"Notes" for a Book

Back in this post I explained how I found a song long after writing which fits just about perfectly with the character Michael Pan, from Peter Pan's NeverWorld. I didn't base him on the song at all. It's just hindsight.

Well, it seems that I might be influenced by songs more than I realize. They have a tendency to rattle around in my head and leak into my story ideas.

I'd been three-quarters through with What If It's a Trick Question? when I noticed how freakishly the song "Mad World" (originally by Tears for Fears and a grand version also exists by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews) fit with Jeremy's plight. Did my subconscious interweave it into the plot? It might have. But I can assure you it had not been intentional. I did, however, pay homage to the freakishly fabulous find by inserting some of the lyrics into the text. Very recently, I found another tune that sounds quite like what Jeremy would say and think, "Pork and Beans" by Weezer. Granted, Jeremy doesn't normally listen to such 'contemporary' music, so he might not know about it. But I feel pretty confident that he'd like it over other current hits.

I'd been well into MC (initials of the title of the book I'm currently working on) upon discovering that "Nature Boy" miraculously describes scenarios in the story. So much so that ZJ, the main character, now sings along, coming to the same conclusion of connectivity himself. (His portable media player had already been established.)

I wonder what else my subconscious is developing out of the musical depths...
I'll just have to take note...

It's Maddening...

Here's an example of how one measely little word can change everything.

Tears For Fears has a song, "Mad World" which has been covered by more than one person. There is a line,
"Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow."
All right. Now check out what it says on one of the covers. [I won't say who it is by so as not to shame them. :) ]
"Hide my head I want to drown in my sorrow."
!!! in? It's a tiny little word, doesn't do much. Oh wait. Yes, it does. That makes a huge change in the meaning of the whole concept! Be careful, people. One word makes all the difference in what you are saying. ;)

By the way, a fun tidbit: The original song by Tears For Fears is quite speedy and catchy. For the movie Donnie Darko Michael Andrews and Gary Jules covered it. [They are not the ones who added "in."] Their version is very slow and melancholy. It's an entirely different kind of change. I have to tell you, if I had heard the Tears For Fears original I had forgotten it. After hearing Andrews/Jules' I found the original no good at all at first. Quite jarring. I've since come to appreciate both equally. But here's the corker. Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith of Tears For Fears prefer the Donnie Darko version as well! They said the song had been improved. How about that?