Musicality and Literature
A Study in How Music Influences Works of Fiction
Jessica de Rooij
3467929
Bachelor Thesis Creative Writing
English Language and Culture
Faculty of Humanities
Utrecht University
January 2012
Supervisor: Simon Cook
Contents
Introduction
3
Music in Fiction in Practice
4
Fixed at Zero
12
Musical Similarities and Differences: Theories From Music in Fiction
in Practice in Fixed at Zero
20
Works Cited
26
Discography
27
Introduction
Until recently, there have not been many studies that focused on the influence of music on
works of fiction. This is remarkable, because music and creative writing are two age-old
artistic disciplines which are both considered highly important segments of contemporary
cultures. Initially, the two disciplines may not seem closely related. However, both when
writing melodies and lyrics as well as prose or poetry, the writer’s surroundings can serve as
an influence for the contents of their work.
This paper aims to examine to what extent musicality could play a significant role in
the process of writing as well as in a work of fiction itself. It is interesting to research if music
and creative writing can complement each other, in that listening to certain types of music
might provide inspiration for a story, and that this musicality somehow shows in the narrative.
In order to illustrate how and why music is incorporated in fiction, the first part of the
paper will elaborate on several authors who have cited music as an inspiration for their works.
Furthermore, this part will also discuss a number of literary critics who have previously
studied the relationship between music and fiction.
The second part of the paper contains a short work of fiction, which aims to
reverberate the approaches that have previously been discussed. Finally, this short story will
be analysed briefly, examining to what extent it succeeds in reflecting the theories from part
one.
Music in Fiction in Practice
In recent years, there has been a rise in “population of studies of the relationships between
music and literature” (Gritten, 99). Numerous authors have either cited music as an influence
in their fiction, or made it apparent in their works. Musicality is increasingly used in fiction.
In his book Literary Music: Writing Music in Contemporary Fiction, Stephen Benson
cites Peter Kivy:
Listening to absolute music is, among other things, the experience of going from our
world, with all of its trials, tribulations, and ambiguities, to another world, a world of
pure sonic structure, that, because it need not be interpreted as a representation or
description of our world, but can be appreciated on its own terms alone, gives us the
sense of liberation that I have found appropriate to analogize with the pleasurable
experience we get in the process of going from a state of intense pain to its cessation.
(Benson, 123)
Kivy describes perfectly why music can play such a significant role in fiction. More
importantly, this statement shows the similarities between music and fiction. Here, Kivy
speaks solely of music. However, fiction also can bring its readers “from our world to another
world” (123). Additionally, fiction too does not need to serve as “a representation or
description of our world,” but can be “appreciated on its own terms alone” and “give us the
sense of liberation” (123). It is therefore not surprising that authors often choose to let music
resound in their works of fiction.
Some authors may choose to literally show musical symphonies in their books, in
order to provide their readers with an idea of what type of sound accompanies the passage
they are reading. Benson exemplifies this by adding a melody to James Hamilton-Paterson’s
Gerontius. The melody was originally composed by Edward Elgar, whom Benson considers
“a composer never less than self-conscious about his susceptibility of the crafting of a good
tune and the subsequent effects thereof” (17). Through this melody, Benson states he intends
to propose an “imaginary audio book” of Gerontius in which “the text is interspersed with, or
read against a backdrop of, a melody composed by Elgar; a Cageian audiobook, in which the
different sounds of interpret one another” (17).
By describing his intention to produce a Cageian audiobook, Benson refers to John
Cage, an American minimalist composer, writer and philosopher whose influence is
considered to have spread “far beyond the musical world” (New York Times, 23). From the
1930s onwards, Cage composed numerous works, and composed for “every imaginable kind
of instrument” (9). According to the New York Times, Cage’s early pieces were arranged
according to the “conventional rules of harmony and thematic development” (8). Conversely,
he abandoned these rules in his later works, having composed them using “chance processes”
(8). Additionally, Cage considered every sound to have musical potential, saying that he
thinks “sounds are, of their nature, harmonious” and that he has never heard any sounds which
he “does not want to hear again” (10).
Clearly, Cage thought highly of the meaning of sound. This view could be linked back
to Stephen Benson, as he has a similar view concerning the role of music in everyday life:
“Our daily lives are criss-crossed with musical experiences and modes of listening, from the
ambient sounds of radio and muzak, and the personalized environments of the portable music
player, to the sonic immersion of the latest digital technology” (Benson, 1). He then states
people often listen without thinking, and when “asked to explain the sound themselves – to
describe what we hear – many of us flounder” (1). Clearly, Benson agrees with Cage
concerning the importance of sound, but takes it a step further by criticising the manner in
which people deal with musicality. Subsequently, Benson provides reasons for adding
musicality to fiction by saying that “we pass [thereby] from the felt immediacy of the musical
experience to the seeming inadequacy of our ability to put that experience into words. This
gap, if there is such a thing, has given rise to an entire discourse on music” (1).
Going back to Gerontius, Benson argues that accompanying the story with a melody is
“particularly appropriate [here] because of the sheer affective power of a good tune, whether
or not heard by a listener capable of unpacking the musical dimension of the affect” (17). He
believes a melody can, sometimes, “sound and feel like music in its essential form,” which is,
according to Benson, “an inexplicably singular and direct experience of some sort of
presence” (17). Additionally, he argues that music in literature is always of importance in a
more than “structural” or “abstractly affective” manner (123). Consequently, Benson appears
to suggest that adding this musical dimension can result in audiences obtaining a clearer
perception of the narrative, making the story more powerful.
Benson’s assumption that musicality in fiction is a positive addition, is backed up
fellow literary critic Eric Prieto. Moreover, in the introduction to his essay Deleuze, Music
and Modernist Mimesis, Prieto argues that references to music often “surface in discussions
about the various roles allotted to representation in the other arts, including literature” (3).
Subsequently, Prieto provides a reason why some authors may incorporate references to
music into their works, explaining that writers found music to “provide a useful point of
reference in their struggles to break away from more traditional forms of literary
representation” (4). He says that references to music in literature began with the French
symbolists, and have since “continued throughout the first half of the twentieth century” (4).
Prieto continues by saying that all that time, several highly important “exponents of literary
modernism” have used music “as a way to explain and justify their experiments with literary
representation”, citing significant authors ranging from James Joyce to Samuel Beckett (4).
In Deleuze, Music and Modernist Mimesis, Prieto frequently refers to French
philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. They elaborate on what exactly could be the
primary relationship between music and literature. According to Prieto, they have found that
music “provides an instructive model for literature and the arts” (5). Their stance on the
relationship between music in literature and the representation of literature is completely
oppositional to that of the modernists, however. Whereas modernists associated music with
the “development of new modes of representation”, Deleuze and Guattari considered music to
be a contribution to the development of “antirepresentation” of literature, as it “seems to
provide a useful model for understanding the kinds of thinking that might replace it” (5-6).
Through Prieto’s findings in Deleuze, Music and Modernist Mimesis, it is revealed that
music has been incorporated into literature for a long time. It appears that authors could
intentionally add a musical dimension to their works in order to break free from the literary
tradition and change the manner in which literature is representative, or, according to Deleuze
and Guattari, to perhaps completely erase all literary representation. Having said this, music
in fiction carries a meaning which goes far beyond simply serving as a literary theme.
Vikram Seth’s An Equal Music is a work of fiction that is filled with musicality in
multiple ways. The title of the novel was derived from a line in one of the sermons by John
Donne, an author whose prose and poetry has been celebrated for many centuries. The text
appears just before the novel begins:
And into that gate they shall enter, and in that house they shall dwell, where there shall
be no cloud nor sun, no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light, no noise nor
silence, but one equal music, no fears nor hopes, but one equal possession, no foes nor
friends, but one equal communion and identity, no ends nor beginnings, but one equal
eternity. (Donne, x)
Seth, however, does not literally mention Donne as the main influence on An Equal
Music. He cites his then-partner, violinist Philippe Honoré, as “inspiring him with the idea for
An Equal Music” in an acrostic sonnet on Honoré’s name (Squidoo, 8). The sonnet serves as
an epigraph to the novel, and contains the following sentences:
I list your gifts in this creation:
Pen, paper, ink and inspiration,
Peace to the heart with touch or word,
Ease to the soul with note and chord. (Seth, x)
Seth did not merely draw inspiration from Honoré as a person, but also from his
music, which he used to create his characters, the setting and, subsequently, the plot of the
story. An Equal Music focuses on a man named Michael Holme. He is a violinist who was
taught at a conservatory in Vienna, the capital of classical music. There, he meets Julia, a
pianist, and falls deeply in love with her. He finds himself heavily influenced by her, and,
mainly, her music. Eventually, the two separate, but meet again ten years later in London.
