A Little Write Music

"If music be the food of love, play on..."
Orsino, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

Music not only feeds love, but fuels inspiration as well. Below are a few of my aural feasts that keep me motivated to write and help me out when I'm stuck.

hideaway, The Weepies


Super chill, peaceful, and hypnotic, The Weepies hideaway can be great wind down music after a crazy, mentally taxing day--an electric foot massager for the mind, but woven through the lazy thrum that pulls you through the album are complex ideas and deeply expressed emotion that stimulates rather than anesthetizes thought. One song in particular, the haunting Little Bird was the direct inspiration for my short story "The Bird Spoke" from A Sudden Dominance of Shadows. The music is calm enough not to get in the way of ideas, until you need it to. A close listen to a Weepies song can result in a short story.

Passion, Peter Gabriel


When I need to summon a passionate moment I draw from Peter Gabriel's Passion. The soundtrack from the controversial 80s movie by the same name, Passion is a haunting instrumental collection that helps me write through moments of great emotional gravity and disjointed strangeness, or... basically everything I write. There is an odd, disjointed moment in my novel Plague Seed (due out late 2011, early 2012) where the first person narrative calls for confusion and miscomprehension. The song "Troubled", with its driving beat, a choral line that sounds like something being played backwards, and many highs and lows was very helpful in achieving what is my favorite, heartbreaking moment in the book.

Light It Up, Rev Theory


Rev Theory's Light It Up is awesome fuel for a battle scene! Plague Seed is a fantasy adventure novel--there's a sword fight... or two... or twelve. Rev Theory has some terrific driving combat music! For those WB Supernatural fans out there (love that show!) the song "Kill the Headlights" summons up the image of the black Impala cresting a misty hill in the midst of middle America nowhere! Loud, dynamic, and awesome, after you listen to a Rev Theory song you feel like a teenager after walking out of an action movie--BANG! POW!

The Last of the Mohicans soundtrack, Trevor Jones/Randy Edelman

You can blame most of Plague Seed on The Last of the Mohicans soundtrack. Sweeping, adventurous, and moving, this soundtrack is well-suited accompaniment for fantasy adventure writing! From combat to romance, from joy to sorrow, this soundtrack has it all. The song "Massacre" is brilliant for stiring up a cinematic scene!

Of course there are a bunch more artists and songs that get my fingers tapping on the keys, but these are the stand out albums. Give them a listen; write a novel. Why not?

New York Celebrity Encounter Fails (and one success)

New York is a crazy place for many reasons, but one of my favorite is the random spotting of celebrities. New Yorkers, in general, are pretty cool about celeb sightings; if you’re a New Yorker and are in the City you’ve got places to go and you respect that they do to. Now I say in general, because there are just certain famous folk that stop you in your tracks—people so influential in your life via entertainment that you have to fight the urge to approach and hug them… then there are the following people:

Derek Jacobi

Star of stage and screen, the brilliant Sir Derek Jacobi (so cool he was knighted) was my favorite Hamlet—ever. He was also jittery and stuttering Claudius in the amazing historical 70s British soap opera I Claudius.

So… I was walking on 57th Street, crossing the Avenue of the Americas, when I see Derek Jacobi approaching. I short circuit—completely. I had to say something! Right?! I mean, when would I get this chance again, but what to say? At the time he was performing on Broadway in Uncle Vanya, so I blurted out, “Mr. Jacobi, sir—how are the shows going?” Yup. How are the shows going?

I watched him go through a few recognizable stages of confusion: “Who is this? He sounds like he knows me. Where have I met him? I don’t remember him? What the hell? I don’t think I know him.” He stuttered out a very gracious, “Very well, thank you” and smiled uncomfortably.

So… now I had his attention: “You were my favorite Hamlet ever!” He swallows and tries to figure out if I’m done. I blunder forward: “I wish I could have been there to see it live.” Yup. That’s what I said.

