I don't listen to music as much anymore as I used to when I was younger. And I kind of lost the ability to listen to music in the background while I work on other things, at least if what I do requires me to write something. Sometimes when I do very repetitive tasks I might listen to music, but I'm much more likely to put on a podcast these days. I remember listening to music while doing homework for school. Today I wonder how I was able to do that.
I would find it much too distracting these days.
But I like to include music in my stories or torture the contestants in our contests with music related prompts.
Venus' Touch icludes the lyrics of
Kathy McCarty's - Living Life as the protagonist listens to the song.
Party Hard is entirely structured around the lyrics of
Daft Punk - One More Time. When a childhood friend introduced me to
Babymetal - Gimme Chocolate in 2024 I knew I had to include that in
Late Satisfaction by making the character of Eugene a massive fan of the band.
The most ambitious thing I've ever done with including a song in a story is "including"
Rain Jewels - Mess in my story
Sweet, Sweet Mess. Essentially, I adapted the song into a short story. The title "Sweet, Sweet Mess" is a direct quote from the lyrics. The song itself has a present tense first person narrator who constantly addresses another person as "you" in their thoughts. So I chose that for my narrator as well. I also tried to include as many of the lyrics into the text as possible, either quoting them verbatim or changing them a little. So for example:
You’re not my remedy nor my enemy
But still in my memory
becomes
You’re no longer the remedy for my pain, nor are you the enemy I once perceived you to be. So why can’t you just stay in my memory, where you belong?
in the story. The line from the song I struggled the hardest with was:
I remember you
As you want me to
How do you include that line in prose or dialogue without it feeling completely out of place? So I ended up writing an entire exchange between the two main characters to make that sound natural:
You take a step back. With the glass in my hand, you seem to relax a little. We both take a quiet sip. I taste nothing. My raging heartbeat overshadows simple sensations like the taste of wine in this moment. You break the silence.
“So, six years, huh? What do you think? Do I look like how you expected?”
You raise your arms slightly, presenting yourself to me. You’re so overeager that you almost spill some of your wine in the process. I always liked this playful side of yours.
“I don’t know. What’s with the goatee?”
You grin, then stroke your beard in an exaggerated manner.
“Yeah, I actually thought about shaving it off after I found a few gray hairs in it last week.”
I take another sip from my wine.
“I like a little gray in a man’s beard. It’s hot.”
You gulp. You flee for another sip, just like me.
“Heh, thanks! But still, I could do without the mirror reminding me I’m closer to thirty than twenty now. Today the hair’s gray, tomorrow it’s gone.”
You ruffle your hair as if to make sure that it’s all still there. Alright Julian, just for today, I’ll remember you as you want me to.
Writing that story was really hard. I don't think I've ever taken that long to write a ~4,000 word short story. But it was a lo of fun too. I can only recommend it to any writer here who's looking for a challenge!
Actually, I'm not averse to rock music or c. 2000 MTV pop (my teenage sins!) either, but not while writing.