When they play music together again for the first time in years, Michael is “taken back to the
student concert in Vienna” were he and Julia first met (133). Seth describes Julia’s music in
great detail, as he does with practically all musical elements in the novel. Michael experiences
Julia’s play as “something tender and indefinably strange”, yet he considers it “a little better
[than all right]” (133-134).
Throughout the novel, it becomes apparent that Seth incorporates music in the most
subtle ways, including when describing the setting of the story. Besides incorporating obvious
musical places such as the city of Vienna and its conservatory, Seth includes musicality in the
smallest of details in setting. Even the seemingly regular descriptions of setting and action are
drenched with musicality, as if the reader should be able to hear music through the words; the
phrases are all about sense and sound. For example, in the very beginning of the novel, Seth
describes Michael walking in a park: “I had the sense that someone had paused behind me. I
walked on. The sound of footsteps followed along the gravel. They were unhurried; they
appeared to keep pace with me. Then they suddenly made up their mind, speeded up, and
overtook me” (3). Musical words and phrases such as “sense”, “someone had paused”, “the
sound of footsteps” and “they appeared to keep pace with me” all contribute to the sensibility
and visualisation of the story’s setting.
The fact that the story’s characters and setting are largely influenced by music also
adds a musical dimension to the general plot of the story. Music is what connects the two
main characters of An Equal Music and causes them to drift apart. Music binds Michael
Holme to the two most important things in his life: his career, and Julia. Moreover, music
appears to bind him to life itself and the “cause of living” (Word Press, 1). According to
Stephen Benson, by the end of the novel, the music itself has been “fully characterised”
(Benson, 125). Additionally, Benson argues that the music in the novel has become “coiled
around” or “interfused with” the characters (125). The musicality in An Equal Music is clearly
visible in its characters, setting and the overall plot.
Finally, Vikram Seth and Philippe Honoré decided to “market a double CD of the
music mentioned in An Equal Music” (Squidoo, 11). All of the songs included were
performed by Honoré (11). The soundtrack includes pieces by classical composers such as
Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. Concerning why Seth wanted to write a novel with music as its
major influence, in the author’s note to An Equal Music he explains that music is “dearer to
him than speech” and that he was gripped with anxiety when he “realised he could write about
it” (Seth, 385). Clearly, with An Equal Music serving as a perfect example, Vikram Seth is
clearly an author for whom fiction and music can easily be blended.
Another author who is known for regularly incorporating music into fiction by having
elements in the story refer to music, is Samuel Beckett. In Samuel Beckett and Music: an
Absurd Essay About the Idea of Musicality and Musical Form in Samuel Beckett’s Short
Pieces - influences and possibilities, Nadezda Mosusova suggests that “it appears obvious that
from the very beginning of his pursuits, the writer regarded literature – his literature – as
music” (5-6). Moreover, she continues, “not only did Beckett write pieces with or to music,
but he primarily created music itself” (6). However, it remains somewhat unclear in what
ways Beckett exactly incorporates musicality into his fiction. Some works by Beckett
incorporate musical influences in the most literal manner: by reference to works of music or
their composers. In his review on Mary Bryden’s Samuel Beckett and Music, Anthony
Sheppard argues that “multiple references to musical works, lyrics and composers are found
throughout Beckett’s writings” (Sheppard, 682). On the contrary, Walter Beckett argues that
Beckett’s musicality is “largely brought about by his use of language, the paring down of
words and the length of time given to pauses or silences, thereby creating a rhythmical whole”
(682). He cites Waiting for Godot as an example, claiming “to hear specific chords while
reading certain phrases” (682). This, however, might surpass the perceptive abilities of the
average reader (682). Consequently, past studies of Samuel Beckett’s musical influences
remain rather contrastive, but it is clear that patterns of musicality are included in his fiction.
