Music To Soothe The Savage Beast

Simple enough intro to this post :

Do you write to music?

I recently bought The Deftones new album, Diamond Eyes, and it's the perfect blend of brutality and beauty, just what I always hope to invoke in my writing.

The music, metal at it's most sensitive, is blistering in it's power yet the layering of leads beneath, coupled with reflective and uncharacteristically positive lyrics, has helplessly enthralled me. The band have always been good but this album is undoubtedly their crowning achievement, so far.

I often write in total silence.

(Hey, if I have music playing, how can I hear the voices in my head, of which there are many?!)

I simply prefer to hear the words flow in my head without the added distraction of music. If a song is playing, my mind naturally latches onto the lyrics.

However, I have to add this, movie scores are truly wonderful in this sense. An orchestral piece, sombre and thought provoking, is often just what the doctor ordered.

Vampire films, typically, have wonderfully suitable scores to write dark material too, Interview With The Vampire, Fright Night and the actual score from, of course, The Lost Boys. Inparticular, I URGE my fellow vampire writers to check out Tangerine Dream's haunting score to the classic vampire 1987 western tinged flick, Near Dark. It's flawless!

I find the right piece of instrumental music really helps to set the tone for my writing.

So how about you?

Is music a suitable writing companion for you?