JUKEBOX: NaNoWriMo Inspiration
It’s November 28th. There are only a few short days left in the month, and if you took on the impressive task of joining NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, an annual challenge to write a 50,000-word novel during the month of November), you’re probably starting to panic. You might still have a few thousand words left to finish, but sometimes writer’s block hits and you just don’t know what to do. Well, REBEAT is here to help! This week’s JUKEBOX contains songs based on literature and about writing to help you find your muse and reach your goal. So grab your pen, pull up your typewriter, or just bust out your iPad and prepare to be inspired.
1) “Paperback Writer,” The Beatles (1966)
The struggle is real. Many of us, at one point or another, have aspired to be a famous writer, our names plastered across bookshop shelves across the world. This fun Beatles ditty is about the desperation to be a published author. The narrator is even willing to give up any and all credit, change anything about the book, and fall prey to the whim of what the people want as long as it gets him published.
2) “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins,” Leonard Nimoy (1967)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGF5ROpjRAU
First of all, you’re welcome. Who would have ever thought that Spock would be so into Tolkien? In perhaps the first nerd-fandom crossover, Leonard Nemoy takes on the task of retelling The Hobbit, the story of the “bravest little hobbit of them all.” It’s such a silly song that you can’t help but smile when you hear it. This isn’t the only song on our playlist to touch on Tolkien’s work: we’ve also included “Misty Mountain Hop” by Led Zeppelin.
3) “White Rabbit,” Jefferson Airplane (1967)
We’re about to go meta with this track. Grace Slick sings this foreboding tale concerning the dangers of drug use during the height of the psychedelic Sixties. The song uses characters and images from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland as a metaphor for drug use. Interestingly, the line, “Go ask Alice” became the title of a popular teen book in 1971 about a young girl’s plummet into the dark and seedy drug world.
4) “Wuthering Heights,” Kate Bush (1978)
Based on Emily Brontë’s classic novel of love and regret, Kate Bush takes on the perspective of the deceased Catherine (“it’s me, a-Cathy, I’ve come home”), who is so lovingly stalking her beloved Heathcliffe at night. Who doesn’t wish to forever haunt their lover from the great beyond?
Enjoy these 22 tracks while you rush to finish up your novel!
