What gets our writing juices going? (apart from alcohol, of course) — Music!
I know there are writers who can work while there are words playing, but we can’t. But we still have a weakness for classic rock anthems and pop songs that help us get in the right contemporary frame of mind. Mostly we put on Pandora station created around the music of the Vitamin String Quartet, a band that plays instrumental classical arrangements of pop songs and rock classics. The downside of Pandora (upside?) is that there are a lot of the same songs that come up over and over again, to the point where if I hear any of them, my brain goes “you should be writing now!” Here are some of the top examples…
Paparazzi — Dallas String Quartet
Smells Like Teen Spirit — Scott D. Davis
Every Breath You Take — 2cellos
Sweet Child O’ Mine — Richard Blumenfeld
Without You — The Piano Guys
Hallelujah — Josh Vietti
Don’t Stop Believin’ — Dallas String Quartet
Use Somebody — 2cellos
Donegal Bay — Jordan Tice
Hotel California — Scott D. Davis
To Make You Feel My Love — The O’Neill Brothers
The Resistance — 2cellos
Alejandro — The Vitamin String Quartet
Daylight — Jingle Punks Hipster Orchestra
Steps — Secret Garden
Pachelbel Meets U2 — Jon Schmidt
A Thousand Miles — Josh Vietti
More songs & playlists coming soon