FSM # 4: The proof is in the pudding, but the Muse is in the score…
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When TWIN PEAKS aired on Norwegian TV screens about 10 years ago, I was hooked. I was still in upper secondary school back then and the vivacious, larger-than-life fictional writings of my childhood had been compromized by strict, non-fictional rules and regulations. A lid was put on my creative juices.
However, that series ignited a spark. There was something about the “atmosphere” – vast forest areas, constant grey and drizzly weather contrasted with the warm and fuzzy interiors of the log-built hotel by the huge waterfall. The “twin peaks” themselves towering lugubriously over the village. Additionally, of course, there was the offbeat nature of the characters – some sort of absurd play and the subdued, seemingly passive acting of Kyle MacLachlan that fit marvelously as an opposition to the quirky villagers.
The icing on the cake and the final boost, however, was all Angelo Badalamenti. I am having HUGE difficulties explaining just how that music fit so wonderfully with the visuals, and how it worked independently as well. That bass groove, with reverb effects connoting vast landscapes. The jazzy high-hat rhythm. The somewhat sad melody of the main theme underlining the loss of innocence of the murdered Laura Palmer. Things like that.
And, while some claimed that the series got worse the longer it ran, I thought the opposite. It got weirder, more abstract – just the way I liked it. And few TV villains have scared me more than Bob.
In any case, the series eventually inspired me so much that I sat down, put on my cassette tape of the score and wrote an entire novel. The novel was basically based on a series of long introductions in which I laid out the atmosphere of an autumn-covered drizzly Canada, several hundred miles from nearest city (Dawson), before I started the action. The creative juices were flowing again. And all thanks to a series and a score just a little out of the ordinary.
No, the “owls were not what they seemed to be” for sure.
Does anyone know what I mean? Are there any films or scores like this that have resurrected the Muse in you and inspired you to write, paint, compose something?
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This post was inspired by the “STEPMOM effect”-thread.
Loved the series back then and was so upset when the murderer was spoilered in the media. I still feel even on a rewatch some years ago that the series lost a bit after that in season 1 already. But I liked the rather confusing season 2 as well. Haven’t seen that later follow up season 3. The movie was mixed for me.
The scores is of course a classic. The times when you went out to instantly buy the CD 😉
Does anyone know what I mean? Are there any films or scores like this that have resurrected the Muse in you and inspired you to write, paint, compose something?
I remember being highly creatively inspired when I had watched the movie THE HOURS. When I came home back from the cinema I immediately started drawing. These two pictures might be the best or at least most couragous drawings I have ever done.
Funnily, the movie is about writing, not painting. But the movie appeared to me as a wonderful work of art.
Oh, my. If I recall correctly, the live ascent of one of the space shuttles had me illustrating an answer at that time to the questions you posed almost 25 years ago. And of late I eagerly awaited reading the part on Stepmom in the John Williams bio and was anything but disappointed; in fact, author Greiving’s description matched up well with the post from 1999 that spawned your post, Thor.😎
Yes, and I do remember us discussing what season, exactly, that score gets associated with. For me it’s all 100% autumn, for you it’s winter. Strange how that works. But I do remember it inspiring you to write that post, at least, which is very much what this topic was/is about.
So far I have never watched the later third season of TWIN PEAKS. Gladly our French-German broadcaster currently has all TWIN PEAKS (minus the movie) for streaming (and gladly also in the English original as they usually only have German and French) so I will soon binge through that. Still fighting with myself timewise if I should take the time to re-watch seaons 1 and 2 first 😉
Good luck, Malte! I binge all of TWIN PEAKS about once every two years or so. I have the “gold” DVD box for the original series.
But now that this thread was ressurected, I can add another story (it was either this or the “extra-musical associations” one):
I’ve mentioned Jean Michel Jarre’s WAITING FOR COUSTEAU (1990) twice now, in other threads, and it has a back story that fits in this thread, I think.
It’s one of the very first LPs I got, that was just for me and not culled from my dad’s collection. It was a Christmas gift from my uncle – a teen at the time (he’s not much older than me), who went out to his local record store and bought this for me because he knew I was into Jarre. One of the best and most “tailored” gifts I’ve ever received, which I actually told him last summer. The title track “En Attendant Cousteau” is only half the length on the LP, but I soon got the CD as well, with its longer running time.
I love all the tracks on it, but I got particularly “lost” in the title track over its almost 50-minute running time. Every time, I created a narrative in my head, simultaneously created as I listened – I remember something about deserts, beaches, scorching sun, water, settlements and FLYING. I went back to the same story every time and embellished it. Wish I’d written it down, since I also wrote a lot of fiction back then.
But most DEFINITELY a track (albeit not film music) that inspired creativity elsewhere, which is what this thread is about. Obviously, a lot of my film music love (which emanates from ACTUAL narratives, not imagined ones) stems from these conceptual albums in electronic music and progressive rock.