Finally, Josef Škvorecký, a Czech author who spent a great part of his life writing and
teaching in Canada, is also known for using music as a main inspiration to his works. In his
essay Drops of Jazz in My Fiction he makes suggestions as to why music is so important to
him as an author, or, moreover, to authors in general. Initially, he quotes Faulkner’s famous
statement concerning poets and novelists: “Every young writer first wants to become a poet; if
he fails, he turns into a novelist” (Škvorecký, 621). Subsequently, he explains that poetry the
most musical genre in fiction, and then suggests poets “were really pop singers of the ancient
world” (621). Škvorecký, a fan of jazz, recalls the 1940s, stating that “thinking back on those
exciting, dangerous, intensely lived days, a number of memories emerged from the mist of the
events and stood out in clear outline” (624). He says his most vibrant memories are the ones
that resound with jazz (624). Subsequently, Škvorecký explains that he felt the urge to write
about these “spots of intensity” (624). This intensity was “at its strongest when it emerged
with the force of the music on which he was hooked for life” (624). Škvorecký does
emphasise that writing about music does not mean an author must use any technical musical
language, as that might turn the novel into a “musical treatise” (625). Conversely, through his
works, such as The Bass Saxophone, Škvorecký expresses how many young people in the
1940s felt about jazz. (625). He seeks to determine the essence of music through language,
hoping to create, in his own words, “jazz out of letters that should reverberate in the
mysterious cells of the brain where they change into images, meanings, and hopefully into
sounds” (629-630). Furthermore, it was Škvorecký’s goal to capture the “mood, the situation,
or, rather, the love” of a narrative (627). Subsequently, one could say that through musicality,
Škvorecký meant to illustrate a story’s atmosphere or, more generally, the story’s setting,
meaning that he considered music a great influence in his own creative writing. That is why,
in his case, fiction and the influence of music are clearly related to each other.
The relation between music and fiction might at first seem questionable. However,
critics argue that any element of a narrative could be illustrated by music, and that this has
been done by many authors over a very long time. Vikram Seth, Samuel Beckett and Josef
Škvorecký each have written pieces of fiction in which the influence of music is clearly
visible. The relationship between music and fiction is not merely present in works of fiction,
but is nearly inevitable.
Fixed at Zero
Sarah woke up to the extremely loud, energetic sound of her mobile phone’s ringtone.
Hesitantly, she opened her eyes and realised she wasn’t in her bed. In fact, she was on the
floor. Of her living room. In the middle of a battlefield of food leftovers, pieces of paper, pens
and her guitar. “Not again...”
Attempting to get up, she reached her arm over to the coffee table she was laying next
to, searching for her phone. A sudden breeze drifted apart the curtains, blinding her with the
daylight. Outside, she heard cars, probably taxi’s, honking at one another. She heard people
yelling. It must have been noon already.
Finally, Sarah’s hand got hold of her phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey Sarah, where are you?”
“Tom?”
“Yeah?”
She sat up.
“Uh, yeah. I’m home. Why?”
“We’re supposed to work on some songs today, remember? I’ve been waiting in the
street, like, fifteen minutes.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear the door bell ringing, I think. Just a second.”
Sarah hung up and dropped her phone on the table again. She walked up to the front
door and pressed the button which opened the door downstairs.
Still half asleep, she waddled to the stereo and plugged in her iPod. Shuffle. The
roaring sound of Lostprophets’ “Wake Up (Make A Move)” filled her apartment. The irony.
She walked into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Awful. The bags
under her eyes were growing bigger by the day, her skin wasn’t as flawless as it normally
was, and she was sure her dentist would have a heart attack when she saw her teeth. Her
bright red hair looked dishevelled, though the colour was still fairly intact. At least that’s one
good thing.
Then, Sarah saw a familiar grey tail coming out of the laundry basket behind her.
“Max, get out of there.”
Nothing happened. Sarah turned around and grabbed the little kitten from the basket.
“How did you get in there? You little daredevil,” she said, as she put him down on the
floor. He immediately ran off towards the kitchen. Thankfully, Max hadn’t torn apart any of
her clothes. Something he was otherwise quite good at.
She heard footsteps through the walls. Quickly, Sarah randomly sprayed on some
deodorant and rinsed her mouth. Still not exactly pleased with her appearance, she walked up
to the front door, took a deep breath, unlocked it and opened it.
“Hey, I’m sorry for making you wait so long.”
Tom walked past her. He threw his jacket over one of the dining chairs and put his
guitar against the dining table.
“That’s okay. What were you doing anyway, why didn’t you hear me?”
Sarah flashed an awkward, crooked smile.
“I was asleep.”
Tom frowned.
“Asleep?”
“I was trying to write last night. It got kind of late.”
Tom looked at Sarah’s living area. From the expression on his face, she could tell he
pitied her.
“Well, did you at least come up with anything?”
“Nope,” Sarah quickly responded, as she headed to the kitchen. “Would you like some
coffee?”
“No, thanks.”
Tom sat down on the chair on which he had thrown his jacket.
“It’s just...” he began.
“What?” yelled from the kitchen.
“Well... Me and the guys were talking last night.”
“About what?” Sarah walked back in.
“Well, the thing is... We all assumed you would’ve at least had something by now.”
