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I have an idea

adamswish

17:29 / 20.03.05

So here goes...
It has struck me that the lyrics to "life during Wartime" by Talking Heads would make great chapter titles for a spy novel.

Consider:

Chapter 1 - Heard of a van that is loaded with weapons, packed up and ready to go

Chapter 5 - Transmit the message, to the receiver, hope for an answer some day

Chapter 10 - You oughta know not to stand by the window somebody might see you up there

and so on.

What I'd like to know is:
a) is this insane (answers on the back of a self-addressed straight jacket please);
b) anyone know of any other songs that one could do a similar thing with?

Your thoughts will be appreciated.

(note to moderators - hedging my chances with this one by doubling up in here and Creation. Feel free to get rid of which ever doesn't get replies too)

Benny the Ball

17:38 / 20.03.05

Very good idea - except for the chorus - 'I've got three passports, a couple of visas, don't even know my real name' is my favourite line...

8===>Q: alyn

00:54 / 21.03.05

'swish, if David Byrne gets wind of this, he will send a homunculus to your house to kill you. Trust me, you don't want to get mixed up with that guy.

Cat Chant

01:05 / 21.03.05

It's not insane, but it's a bit... redundant, isn't it? I mean, 'Life During Wartime' already is a spy story, and a really good one - I sort of think if you used the lines as chapter titles you would get a more long-winded, less evocative version of the song that you couldn't dance to. Maybe you could write the novel on that plan and then not use the chapter titles in the finished version?

(In fanfic, this structure - heading titles with song lines - is called 'songfic', and most people hate it. I like it, though, if you do it obscurely enough - like, not going with the literal meaning of the lines - and don't follow the lyrics through line by line if it doesn't fit the story. By which I mean I like it if I do it

)

Cat Chant

01:07 / 21.03.05

anyone know of any other songs that one could do a similar thing with?

Along the lines of what I just said, yeah. I wrote a Harry/Snape story where all the section headings were from the Leonard Cohen song, Closing Time ('and I lift my glass to the awful truth/that you can't reveal to the ears of youth/ except to say it isn't worth a dime...')

Mistoffelees

11:09 / 21.03.05

>anyone know of any other songs that one could do a similar thing with?

How about this one:

chapter 1: Let's start a war, start a nuclear war

chapter 2: I wanna spend all your money

chapter 3: Yeah! you're a superstar

chapter 4: At the gay bar, gay bar, gay bar.

courtesy of the ELECTRIC SIX - "Gay Bar"

adamswish

23:22 / 21.03.05

In fanfic, this structure - heading titles with song lines - is called 'songfic'

Thanks for that piece of information Doc.

So this is a common (if not well liked) phenoninom (apologies if bad spelling) then. Who'd of guessed.

Anyone know of any examples? Or continue with the ideas for other songs as chapter titles (either lyrics or Album tracks maybe)

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

23:51 / 21.03.05

There was a John Smith strip (I forget what it was called) in 2000AD years back where all the chapter titles were Nick Cave songs...

matsya

02:40 / 22.03.05

I'm pretty sure Michael Moorcock did something like this in his Jerry Cornelius books. I just don't have them here with me at work to check up on.

Though it may be a bit redundant, I'd like to see ya do it anyway. I've been talking about a series of short stories each based on one song from the Buggles first album for some time now, so why the hell not?

m.

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