What do you listen to?

[Malik]

I'll jump in here.

I generally listen to a lot of ambient when I'm writing, and I also have a couple of Pandora stations that I've seeded with female singer-songwriters. I discovered Antje Duvekot a few years ago, and were anyone to ever pick up the movie rights to Dragon's Trail I'd want it in the contract to have "Reasonland" rolling over the credits. And yes, I'm a sentimental cuss. One of the saddest songs I've ever heard.

 

[Malik]

I've also been writing my battle sequences for this second book to Karl Jenkins. Makes the Gladiator theme sound like something off Sesame Street.

 

[Malik]

As far as what I listen to when I'm not writing, it really depends on what I'm doing.

If I'm puttering around the house I usually have some kind of 50's hard-bop or coffeehouse thing going. I also have hundreds of Stax and Motown records on vinyl, and a Phillips turntable with an analog Magnavox amp/tuner that I've had since high school. In the 80's. I always knew vinyl would come back.

When I'm working out, it's 80's hair metal, the cheesier, the better. (Everything becomes a Rocky montage; try it.)

When I'm driving, I like old-school country -- George Jones, Patsy Cline, even Garth -- but the only station around here that played it has switched to that new, wussified rap-country skinny-jeans bullshit. Someone put the "O" back in country music, FFS.

I finally broke down and put a new stereo in my truck that I can plug my phone into because the radio around here sucks so hard. We have four "rock" stations, all of which play the same stuff (it's still 1995 in Seattle radio: "Coming up next! More of your Pearl Jam favorites!") and three country stations which are all proudly "New Country!" Kill me.

You could fix this entire nation by taxing the use of auto-tune.

My all-time favorite artist, if I had to pick and based off of most albums owned and highest percentage that you could play any song off any album and I'd enjoy it, is probably Peter Gabriel. I grew up on The Police, early Genesis, and U2 before they sucked (that's everything up to, but not including, Achtung, Baby; Boy and October got me through high school), and I was in a prog-metal band in the late 80's signed to a major so I went through an Asia / ELP / Journey B-Sides and Deep Cuts / Dream Theater phase that I never really grew out of. I'll still put on Dream Theater Live at the Budokan really goddamn loud when my wife's out of the house and then play along on the piano. In an alternate timeline I'm fairly certain I'm Jordan Rudess.

John Petrucci could have thrown his guitar into the crowd after this and gone off to join a monastery in Tibet. One of the most perfect moments in music, and someone got it on camera.

I don't understand people who listen to one kind of music. It's like eating only one kind of food. It's a weird concept to me.

 

[FifthView]

Ah Malik, I've had Songs of Sanctuary since it first dropped but the CD is sitting around stored somewhere. Since moving to all-digital some years ago, I've slowly been catching up to my old collection, but I'd forgotten about SoS.

 

[Malik]

Ah Malik, I've had Songs of Sanctuary since it first dropped but the CD is sitting around stored somewhere. Since moving to all-digital some years ago, I've slowly been catching up to my old collection, but I'd forgotten about SoS.

Freaking amazing project. I love that it's all in a made-up language. The conlanger in me totally geeks out about SoS.

 

[Miskatonic]

I saw "A night with Dream Theater" at the Moore Theatre back in like 2003 or sometime around then. Whenever they started touring for Train of Thought. Three hour set. Good stuff.

 

[Malik]

Holy shit. I'm pretty sure I was at that concert. I think I've seen them every time they've come through here.

Edited to add: Dude, we've gotta hang out. I've seen you on the same game servers and we go to the same shows.

 

[Chessie]

Hey, Malik! How's the writing going?

Still on that 80s kick. I don't know what's up but I'm working really well to it these days:

 

[Chessie]

Also, probably my favorite song as a child:

 

[Malik]

Hey, Malik! How's the writing going?

First draft of Book II is finished but it's crap. Some chapters are in present tense; some sequences have beats in capital letters; some places just have pictures for scene ideas inserted as placeholders. I just needed to get through to the end so that I could start actually writing. The first six pages, though, are the strongest writing I've ever done. If I had a definite publication date I'd send them to my editor right now and release them to my mailing list, and probably attach them to the end of Book I as a teaser and re-upload it. It's that good.

 

[Chessie]

That sounds like a great idea! See? Writing fast has benefits.

 

[Miskatonic]

Holy shit. I'm pretty sure I was at that concert. I think I've seen them every time they've come through here.

Edited to add: Dude, we've gotta hang out. I've seen you on the same game servers and we go to the same shows.

Which games do you play?

 

[Steerpike]

Haven't seen Dream Theater. Saw Opeth - more metalish prog rock. Does Baroness count as prog? They're fun.

