Book Music
This post has been long overdue. I've been wanting to do it for months.
And now I finally got around to doing it.
First off, this post contains no major spoilers for anything.
What's this post about? 'Book Music' doesn't exactly give a detailed thought. It could mean anything.
This post is about how I relate books and music. Whether it be anime soundtracks, game soundtracks, you name it: Most of my music is 'bound' to books.
'Bound', past tense of 'bind': The term I use to put into words what I do with some songs and books, whether intentionally or not. It works because scents and sounds are the two senses that most easily and powerfully invoke memories. Scent being stronger by far, but it's kind of hard to bind a scent to a book. Although I HAVE done it. Three. All three times unintentionally. Because, you know. Reading a book a smelling junk at the same time is just weird.
Moving on.
I'm odd in the sense that I cannot read in pure, unadulterated silence. Well, I can. But not for long. My mind will start slipping, wandering, thinking about anything. For me, there has to be some kind of white noise. The louder the better. The white noise prevents my brain from wandering, as it interrupts the delicate process of daydreaming. That, in turn, causes me to focus more on the book. For example, I read best in loud places, like classes, gatherings, amusement parks, restaurants... those kind of places. The white noise also has to be a constant level of volume. If it's quite, then suddenly loud, then quite again... that's just annoying.
BUT. When I don't have that kind of white noise available, which is most of the time, I'll listen to music when I read. If I get into the book enough, I'll pretty much lose all sense of the real world and be completely invested in the book. If I'm listening to music at the same time, and keep listening to that music while reading the same book, more often than not that song will get bound to the book. Meaning, every time I hear the song I will not be able to not think about the book. Generally speaking, books I read in short amounts of time don't have enough time to get their own songs.
So what music reminds of what books?
'Attack on Titan' Soundtrack --> Legend series. This soundtrack was literally the only thing I listend to when reading the Legend books. Specifically, these songs invoke the most about the books: Attack ON Titan Vogel im Käfig Berserk
'Kill la Kill' Soundtrack --> Severed Tower. 'Kill la Kill' is a ridiculously over-the-top action anime with a soundtrack sent by the Angels of God themselves. That means it was made by the same guys that made the 'Attack on Titan' soundtrack. To match with the more futuristic style of the show, a lot of the soundtracks have more od a techno-sounding background, as opposed to the more natural, almost tribal-sounding background of the AoT songs. This OST isn't as linked to Severed Tower as AoT is to Legend, but it's getting there. Specifically because of songs like Nui's Theme and Kiryuin Satsuki's Theme just radiate Strange Lands and Ravan/Menagerie/Assembly respectively.
'Oath/Sign' --> World After. There's no real reason for this one. I was just in love with this song around the time I started World After, and boom.
Select 'Within Temptation' songs --> The Infernal Devices. I discovered WT literally the night before we left on the same vacation I read all the TID books over. Specifically, the songs Iron, Stand My Ground, and Angels remind me the most of it.
SO. What about those three scent cases I mentioned?
The smell of my broken refrigerator --> 'Gone' series. The Fridge was broken at the same time I first read 'Gone'. It had a very peculiar scent about it for about a week so (no, not rotting food scent. It wasn't that kind of broken)every time I opened the Fridge that scent would come out.
The smell of the Library courtyard at my Uni --> 'Matched' Trilogy. Because the ditzes in my living area last year were so goddy annoying, I would have to vacate the premises to be able to read without them destroying my ears with their terrible rap 'music' and their language. I found the well-hidden and more often than not empty Library courtyard in the spring, the same time I was reading Reached. I read most of the book in that little courtyard. It has a fountain and is filled to the brim with roses. So you could imagine it smells wonderful.
Anything that smells remotely like Big Sur -> The Infernal Devices. I read the entire series there. And forests carry an abundance of scents in them. From the crisp, almost crystalline scent of the river, the musky scent of the trees, to the occasional ocean breeze that passes through the campground. All of it brings back floods of Infernal Devices-related memories. Example: Amanda and I were at Balboa yesterday. I smelled the air. Instant memoryspam.
