Best CD to Listen to when Writing

[kristen999]

Ask the NoCal turntable nerds, the trip-hoppers, the frat boys, the hippies or the ravers: Endtroducing DJ Shadow is deeply spiritual. Not in the conventional sense, but in the spirituality of the soul that lives in your chest and got there from the ether and returns to the collective unconscious-- the one you feel when you feel things. That's the spirit that saves us from being fleeting and disposable.

Endtroducing taps that inner-whatever better than most of the albums of its day, and it swims so easily that it established an entire genre of instrumental hip-hop-- count how many records come out every month and are dubbed "Shadowesque." Building the album from samples of lost funk classics and bad horror soundtracks, Shadow crossed the real with the ethereal, laying heavy, sure-handed beats under drifting, staticky textures, friendly ghost voices, and chords whose sustain evokes the vast hereafter. Even the "look at me" cuts like "The Number Song" didn't break the mood; the album was so perfect and the technique, so awesome that it's still definitive today, and Shadow has yet to top it.

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/2377-endtroducing-deluxe-edition/

For me, this is the best music to write to. The CD is a classic. Give it a try. It puts me in a great head space, I'm not distracted, but I'm tapped into this mellow groove to keep my fingers taping the keyboard.

Comments

[neevebrody.livejournal.com]

I'm working on a post now about writing to music, so I will definitely check this out. I make my own writing mixes to use and I'm glad to see others who write to music. I think it can be a helpful tool, especially if you have tracks that help you identify with your characters.

Thanks for passing this on.

[kristen999.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I write to music that sets the tone for the story I'm writing. I listened to "The Downward Spiral" a lot when composing "Red Sands" because the themes of the lyrics were similar to those I was exploring.

However, many times I can't listen to music that has a lot of lyrics, because I start tuning into the song more than the writing. It's easier for me to write to down tempo.

Or things like Portishead, Fluke, and Air.

I also have NIN's "Ghosts 1-4" on when I write as well, or even really old Pink Floyd. Just depends.

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

THIS is really terrific Kristen.
Thanks for posting it for us.
It sure reminds me of Soundscapes which I love to listen to when I am online.
Soundscapes is just one of ~~many~~ digital audio channels which is part of my monthly cable subscription ($5.29 per month)..........
BTW Endtroducing DJ Shadow sounds like something Sheppard might like as he 'reads' War and Peace
:D

[kristen999.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, soundscapes 'sounds' very interesting. :D I love to the chill station on XM radio as well. I'm not sure if you plan on listening to all nine parts of "Entroducing DJ Shadow" on youtube, but the it's a double CD and really worth getting.

:D

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

YES it is just marvelous. I often use it just for overall sound in the house, but LOVE it when I am online. My computer is in the den where the tv is located.
I love their evening array of music and it is good for reading or just for doing internet or emails etc.
I stumbled across it quite by accident on New Years Day 2008 and have been hooked ever since.
I plan to listen to all of Entroducing DJ Shadow...............
Thanks again for posting it.
:-)

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Very cool:D I can't really write to music, myself - I need absolute silence. But I use music like crazy when thinking stories up. I especially love movie soundtracks as they have most of what I need for a specific type of scene.

[kristen999.livejournal.com]

Movie soundtracks are really good. It's tough to write n complete silence for me, but any type low-fi, edm or downtempo is enough to be the white noise at bay :D

[sgafan.livejournal.com]

ooh! A discussion on writing music. Have to try this one.

I write almost exclusively to Celtic with some other blends of instrumental as well. Talk about putting you in a head space to write, this does, at least for me anyway. I've been gathering scattered songs from unknown artists for literally years and have quite a collection. I really hear you on this. The right music puts you in the zone. I can't have lyrics, at least not in English and my playlist ranges from music that touches character exploration, to fights to angst or sadness to happiness and I'll frequently skip around songs depending on what I'm writing at the moment.

Interesting! I love seeing what people listen to, if they do, when they write. :)

[kristen999.livejournal.com]

Lyrics, especially by artists that I love can pull me out of a story. Which is why I listen to the chill station on XM, or any type of down tempo of low key EDM. It can't be too mellow, or I'd fall asleep. But thinks like Fluke, Thievery Cooperation, Kruder & Dorfmister are great!

[sgafan.livejournal.com]

yeah! Lyrics distract me. English anyway. Some of my Celtic has *very* light Celtic lyrics in places but not much even then.

I don't know what it is, but it flips a switch in me and lights my muse up. I don't question it, I just go with it. LOL