The exercise:
It's been far too long since the last random CD exercise. So long, in fact, that I think it best if I go over how it's done:
Step one: grab a random collection of CDs, your iPod, hit up YouTube, whatever.
Step two: pick a CD with your eyes closed, shuffle through some songs on your iPod, click a few related videos at random on YouTube.
Step three: pick a track at random, pick a song at random, pick a random video.
Step four: use the very first line of your random song as the first line of your poetry or prose and go wherever you want to go with it.
Sound good? Alright, let's have a go then.
Mine:
The Weepies - Hideaway
"Take the sky, for example: a canvas of a billion suns," Lucien told me in that enchanting French accent of his that I could never get enough of. "Can we truly think us alone in the universe with a heaven so full of possibilities watching over us?"
"Mmm," I murmured as I ran two fingers through his hair and down around the outside of his right ear. Looking around the empty grass hilltop I whispered in his ear, "I'm pretty sure we're alone right now though."
"Sandra," he said as he stood up suddenly, "you have not a spiritual or philosophical bone in your body. I am tired of it. Goodbye."
No words came as I watched him stride away. No words came as he disappeared from view. No words came as the tears began to fall.
No words ever came again.
6 comments:
That's distinctly melancholy! I really like it, the idea that an attempt at romance can offend someone's philosophical sensibilities so strongly.
While I remember, the caption for your rabbit picture that you found creepy was actually a quote from the opening lines of 'War of the Worlds', the album by Jeff Buckley.
Today's lyrical starter is distinctly random, even by my standards, but still:
Britney Spears, Circus (I won't link so as not to offend you too much).
There's only two types of people in the world. Those who are like slinkies, and those that aren't. I'm in trouble (again) for trying to determine empirically which group the people in the office belong to.
So I'm sat outside the office of the Director of Human Resources hoping that he's not still holding a grudge against me changing the sign on the door to read "Director of head-count," or that he remembers that my last helpful suggestion was that if employees were head-count then ex-employees should be called body-count.
Footsteps happen, cautious, quiet footsteps. There's a pause, and then they happen again, fading away. I get up and press my ear to the door.
"He's still out there," I hear the Director of HR saying quietly to his assistant. "How long do you think he'll wait before he gives up and goes away?"
Sitting here waiting is better than working, and I can timesheet it. I'll sit here all day.
Britney, huh? That from your CD collection or your iPod?
Ah well, at least she triggered some excellent writing :)
I particularly liked:
"... or that he remembers that my last helpful suggestion was that if employees were head-count then ex-employees should be called body-count."
Marc, I wanted to first say how much I appreciate this suggestion. I went through my BlackBerry and wrote the first line to just about every song and now have quite a substantial list of ideas.
I chose as my first one (rest assured that I'll be doing others!) the Pet Shop Boys', West End Girls.
It became a little racy, so just in case I offend any of your readers, I have only posted the first paragraph, with a link if anyone wishes to read the rest.
West End Girl
"Sometimes you're better off dead," he sneered, digging the barrel of the gun deeper into her abdomen. Roxy showed no outward appearance of her terror, though the bile burned a fiery path along her throat as she forced it down in a nervous swallow. She wanted to tell him off, at least for appearances sake, but couldn't trust her voice to be steady. Instead, she gazed at the greasy-haired pusher, a look of boredom carefully fixed on her face.
(story continued here )
Monica - that's fantastic! I love hearing things like that :)
I appreciate your thoughtfulness in posting the more racy bits on your blog - I'm not sure how necessary it was as I haven't read it yet. I shall do so shortly.
I loved the beginning though - definitely a great hook :)
Alright, it took me a while to come around to this one, but I was inspired when my friend's iPod spit out the inspirational song. Not as surprising as Greg's (-fails to surpress a bit of a snicker-), but it's almost a surprise in its own right. Methinks my folks knew/know the guy somehow.
Anywho... linkage below!
http://writing-wrambler.blogspot.com/2009/07/sop-23-big-ol-world-and-appreciation.html
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