“I told you before, Tom. It’s just not working at the moment.”
“You used to write great lyrics in a matter of minutes. What happened to you?”
Suddenly irritated, Sarah sat herself down in front of Tom, nearly jamming her coffee
onto the table.
“You mean, what happened to you! Ever since we released the album, I’ve been doing
everything. I’ve been doing the writing, the meetings at the label, the press, the social media...
I used to be in a band, but now I feel like I’m becoming a solo artist.”
“You’re the lead singer. You’re the figurehead of the band!”
“So that means I get to be responsible for everything?”
Sarah crossed her arms. Tom leaned backwards, falling silent for a while. Sarah
noticed he was wearing the same outfit the last time she saw him. The same sleeveless, torn
up white shirt. The same jeans. She wondered if he had been wearing that every day since she
last saw him. Tom was certainly the type for it, as he was too lazy to wash his clothes every
now and then, and he was too mean to buy new ones. It reminded Sarah of a song she often
listened to a few years ago, but she couldn’t remember who sang it. “Same Jeans...”
“What?” Tom said.
Only just realising she had said that out loud, Sarah shook her head.
“Nothing.”
They fell silent again. After a few minutes, Tom got up.
“I have to go.”
“Why?”
“Because I really don’t want to be around anyone this stubborn.”
Before Sarah could even react, Tom had slammed the door shut behind him. She
buried her face in her hands. He was right, sort of. Sarah used to find writing for the band
very easy. The four songs they had released through an extended play one year ago, she had
written in only a couple of hours, as the extensive touring the band had been doing before had
proved inspirational for new lyrics. There was always an event worth writing about, whether
it was positive or negative. One of Sarah’s favourite songs was written straight after their
biggest headline show to date. The lyrics were an homage to their fans, and Sarah had been
very eager to record the song as soon as possible. Then, however, it took the boys several
weeks to write music to the lyrics.
Sarah had met Tom, James and Matt at a Billy Talent concert some five years ago,
when Sarah was only seventeen. Shortly after, The Riots were born, and things went fast from
then on. Within two years, they were signed to major record labels in both the United States
and Europe, released their debut album and went on several tours around the world. Whereas
the boys initially struggled, Sarah quickly got used to his newfound fame. That’s where it
went wrong. Without knowing it, she became the leader of the band, the point of focus, the
one who always stands out in official photos. And everyone was fine with it, except for her.
Gradually, the tables had turned. Tom, Matt and James were enjoying The Riots’ status as the
new ‘it’ band, but Sarah found it increasingly difficult to keep going strong. And as far as she
knew, nobody noticed. “Nobody cared,” she thought, “so why should I?”
Nausea comes up every time Sarah thought of quitting the band. Her band. In the early
days, she loved her life as a musician so much. She and the boys had fun jamming in her
parent’s basement, and even though it always took a long time to finish a song, Sarah enjoyed
the process of making music. She was so proud of her band when they finished their debut
album, and she loved touring more than anything. She had seen more of the world within a
few years than most people would in their entire lives.
“Ugh!” Sarah leaned onto the table, her hands still covering her face. I knew it. This is
what happens when you join a major label. She had always claimed most good bands either
break up or go on hiatus as soon as they’ve scored their biggest record deal. If things didn’t
get better soon, The Riots were awaiting the same fate.
She jammed her hands onto the table and got up.
“It’s not fair!” she mumbled, as she kicked her chair aside, causing it to fall
backwards. She hadn’t felt this much anger in weeks. She walked, nearly stamped, towards
her stereo. Over the years, she had collected a certain list of ‘angry songs’: music she’d listen
to when feeling like this. Sarah grabbed her iPod and scrolled through the artists. Limp Bizkit,
“Break Stuff”. She’d always end up listening to this song.
Sarah pressed play, and the signature guitar riff filled her apartment.
It’s just one of those days
Where you don’t wanna wake up
Everything is fucked
Everybody sucks
Sarah was nearly shouting. She dropped herself onto the couch and closed her eyes.
She wondered why she couldn’t write lyrics like this. Surely, with so much pent-up
frustration, she should be able to write one of those angry songs.
Perhaps she was too scared to write such aggressive texts. Many of her previous songs
dealt with heavy subjects, such as addiction and depression, but never that obvious. Besides,
to Sarah, lyrics like these always seemed more fitting in aggressive music, such as hardcore
punk or, in this case, nu metal. An angry, offensive, in-your-face song like Break Stuff
wouldn’t fit The Riots’ pop punk sound. And even if the band did record a song like that, the
record company probably wouldn’t want to release it.
