If Music be the Food of Love...

Emily, Brian, and I have been collaborating with Natalie Hegg to compose some pretty lovely original music for Ivanov. Correction: Emily, Brian, and Natalie have been collaborating. I have no musical talents whatsoever, so I get to sit in the room, listen, and ask dumb questions. Not going to lie: I really love these rehearsals. It’s pretty inspiring to watch these musicians work together to develop a unique, beautiful sound for our production.

But if there is one thing I can contribute to the musical side of Ivanov, it is this: a kick-ass playlist.

Back in my college days, one of the things I was very proud of was my ability to make a fairly marvelous mix CD. If there was ever a long car ride, birthday, or special event, I would always seem to put together an ideal bunch of songs to fit the occasion. This special skill led to my habit of compiling a list of songs to fit whatever production I was working on. To this day, it always helps my mind focus on the project if I have that compilation to listen to whenever I sit down with my script.

So here we go: the Ivanov playlist which has been featured non-stop on my iPod for the past month (I’ve also included the specific lyric that sold me on including the song in the mix). I encourage all of you to listen to any of them if and when you’re thinking about Ivanov:

1) “Awake My Soul” by Mumford and Sons
“How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes / I struggle to find any truth in your lies / And now my heart stumbles on things I don’t know/ My weakness I feel I must finally show”
2) “Blackbird” by the Beatles
“Blackbird singing in the dead of night / Take these sunken eyes and learn to see / All your life / You were only waiting for this moment to be free”
3) “Falling Awake” by Gary Jules
“One foot in the grave / One foot in the shower / There’s never time to save / You’re paying by the hour...”
4) “My Little Town” by Simon and Garfunkel
“Saving my money / Dreaming of glory / Twitchin’ like a finger on a trigger of a gun...”
5) “World Spins Madly On” by the Weepies
“Woke up / Wished that I was dead / With an aching in my head / Lay motionless in bed...”
6) “Urge for Going” by Joni Mitchell
“And all that stays in dying / All that lives is getting out / See the geese in chevron flight flapping and racing on before the snow / They’ve got the urge for going and they’ve got the wings to go...”
7) “Mona Lisa” by Grant-Lee Phillips
“Ain’t nothing that stays the same / Won’t ask it of you / Just that burgundy smile you wore yesterday / Say you won’t ever lose”
8) “Belong” by Cary Brothers
“There are movies playing in your eyes / You dream of our fortunes / But you’re wrong / I don’t belong to you...”
9) “The Cave” by Mumford and Sons
“So come out of your cave walking on your hands / And see the world hanging upside down / You can understand dependence / When you know the maker’s land”
10) “Changing My Mind” by Bob Schneider (Ivanov’s song)
“And what’s so funny is the birds are singing / The sun is shining and the bells are ringing / And I’m thinking ‘What happened here?’”
11) “Rambling Man” by Laura Marling (Anna’s song)
“It’s funny how the first chords you come to / Are the minor notes that come to serenade you / And it’s hard to accept yourself as someone you don’t desire / As someone you don’t want to be”
12) “Levon” by Elton John (Shabelsky’s song)
“He wants to go to Venus / Leaving Levon far behind / Take a balloon and go sailing / While Levon--Levon slowly dies...”
13) “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise” by the Avett Brothers (Lvov’s song)
“There was a dream and one day I could see it / Like a bird in a cage, I broke in and demanded that somebody free it / And there was a kid with a head full of doubt / So I’ll scream til I die and the last of those bad thoughts are finally out”
14) “The Wind” by Cat Stevens (Sasha’s song)
“I listen to my words but they fall far below / I let my music take me where my heart wants to go”
15) “Live and Let Die” by Wings
Okay, so this song isn’t exactly appropriate, but imagine this song playing during the final scene. With the opening credits from the James Bond movie projected on the back wall. Worse way to send Ivanov ever (which is why it makes me giggle).

So what do you think? What songs do you associate with Ivanov? Let us know!

Until next week!
Patricia