Sweetly he said, “Thank you.”

“Have a good day.”

“And you.”


Sting

So… I’m working as a host at Sony Imax Theatre and we are screening a movie called The Living Sea on the 80-foot tall screen. It is beautiful and made more so by the soundtrack—the chilliest Sting songs you can find. Amazing.

At the end of the show people were supposed to exit at the top of the theatre, but I see someone going down the stairs toward the screen. I move to intercept… STING!

“This screen is amazing,” he said. It was a not only an observation, but a conversation prompt; guess whose mind drew a blank. I nodded. “The movie was really beautiful…” and then he continued to say something about… well, something about his involvement with the soundtrack, but thrill had swelled the listening center of my brain… couldn’t hear a thing. When he stopped talking I blurted out the only thing in my head:

“You’re a poet.” Beat. “Can I have your autograph?” He looked at me with the Really?-I-Was-Trying-To-Have-A-Conversation-But-You-Had-To-Go-And-Ask-For-An-Autograph look.

“Sure.”

I had nothing for him to sign… not a movie schedule, not a paystub… nothing. I yanked out my wallet as he gave up on me and looked back to the screen. The best I could find? A business card from an anime shop in the Village. I forked it over with a pen, he signed it. Guess what I did then. Just guess.

Beat. “So, you exit at the top of the theatre.” Yup. I kicked him out.


Kevin Kline

This is my favorite. I was sweeping up some popcorn at the Sony Imax Theatre top lobby when Kevin Kline walks out and makes a b-line for me.

“Popcorn?”

“Down the escalator, take a right.”

“Down and to the right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Cool and calm, right? Then I got brave. “Can I tell you something?”

“Sure,” he said, flinching a bit. Fierce Creatures had just been released and I’m pretty he expected me to go on about it or about A Fish Called Wanda—“Assssssshooooooooole!”

“You were my favorite Hamlet,” I said. Yes, I have told two different people they were my favorite Hamlet—deal.

He smiled and cocked his head. “Thank you.”

“May I tell you why?” I said.

He puffed out his chest and said, “Please do.”

What followed was a 10 minute conversation about Hamlet—Kevin Kline stopped to chat with a glorified movie theatre usher about Hamlet. Super gracious, really smart, very funny. One of my most treasured memories.


I could go on—I watched a homeless man follow David Lee Roth for three blocks saying, “Hey, it’s David Lee Roth, everybody!” as Mr. Roth tried to crawl out of his skin; while performing on the street in front of the Jekyll and Hyde Club, Billy Joel walked past and sang with me for six words; David Patrick Kelly was looking at a poster at the movie theatre when a fellow usher said to me, “Watch this… Wah-ree-ahhs! Wah-ree-ahhs!”… for those of you have seen The Warriors, you’ll understand… the dude was mortified—but I think you guys get the idea.

Got any open mouth and insert foot…and calf… and knee… and thigh celeb encounters?

Empty

The skull is an echo chamber—completely empty.

Okay, that’s not entirely true. There’s a heck of a lot in there. I’ve got two pages of blog prompts and a page of opening lines for a dozen or so posts, but I can’t really find anything about which I’d like to talk. And that’s not entirely true either. There a lot of things that are making me happy (beautiful family, editing my novel, good friends, and so on) and a lot of things making me angry (Snooki getting paid $32,000—by the student body no less—to speak at Rutgers University; the odd 1984-esque bills being bandied about by an abortion obsessed senators/congresspersons; how pissed I was that Amazing Race was preempted by the CMAs—grrr; the fact that we are so obsessed with Lohan, Sheen, and… okay… The Amazing Race that we are distracted from the disaster in Japan, the job disaster here at home; and the fact that we are fighting two wars), but I can’t summon up enough happy or angry juice to fuel a joyous expounding or a rage filled rant.

Sigh.