For 80s prog (with nod to old Genesis):

[video=youtube_share;Rxp5KJOHqmI]https://youtu.be/Rxp5KJOHqmI[/video]

EDIT:

Might as well throw in lyrics:

Heorot's Plea And Grendel's Awakening

Midnight suns bid moors farewell, retreats from charging dusk
Mountain echo, curfews bell, signal ending tasks
They place their faith in oaken doors, cower in candlelight
The panic seeps through bloodstained floors as Grendel stalks the night

Earth rim walker seeks his meals
Prepare the funeral pyres
The shaper's songs no longer heal the fear
Within their eyes, their eyes

Wooden figures, pagan gods, stare blindly cross the sea
Appeal for help from ocean fogs, for saviour born of dreams
They know their lives are forfeit now, priestly head they bow in shame
They cannot face the trembling crowd that flinch in Grendel's name

Earth rim walker seeks his meals
Prepare the funeral pyres
The shaper's songs no longer heal the fear
Within their eyes, their eyes

As Grendel leaves his mossy home beneath the stagnant mere
Along the forest path he roams to Hrothgar's hall so clear
He knows that victory is secured, his charm will testify
His claws will drip with mortal blood as moonbeams haunt the sky

Earth rim walker seeks his meals
Prepare the funeral pyres
The shaper's songs no longer heal the fear
Within their eyes, their eyes

Grendel's Journey

Silken membranes span his path, fingerprints in dew
Denizens of twilight lands humbly beg him through
Mother nature's bastard child shunned by leaf and stream
An alien in an alien land seeks solace within dreams
The shaper's lies his poisoned tongue malign with mocking harp
Beguiling queen her innocence offends his icy heart

Lurker At The Threshold

Hounds freeze in silence bewitched by the reptile spell
Sulphurous essence pervades round the grassy dell
Heorot awaits him like lamb to the butcher's knife
Stellular heavens ignore even children's cries

Screams are his music, lightning his guide
Raping the darkness, death by his side

Chants rise in terror, free round the oaken beams
Flickering firelight portraying the grisly scene
Warriors advance, prepare for the nightmare foe
Futile their sacrifice as even their hearts must know

Heroes delusion, with feet in the grave
Lurker at the threshold, he cares not for the brave, he cares not for the brave

So you thought that your bolts and your locks would keep me out
You should have known better after all this time
You're gonna pay in blood for all your vicious slander
With your ugly pale skins and your putrid blue eyes
Why should I feel pity when you kill your own and feel no shame
God's on my side, sure as hell, I'm gonna take no blame
I'm gonna take no blame, I'm gonna take no blame

So you say you believe in all of Mother Nature's laws
You lust for gold with your sharpened knives
Oh when your hoards are gathered and your enemies left to rot
You pray with your bloodstained hands at the feet of your pagan gods

Then you try to place the killer's blade in my hand
You call for justice and distort the truth
Well I've had enough of all your pretty pretty speeches
Receive your punishment, Expose your throats to my righteous claws
And let the blood flow, and let the blood flow, flow, flow, flow.

 

[Miskatonic]

I liked Opeth somewhat when they were actually metal. They are basically in the prog rock camp now.

 

[Steerpike]

I liked Opeth somewhat when they were actually metal. They are basically in the prog rock camp now.

Opeth was always fun to see live. Morningrise is still their best album, and that takes you back quite a long ways.

Also like Agalloch quite a bit. This is a beautiful song:

[video=youtube_share;7Yo9zPfmVEc]https://youtu.be/7Yo9zPfmVEc[/video]

 

[Malik]

Which games do you play?

MWO and Star Citizen. I bumped into you on MWO about a month ago and said hi over voice chat. I believe I saw you again on the other team some time later, but I didn't have time to type a greeting as I was too busy getting my ass kicked.

 

[Malik]

That sounds like a great idea! See? Writing fast has benefits.

Not really, no. I think I'm doing Book III entirely on a yellow pad before I start typing anything.

 

[Miskatonic]

MWO and Star Citizen. I bumped into you on MWO about a month ago and said hi over voice chat. I believe I saw you again on the other team some time later, but I didn't have time to type a greeting as I was too busy getting my ass kicked.

Might have been someone else. I've never played MWO.

 

[Malik]

Might have been someone else. I've never played MWO.

Weird. There's a guy on MWO whose handle is "MiskatonicMFA." I asked him over voice chat if he was a writer, he said yes; I asked if he visited this board, he also said yes. I thought it was you. My bad.

 

[Miskatonic]

Weird. There's a guy on MWO whose handle is "MiskatonicMFA." I asked him over voice chat if he was a writer, he said yes; I asked if he visited this board, he also said yes. I thought it was you. My bad.

No worries.

I play World of Warcraft mostly. Also just started up with Magic The Gathering Online.