July has been up and down; I’ve tried to write and in a way I’ve succeeded – in others failed. But I don’t want to talk about that this time, I would like to actually write about something more interesting to me than my own narcissism and writing success.

I have always listened to music when I write, as I believe many of us have. The one thing that I find helpful about listening to something is the sense of pace and/or emotion during a particular writing session. I have, in the past, listened to an entire album just because I liked the band, but recently I have noticed I have to pick and choose the specific tune for the moment I am trying to accomplish. Is this me relying on the emotion of a song too much? Not necessarily. I know where I want to go – I feel it – and I just want an exterior influence to bring that out of me a bit more.

The meat of my observation though, is that when you hear a particular song, does it make you think of a specific scene, character or emotion, or a story altogether? I have a few songs logged in my mind that are synonymous with varying degrees of these choices and sometimes, when I hear them randomly it pulls me right into that place.

One of these songs is Map of the Problematique by one of my favourites, Muse. Whenever I hear it it casts me into the climactic scene of some far off space saga… perhaps a war has been lost, perhaps a brother has fallen – you get the drift.

Another song that stirs me is Gortoz A Ran – J’Attends by Danez Prigent & Lisa Gerrard. Wow, this is a tune, melody… emotion personified or something I don’t even know. It’s haunting and deeply introspective (to me). Whenever I hear this favourite, it just makes me think of loss, but also hope.

A new addition to my mental-music library is Better Than Heaven by one of my top five bands, Bloc Party and although I love the band, I only really began listening to this song this last week. There is something about the build up in the chorus that moves me and makes me think of space… I’m not sure how to describe it, but it just feels futuristic; like a build-up and the brink of something new.

These are only a few examples of tunes that move me, or help generate a more creative process when I need it. Music is not the case for everyone, but I wanted to share and get it out there. I suppose I’m wondering if it is the same for anyone else? Or if my attachment to specific pieces of music (modern especially) is something altogether intrinsic to me as a writer.

Curtas: “Eu Tenho Um Sonho (I Have a Dream)” – Segmentos 1, 2, 3 e 4 | Tigre de Fogo

Curta-metragem de Tigre de Fogo. Este vídeo foi produzido para a exibição aos alunos de uma escola pública do ensino fundamental. Fez parte de um projeto sobre cidadania e direitos humanos que minha esposa, professora de História, apresentou aos seus alunos de quinta a oitava série.

Sobre os segmentos:

1. O segmento é breve e apresenta um poema do genial poeta português Fernando Pessoa.

2. As imagens, inclusive as do discurso do Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., foram extraídas de diversas fontes. A música de fundo é a belíssima “Gortoz A Ran-J’Attends”, composta por Hans Zimmer e interpretada de forma impecável por Denez Prigent e Lisa Gerrard.

3. As fotografias são, em grande parte, do mestre Sebastião Salgado. A música de fundo é a versão de uma das canções do Metallica: “Fade to Black”, interpretada de forma magnífica pelos quatro violoncelos do grupo finlandês Apocalyptica.

4. A música de fundo é “Relampiano”, do genial Lenine, e as imagens em sua grande maioria são do magnífico filme “Baraka”, de Ron Fricke.

Este vídeo trata de temas humanitários e não tem nenhum propósito comercial, apenas educacional.

This video is about humanitarian subjects and do not have any commercial purpose, it´s educational only.

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+ Veja também:

• Curtas: “Bath Time” | Carlos Fernandez Puertolas

• Curtas: “True/Faubourg Saint-Denis” | Tom Tykwer

• Curtas: “One Man Band” | Mark Andrews & Andrew Jimenez