My Favorite Writing Music of 2013

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To preface this post, I should apologize for being away so long. My trip to Australia was fabulous, and I’ll eventually put up photos on Facebook…though to be honest, I haven’t even looked at the photos we took yet. My husband tends to go overboard with the camera, and I think we took close to 3000 pictures in 2.5 weeks. Yeah. Not even exaggerating there.

NaNoWriMo was also fabulous for those two weeks that I participated. I was super pleased by what I managed to produce, and since getting back from my vacation, I’ve been hammering out even more words. Yay for recharging creativity!

So yes, drafting a new book has kept me away since I got back. I’ve also been planning/writing a blog series that I hope to put up in January. It was originally going to be just one post, but as I wrote, I found I had a lot to say on the subject. It’s all about embracing fears and not letting them block off your creativity (which has happened to me. Many times.), so it’s a good topic to start of 2014 with.

BUT, to close 2013, I wanted to share my favorite musical releases of the year. These are some of the albums I listened to on repeat while I was drafting all my various projects. Of course there were other albums I listened to as well, but the selections below are the ones that came out in 2013. Note: these aren’t in order of favorite but rather of when I discovered them throughout the year.

I hope you enjoy!

1. Classics, Vol. 1 by Two Steps from Hell

Let’s be honest. These guys (Nick Phoenix and Thomas Bergersen) could pretty much scratch their nails on a chalkboard and I’d still be obsessed. (Somehow, they’d make it the most epic, empowering nail/chalkboard combo ever.)

Oh man, do I imagine some insane battle scenes to “Earth Rising”. Interstellar battles, naval, kaiju–whatever. This music is what I’m playing when I write those especially wild fight scenes. Though I usually start flying around my room pretending to fight the monsters myself when it hits the 1:37 mark. Not even joking.

“Birth of a Hero” makes me want to write about exactly what the title says: the rise of a hero. This piece gets especially epic at the 1:22 mark.

2. Pacific Rim Original Movie Score by Ramin Djawadi

So if you read my blog or follow me on Twitter, you know I’m obsessed with Pacific Rim. Sarah J. Maas and I have already planned out an elaborate fanfiction in which we are Jaeger copilots sent out to battle the nastiness from the portal.

There is literally no other piece of music on this planet that makes me want to kick more ass than the main theme to Pacific Rim. Slow-mo walking scene as Sarah and I board our Jaeger (named Heartless Glacier (don’t ask why))? Check. Wind from some unknown source in the shatterdome blowing through our perfect hair? Check. Monster-crushing badassery on the way? Oh hell yeah…

So “The Shatterdome” track is one of my faves because it just feels so sci-fi. I listen to it on repeat when I’m drafting The Starkillers. Well, I listen to this whole album on repeat, but especially “The Shatterdome”. I really like it when the chorus comes in at 1:35. Doesn’t it just sound like the marching music for an interstellar space fleet?

3. The Golden Age by Woodkid

I’ve professed my Woodkid love before. I got hooked after I heard “Iron” on the cinematic trailer for Assassin’s Creed: Revalations in 2011. Then, when his full album came out this year, I fell into an abyss in which I listened to NOTHING but Woodkid for about 3 weeks. Yeah, he’s that good.

Also, I should point out this is really the ONLY epic music I listen to that has lyrics.

Doesn’t that music + video make you want to write REALLY COOL FIGHT SCENES? It certainly does for me, and in my project Truthwitch, I have a character who is entirely based off Ezio in that one trailer. Peppery beard and all. 🙂

Okay, I’ve blasted my love for this song before, but it’s worth repeating: “Run Boy Run” is so emotionally moving that your heart will never feel the same again. Seriously. After the 1:13 mark, I become completely overcome by joy and power and awe.

Also, let’s discuss the AMAZINGNESS that is the music video. I literally cry every time I watch it. Just look at the joy on the boy’s face at the 3:12 mark.

4. Lindsey Stirling’s self-titled album

This girl is incredible. Her music, her dancing, her insane devotion to producing more…I am honestly wowed by her skills. And I just love her music. I mean, dubstep. Gah, it’s brilliant.

“Shadows” is one of my favorites to listen to when I write or–more often than not–when I cook dinner. The beat just gets me hopping around.

“Elements” is my definitely my favorite video and song by Lindsey Stirling. It’s just…ungh. LOOK AT THAT GIRL MOVE! And listen to how well everything fits with the music! I literally feel like a failed waste of life whenever I watch this video.

5. Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag Original Score by Brian Tyler

As anyone who knows me knows, I am obsessed with the Assassin’s Creed soundtracks. Every darn one is brilliant, and the latest one (IV: Black Flag) might be my most favorite of all (although this one, which hasn’t released yet, might even top Black Flag).

Despite the fact that Black Flag only recently came out, I have listened it to at least a hundred times in it’s entirety. It’s just the most PERFECT music for my story, Truthwitch, since so much of that book takes place at sea.

The theme song, HOLY CRAP. I love how it starts so elegantly, like a fine parlor room in 1715, and then it just goes all high-seas-adventure on you at the 1:05 mark.

This track, “Lay Aboard Lads”, is my second favorite on the entire soundtrack (though I really love the entire thing). I can so vividly imagine the build-up to a wild sword-fight, and then bam! At the 1:14 mark, let the great battle begin!

So there you have it–my favorite to-write-by music that released in 2013. And, just because I’m currently obsessed and can’t wait for the album to release in January, here’s some music to the upcoming Assassin’s Creed game (called Freedom Cry).

Now you tell me: what were your favorite musical releases of 2013?

Oh, and happy holidays!! I’ll see you in 2014! ♥