Putting the Cart Before the Horse

But what the hey, eh?

This weekend has been all editing, all the time. I’m working on the vampire novel, prepping it for a volunteer beta reader, and consequently going over it all AGAIN. I’m happy to report that the scenes that made me tear up or laugh as I was writing them are still having that effect. While that may seem like a strange barometer to a non-writer, as I’m sure you’re all thinking all writers love their own writing, and that’s often true, there’s also the maxim that if your writing doesn’t sweep you away, it won’t have that effect on your readers either. If you don’t love what you’re writing, it’s likely no one else will.

:::disjointed segue – ENGAGE!:::

I often get inspired by music, so it’s not that much of a stretch for me to hear a soundtrack running in my head as I write. So THEN I got to thinking (as all writers do at some point, I’m sure. It can’t just be me) if my book were to be made into a movie, who would I want to do the soundtrack for it? Yeah yeah, I know, if it were to come to pass I’m sure I’d have no actual say in it, but I can dream can’t I?

So mostly I’d want a pretty hard rock soundtrack, but there are scenes in the book that would call for something more atmospheric, creepy, romantic, more cerebral stuff. Even some classical. Right now I’m all hung up on the soundtrack to “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” I know, I know, believe me no one is more surprised than I am that I liked this movie. But there are some really strong performances in it. Rufus Sewell is tremendous as he always is, with a wonderfully nuanced role as an evil vampire. Dominic Cooper is the next heartthrob ladies, as Henry Sturgess. I expected this to be a silly, frothy comedic romp, but there are few really light moments. It’s not heavy drama, certainly, with such a ridiculous premise but it’s so much better than I expected. The cinematography is really beautiful, the lighting and color in the scene when Abraham proposes to Mary is striking. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is adorable and charming as Mary Todd, and later in the film has a great scene as the grieving mother when their son dies (hardly a spoiler if you know anything about history). Marton Csokas is wonderfully vile as Jack Barts.

Anyway, the soundtrack is by Henry Jackman, and you can hear a lot of Hans Zimmer’s influence in a number of places. Unfortunately I can’t find a clip of the segment that I really love. It’s during the fight scene on top of the train and the music swells to a majestic and poignant orchestration of the theme. It’s quite beautiful, I wish it was longer. I can’t even find that it’s included on the soundtrack CD which makes me sad.

Anyway, along with the orchestral soundtrack, most movies have other pieces written and performed by bands added in (Linkin Park contributed the end titles theme with their song “Powerless”).

So what bands would you like to write songs for your movie? For me, I’d want Rubylux  (their new single, “The World Goes Quiet” just dropped on iTunes, check it out

provided they’re not too famous and busy by then, HIM of course, maybe some Avatar (Torn Apart would work really well in one scene), or Black Veil Brides (love their latest In the End). Argh. So I’ve spent the whole day checking out music. Now, back to editing. I’ll try to get a Tarot card for the week posted tomorrow.

Addendum 5/27/2013: This is too fun, I have to share this – Rubylux is on board for the soundtrack!

 

@ddsyrdal Thanks for the shout out in your blog! Consider us confirmed for the soundtrack! 😉

— Rubylux (@rubylux) May 27, 2013

Rubylux

Let’s have a song, shall we? This is a band out of Brighton, England called Rubylux:

Wonderful voice, the lead singer is Rob Humphreys (I think I was follower #100 for Rob on Twitter), in the hat is Clark Coslett-Hughes (bassist), on keyboards is Adam Harris, and on drums is Mike Hall. If you enjoyed that, take a listen to their song, “The Boy Could Fly.” That’s the song that hooked me on the band.

From their Web site:

At first, we’d borrow a generator and a PA system, and we’d set up around Brighton – blast out our songs for 30 or 45 minutes, however long we could play before the police or council shut us down. Then we started recording those gigs, to sell them later on. We made enough money to buy our own gear, because the Street Gigs attract a ridiculous amount of people, far more than we’d play to at a normal little venue in Brighton.”

Now, Rubylux try to play Street Gigs in the afternoon at whatever town they’re touring in. Rob reckons the authorities are usually easygoing and allow them to play an extra four songs once they’ve been alerted – “although when we played at a square in Bath, we had the police, the council, health and safety…every type of authority you could think of. And then a priest came running out in all his robes, complaining that he was trying to practice for his sermon that Sunday!”

You can stalk follow them on Twitter: @rubylux, @Robrubylux, @Clarkinthehat, @AdRubylux, and @mikerubylux. And of course they’re on Facebook as well. Personally, I am far too lazy to stalk anyone. That’s just too much like work. But I do continue to watch their Tweets, and posts on Facebook, hoping they will someday play the U.S.