Tag Archives: music rights

Draaaagulaaaaaaa…!

19 Jul

Oops. I just remembered: I still have to contact Rob Zombie about the chapter where I mention the song “Dragula.” I know, I could just make up my own fun goth band and lyrics. But:

  1. In the past month, I’ve had about as much creativity in me as I do coffee this morning: ZERO. And
  2. Dragula has been part of my ‘goth repertoire’ since I was 15

I came from a small town, much like Spartacus’s Brenville, but when my mom and I wandered into Hot Topic in Portland for the first time…wow. I immediately assumed all goth kids shopped there (that was before I knew the term “mall goth“). While we “browsed” the plaid pants and leather corsets and ironic t-shirts, Dragula blared on loop.

“Dig through the ditches and burn through the witches, and slammin’ in the back of my draaaagulaaaaaaaaa!” 

I was trying to look askance at everything…but everything was so cool. So sexy. What would everyone think of nerd Molly in a plaid mini-skirt with chains? And the shoes! Oh, my god, the shoes.

Can one be an uncertain, frumpy teen with very in-your-face, confident, knee-high, lace-up Doc Martins?

Maybe mom would buy me a new wardrobe? Maybe mom would, *cough cough* LET me be goth? at least I’d finally know where to shop (in retrospect, that would have made me a hot pocket goth).

While Mom didn’t spring for a new wardrobe, but she did buy us 6-inch, red platform high-heels. With sparkles. And yes, us. They were to be shared (that was the deal for her buying them). …Let’s not talk about who actually wore them. I did write a short essay about the trip for English, which included a lot of cringing on my part, grinning on my mom’s, and that song, Dragula, on loop:

“Dig through the ditches and burn through the witches, and slammin’ in the back of my draaaagulaaaaaaaaa!” 

When I wrote the goth kids into Spartacus and the Circus of Shadows, I had to write in that part, even though it is, yes, 13 years old. I have one of the characters, Puck, remark that “they don’t make music like this any more.”  Which they might. But then, I haven’t wandered into a Hot Topic with my mom in a few years now. If Mr. Zombie doesn’t grant me the permissions…I just might have to take a trip to see what the kids are listening to these days…

 

*My favorite part of the video is the random robot dancing with Rob at 1:16.

Lyric rights…and what they’re worth

13 May

Ran into a snag with the rights for Sympathy for the Devil. I mean, obviously, I saw it coming, but when the price tag arrived on my desk yesterday, I was taken aback. Thankfully (and graciously), the publisher is willing to pay half. But that’s not the worst part. The worst part is that I was given the choice: change it or pay for it?

Ugh. There is nothing I hate worse than making a decision about ANYTHING.

The problem is that brings up so many questions: is it worth that much money to not do the work, replacing every mention/allusion?  Is the song worth that much to the story? Will it change anything one way or another?

Mulling. Mulling. And listening to the song doesn’t help because I love it so much and its lyrics are so tightly entwined with so many characters and plot lines… It’s stupid, I know. I painted myself knowingly into this corner years ago…and now I’m surprised to be here.

Good grief, Jagger. Your game is puzzling me.

What’s my name?

15 Apr

I’m in a weird limbo right now, sitting on my hands and anxiously waiting for  my book to…well, happpen. As I wait, the one question that keeps rattling around in my head (and that is leading to niggling emails to the editor and publisher)–music rights. I know, I know, you should never include lyrics or quotes or anything else headache-inducing when writing for the first time. I naively cut out all mentions of Oreos and Coke, but risked the mention of Spiderman, Captain Fantastic, and…yes, snippets from The Rolling Stones (and, to a lesser extent, Rob Zombie, but that’s really not important).

But Universal Music has to say yes, right? What can they lose? A whole slew of middle grade readers discovering The Stones before college? But as the silence continues…I’m not so certain. All I can do is hope… and be über-supersitious:

And I mean it. I’m not taking any chances; I’m keeping my fingers crossed until I hear back from them. It’s making some tasks difficult. Like typing this blog. And driving.

(Both of which I happen to be doing right now.)

During the last year of writing The Circus of Shadows, it’s safe to say I drove Z nuts with my very narrow music rotation. But when you’re working with 150 pages of thoughts and plots and characters, who really knows if the Spartacus I’m writing in January is really the same kid I wrote back in September? Sure, he’s traveled hundreds of miles, but only a few days passed for him. Meanwhile, I’ve been staring the thirteen-year-old in the eye every day for 365 days, just willing him to stay the same. Listening to the specific music while writing each scene really helped keep everyone and every “feeling” together.

For example, whenever I felt I lost Spartacus’s voice or his energy, I cranked up the Rolling Stones’ Sympathy for the Devil. Strange for a kid to be listening to? Um, yes. But then, Spartacus isn’t “normal”, even though that’s all he really wants to be. This song helps me better imagine Spart dancing around in his room, happy before his doubt and pain; also how he’ll throw a temper tantrum after his humiliation at the hands of Will; how he’ll dance down the road to get the hell out of dodge. I used this song to jog to when I had writer’s block, trying to summon Spartacus back to me. My own seance, if you will.

But the only time it actually appears in the book, though, is when Spart meets Lloyd and sees his Rolling Stone’s tattoo. Later, he’ll reflect on its meaning. But, when you get down to it, it’s the heaviest handed symbolism I could muster; “nothing is as it seems” is summed up in the chorus: “Hope you guess my name.” Ryan is also Spartacus…there are others with multiple names, too, but I won’t ruin it for you. But it would be a shame if we couldn’t use the lyrics. I can’t for the life of me imagine what would fit better.

That and, uh. Well. I guess to really lay it all out on the table…

Sympathy for the Devil is how I daydream the movie’s opening credits to start.

…

I know. I know. A ridiculous branch to admit I’m sitting on. But a girl can dream, right?? Sympathy for the Devil, Conan O’Brien, Betty White…Oh please, oh please, oh please…But, because posting it here isn’t illegal…for your listening pleasure: