Best of 2011: Fifteen Writing Songs - Part One

I’m obsessed with end-of-the-year countdowns, so from now until the new year, I’ll be talking about what I believe the best of 2011 was in terms of entertainment, which may take the form of music, television, celebrities, and of course, books.

I knew I wanted to post about music, but there was so much incredible music released this year that it was impossible to create a list of my favourite CDs or songs. So, instead of talking about the best music of 2011, I’m talking about the best writing music. This list features fifteen songs that were released in 2011 that I loved to write to. They’re not ranked in order of how much I like the song themselves, but in order of how much I wrote to them. That means most of the songs were released earlier in the year, because I haven’t had a chance to write to some new releases. So, when I finish this list, I’ll post a smaller list of songs I know I’ll write to in 2012. Here's the first part!

15. Housewife’s Prayer – Pistol Annies

I’ve been thinking about setting my house on fire.

One of my characters, Tiffany, is only seventeen, but already feels like a housewife. Though she’d never admit it, it’s her anthem. But, that’s not the only reason I write to this song. The theme of it, the desire to do something crazy and wrong that comes from dissatisfcation, appears in most of what I write, in one form or another.

14. Tough – Kellie Pickler

There ain’t nothing wrong with a woman that got a little backbone.

Like most writers, I torture my characters, and they come out stronger for it. This is their theme song when they realize that, and are ready to fight for themselves.

13. Learning to Love Again – Matt Kearney

That was the real you running through the fields of gold wide open.

 I write to every Matt Kearney song, and it’s always because of moments in the songs rather than the songs as whole. This one’s a little  different, though, because its theme of the real you is why I love to write to it. The theme of someone revealing their true self to someone else and then falling in love either because of or through that is always present in my work.

12. Every Teardrop is a Waterfall – Coldplay

I turn the music up, I’m on a roll this time/And heaven is in sight.

Ever since this song was used for the final montage on So You Think You Can Dance, I’ve heard dance in it. The two projects I’ve focused on this year feature dancer, and I hear everything my characters feel when they dance in this song.

11. She’s Dope – Down With Webster

Girl you’re a star, attention’s nothing new to you.

This is such a jam, and sometimes you need to write to music which pumps you up and makes you go, “Yeah, I’m awesome.” It’s also the way my male love interests see my female MCs ;)

10. Inside Out – Britney Spears

You touch me and it’s breaking me down.

 Oh gosh, I don’t even know how to explain this one. Basically, the song’s story of break-up sex is quite similar to a storyline I wrote this year, except mine was full of angst and didn’t involve dubstep. So, because I associated the song with my story, I started to hear it as full of angst, and I had it on repeat when I wrote one of the saddest scenes in my novel. Seriously. Also, believe it or not, this is not the only Britney Spears song on the list!

9. Turning Tables – Adele

Under your thumb, I can’t breathe.

I write to this song because I dance to it. It’s one of my favourite songs to dance to because it forces me to break down, and I’m able to write in that emotional and honest state it brings me to.

8. Beautiful Girl – William Fitzsimmons

Beautiful girl/May the weight of world resign/You will get better.

I always write to William Fitzsimmons because he’s so honest in both his lyrics and his voice, and it makes me honest. My characters always need to hear that they’ll get better, and this song promises them that.

What do you think of these songs? Any guesses as to what songs will appear in part two? What songs did you write to in 2011?