Thursday, May 17, 2012

Music Post: In Which I Wear Hipster Glasses

So, I'm currently working on edits for SHADES OF EARTH. It is starting to be in real book shape, and I am very excited and extremely terrified by this. I am physically restraining myself from running up to strangers and shouting "THIS BOOK I AM WRITING IS MY GIFT TO YOU I HOPE YOU LIKE IT PLEASE LOVE ME."

My husband tells me I should avoid going out in public until edits are done, and I think he's probably right. Also I tend not to bathe regularly while editing, and I eat a lot of string cheese, and I wear yoga pants and holey t-shirts, and all in all, I'm just not fit for public right now. If I had a butler, he'd actively tell all the society people that "Madame is not in at the moment, please leave your card."

Meanwhile, I have been working rabidly on SHADES OF EARTH. And I know that I'm working rabidly on a project by my music-listening habits. People have often asked me for a playlist, and that's not really my sort of thing. I don't keep track of what I listen to--and often, I will actively listen to music that I can then tune out. Also, I'm boring. I tend to listen to one song over and over and over and over on repeat. Really loudly.

Right now, on the SHADES rewrite, the song I'm listening to over and over and over and over and over again is this one:



The musician here is Alex Day. I found his music in a rather circuitous way. I started off as a nerdfighter, which led me to the hilarious Charlie McDonnell (better known as Charlie Is So Cool Like). Charlie's roommate is Alex Day, and they did a few videos together, so I started looking into his videos, too. This led me to Chameleon Circuit, a Doctor Who fan band, and I discovered the song that I listened to obsessively while writing the first draft of SHADES:



Given the title, it seemed really appropriate for the third and final volume of my book. I love the duet style of this song, and it's just, simply, gorgeous.

Anyway, this all ultimately lead me to downloading all of Alex's songs, where I discovered "The World is Mine," the first song I have listed here. It's got the perfect tone and the most beautiful lyrics. Also: it perfectly fits the final volume of the AtU trilogy.

What songs are you listening to obsessively now? Do you have any fun stories about how you discovered a new musician or song?

8 comments:

chihuahuazero said...

Wow! I just finished writing a music video review of Nicki Minaj's "Right By My Side" when I clicked to the main Blogger page and found this at the top of my feed! Strange...

I listen to whatever albums I bought recently, along with the favorites of my iTunes library (Florence + the Machines, Rihanna, Lady Gaga).

I discovered Florence + the Machine by finding "Dog Days are Over" on the radio. I found the sort of swaying sound the chorus gave me at first, so I checked the name of the song, went on YouTube, and watched it.

Later, I went ahead and checked out a few other music videos by them.

The rest is history.

By the way, I have A Million Suns right next to Insurgent. Both are flattening out a Doctor Who nameplate. (Hey, why can't I be practical with my hardcovers?)

I liked how daring you were with Across the Universe in terms of sexual content without getting explicit.

Sachianna said...

OH gosh, discovering new artists is a pastime of mine. One of my new obsessions is a Swedish band called little dragon. My roomate in college listened to them and sent me a couple songs. The rest is history! They have a unique, electro-soul folk R&B type flow. (If that makes sense). I have discovered many new bands and sounds through them. Another route of discovery is by listening to my favorite anime soundtracks! Discovering music is so much fun!

Cass said...

Is this the guy who did the Twilight Reads videos? *checks* Oh my, it is! Wow, what a coinkydink! I didn't know he sang!

Anyway, I cannot, cannot wait for Shades of Earth! You were such a tease with that ending...

Anonymous said...

I found my new favorite song "I'm Elmo and I Know It" (if you don't know this song then look it up on youtube!) when my friend Wiener Schnitzle (her nickname) told me to look it up. When I did I think I played it 20 times. And now I'm singing it to my friends every day at school. They love the song too!

Anyways...I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL JANUARY 2013 CUZ SHADES OF EARTH COMES OUT!!!!!!! BETH REVIS YOU ARE AN AMAZING WRITER! KEEP IT UP AND WRITE MORE BOOKS SOON PLEASE. I just finished A Million Suns and it was amazing! I am so flabbergasted (hehe funny word) at the ending! I love love love x1,000 the Across the Universe series!!

-Banana/Hornswaggle/Hannah

P.S. Sorry if you think I'm weird, but i just can't wait for Shades!

P.P.S. List of things I love:
1. Llamas
2. Music
3. My family and friends
4. Volleyball
5. Dance
6. THE ACROSS THE UNIVERSE SERIES! :)

Unknown said...

I found a song that kinda matched your fist book. Its called Bring On The Wonder by Sarah McLachlan.Check It Out if u can :)

Jess said...

I obsessively listen to any songs by Within Temptation. Or Red. Those bands are both AMAZING and I love to write while listening to their music!

I do the same thing, though. I listen to music on repeat, especially if it's a really intense song and I'm writing a fight scene or something!

Unknown said...

I had a playlist that I listened to obsessively in my last set of revisions. I knew I had a problem when the Pea started singing "Who wants to live forever? Who wants to live forever...when love must di-i-i-e?" in the grocery store line. Queen FTW!

But the two bands that nailed it for me, revision-wise were The Killers and The Jayhawks.

Anonymous said...

I ADORE Chameleon Circuit. I listen to their cds in my car and NO ONE UNDERSTANDS THE GLORY OF IT.

The second song you listed is on of my favorites. I just love them so much.

I was very young when I found Charlie's videos. (which then led me to the Nerdfighters, and then Chameleon Circuit and some of their other music conquests. I wish I could say I knew more about Alex..)

Anyway I am very excited for your last book, hopefully I'll be seeing you to get it signed!