my couch and I was playing music so she wouldn't think I heard her crying, I didn't care, I wanted him to pay for leaving her like that.
I brought her water.
Song 4: "Because Of Toledo", Lucia Micarelli - 2:38 (artist website)
The violin always brings me back there. Cellos I can survive sometimes, with the piano accompianing, violas only rarely. The guitar is a crapshoot - usually fine, but every once in a while ... well, electric is pretty safe. Oddly, synths are almost always fine.
Song 5: "Ironic", Alanis Morissette - 3:50 (YouTube, YouTube, last.fm)
"I think I like you!" I said, quickly, before I could stop myself.
"...oh," she said. "I, um..."
"No, don't say it," I said. "I know already," I said, though I didn't, really, not until she spoke herself. "I just ... it's worth saying it, isn't it? It means something anyway, right?"
"I don't want to lead you on," she said.
"I know," I said. "I love you for it."
Song 6: "Djanjo", Mamadou Diabate - 4:46
Blue. Green. No, too much, it needs ... "Do you have the yellow over there?" I said.
"Only if you got the red!" she said, gaily.
I laughed, exulting in my poverty. "Tuppence for your red, man!" I yelled the other way.
"Soda!" he yelled back.
"Tuppence!" I yelled.
"Do you even have it?" from the diagonal.
"Ah, you caught me," I said, and started picking my way across the drawing to the kitchen.
Song 7: "The Last Time I Saw Richard", Joni Mitchell - 4:17
I sketched as quickly as I could, rushing to hold the last wisps of smoke on my paper as her candle sad, blown out. The smoke curled, twirling with her cigarette, two smokes together, and behind them the woman, shielded in her hazy armor and her dark corner. Five lines were the gesture, and a smile to pay when she glared at me.
Song 8: "All The Pretty Girls Go To The City", Spoon - 3:12
The bar, source of my agony, was vanquished tonight.
"Hey, look at that," I said.
"What, there?" she said, holding my arm. "I don't want to drink in a bar tonight."
"All those pretty girls, got it made, don't they?"
"Nah, I do."
Song 9: "Song for R.", The Be Good Tanyas - 4:16
I opened the box. Two letters today, and when I pulled them out there was a slip too. "A package," I said, surprised, and turned to the desk.
The man at the counter already had it. "Quite a day, getting a package, isn't it?"
"Dunno," I replied. "I'll have to open it."
"Oh, do," he said. "Save me having to come bother you later about it."
Assenting, I tore the paper, and opened the box inside, pulled out the newspaper, and ... "A Walkman?"
"Play it!" he said.
I pushed the button.
Song 10: "Mean Mr. Mustard", The Beatles - 1:06 (YouTube)
"C'mon, let's get you home, pops," the cop said.
Postmortem: Oh, for another thirty seconds apiece! But I think it was a good exercise.
(Humorous: the very next song - see the current music line - is 8:08.)
no subject
It adds another layer, but it's not vital.
It was interesting reading my cousin Gavin's (
Also I was sitting right next to him when he did it, so I definitely knew all the songs. "A laptop like you" by Jonathan Coulton turned into a song about a ranch, because (in his words) "The beginning sounds kind of like a cowboy song."
Plus, you can't find them all.