Saturday, November 03, 2007

Some weird music inspires writing meme

So somehow I got tagged with this meme by Rhys at Great Boobs and Tubes (best name for a blog EVAH). Being the kind of person who does not walk away from a glove smacked in my face, I pick up my revolver to fire out the following volley.

UPDATE: Joel reminded me that I forgot to quote the original meme. So here it is:

Find a song that inspires you to write something, whether it gives you an idea for a script or just puts you into a better frame of mind. AND/OR (don't you love choices) peek into the lyrics and find a stanza that sums up the theme of whatever script you're working on. It's quite uncanny how the two circumstances go together.

If possible, post a video of the song to really get people into the mood. (Yep, I'm aware of the irony of using Internet clips during the pissing contest. I like irony as much as bitchiness.)

I am currently inspired by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, a rockin' bluesy band from Vermont (?) who will in fact be playing the Henry Fonda Music Box theater on November 8 (but I'm a bit miffed that they are "supporting" Gov't Mule, when I got to see them headline and rule the Troubadour a few months back).

Anyway, their second album, "Nothing But the Water" was a breakthrough for them as a band, and now they are gaining momentum with their new album "This is Somewhere".

The title song from "Nothing but the Water" is of specific inspiration to me right now for the pilot I'm working on. In fact, the opening lyrics of that song hold particular special meaning (due to the structure of the song there is NBTW part one and NBTW part two -- i'm speaking of part one, though both parts are in the video below)

Here's the resonant verse:

I have seen
What Man can do
When the evil lives inside of you
Many are the weak
And the strong are few
But with the water
We'll start anew.

So won't you take me down to the levee
Take me down to the stream
Take me down to the water
We're gonna wash our souls clean

Take me down to the river
Take me down to the lake
Yes, we'll all go together
We're gonna do it for the good Lord's sake




As for who I'm tagging...let's see... I call out Fun Joel, Josh, Brett, Julie and Michael.

8 comments:

Rhys said...

Woohoo Shawna! You Go Girl! Those who will slap you in the face and expect no retaliation will in fact rue the day. (And thanks for the compliment. ) :)

I love the stanza you posted. It gave me shivers...that is inspiration. I think I'm getting some ideas....

And thanks for introducing me to a new song...my musical tastes are a bit limited to weenie pants and all.

Kick ass job!

Rhys said...

p.s. Are you ever tempted to put in song choices into your scripts? I did it all the time when I was a playwright but I'm thinking TV is a bit more limited. But sometimes I just can't resist...

Shawna said...

The only time I've done that was for a "Cold Case" spec I wrote. I decided that music was a huge part of their show, and song choice seemed very important for setting the tone and the year for the flashbacks. It was fun to look at the songs from the year (1986). I only knew one song I wanted to use ("Sara" by Starship) and the others I found on the Top 100 list for that year. I got even nerdier by trying to find the top hits of the *month* I was placing my script in...I ended up with about three songs being in the top 40 that month and a couple of songs that were big hits about two months later. And it was fun to start a story with a total Breakfast Club song for the teaser.

Other than that -- no..oh wait! I did it in a "House" spec too -- called out that he was listening to The Clash "London Calling" (I wrote in a rival British doctor, so it seemed appropo).

Fun Joel said...

So what EXACTLY am I supposed to do? Tell you about some song that inspires me, quot e the lyrics, and maybe get a YouTube link up?

Rhys said...

Ooooh, awesome song choices! A shout out to the Breakfast Club and The Clash. Totally appropriate and awesome.

aggiebrett said...

Meh.
.
.
.
B (mood: pissy)

Fun Joel said...

Done!

MaryAn Batchellor said...

Oh my gosh! That is so amazing'! AMAZING! I absolutely LOVE THIS!