Ten for the Ages Soundtrack

Whenever I set out to write anything that I know will require significant time and brainpower, I create specialized playlists for it. (As opposed to genre specific playlists which have as well.)

Since my recent book, Ten for the Ages, contains a mashup of different genres in a fantasy setting, it required it’s own playlist aside from the general Fantasy playlist I sometimes use especially when writing adventures for my D&D Campaigns. 

The full playlist contains several hundred songs, but here are ten that seemed particularly conducive to lots of progress:

1. Thick As A Brick by Jethro Tull. It stands to reason I’d get a lot done given that the two parts of this song add up to more than 40 minutes combined. I think this song also feels right for this work: my book is a mashup of different genres, this song is comprised of snippets and varying themes that mix together. Also part of the reason I love Thick As A Brick, on the surface it seems like a very serious song, but there’s a joke beneath the surface. Jethro Tull wrote it as a tongue in cheek sendup of concept records, and in doing so produced one of the best concept records of all time. 

2. Echoes by Pink Floyd. Another lengthy song, one that I’ve been obsessed with for a while, but it still never fails to inspire me. 

3. Light of the Seven from the Game of Thrones soundtrack. The Game of Thrones episode that featured this piece was as near to perfection as anything in any medium. I’m not great at playing music myself, but this I went out and got the sheet music for so I could try it. Much like Echoes it starts with that initial note on the piano and then the response and you know something big is coming. 

4. Rakim by Dead Can Dance. I started listening to a lot of Dead Can Dance again because of another project, and I realized this song in particular can go on pretty much any of my writing playlists and will do a yeoman’s job. 

5. Obsidian from John Carpenter’s Lost Themes. I love both of Carpenter’s Lost Themes discs, but this song in particular always seems to lead to a lot of progress. 

6. Descension from Jesse Nason’s Idles of March. Another cd of instrumental music. This song in particular seems to lend itself to some of the darker passages in the stories, and I’ve found that I’ve put this cd on my other playlists especially for horror and scifi stories. 
7. Into the West from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. The only downside to this song is it’s 50/50 that I start crying halfway through, which isn’t great for productivity. But this is a great song to move down the list knowing that that I have to get a scene finished before it comes on so I can listen to it properly. 

8. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud by David Bowie. I love the way this song tells a story, and like Into the West it always gets an emotional, sometimes overly emotional, response from me. 

9. Never Say Goodbye by My Bloody Valentine. A good break, more up tempo, but still very sentimental. Tapping away as they sing “never say goodbye as we chase the clouds away” feels like a very good day. 

10. Amethyst Realm by the Claypool Lennon Delirium. I feel like the Claypool Lennon Delirium is a convergence of my musical interests, and as such is a perfect addition for music that inspires productivity.  

Those are but ten, but are probably a fair indicator of the variety of the tones in this book.