Concept Album Multiverse Thought-Dump
Apr. 17th, 2023 09:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
between_time_and_42Yeah, sorry, I’ve kept it on the down-low but this thing is still very much consuming my life 😅 anyway, here are some thoughts that I find are overflowing lately:
-Do you have any idea how hard it is to write dialogue for characters who don’t have canonical voices?! When I write fanfiction, it always helps IMMENSELY if I can hear the characters’ voices in my head as I write, which is usually the voice of the actor who portrays them. If the source is a text-based work, the characters usually have enough dialogue that I can invent voices for them in my head, and focus more on their way of speaking instead of how it specifically sounds. And if I’m writing my own characters, I’m in control of their voice and don’t have to worry so much about the way it sounds in my head. So Mylo & Xyloto I have no problem with, because they’re essentially OCs that just happen to have been inspired by the songs from Coldplay’s album (just like how Julie & Jack from WTC? are both OCs inspired by specific songs from Diamond Dogs). Ziggy I have no problem with either, as he basically just sounds like David Bowie and I’ve heard his speaking voice enough times to easily conjure it to mind on demand. But with the rest, we run into some problems because, well. Johnny (the Jesus of Suburbia) has been portrayed by multiple actors onstage, so I’m not sure which one I should consider the “canonical” take. Rael, although created and portrayed onstage by an Englishman, is not only American, but half-Puerto Rican as well, meaning that he probably sounds absolutely nothing like Peter Gabriel (though tbh, thank god PG didn’t give him an actual speaking voice, it’s bad enough that he did brownface while portraying him on tour 😅). And the worst one of all is Pink, who not only was only given one speaking line in the filmed version of The Wall, but that line is screamed at the top of his lungs, so I have no idea what his voice ACTUALLY sounds like. And if you’re thinking right now that hey, why not just use his actor’s regular speaking voice- Pink is English. His actor, Bob Geldof, is VERY Irish. Although I’m fairly familiar with Geldof’s speaking voice and could probably conjure it to mind on demand, I just can’t imagine Pink speaking with an Irish accent. Which means that his voice is impossible for me to imagine, which means that I’m constantly having trouble writing his dialogue throughout SF: ALS because I can’t HEAR him saying it and when I can’t hear a character’s voice in my head, it just becomes my voice, and NO ONE WANTS THAT.
(And if you’re also thinking “well, how is that any different from writing fic based on a book?”- It is very different, because the dialogue in books is written as dialogue. On these albums, everyone speaks in LYRICS. Which means they’re not really speaking those words, which means it’s not the natural rhythms of their voice, which means I can’t find my way in.)
-Two little signs of growth/progression (or regression, in one case?) in relation to my work on this story that I wanted to share:
Original angsty OTP headcanons: Ziggy is tragically killed after spiraling into drug addiction and Floyd never mentally recovers, before dying himself a few months later.
Current angsty OTP headcanons: Ziggy survives his near-death experience, beats his drug addiction, and goes to live with Floyd, eventually spending over forty (Earth) years with him. Although he still struggles with his mental health, Floyd finally has the time, space, willingness, and ability to process and begin to heal from his trauma. They help co-parent Ziggy’s son, who grows up to get married and adopt children, and make a lot of new friends in their community, as well as strengthen their relationships with old friends. …And then Floyd dies of natural causes in his 80’s, and Ziggy and the rest of his friends/family mourn him. (Essentially, I don’t know if I’m saying that it’s funny that this bittersweet but ultimately heartwarming scenario is the saddest headcanon I can come up with/care to subject myself to, or if I’m pointing out how odd it is that after creating such a happy, fluffy ending, I’m still bothering to think of what happens after one half of my OTP dies. Maybe it’s both…)
-Me at 16: The Wall is awesome but I don’t really understand Pink.
Me now: The Wall is awesome and holy shit, I AM Pink.
(On the one hand, it’s NEVER a good sign if you relate to Pink, but on the other hand, at least revisiting this story has caused me to realize some things about myself?)
-Do you have any idea how hard it is to write dialogue for characters who don’t have canonical voices?! When I write fanfiction, it always helps IMMENSELY if I can hear the characters’ voices in my head as I write, which is usually the voice of the actor who portrays them. If the source is a text-based work, the characters usually have enough dialogue that I can invent voices for them in my head, and focus more on their way of speaking instead of how it specifically sounds. And if I’m writing my own characters, I’m in control of their voice and don’t have to worry so much about the way it sounds in my head. So Mylo & Xyloto I have no problem with, because they’re essentially OCs that just happen to have been inspired by the songs from Coldplay’s album (just like how Julie & Jack from WTC? are both OCs inspired by specific songs from Diamond Dogs). Ziggy I have no problem with either, as he basically just sounds like David Bowie and I’ve heard his speaking voice enough times to easily conjure it to mind on demand. But with the rest, we run into some problems because, well. Johnny (the Jesus of Suburbia) has been portrayed by multiple actors onstage, so I’m not sure which one I should consider the “canonical” take. Rael, although created and portrayed onstage by an Englishman, is not only American, but half-Puerto Rican as well, meaning that he probably sounds absolutely nothing like Peter Gabriel (though tbh, thank god PG didn’t give him an actual speaking voice, it’s bad enough that he did brownface while portraying him on tour 😅). And the worst one of all is Pink, who not only was only given one speaking line in the filmed version of The Wall, but that line is screamed at the top of his lungs, so I have no idea what his voice ACTUALLY sounds like. And if you’re thinking right now that hey, why not just use his actor’s regular speaking voice- Pink is English. His actor, Bob Geldof, is VERY Irish. Although I’m fairly familiar with Geldof’s speaking voice and could probably conjure it to mind on demand, I just can’t imagine Pink speaking with an Irish accent. Which means that his voice is impossible for me to imagine, which means that I’m constantly having trouble writing his dialogue throughout SF: ALS because I can’t HEAR him saying it and when I can’t hear a character’s voice in my head, it just becomes my voice, and NO ONE WANTS THAT.
(And if you’re also thinking “well, how is that any different from writing fic based on a book?”- It is very different, because the dialogue in books is written as dialogue. On these albums, everyone speaks in LYRICS. Which means they’re not really speaking those words, which means it’s not the natural rhythms of their voice, which means I can’t find my way in.)
-Two little signs of growth/progression (or regression, in one case?) in relation to my work on this story that I wanted to share:
Original angsty OTP headcanons: Ziggy is tragically killed after spiraling into drug addiction and Floyd never mentally recovers, before dying himself a few months later.
Current angsty OTP headcanons: Ziggy survives his near-death experience, beats his drug addiction, and goes to live with Floyd, eventually spending over forty (Earth) years with him. Although he still struggles with his mental health, Floyd finally has the time, space, willingness, and ability to process and begin to heal from his trauma. They help co-parent Ziggy’s son, who grows up to get married and adopt children, and make a lot of new friends in their community, as well as strengthen their relationships with old friends. …And then Floyd dies of natural causes in his 80’s, and Ziggy and the rest of his friends/family mourn him. (Essentially, I don’t know if I’m saying that it’s funny that this bittersweet but ultimately heartwarming scenario is the saddest headcanon I can come up with/care to subject myself to, or if I’m pointing out how odd it is that after creating such a happy, fluffy ending, I’m still bothering to think of what happens after one half of my OTP dies. Maybe it’s both…)
-Me at 16: The Wall is awesome but I don’t really understand Pink.
Me now: The Wall is awesome and holy shit, I AM Pink.
(On the one hand, it’s NEVER a good sign if you relate to Pink, but on the other hand, at least revisiting this story has caused me to realize some things about myself?)