I could blame being a busy, working daddy or the fact that we will be selling our apartment and moving in less than a month or that I just released a book that I’m trying to get people to peep or that I am editing a 14 year old novel or helping out with taxes or because I’m waiting to hear on three major, life changing things or that really good friends are moving away or… okay… I’m a little busy. I guess there are no echoes in the skull—it’s more of a no-room-in-the-skull issue. Maybe next week I’ll have something for ya… something of substance… something of great import… something about… something! Until then… stay alive and sane.

The World’s Up Here, Pal!

The world is not on or in your iphone, your ipod, or you iwhathaveyou! iZombies! That’s what we’ve become! Yes, technology has reached advanced coolness—at least 37 shades worth—but come on, people; you are a danger to yourself and others! Let’s think this through…

"Hey, Lady! The good part will still be there when you get on the train!"

How crazy does that look? Stupid dangerous! How is this any different?

"Uh, dude... you're in traffic... dude?"

And people are getting injured too; they're walking into street signs, traffic, fountains...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGpVpsaItpU&feature=related

Did you hear that? There's an app that lets you see in front of you when texting and walking? Yeah, let's encourage that! Yuck.

And here's a great headline: Doctors Warn of the Dangers of Texting and Walking. We need a doctor's warning? Really?

THAT TEXT IS NOT WORTH YOUR LIFE! Pull over to the building side of the sidewalk if it's that important. Please. For everyone involved.

Friends don't let friends text and walk.

This has been a public service announcement sponsored by Concerned Citizens for the Prevention of You Falling Into An Open Manhole (CCPYFIAOM).

Words, words, word.

What is Hamlet’s answer to Polonius’ question, “What do you read, my lord?” and also my answer to your question, “What do you write, Mr. Steele?” Words, words, words. More specifically in this instance a collection of short stories called A Sudden Dominance of Shadows. What prompted these words? Frustration. I am a big project kinda guy. I get ideas. I always said that if there’s a job that entails sitting around all day coming up with ideas for comic books and TV shows, that would be my job. Fortunately for me, being a big project kinda guy, I need the aid of other talented people to realize these ideas. Unfortunately for me, being a big project kinda guy, I need the aid of other talented people to realize these ideas. See what I did there? I wrote the same sentence twice, but the first word of each sentence was different. Huh. I love inviting talented people into my brain, but unfortunately talented people are also very busy people, so I’ve had a few projects fade away and other get put on hold because I have good taste in collaborators, but very little money to pay them (don’t worry, Mr. Amor—I’ve been saving!). So, while attending my last semester at Queens College I took a short story workshop class. The genre I feel most comfortable with is fantasy, so I took this course to force me out of my comfort zone—to write something in the here and now, nary a sword or dragon to be found. I loved it. I decided that after I graduated I would keep writing a short story a week for the remainder of the year, and although I didn’t make it to the end of the year, when all was said and done I had eleven stories written.

What do you do with a short story? Ah. You try and get someone to publish it. Well, that feels an awful lot like depending on someone else. Hmmmm. So I gave it a shot. The waiting was brutal, the rejections (well, one rejection and one cold shoulder) a big letdown, and I decided, “Hey, maybe the short story isn’t for me.”

Then, through an article on an awesome website called io9 (I think I have a Killcoyne to thank for a Facebook link… can’t remember…;), I discovered it costs an author zero out of pocket to publish on the Kindle. Reeeeeally. I threw my stories together and tossed them on Amazon. I was suddenly published and I did it all by myself! The power! What else could I do? I found CreateSpace where I could self-publish but this time in a hardcopy… an actual book—in my hand. I threw my stuff on CreateSpace and waited for my proof copy. I would rule the world of publishing!

I started looking through the stories and found usage error after usage error and felt the cold wind of responsibility on my face. I had acted maybe a tad too quickly. I got my proof copy and it looked beautiful… until I cracked the pages—it looked like I had formatted for the near blind. Yup… too quick. With the help of my awesome wife and brilliant friends I slowed down and started over from the beginning. What I have now I could not have done without their advanced awesomeness. (Thanks, gang!)

