Tuesday’s Top Ten: Movie Soundtracks
Let me amend that title: Movie Soundtracks for Writing. Movie soundtracks for listening pleasure include Flash Gordon, Highlander, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but those will not appear on this list. Following are the ten soundtracks to which I write, and I can’t write words when I listen to words. I did that when I wrote Schoolhouse Five, and the original manuscript was 210,000 words. Yeah. No words in my music means I get to the point faster, we all hope.
10. Mortal Kombat. I know there are words. Shut up. That’s why it’s number ten, but this song is one of my number ones:
9. The Dark Knight Rises. Every time I hear this chant, I write faster. “Deshi Basara,” indeed… That’s only funny if you know what it means, and what I write.
8. Man of Steel. Not a big fan of the movie, but I love the soundtrack, especially this:
7. Conan the Barbarian. Blame Lemur. I do. The soundtrack is fantastic. The dialogue, not so much.
6. Braveheart. For some reason,Braveheart has more triggers for me than Rob Roy did. Maybe because I like Tim Roth and Liam Neeson more than I like Mel Gibson? Even so, Braveheart has a better soundtrack.
5. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I know this song by heart. Yes, I know this song has words. In gibberish–it’s not even Chinese/Mandarin/Whatever. “Anything Goes.”
4. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. This movie has the best of both worlds. Anakin’s dark enough that they play Darth Vader’s theme, but still have the “Jedi Choir.” That’s what the disembodied voices look like in my head. I can’t find a good clip for them, but you know what I’m talking about. Here’s Anakin taking revenge on some Tusken Raiders:
3. Hugo. I’ve never seen it, but the soundtrack is beautiful.
2. Pirates of the Caribbean. Unlike the movies, each soundtrack is excellent quality. Besides, trying to watch Johnny Depp and write fantasy pirates would be distracting.
1. Lord of the Rings. Hours upon hours of writing bliss. Thank you, Howard Shore, for continuing the saga with the three Hobbit films. Al and Denny are grateful (yet, they complained there was not enough music for fucking).
One for the road: Sherlock Holmes. If I ever write steampunk, I’ll be listening to this:
What is your favorite music while you write?
I know this is a variation on a theme these past few weeks. Leave a comment letting me know what top ten you’d like to see instead of music.