Or would it? Sarah opened her eyes again. She turned to her side, reaching for one of
the dozens of pieces of paper scattered across the floor. She grabbed a pen from the coffee
table and started putting together a draft.
About fifteen minutes later, Sarah reread what she had written down. “This has no
substance whatsoever,” she thought. Just a bunch of four-letter words and then some more.
“Fuck it,” she muttered, and tossed the paper and the pen away.
She sighed, and fell quiet for a while. In the background, music was still playing.
No one cares when you’re out on the streets
Picking up the pieces to make ends meet
No one cares when you’re down in the gutter
Got no friends, got no lover
“Well, that sounds about right,” she breathed. Immediately, she heard a high-pitched,
almost shrieking noise from under the coffee table.
“Except for you, Max.”
Sarah reached her hand under the coffee table, smoothly pulling Max out from
underneath and placing him on her lap.
“Don’t worry, I still like you. But next time Tom is around, I wouldn’t mind you
scratching the hell out of him.”
Moving Max to her side, Sarah gabbed her laptop from under the table and opened
Twitter. She quickly skimmed through the tweets. Just when she had concluded none of them
were interesting enough to continue reading, she ran into picture Matt had uploaded earlier
today.
“Enjoying some time off!” the caption read. The picture featured him and his on/offgirlfriend, having drinks at what seemed to be a beach club.
Sarah narrowed her eyes, reading the lines over and over again. Enjoying some time
off. Sarah scrolled down to see if anyone had replied to Matt’s post. She noticed a lot of fans
had, one of them stating “Enjoying some time off from what?!” Sarah couldn’t help but feel
the same. What off-time? What had he been up to?
Sarah went back to her home page. Apart from answering some fan mail every now
and then, she hadn’t posted anything in weeks, she realised. The social networking world
must by now be thinking she had died, or something like that.
Not quite knowing what to say, she started typing.
@riotsarah: “Still alive. How about a short Q&A?”
Send. Perhaps hearing from her fans would enlighten her a bit, Sarah thought.
And before she knew, the replies came pouring in. Practically shutting off her mind,
she began answering.
@notsoanonymous: “How are you?”
@riotsarah: “Fine, thank you.”
@himinameisdan: “How’s the new album coming along?”
@riotsarah: “Working very hard on it.”
@theriotsfansuk: “When can we expect new music? Or a new tour?”
@riotsarah: “Not sure. Soon, hopefully.”
@jade_182: “Is it true that you’re an alcoholic?”
Sarah’s heart skipped a beat.
@riotsarah: “Not that it’s any of your business... but no. Who told you that?”
She noticed her pace had fastened, her fingers nearly slamming the keyboard.
The same person replied again.
@jade_182: “My friend did and she got it from this website...”
@riotsarah: “People say a lot of things. Don’t believe what you read.”
Sarah scrolled down, hoping to find any questions that are a little more breezy than
this. “Album... drugs... dead... whore,” Sarah read aloud, as she tried to analyse the general
topics of the messages. For some reason, the words didn’t hurt. Online rumours and death
threats weren’t as scary now that she had been getting them on a daily basis for a long time.
Unfortunately, with each question she read, Sarah felt less faithful that she could find
something which might cheer her up for a while. She refreshed the page and began typing
again, despite feeling an increasing urge to lash out at everyone asking something she didn’t
like.
@lalala_: “Guitar players or bass players?”
@riotsarah: “Singers.”
@littlexmonster: “How come we haven’t heard anything from you?”
@riotsarah: “Been busy. Can’t say anything though.”
@enterhayley: “Which band do you consider yourself similar to?”
@riotsarah: “I don’t know. Paramore, maybe?”
@sean41: “Are The Riots still together?”
@riotsarah: “Yes.”
@lilyymas: “Are you leaving the band?”
@riotsarah: “Not that I know of...”
Then, the doorbell rang. Abruptly, Sarah closed her laptop and got up.
“Please, don’t be Tom, James or Matt...” she whispered to herself, as she walked to the
window to see who it was. Michelle.
A few minutes later, Michelle sat herself down on the couch, staring at Sarah’s living
room in disbelief.
“Wow,” she said.
Sarah sat down next to her.
“I know.”
“Well, I’ve always known you don’t like cleaning, but isn’t this a bit much?”
“Could be. I just don’t feel like throwing this all away now. Maybe it will end up
being useful.”
