I was so excited today to see one of my very favorite musicians, Lights, did an interview with MTV about books. I liked that her twitter post said that it was one of her life goals to be part of a book club.
http://blog.mtvmusic.com/2010/04/20/mtv-music-book-club-lights-on-the-oath/
The books Lights talks about is The Oath by Frank Peretti. I was not familiar with him. According to Lights, the book fits under the fantasy/horror genre. It is about a cult that has to do with a dragon. She talks some about the themes behind it.
I certainly want to read this book after seeing her talk about. I was into fantasy books as a teen then kind of fell out of them for a while. In the last few months, I have picked up more and more. I think that pretty much any vampire books fall under this and if you look at my list of books I’ve read this year, you will see that is my main source of enjoyment these days. Plus I’ve picked up a few Dan Koontz books which are probably along that horror/thiller type novel. Oh and I’ve decided that I want to read the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs.
The part of the interview that made me think the most was the last question about if a song or album can tell a whole story. Lights answer not quite. I would agree with her almost completely but there are some exceptions to that. If you are looking at the whole album, there is some concept albums that tell an entire story. A perfect example of this is What to do When You Are Dead by Armor for Sleep. The album tells the entire story of a person that commits suicide for the one they love, goes into life as a ghost, then ends with moving on. There is main characters, there is a plot, and there is emotions. It definitely tells a complete story.
On the other hand, there is concept albums like Volcano by Gatsbys American Dream. The songs are based on Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Some songs are emotion driven, other are more story. Overall, you get a feel of the novel but the album doesn’t tell the whole story.
As for songs, Lights definitely has a point that maybe a ten minute country ballad can but most songs just give a peak. In the case of Meg and Dia, they write a lot of their songs based on novels. They usually are about the emotions you feel after reading the books though. Like in the song Indiana, based on the novel of the same title by George Sands, as a reader, you definitely notice the sad injustices going on. That is exactly what the girls wrote about in the song.
The only example I can think of that is a relatively short song that captures a whole story is Bob and Bonnie by Houston Calls. It tells the story of a couple that meets, falls in love, and lives happily ever after. I can’t think of any songs that capture a whole novel though. I do think that would be nearly impossible.
Man, I love when music and books combine! Nothing makes me happier.
PS, make sure to check out The Listening by Lights! It is amazing. My favorite song is Pretend [Reprise]. Close behind it is The Last Thing on Your Mind which I actually plan to have a line from tattooed on me.