Your input invited

[pegkerr]

Sometimes, when trying to figure out a character, I like to figure out stuff about them I might never use, just to try to get to know them better. Today, I've been thinking about what music Solveig would listen to.

I'm finding places where Solveig life mimics mine, (and Ingrid is taking on more and more of Delia's characteristics every day, as Delia is six years old, too.) Yet, Solveig isn't me, exactly.

When she's getting Ingrid ready in the morning, they listen to KSJN's The Morning Show, just as I do. In the car driving home, maybe they listen to the news on NPR, again like me. Agnes also lets Ingrid listen to a wide variety of stuff, some with a Scandinavian cast, like Värttinä, or the soundtrack to Ruth MacKenzie's "Kalevala: Dream of the Salmon Maiden" (Ingrid's favorite song on that CD is "Give Us Room to Roar," a great song for a six-year old for dancing). And of course, at home Solveig has Raffi tapes, and Prudence Johnson's CD for children, and Disney's greatest hits, etc. There's a boom box in Ingrid's room, and Solveig generally puts one of those CDs on for Ingrid to fall asleep to at night.

But what kind of music does Solveig like to listen to? Not Irish . . . that was Sean's musical choice in my last book, and I'd like to take Solveig in a different direction. Hmm. If the book is set in the near future, and Solveig is in her late twenties or early thirties (and I'm not going to pin it down any closer than that) then Solveig must have been born, say, somewhere between 1970 and 1976. She's a Myers-Briggs ISTJ, an architect. Perhaps she enjoys sketching as a hobby, esp. pictures of Ingrid. So what kind of music does she like? Perhaps some sort of cool jazz, very cerebral. Or, say, Prudence Johnson. Liz Phair or George Winston? Or . . . ? What else? She might enjoy Leigh Kamman's The Jazz Image on KSJN, or perhaps she listens to KBEM Jazz 88


I don't know why this seems so important to Solveig's character development but I've spent most of the day brooding about it. Anyway, here's your chance to add your dollop of influence to the book. If you have suggestions about what Solveig might listen to, and why, post a comment.

Word count: 712
today: 212

Cheers,
Peg

Comments

[queerasjohn.livejournal.com]

Hmm, good question. I'm always guilty of imposing my musical tastes on my characters, so take this with a pinch of salt.

Perhaps she's into the singer-songwriter types like Dar Williams or Jewel, an interest which dates back to someone playing her female singers as a small child (on an 8-track? *grin*). Or perhaps she's very particular about the type of classical music she likes, just madrigals for instance, or just close harmony, or just large choirs, or just woodwind, or something along those lines.

*throws idea out*

--John

[alyeska.livejournal.com]

Well let's see if she's leaning towards Jazz or Jazz influence, I'd say she's probably old school as opposed to New Agey. Ella Fiztgerald, Etta James, Dizzy Gilespe, maybe a bit of 1940 Big Band (Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, etc.), and to mix it up a bit a little Zydeco thrown in on the side.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Maybe she likes that new trad long-haired stuff from Norway and Sweden. Hardingarna (spelling wildly approximated) and so on. We've got a sampler CD of several of the bands you could borrow if you want. Or ask elisem about it; she and John like it way way more than I do.

K.

[peacockharpy.livejournal.com]

I think we might have the same sampler -- ours is Rough Guide Music of Scandinavia. There are some really great things on there -- some more "folky" and some more modern. I particularly like "Halling Jaron" and "2 Sostre" (spellings vaguely approximated, given that there are supposed to be umlauts and such).

For other off-the-wall recommendations for Solveig -- ummmm, Elvis Costello, who certainly cultivates a heart of stone (or at least he used to, in the early years). (Come to think of it, he might help you get the Jack-sarcasm thing going.)

And my totally 80s recommendation, just for fun -- there's a song on the Arcadia (spinoff of Duran Duran) album called "Lady Ice" which is bizarre, but thematically correct. ;)

Well, I was born in 1973...

[(Anonymous)]

The music of my adolescence is what you'll hear on 104.1 -- 80s music. U2, Madonna, Starship, "Walk Like An Egyptian." My sister was born in 1976, and is perennially embarrassed when I tell people that she used to be a die-hard New Kids on the Block fan.

The music of my college years isn't currently on FM radio much of anywhere. (You'll occasionally hear bits of it on 105 or Cities 97.) Folk-rock stuff like the Indigo Girls, and some alternative, particularly chick alternative: Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, Alana Morrisette. If I had been more into music, this list would probably also include Fiona Apple and Ani DeFranco. (I've never had strong musical tastes. Mostly I let the people I'm with pick the radio stations.)

I mention this because a lot of people will listen to the music of their youth (whatever it is) for the rest of their lives -- hence the perennial popularity of Classic Rock stations. I had a friend at one of my jobs, a college student, for whom "nostalgia music" meant M.C. Hammer's Greatest Hits CD.

--Naomi Kritzer

[serendipoz.livejournal.com]

Does she listen to music that will 'fit' with Jack? (i.e. singer/songwriter - not just women writers like Ani and Dar, but males like John McCutcheon (who is/was a local and comes back yearly)) 'fit' with the culture (i.e. Scandanavian - new (as above) or older, even Abba, or Jon Anderson) 'fit' with the area? (i.e. Husker Du, Boiled in Lead), 'fit' her growing up period? (i.e. as above) or maybe just classical? (i.e. Erik Satie, not just Mozart)

What about Chamber music - to work by?

Solveig's music

[(Anonymous)]

Maybe it's not which music Solveig listens to so much as how and when. I mean, she might have a broad range of eclectic tastes - independent folkie, Irish, maybe some Early Music thrown in -- all of the suggestions offered by others sound plausible or even likely. She may love specific songs or pieces that put her in or prolong certain moods and be inclined to play them over and over again.

Roger

[diony.livejournal.com]

I was born in 1975, and as Naomi mentions, a lot of the music I enjoy listening to is 80's music. A-Ha, Madonna, Depeche Mode, Tears For Fears... an endless list of the stuff my sister listened to on the radio when I was a kid. Things I strongly remember the music videos for, because music videos were a Big Deal. Comfort music, the audio equivilant of Kraft macaroni & cheese.

Or, in an entirely different direction, what about Brian Eno? Not his early 70's stuff, but the ambient music, all the various instrumental projects he did which seem very architectural in style... he does try to architect with music, to have the form be the meaning.