Michelle leaned backwards, crossing her legs. Her long black hair hung loosely beside
her pale, yet frighteningly perfect face, accentuating her bright blue eyes even more than
usual.
“I ran into Tom.”
“When? Just now?”
“Yeah. He said you guys had a fight?”
Sarah cleared her throat.
“I wouldn’t call it a fight, but there was some tension, yes.”
“Are they bothering you again?”
“What do you mean?”
Sarah frowned, trying to look surprised.
Michelle didn’t answer, but her facial expression did the talking for her. She had that
“I know you’re not telling me something” kind of look. A look that Sarah had, unfortunately,
seen multiple times during the last few weeks.
Sarah looked away.
“I’m fine.”
Michelle raised her voice.
“When was the last time you talked to them without them asking something from you?
When was the last time you spoke to them without them upsetting you? You’ve been busy all
the time while they’ve done nothing but partying.”
Sarah felt tears welling up.
“I’m fine,” she repeated.
“You’re about to cry. You’re not fine,” Michelle said resolutely.
Michelle put her arm around Sarah’s shoulders.
“Well, Tom was right in that you’re the most stubborn person in the world. But I’m
not leaving until you’ve opened up, so you might as well do that right away.”
Sarah couldn’t help but grin a little. She and Michelle had known each other for only
three years, but whereas most of Sarah’s old friends became increasingly distant as she grew
more famous, Michelle somehow stuck around. Sometimes Sarah felt that their friendship was
becoming a one-way street, with her being the chronic train wreck and Michelle being the one
to pick her up whenever she fell down. Time and time again. Patience, Sarah thought.
Michelle was much more patient with her than anyone else had ever been – and that’s
probably how she manages to keep up with her. Still, Sarah knew that one day she’ll have to
make it up to her, big time.
“Do you want to go for a walk, or something?” Michelle asked, breaking the silence.
“It might be good to be outside for once...”
Sarah sighed.
“I can’t just walk the streets, remember? There are always people following me, taking
pictures, asking for autographs. I don’t feel like...”
Michelle interrupted her.
“I’ll make sure they’ll leave you alone. Besides, it’s not too crowded outside, anyway.
Come on, it’ll do you good.”
She pulled Sarah up.
“Go freshen yourself up, while I take care of... this,” she said, staring at the floor as if
they were standing on a garbage dump.
Sarah gave in, eventually, and headed to her bedroom. Ironically, this seemed to be the
only room in her house that was somewhat clean. Her bed was made, the floor was
completely visible, and as Sarah opened her closet, she found her clothes, folded neatly, in the
right places.
Sarah quickly changed, putting on a simple pair of jeans and a black sweater. She then
headed to the bathroom once again. “Michelle is right,” she thought. “They haven’t done a
thing, and I’ve been doing too much.” Again, she immediately felt that anxiety she gets every
time she even slightly thinks of quitting. What would happen to her if she quit? What would
the record label think? What would @theriotsfansuk think? And what about the boys?
Sarah shook her head. She suddenly realised she hadn’t even eaten anything yet. When
she finished her hair and make-up, she walked back into the living room.
“Whoa,” she said, as she looked around. Michelle had already gotten everything off
the floor. She had thrown all of the garbage away and had moved the paper and pens to the
dining table.
“You’re welcome,” Michelle said, almost proudly. She struck a pose as if she were to
say “tah-da”, too. It made Sarah grin a little. She noticed how both she and Michelle were
simply wearing jeans and a sweater, yet it was Michelle’s quirky confidence that made it look
cool and healthy and beautiful. She was wearing the clothes, whereas Sarah’s clothes were
wearing her. Despite being sure she would look like ‘the ugly one’ when walking the streets
together, Sarah still thought it was a good idea to go outside.
“You really didn’t have to do this,” Sarah said, as she grabbed an apple from the fruit
bowl on the table.
“You know I can’t stand a mess like that,” Michelle responded. “Are you ready?”
Sarah grasped her keys from the cabinet beside the front door.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Once outside, Sarah had to admit it was rather peaceful outside, considering the usual
liveliness of the area. Normally, there would be at least a few fans outside, waiting for her to
go out or come home. Sarah guessed they had all given up, since she hadn’t left her house in
weeks.
The whole band moved here, to New York, when they got signed to Warner Music
Group’s record label Fueled By Ramen four years ago. It seemed like the best move at the
time, as Sarah felt that her music was better received here than back home in the UK. She had
practically given up her entire life to have a chance at making her dreams come true.
