Word count 847

                                          

The title is from a song that I frequently use to sign off emails, particularly to publishers.  The song is by the not-so-young Neil.  Despite the title, the lyrics and the video, the intent is irony.  The idea came from someone who suggested that the band could keep rocking in the free world when a Neil Young tour in Russia was cancelled.  The sign off can be varied – in the new year, in the springtime, for Christmas instead of The Free World.

I suspect that music inspires poets, film makers and painters.  This is about the effect on a writer – me.  My preference is music from the fifties and sixties which were my formative years.  My computer usually plays rock and roll, but there is a lot of blues, big band, and pop.  Right now, it is “Jump, Jive, and Wail” a Louie Primo cover by local band Five Guys Named Moe.  It could have been Duke Ellington, Vaughn Monroe, Carl Perkins, David Bowie, Aretha Franklin, Pat Benatar, Buddy Guy, or Buddy Holly.

What I’m listening to could affect the kind of story I’m writing – Blues for heartbreak, something like Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir (the Bolero of rock with rising tumescence followed by detumescence, and repeat) for a sexy scene, a weird song like David Bowie’s Space Oddity for science fiction.  If it is not interfering with what I’m doing, I’m listening to music.

Usually, I’m energized by the music in a song I like.  If “Cowgirl In The Sand” (Neil Young) had no lyrics, I’d still enjoy it, in part because I don’t always understand the lyrics.  Sometimes the main appeal of a song is the lyrics.  Bob Dylan’s usually don’t have singing, but his lyrics are good poetry and thought provoking.  “Masters Of War” is a fine anti-war anthem, “My Back Pages” is thoughtful on maturing, and “Like A Rolling Stone” makes sense once you know it’s about Andy Warhol.  Bob Denver’s best – “Rocky Mountain High” – is pure poetry.  Sometimes not only the lyrics are good prose or poetry, but the story behind the song can be fascinating.  Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4” has mystified a lot of people.  Some claim it is a drug song, but then some think every song from the sixties was a drug song.  The author of the song claims that it referred to a time in the morning when he was trying to write a song.  “Mystery Train” is based on “Worried Man Blues” by the Carter Family, which was in turn based on an old Celtic song.  In the 1950s both Junior Parker and Elvis Presley had hits with the song.  Nobody seems to know what “Hotel California” means including the Eagles.  A personal favorite, “Riders In The Sky”, was inspired by an eastern European supernatural saga of hunters in the sky.

The best of the Beatles (“Eleanor Rigby”, “Revolution”) and the Rolling Stones (“Live With Me”, “Gimme Shelter”) combine interesting lyrics with good music.

Several of my stories have had incidental use of music.  In “Ageless Love” a widower sings “You Are My Sunshine”.  The interviewees in “Swingers” all reference a song which reflects their status, “Walking On Sunshine” for happiness.  The narrator of “Altared States” thinks about “Life In The Fast Lane” (Eagles) during sex and changes the lyrics to “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (The Who) to insult his girlfriend who has just dumped him.  Josie of the “smart car” series is in a late 21^st century band that plays music of that era, some cars are better singers than their humans, and lead car and human are apt to break into song on road trips improvising lyrics.  A killer in “Serial” starts to sing “You Are My Sunshine”, but then realizes that it is inappropriate and switches to “Jezebel”.  A Jefferson Airplane favorite of mine “The Other Side Of This Life” is an appropriate title for my story about someone who endures a big loss, followed by the chance of redemption.

In “Nose” a horrible singer (based on myself) becomes the world’s best singer overnight.  The story references Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Pat Benatar and declares Aretha Franklin the best female singer (my opinion).

I wrote fictional stories about celebrities from a real town in Northwest Oregon USA.  The town Vernonia has an interesting history, but I chose it primarily because it rhymes with Caledonia.  In the Trilogy, a US president, self-help guru, and a band come from Vernonia.  The story “Eagle” was written about a rock star and his band that was an antidote to all of the rock tragedies – Behind The Music, American Pie, and the twenty-seven club.  The band goes from roughly 1960 to 2010 while losing only one original band member and fictionally crossing paths with real stars – Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Duane Eddy.

I might have written about the effect of music on my dancing, but that would make as much sense as dancing about writing.

I have depended on Wikipedia for some of this information.