Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Back into it...

I picked up one of my numerous notebooks to take with me on my little shopping jaunt with Sweeney. He's at the age where I can actually have a coffee in reasonable peace so I'm taking full advantage of it.

The idea was to jot down some Genie ideas, get my head in that space again. So I sit down at a quite cafe. Actually, I'll just add at this point, I'm usually a sucker for a trashy mag but I was lucky that they only had a couple of old New Ideas from July. See, I still really try and procrastinate. Always up for a distraction.

After flicking through the old news (and some sad but funny pictures of poor Mischa Barton) I open up my notebook. Oh, what do we have here? Some Genie notes already....from 3 YEARS AGO!

There wasn't much, only a few pages, but I it's actually amazing to see that whole Twilight teenage sexy romance (male from another world (Genie) seducing misfit girl from our world) idea actually existed all those years ago. Here I was, future me in 2009 worried that I was kind of stealing ideas from Twilight but I have proof, PROOF I say! That I'm not a complete rip off queen.*

Not only that, but flicking through the 2006 pages (all five of them) I found the root of the inspiration - A dream I had.  Here t' is:

...was in an apartment block - very old fashioned, maybe from early 20th Century. Filled with feral looking hippies. Young, friendly, good looking but a bit aloof. Invited us to see 'the park'. We went. It was just a normal park, kind of like a nature reserve, then they started circling threateningly.

I can remember this dream quite well actually, I think because I attributed it a song. Which is this:





The above song features on my Genie's 'Soundtrack' (also circa 2006). Some of the other songs are:

Cross Bones Style - Cat Power
Young Bride - Midlake
Voices Carry - Til Tuesday
California Soul - Marlena Shaw
False Flags - Massive Attack
Hours - TV on the Radio

oh, and we mustn't forget the obligatory classical piece:

The Lark Ascending - Vaughn Williams

Ahhh, Music...it is most definitely powerfully inspiring to me. I appreciate all types and most genres (oh, except for metal and most hip hop) but I have to say I can be a bit of a snob. As in I cannot handle most of the commercial vacuous crap out there. Yeah, like I said, I sound a bit snobby don't I? I can't help it!

Anyway, back to what I was saying, as soon as I hear certain songs I immediately envision a scene or story that goes with it. I can remember the first time I did this. It was to this song in 1986!**

Angel Dust - New Order

Oh my God, I'm listening to it right now and just have to tell you the movie I had for it. It's just so bloody hilarious! Basically this unsuspecting western guy picks up an asian girl in Hong Kong. She steals his kidney (!) as you do when you're mixed up with the Triads. Anyway, she falls in love with him and they end up...I don't know...running around the streets of Hong Kong at night time. I seriously used to put the record on (yes, on the turntable) and fantasise this scenario at least once a day for maybe a week or two.

I sound like I was a pretty cool 15 year old hey? You know, liking New Order and stuff but I have to tell you, around the same time, this song would have also made Mandy's top 5!

Suffice to say I think very visually and aurally so, of course, my book will become a film..

With one pretty excellent, moody soundtrack. I guess it would cost a pretty penny for all those rights but I'll let those Weinstein brothers worry about that. Ha!

*A quick fact check tells me Twilight debuted at 2005 but I'm almost 100% sure I only became aware of the whole Twilight thing with the movies.
**Oh, how I'm enjoying this trip down memory lane
***showin' me age!

2 comments:

  1. There's an author I have read who lists the music she's listened to while writing each book - the soundtrack to each book I guess. I wish I could remember who it is. It seems your brains must be wired similarly.

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  2. Yes, that rings bell actually. And I think Isabel Allende had a CD with one of her books too. We may very well be wired similarly with one major difference...that author put in the work and actually WROTE! Hopefully this post won't remain a delusion of granduer and I really take off and start writing ;)

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