I love driving and listening to music. My view of heaven is hurtling around Derbyshire or Lincolnshire with a stack of CDs or a full USB stick of MP3s, windows wide open (whatever the weather) and the music full on. I’m looking at the road rather than a computer screen, and this allows my mind to idle freely on things other than computer code or blogging. Along with a soundtrack, I tend to listen to my own productions.
Sometimes though, I switch off the player and write music in my head. I can’t really write down the lyrics while holding the wheel, but I can belt out a half-written out of tune line with only the sheep listening.
Without the distraction of a keyboard or a computer, this high-speed environment is perfect for writing a capella. It’s an opportunity to apply the musical memetic algorithm of evolutionary epistemology. I can play with new words or rearrange them endlessly, forming much more satisfying sequences; the A61 has inspired many a subtle tweak. Again, the result is more memorable, and if I don’t forget it, then it has passed the test. Sometimes though, I do pull up in a layby and sing into my phone.
Not surprisingly though, many of my songs, composed while driving, have been about driving.
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