Revised Mermaid Playlist!

Sidenote: HAPPY NEW YEAR! May your 2013 go swimmingly :)

Anyway, a while back here on our illustrious blog, Garrett and I both posted a playlist we had worked on featuring songs that we had used to help with writing our mer-novels. Well, it's been a good year and a half, if not two so I'll post a couple songs released in that time that have helped me tremendously.

1. Never Let Me Go by Florence + The Machine. I even posted here on the blog when the video came out. Seriously, there is nothing more evocative of the sea than this Florence song in particular, even though all of them have a sort of ocean tinged feel. The percussion sounds like the tides rushing in and out, and the lyrics are sort of a romanticized overwhelming experience that no other artist has replicated for us.

2. Year of the Tiger by St. Vincent. St. Vincent, a.k.a. Annie Clark, has been doing cool music for quite a while now. While this one is not explicitly related to an oceanic quality, it has this really weird floating feel to it that helped me out when writing my current mer-novel. There's a really magic quality to Annie's voice, so a lot of her songs could be considered helpful in this area. Another good one for your writing is Dilettante, both of which are featured on St. Vincent's third album, Strange Mercy. For even further listening, try Rosalyn, which was a team up between Annie and Bon Iver.

3. SHERlocked by David Arnold and Michael Price, from the Sherlock Series 2 Soundtrack. Admittedly, I'm a very big fan of pretty much most British TV. Doctor Who, Downton Abbey, The Hour, Wallander, you name it, I probably watch it. Anyway, Sherlock is a stand-out modern adaptation of, surprise, Arthur Conan Doyle's classic detective stories. Anyway, this theme from the soundtrack is for "A Scandal in Belgravia", which is based on the original "Scandal in Bohemia". The theme is used for dominatrix Irene Adler, professionally known as "The Woman". It's very moving and romantic. It's very mournful and has that sea-like quality to it. I also like writing to soundtrack because I'll get less distracted with singing along. So two  birds with one stone here.

4. Supernaturally by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Chance are that you have probably not heard of this super awesome rock/soul/punkish/goth band. That can be fixed. If you have heard of them, than you probably did so when their song "O Children" was featured in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, as the song Harry and Hermione dance to in the film. Supernaturally is a rocking, poetic, dark, and beguiling tune that is anthem-esque, loud, brash, and utterly perfect for a story with any sort of supernatural resonance. Especially good for chase scenes.

5. Lover of the Light by Mumford and Sons. This song finally found a home on the band's sophomore effort, Babel, after often being performed live. It's a beautiful song, with lots of catharsis and build up, tension and release. I used this song to write a very big even in one of my novels and it's one of my favorite chunks of writing I have written thus far.  Seriously, not to be missed. Also, this whole album is what  got me through this first semester of freshman year. Their cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer" is another good writing tune.

6.Skyfall by Adele. I know, I know, we'll not discuss my love for British secret agents (and their sometimes ridiculously cute quartermasters) here, but this song is great for writing. Very mysterious, and very fun to listen to. Also, if like me you enjoy writing noir secret agent mermaid stories, this is right up your alley. AND on top of that, go see Skyfall if you haven't, it lives up to the hype.

Well, that's it so far. I'm sure we'll update it again  next year around this time. Music is such a big part of writing for me, and I hope this helps out a couple of you. I'd love to see other suggestions in the comments!

-Randi

Mermaid Crossovers That Should Or Should Not Happen

I know a lot our lovely  readers are involved in a fandom of one sort of another, like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Doctor Who, Sherlock, Game of Thrones etc. So I thought I'd make a long, silly, lengthy, and utterly un-necessary post about what would happen if we put in some mermaids to these lovely shows/books/movies/lifestyles. Here goes nothing.

Warning: Hilarity and Twilight bashing ensue. 

Harry Potter + Mermaids = That already happened.

Sherlock (as in BBC Sherlock, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman) + Mermaids = YES!

Just imagine it. Dead mermaid washes up on shore, Sherlock and John go investigate, and then a strange guest in a wheel chair shows up at 221B. Brilliant! 

Twilight + Mermaids = Oh please, no.

I hate myself for even entertaining this possibility. But sadly, Twilight and mermaids would be the most un-intentionally hilarious crossover. Is this a love square I sense coming on? Sorry if this offends any Twlight fans! I really just never got the hype behind the series.

Game of Throne + Mermaids = That actually makes sense, sort of.

I myself have not actually read or watched Game of Thrones, but I've consulted with a few experts on this crossover, and according to them, this would actually be a ridiculously good idea. Any GoT fans want to weigh in? 

The Hunger Games + Mermaids = Potentially one of the most dangerous arenas ever.

Think about it: Mermaids are known to have dangerous soul sucking, flesh eating, seducing tendencies. Now figure that into one of Suzanne's famously twisted arenas. Then translate that to the silver screen. Quaking with fear? Yeah, me too.

Doctor Who + Mermaids = I would watch this in a heartbeat.

We've been through dinosaurs, robots, vampires (sort of), and debatably a mermaid (Curse of the Black Spot), but a lot of Who fans will definitely agree with me when I say mermaids are definitely an interesting crossover with an already whacky show. Imagine an episode with a mermaid as a one time companion. Exciting stuff!

Supernatural + Mermaids = Should happen in the near future.

I mean seriously, that's gotta be the next step on the ladder right? Sam and Dean better find some scuba gear. Demon mermaids anyone?

The Avengers + Mermaids = Potentially disastrous.

I literally see no plausible way of this working ever. And I mean that. I love the Avengers, but it would take an act of God to put these two together and make me believe it. But hey, The Little Thormaid perked my interest. Loki as Ursula? Odin as Poseidon? It's surprising how much it works. Small note: Sleeping Beauty is also applicable to Captain America. And The Emporer's New Groove is applicable to Iron Man. And Anastasia (which isn't Disney, I know) applies to Black Widow and Hawkeye. I could literally go on forever about the similarities between Avengers and Disney movies. But mermaids and The Avengers? I can't dig it, much as I love both of them.

That's all I've got for the moment, but what do you guys think? Anything I left out? Let me know, okay?

-Randi