- Long Post is Long.
And now I finally got around to doing it.
First off, this post contains no major spoilers for anything.
What's this post about? 'Book Music' doesn't exactly give a detailed thought. It could mean anything.
This post is about how I relate books and music. Whether it be anime soundtracks, game soundtracks, you name it: Most of my music is 'bound' to books.
'Bound', past tense of 'bind': The term I use to put into words what I do with some songs and books, whether intentionally or not. It works because scents and sounds are the two senses that most easily and powerfully invoke memories. Scent being stronger by far, but it's kind of hard to bind a scent to a book. Although I HAVE done it. Three. All three times unintentionally. Because, you know. Reading a book a smelling junk at the same time is just weird.
Moving on.
I'm odd in the sense that I cannot read in pure, unadulterated silence. Well, I can. But not for long. My mind will start slipping, wandering, thinking about anything. For me, there has to be some kind of white noise. The louder the better. The white noise prevents my brain from wandering, as it interrupts the delicate process of daydreaming. That, in turn, causes me to focus more on the book. For example, I read best in loud places, like classes, gatherings, amusement parks, restaurants... those kind of places. The white noise also has to be a constant level of volume. If it's quite, then suddenly loud, then quite again... that's just annoying.
BUT. When I don't have that kind of white noise available, which is most of the time, I'll listen to music when I read. If I get into the book enough, I'll pretty much lose all sense of the real world and be completely invested in the book. If I'm listening to music at the same time, and keep listening to that music while reading the same book, more often than not that song will get bound to the book. Meaning, every time I hear the song I will not be able to not think about the book. Generally speaking, books I read in short amounts of time don't have enough time to get their own songs.
So what music reminds of what books?
'Attack on Titan' Soundtrack --> Legend series. This soundtrack was literally the only thing I listend to when reading the Legend books. Specifically, these songs invoke the most about the books: Attack ON Titan Vogel im Käfig Berserk
'Kill la Kill' Soundtrack --> Severed Tower. 'Kill la Kill' is a ridiculously over-the-top action anime with a soundtrack sent by the Angels of God themselves. That means it was made by the same guys that made the 'Attack on Titan' soundtrack. To match with the more futuristic style of the show, a lot of the soundtracks have more od a techno-sounding background, as opposed to the more natural, almost tribal-sounding background of the AoT songs. This OST isn't as linked to Severed Tower as AoT is to Legend, but it's getting there. Specifically because of songs like Nui's Theme and Kiryuin Satsuki's Theme just radiate Strange Lands and Ravan/Menagerie/Assembly respectively.
'Oath/Sign' --> World After. There's no real reason for this one. I was just in love with this song around the time I started World After, and boom.
Select 'Within Temptation' songs --> The Infernal Devices. I discovered WT literally the night before we left on the same vacation I read all the TID books over. Specifically, the songs Iron, Stand My Ground, and Angels remind me the most of it.
SO. What about those three scent cases I mentioned?
The smell of my broken refrigerator --> 'Gone' series. The Fridge was broken at the same time I first read 'Gone'. It had a very peculiar scent about it for about a week so (no, not rotting food scent. It wasn't that kind of broken)every time I opened the Fridge that scent would come out.
The smell of the Library courtyard at my Uni --> 'Matched' Trilogy. Because the ditzes in my living area last year were so goddy annoying, I would have to vacate the premises to be able to read without them destroying my ears with their terrible rap 'music' and their language. I found the well-hidden and more often than not empty Library courtyard in the spring, the same time I was reading Reached. I read most of the book in that little courtyard. It has a fountain and is filled to the brim with roses. So you could imagine it smells wonderful.
Anything that smells remotely like Big Sur -> The Infernal Devices. I read the entire series there. And forests carry an abundance of scents in them. From the crisp, almost crystalline scent of the river, the musky scent of the trees, to the occasional ocean breeze that passes through the campground. All of it brings back floods of Infernal Devices-related memories. Example: Amanda and I were at Balboa yesterday. I smelled the air. Instant memoryspam.
- Long Post is Long.
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