music lyrics as a source of creative writing inspiration

Those who know me also know that music - particularly alt-indie songs and me hearing the artists playing their songs at live gigs - features large in my life. I have long listened to song lyrics and let their structure take my mind on many a wonderful journey. It is definitely a major source of inspiration for me - sparks my creativity with the fury of a bright fire that can burn with intensity for days. No prizes for guessing that the long drives and walks that I take regularly inevitably involve several Spotify playlists of my favourite songs (and, in the case of the drives, the joy of singing along at the top of my lungs on a road in the middle of nowhere).  I love it. 

To give a sense of the songs that I have embraced over the last few years - below is a list of my favourite ones (best of and honourable mentions), noting the songs may not have come out in the year that they are listed - but rather they are there because that is when the songs resonated most for me.

2024 - Top 10

Black Cab - Non-Playable
The Dreggs - Peeps with the Goods
Blake Rose - Suddenly Okay
Travis - Bus
Cigarettes After Sex - Dark Vacay
Al Matcott - Summer's Coming
Middle Kids - Dramamine
The Terrys - Tokyo
Love Fame Tragedy - It's Ok to Be Shallow
Glass Animals - A Tear in Space (Airlock)

2024 - Honourable mentions

Iron & Wine - All in Good Time (feat. Fiona Apple)
EELS - Time
Pudeldame - Quarterlife Crisis
Fischer Z - One Perfect Day (a remix of an old song)
Chappell Roan - Good Luck, Babe!
Beach Weather - High In Low Places
Another Sky - The Pain
Dune Rats - Solar Eyes
Charm of Finches - Clean Cut
Noga Erez - VANDALIST
Good Neighbours - Daisies
girl in red - I'm Back
Eskimo Joe - the first time
the national - your mind is not your friend

2023 - Top 10

Nat & Alex Wolff - Heads on Loose
Fazerdaze - Break!
Jean Dawson - PIRATE RADIO* 
Beach Weather - Sex, Drugs, Etc. 
Half Moon Run - You Can Let Go
Tilly VW - Criteria Killed the Creative
Christine and the Queens - To be honest
Daughter - Be on Your Way
Joy Oladokum - Taking things for Granted
Eve 6 - Inside Out

2023 - Honourable mentions:

Dustin Tebbutt - Last Line
Body Type - Miss the World
Fletcher Gull - Light Up
Yumi Zouma - KPR
Hot Chip - Fire of Mercy featuring yunè pinku
James Blake - Loading - YouTube
Coriky - Clean Kill

the regular replays from many a year past (in alphabetical order)

