Those who cross boundaries. William Blake with painting and poetry. Yue Fei with martial and poetic arts. Rabindranath Tagore with music and poetry. Da Vinci with painting and sculpture. Weird Al with accordion music and comedy.
A hardcore Metal drummer from Finland
refused to be without his sticks in hand,
but then the poor slob
couldn’t work a doorknob,
missed gigs, & got kicked out of the band.
Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
Decidedly less funky, and the consolation that I would no longer be caught humming embarrassing earworms, like Sweet Caroline, would be thin.
I don’t. I could listen to instrumental music while writing or doing other mental work, but I can’t have anything with words / lyrics involved. It’s distracting and can warp my writing.
I’m not one for favorites; I think it’s a form of experiential laziness. That said, there is music that has particular emotional resonance for me because it’s what was playing where I was when I was when I was younger — mostly rock and indie rock.
Matter comes in countless varieties,
And the forms are evershifting, as well.
Writers must dance the varied characters
To dulcet lines where elegance dwells,
Finding the right pace, cadence, and stresses
To blend like harmony in the five hues.
Though the tune fades in and out randomly
And the path is rugged and hazard-strewn,
Those who know the ways of change and order
Will find all falls into place with a flow.
But if one misses the proper pivots
It's like grabbing the tail to steer the nose --
Like yellow painted onto wet, black walls,
One's writing becomes muddy, and it stalls.
The original in Simplified Chinese:
其为物也多姿，其为体也屡迁。
其会意也尚巧，其遣言也贵妍。
暨音声之迭代，若五色之相宣。
虽逝止之无常，固崎锜而难便。
苟达变而识次，犹开流以纳泉。
如失机而后会，恒操末以续颠。
谬玄黄之粗叙，故浍涊而不鲜。
a meandering melody
hijacked my bliss track
and, as I drifted in the void,
my spine straightened,
my breath slowed,
and I tumbled -- for a time --
through eternity.
What things give you energy?
Breath and food. But I also find movement, music, and being in a natural setting feel energizing,
There once was a primadonna singer
Who on a note could forever linger.
Thinking her a showboat
For dragging out one note,
The band took five mid-melisma to share chicken fingers.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 