Probably I will indeed re-watch first to catch at least some of all the references in the 3rd season. If there wasn’t so much else to watch out there 😉
Nice story and funny that your uncle is your age. I have to explore all of Jarre’s albums in detail yet.
Nick recounted a story from his past, in another thread, where he had written some fiction as a kid. Inspired by BLADE RUNNER, among other things. And of course so have I, as I said in the first post. It made me curious if any others have written fiction in their lives? If not professionally, then for your own amusement?
While this thread was about fiction you’ve written that is inspired by film music, we can expand it to include all kinds of influences, really.
It made me curious if any others have written fiction in their lives
Yes, quite a bit. Not really inspired by any music though. I cannot even listen to music and read fiction, let alone listen to music and write fiction. (Non-fiction is possible though.) I wanted to become an author originally, took a detour writing and learning about screenplays, learned I needed to make money and ended up in marketing. 🙂
Maybe in the 70s.
I was thinking about all those “rags-to-riches” film stories about tortured artists who finally get their due at the end of the film, rather than the other way around.
It made me curious if any others have written fiction in their lives? If not professionally, then for your own amusement?
Apart from the various comics that I drei as a kid and teenager I wrote quite a bunch of short stories and glosses. For some time I was reading my stuff publically with some friends in a pub every week. That was a nice time.
The longest thing I ever wrote was a 60 page novela. But it wasn’t science fiction or something.
Oh, I did have a comic strip that was once pretty close of being syndicated, another of my “abandoned” projects, it was optioned by Universal Press Syndicate or Creators Syndicate, don’t remember which right now… long ago… but in the end, nothing became of it. Long time ago, in another life.
I was thinking about all those “rags-to-riches” film stories about tortured artists who finally get their due at the end of the film, rather than the other way around.
Well, I’m sure away from fame or riches, so I suppose I settled for an “average joe life”, which has its own rewards. 🙂
I think I remember might have writtten some SF story as a kid but it didn’t survive I think. I was never much of a writer. But I did write so far seven audio dramas and recorded them with friends for fun for various private occasions of the last 15 years (well last is a few years ago). All not professional but I also did all the editing, mixing and of course used my collection for the music.
I also did write/co-write lyrics to various birthday songs, sometimes original songs but sometimes just new lyrics for existing songs.
I think I remember might have writtten some SF story as a kid but it didn’t survive I think.
What was it about, do you remember?
Don’t remember exactly anymore, I think it was CAPTAIN FUTURE, STAR WARS etc inspired. I remember I did some drawing for it and that my mother typed it on her typewriter for me later. If I should ever rediscover it somewhere I’ll let you know 😉
Cailin, if you’re reading: I know you’re very much into arts & crafts, even professionally. Surely, there must have been some film music inspiration for some of your products?
I remember being highly creatively inspired when I had watched the movie THE HOURS.
And what a score!
I did design a poster once with hand drawn minimalist pen & ink portraits of some of my favorite composers. And I also did a vinyl sticker design in a similar sketch style (but more detailed) of both John Williams and Hans Zimmer separately. I have the poster hanging on the wall next to my piano, and the vinyl stickers are on my sketchbook. I’d love to make a bunch of film score or film composer themed items to sell but there are intellectual property and copyright issues. You can’t really sell anything related to movies, music or people’s likeness without purchasing rights to use it – so it’s just not worth the money or stress and just takes the fun out of it. I could make something more generic, like putting a film reel drawing with music notes, etc. something unspecific to a film, but I never thought anyone else would get too excited about something like that.
Do you ever listen to film music while creating things? Doesn’t have to be film music-related products.
Yes, all the time – but regarding intentionality you’d probably be most interested in my art exam I did in high school. In US schools there are “honors” versions of classes on certain subjects and then you take an exam at the end of the class – and if you pass, you get college credit in that subject. I took a few classes, English, Chemistry and Art but only passed the exam in my honors art class. For Art there wasn’t an actual test, the exam was a portfolio of pieces with a theme or something you wanted to say through art, and short essays on the reason or vision behind what you made – like an art exhibition might have. I used film music as my muse and did my whole art series for my portfolio on reflecting film music in art – I did some abstract, some realism, different styles and techniques. I painted what I thought the music looked like on its own (apart from any film influences), like mood, color, etc. or what I envisioned in nature when hearing an instrument play (like a shaded forest, an ocean wave). That massive project made me really delve deeper into the music emotionally and visually. I don’t remember all the scores that I used as reference (I’m pretty sure they were all ones I hadn’t seen the movie for, so I wouldn’t be influenced) but The Shawshank Redemption is one of my favorite scores to this day because of that project. The track So Was Red I know really brought to life one of the paintings.
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