52 Comments

Thanks for sharing Chuck. It sounds nice and mellow.

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Nice song. Not sure I could listen to it from sunrise to sunset, but there's not a lot of songs I could do that with. In fact, I'd probably have a mental breakdown if I tried.

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founding

Mondegreens all over the plays!

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mondegreen

P.S. Happy Birthday Ricky Lee Jones!

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The moment I hear her voice, Chuck E's in Love starts playing in my mind. That song is on the soundtrack of my childhood.

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Beautiful song, Chuck. This is one of mine: https://youtu.be/KtlgYxa6BMU?si=42wQEYdkdPWpmcUe

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founding

Nothing like sparkin up a one hitter of infused yesca and putting the right jam or playlist on repeat to get the writing flowing.

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Spooky how I was thinking of asking you last night. What a serendipitous post :)) thank you!

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What other songs do you like?

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author

The song depends on the mood I'm trying to revisit. Prose fiction is so linear, we're forced to read word by word. While music allows for layers of sound, instruments or vocals, to happen at the same time. That's why I'm fixated on call-backs and devices like choruses that try to keep every past moment present. Tom's analogy for Minimalism is that it's like a piece of music that builds from a simple melody, but that despite variations that original melody is still present, albeit buried. That original melody is what Gordon Lish calls the "Line of Flight."

In the long run the entire book can be extrapolated from the line of flight. Just from the phrasing "Zero quits school" I can retrieve the whole song from my memory. And that's the quality I want to recreate in a story.

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Walter-choruses in "Adjustment Day" exploded my heart.

Thank you!

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Highly recommend Moses Sumney

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I have listened to songs over and over like that many times, often much older songs though

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founding

Drunk History is a great device when I need inspiration for burning the language. I love certain episodes so much. This one is my favorite. When the Roman crowd chants "You wack. You wack. You wack!" I lose it every time! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ab4rYDR0yY

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“Some days, I’ll listen to the same song on repeat from sunrise to sunset.”

Ha some days I just do this anyway, just *because*😂😂

Cool

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author

Ah, be careful that this habit doesn't end in divorce. Earbuds have saved my life.

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founding

Drives my 8 year old nuts when I listen to songs on repeat. Music gets me into the writing flow state. Headphones are a must. lol

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I love both the music and the story of this song and I have since I was a kid.

https://youtu.be/j4jtIDaeaWI?si=3BeneWsBgXvxNKxu

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I'd forgotten about her. Thanks for the reminder. Such lush cool.

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I alternate between Dylan & Eddie Fisher. I then attack the comments section of the NYP.

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I had completely forgotten her music! I listened to her in Dublin when I was in my twenties. It’s funny, that music and writing thing. Often when I am writing on the laptop, my fingers move across the keys as though they were playing a piano, and I am playing a musical piece. But until I read ‘Priming the Pump’, it never occurred to me that the words were the music. A wonderful thought to start the day with. Thank you so much!

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