A Nod to Nic Harcourt
Posted on | December 14, 2008 | No Comments
Friday, Nov. 28, 2008, was Nic Harcourt’s last day as host and music director for KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic. I tell you this because no other music program — streaming or otherwise — has inspired my creative and writing processes quite like Eclectic.
I’ll never forget those first notes of utter ridiculousness upon hearing The Real Tuesday Weld’s “Bathtime in Clerkenwell” or The Flaming Lips’ “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.” If it weren’t for Nic Harcourt, Air might not have become my all-time most-played source of background music while writing. And Frou Frou and Franz Ferdinand might not have become staples of those morning walks where so many pages of text came together in my mind.
I didn’t know Mr. Harcourt had moved on to his next adventure until I launched the latest streaming show and heard an unfamiliar DJ’s voice whispering back at me. I wish Jason Bentley all the best filling a giant’s shoes (more for my sake than his; this is the only “radio” show to which I ever listen.) I’m sure the show will never be the same, but it probably shouldn’t try to be.
Thinking about writing in the post-Harcourt era (at least on Eclectic), led to more thoughts about how music influences, inspires and drives. I think every copywriter has a different system when it comes to crafting content, especially on-deadline. Coming from a family of musicians, music has always been essential to my creative (and creation) process. Usually I can’t listen to songs with English lyrics while writing; the words create a war for my attention and affect my sentence construction. What seems to work best is ambient music, Latin music and classical.
Here’s a list of my current favorites, should you want to try to write or paint or proof math equations to something different:
Ambient/New Age:
Air – Pocket Symphony
Deuter – Earth Blue
Present Dreams – Present Dreams
Boat Club – Caught The Breeze
Magic Sound Fabric – Freedom Star
Mouse On Mars – Rost Pocks: The EP Collection
Latin/World:
Any and all Bebel Gilberto (also a Harcourt favorite)
Cesaria Evora – “Petit Pays” (Chateauflight Remix)
Classical:
Yo-Yo Ma, Ennio Morricone, Roma Sinfonietta – Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone
Yo-Yo Ma – The Cello Suites – Inspired By Bach
I guess the time has finally come to lean more on Pandora. Wish me luck …
Tags: Copywriting > creative process > morning walks > next adventure > streaming music
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