I hope you all pick up a copy or download a copy and give it a once over. I like it; I hope you do too!

Want to rule the world of self-publishing?

Kindle Direct Publishing: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin

CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com

Uh, is this thing on?

So... welcome to my blog!

Some of you may be asking: who cares?

You know what? So am I.

There are a lot of people out there who come at you daily with their “I thinks…” and their “You should care abouts…” and I have never been one to assume that my thoughts mean anything to anyone or my opinions should be adopted by another. Until recently I assumed that the blog was born out of the self-importance that comes from the shrinking of our world, the just because I can tell you how I feel, I should. Blog: Bellowing Loudly On Garbage. I have been unfair—at least for the most part.

There are some very helpful blogs out there focused on various trades, several that have helped me compile my short stories into a collection to self-publish, and many others that have helped me stay self-sufficient in the publishing process. These blogs are a bit easier to wrap my head around; they are by knowledgeable people with the urge to help their fellow (fill in tradesmen) fulfill their goals and dreams. On the other end there are the keeping up with (fill in obnoxious celebrity) blogs that make me want to lock myself in a dark closet, go fetal, and await whosever’s apocalypse is coming (I’m betting on the Pastafarian). I’ll certainly have more to say about celebrities and the role they play in the destruction of the human race later, but needless to say, from hyperbole dripping off the beginning of this sentence, I got some issues about our star worshipping tendencies. There are two blogs planted roughly in the middle of these two extremes that have helped me see both the usefulness and value in the “here’s what I’m thinking” format.

The first is more of a (depending on who you talk to) pseudo-blog that was created out of the intelligent design debate. A wondrously complex satire on religion in schools, Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is a brilliant piece of work. Irritated by the Kansas School Board’s attempt to included the teaching of intelligent design in schools, Bobby Henderson, a concerned citizen, sent this letter to the board. The long and short of it: he had no problem with the teaching of intelligent design, but what he did object to is the exclusion of other intelligent design beliefs not based on the Christian mythos. He claimed that he “and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster.” And from that letter, which also drew a correlation between global warming and the decreasing number of pirates in the world, a new, very clever blog was born charting the successes of this new religion and the hate mail they received. It was a brave stand and shows clearly that someone’s “here’s what I’m thinking” can make a difference. Check the site out; it’s pretty amazing.

The other blog is a recent find and one by a friend I have gone far too long without seeing. The blog is called ActTortured (brilliant) by the really, really, really talented Rob Pedini and is about one actor’s experiences trying to be the colorful stand-out fish in an ocean of gigantic fish with big, sharp, pointy teeth. He lays down the often difficult truths about an artist’s life in NYC, blemishes and all, and does so with wit, charm, and sometimes a sledgehammer. He often recounts painful, personal realities, but does so under a microscope, looking for the universal truths in his experiences. Granted a lot of those explorations wind up where most of our own do, with him saying, “Fuck it”, but he’s a good man trying to stay good while struggling through a rough and tumble city. One of the other reasons I like it so much is that we are both big nerds for Twin Peaks, Black Adder, MST3K, Looney Tunes, and countless other bits of entertainment genius past and present; we are certainly brothers in the best of pop-culture and it looks like we’ve both developed a hatred for the reality TV monster that is eating out our brains. It’s a good read written very well.

I’m not going to try and change anyone’s mind and ask you WWFSMD and I’m not going to share too many insights on my family and the inner workings of my psyche, but I will share things that I love, things that I loathe, and things that get my dander up. I’m not sure how often I’ll throw these insights atcha, but I’m going to shoot for once a week.

Oh, yeah… nearly forgot… I wrote a book: A Sudden Dominance of Shadows—a collection of short stories written by yours truly. I’ll talk about it more in my next blog post.