Inspirationators: What music means to me

As a musician, people expect me to know it all, be it all, have heard it all, and be able to identify it all. The truth is, I'm a listen-and-know-by-ear kinda girl. I've heard old rock songs, but I don't know them by heart and it's a rare thing indeed if I remember the band at all.

My husband tries to quiz me on this. "I'll give you a million dollars if you can name this band," he says, knowing I won't know. The sad thing is, it's usually someone easy like Red Hot Chili Peppers or the Beastie Boys. This is my memory, the way my mind works, and I've learned to accept it and overlook people's expectations.

Now ask me about Chopin and I can tell you about all the different types of pieces he wrote, who he fell in love with and why, how old he was when he died, etc. But play a 70-90's rock song and ask me who sang it and this is me--->

That being said, I can't live, can't breathe, can't go one DAY without music. It is in my blood to be affected by it.

If a song gives me goosebumps, I am a goner. I melt, I become entranced, I feel transported into a new world.

If a song has an awesome beat, I can't stand still. I'll make an absolute dork of myself and I couldn't care less. I have to move.

Music also sets my mood while writing. I do have my favorite songs, but they are mood setters. I realize this might be unusual. Most people who use music while writing, know their songs, know their favorite bands. As I said, I've accepted that I am a weird girl.

Even as I write this post, I had to go through my playlists to pick out my favorite songs. I can tell you where they are on the list, but not who sings them, LOL.

For Bitter Angel--if you know anything about this wild story--my mood setters were well-written gems like: Far East Movement's G6 and Wiz Khalifa's Black and Yellow. 

Timeless, right? HA! But they totally set the mood for the CUH-RAZY things that went down in that book, and for the heart-thumpin' base I needed to write the clubbing scenes. 

For other parts of the book, I used music from the Black Hawk Down soundtrack, because I could feel the intensity and emotion but there were no words to distract me from the action going down. 

For my next book, the mood is completely different. I need something softer, sadder, slower to set my mood. I'll leave you with this absolutely perfect musical teaser to give you a hint about what this story might be about. It's not a thriller, it is a romance, it is New Adult, and it will--hopefully--break your heart into pieces and put it back together again, of course ;) 

What are your musical inspirationators? Do you have a favorite band? Does a particular song give you such a strong feeling, you become entranced just by listening? 

Share with me!