1927 - that's when I think of You
Agnes Noble - Familiar
Alabama 3 - woke up this morning
Alex Lloyd - Black the Sun
Alice Cooper - How you gonna see me Now
Ammonia - Monochrome
Antenna - Come on Spring
Arcade Fire - entire catalogue especially Modern Man & the Suburbs
Art vs Science - Parlez Vous Francais?
Badly Drawn Boy - the Shining
the Beatles - Day in the Life
the Bees - Chicken Payback
Beck - Devil's Haircut & Nobody's Fault
Ben Howard - Conrad
Ben Lee - Cigarettes Will Kill You
Beth Orton - Central Reservation
Billy Joel - Innocent Man
Birds of Tokyo - This Fire
Blur - Song 2
Boston - More than A Feeling
Brooke Fraser - the Equator
Bruce Hornsby & the Range - the way it is
Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk
the Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star
Bush - Glycerine
the Cat Empire - Hello!
Charlie XCX - I Love it
Cheap Trick - the Dream Police
Children Collide - Skeleton Dance & Loveless
the Church - entire catalogue especially Unguarded Moment & Under the Milky Way
Cold Chisel - Flame Trees
Coldplay - Rush of Blood to the Head
Collective Soul - the World I know
Counting Crows - Colorblind
Chris Issak - Dancing & Wicked Game
Crowded House - entire catalogue especially Private Universe, Pineapple Head & Weather with You
the Cure - entire catalogue especially Wrong Number & Close to Me
Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar on Me
Damien Rice - Delicate
Dandy Warhols - Bohemian like you
David Bowie - Rebel Rebel
Devo - Whip It
Died Pretty - entire catalogue especially Harness Up & State of Graceful Mourning
Dobie Gray - Drift Away
Don Henley - Boys of Summer
Dragon - Rain
Dustin Tebbitt - All Your Love
the Eels - Last Stop: This Town
Elephant Gun - Cataract
Elton John - Rocket Man
Elvis Costello - Pump it Up
Eskimo Joe - New York
Evan Dando - All my Life
Even - Don't Wait
Feeder - Feeling the Moment & Piece by Piece
the Feelers - Pressure Man
the Ferrets - Don't Fall in Love
Filter - Take a Picture
Flash in the Pan - Hey St Peter
Fleetwood Mac - Dreams
Foster the People - Pumped up Kicks
Foo Fighters - entire catalogue especially Everlong, Walking after You & My Hero
Fuel - Shimmer
Garbage - Push it
Gary Jules - Mad World (cover of Tears for Fears song)
Gomez - 78 Stone Wobble
the Grates - Science is Golden
Green Day - entire catalogue especially Longview, Hitching a Ride & Waiting
Greg Kihn Band - Happy Man
Groove Terminator - Here Comes Another One
Hilltop Hoods - entire catalogue especially 1955 & Nosebleed Section
Hives - Hate to Say I Told You So
Icehouse - entire catalogue especially Nothing Too Serious, Not My Kind & Don't Believe Anymore
Illy - Tightrope
Incubus - Drive
Indigo Girls - Least Complicated
the Jezebels - Easy to Love
Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American
Joe Strummer - Johnny Appleseed
Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats
Kasabian - Shoot the Runner
Kenny Loggins - I'm Alright
Kid Cudi - Pursuit of Happiness
the Kid Laroi - Stay (featuring Justin Bieber)
the Kills - Future Starts Slow
the Killers - Mr Brightside
Korgis - Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime
Lo-tel - Crucifix
Lior - this Old Love
Little River Band - Cool Change
Lou Reed - Dirty Boulevard
the Lumineers - Ho Hey
Matchbox 20 - Long Day
Magic Dirt - Dirty Jeans
Marcy Playground - Sex and Candy
Men at Work - Overkill
Miike Snow - the Wave
Mi-Sex - Blue Day
Modern English - I melt with you
Modest Mouse - Missed the Boat
Mondo Rock - Cool World
Moody Blues - Question
Motor Ace - Criminal Past
Muse - Supermassive Black Hole
Nat & Alex Wolff - Public Places
the National - Bloodbuzz Ohio
New Gods - on your side
New Order - Blue Monday
Newton Fawkner - Dream Catch Me
Oasis - Wonderwall
Oblivia - my friend
OK Go - Here it Goes Again
Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al
Paper Kites - entire catalogue especially Deep Burn Blue & A Lesson for Mr Gray
Parquet Courts - in and out of Patience
Perfume Genius - Slip Away
Peter Gabriel - entire catalogue especially Here Comes the Flood, Sledgehammer & Mercy Street
Pink Floyd - entire catalogue especially Wish You Were Here & Hey You
the Police - entire catalogue especially King of Pain & Invisible Sun
Pollyanna - Brittle then Broken
Powderfinger - entire catalogue especially These Days, My Kinda Scene & Like a Dog
Primary - viscious precious
Psychedelic Furs - Love my Way
Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees
the Ramones - I wanna be sedated
the Rapture - No Sex for Ben
Rebecca's Empire - Empty
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Scar Tissue
Red Jezebel - Bodyline
Regurgitator - Black Bugs & Happiness
Richard Ashcroft - Common People (We're Making it Now)
Rufus du Sol - Paris Collides
RY X - Thunder
Sailor - glass of champagne
Santa Esmeralda - Don't Let me Be Misunderstood
Santana - She's Not There
Say Hi - December was White November was Grey
Sia - Breathe me
Simple Minds - Let there Be Love
Silversun Pickups - Panic Switch & Lazy Eye
Smokie - It's Your Life
Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun
Sniff & the Tears - Driver's Seat
Snow Patrol - Open Your Eyes
Sparkadia - Talking like I'm falling Down Stairs
Split Enz - entire catalogue especially Message to My Girl, Poor Boy & Dirty Creature
the Sports - Strangers on A Train
Stereophonics - Not Up to You
Sufjan Stevens - Chicago
10cc - Reds in My Bed & Dreadlock Holiday
Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition
Third Eye Blind - Semi-charmed Life
Too Far Moon - Be Ok
Travis - Writing to Reach You
Turin Brakes - Feeling Oblivion
Vampire Weekend - Harmony Hall
Underworld - Underneath the Radar
U2 - entire catalogue especially Beautiful Day, With or Without You & Numb
Vance Joy - Riptide
the Verve - Lucky Man
the Vines - Highly Evolved
the Wallflowers - One Headlight
the Watchmen - Stereo
We are Scientists - Inaction
Weezer - Island in the Sun
the White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
the Who - Who are You
Youth Group - Start Today Tomorrow

And, if you are wondering, what are the front runners in 2025 so far...

Mallrat - Teeth
Old Mervs - Parched
Scalia and Kolacny Bros - Supernova (cover of Oasis song)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Spitting on the Edge of the World
Rufus du Sol - Levitating
Phantogram - Happy Again
Djo - Basic being Basic
Fontaines dc - In a Modern World

Always something new, something old, to listen to - I love it.

Perhaps something in this very long list might be worth a listen? (Not sure if this link will work but you can here at my "liked songs" playlist - https://open.spotify.com/collection/tracks.)  I am also wondering if there are prevailing themes in the songs that have made my list - it seems to me that there might be some patterns in this list.