Looking around, Sarah felt a little guilty.
“It’s so stupid...” she said.
“What?”
“I live in Brooklyn, New York. I’m twenty-two and I can afford a nice apartment in
New York because I do what I love the most.” Sarah almost wanted to laugh at herself,
though she wasn’t sure whether it was because of happiness or self-pity. Michelle looked a
little confused, but she didn’t say anything.
“I shouldn’t be complaining about anything.”
Michelle sighed.
“You need to stop blaming yourself for everything,” she said. “Seriously.”
The girls were wandering past the local park. Now that it was almost summer, the
view was even more beautiful than ever. The sky was clear blue, allowing the sun to shine in
all its glory. It made Sarah feel a little more relaxed. No, going out definitely wasn’t such a
bad idea after all.
“Just tell me what’s going on,” she said. “I won’t tell anyone.”
“I hate how you’re always right,” Sarah sighed after a few seconds. “Well, things have
been... difficult, lately.”
“How?”
“Well, it’s exactly like I told Tom today. I feel like I’m becoming a solo artist. I’ve
been forced to take up so much work lately.”
“What did he say?”
“I don’t know, something like me being the leader of the band.”
“What a lame excuse.”
“It’s what they’ve been telling me for months now.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Sarah sat up again.
“I don’t mind working. I love doing this. But we once agreed we’d be in this
together.” She sighed. “And we were, for a while.”
Michelle didn’t say anything.
“I’ve been having the worst writer’s block,” Sarah continued, “and even then, they
don’t bother to help me.”
Sarah stared straight ahead of her, feeling Michelle watching her every move.
“Do you mind working on your own?” Michelle asked.
“No, not at all. But if things don’t change, they’ll probably end up taking credit for
things that I have done. That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Not paying attention to where she was heading, Sarah noticed she and Michelle were
approaching the university campus. Without thinking, they had just passed by a group of girls,
resulting in Sarah hearing nervous giggling behind their backs.
“Wow, she looks horrible... Let’s ask for a picture!” Sarah heard someone chuckle.
Michelle must have heard it too, as she immediately looked over her shoulder.
“Maybe next time!” she yelled.
As they walked on, Sarah heard increasingly more people around her, talking about
her without actually talking to her. More and more mobile phones arose, ready to capture
Sarah Davies on a bad day.
“Let’s go,” she said, looking down and fastening her pace. At least nobody seemed to
follow them. Michelle put an arm around her.
“Don’t pay attention to them,” she said.
“I’m not.” Sarah shook her head. They quickly crossed the street. Gradually, the
noises faded away.
“See, that is why you should stick to the music thing. I don’t think you’d survive
college,” Michelle grinned, slightly awkwardly.
Sarah coughed. “Yeah,” she began, “but I’m starting to doubt if I’d survive that, too.”
“Besides,” she continued, “I think some fans might be a little suspicious.”
“Oh no, what did you do?” Michelle said, sounding both amused as well as worried,
though Sarah felt that she probably knew what was coming.
“I was about to embark on a Twitter rampage, just before you came in. I may have
dropped a hint or two about the... status, of the band.”
“Which is...?”
Sarah held still. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“One member down.”
“There, I said it,” she thought. And for the first time, it didn’t hurt. Sarah did not feel
that awful nauseating feeling she had felt for so long. It was actually quite a relief. She opened
her eyes again and looked at Michelle. She seemed content, though perhaps a little bit
surprised. Sarah couldn’t help but smile. She grabbed her phone from her pocket, arranging a
group message to Matt, James and Tom.
“Fuck you and fuck your lies. I quit.” Send.
Musical Similarities and Differences:
Theories from Music in Fiction in Practice in Fixed at Zero
In Fixed At Zero, music has been incorporated in multiple ways, some of which are similar to
the previously discussed theories proposed by several authors and literary critics. Each of
these components will be discussed, as well as compared to the examples that have been
provided by Stephen Benson, Vikram Seth, Samuel Beckett and Josef Škvorecký.
Firstly, the title Fixed at Zero was taken from a song of the same name by
VersaEmerge. Both the theme and setting of the story as well as its main character Sarah are
loosely based on this mid-tempo rock song, of which the lyrics deal with personal battles such
as depression and apathy. The meaning of the song has been described by the lead singer, and
writer of the lyrics, as follows:
The vulture [in the lyrics] represents all your demons and bad habits that lurk in the
back of your mind. They haunt you and try to control you. It's not always a bad thing.
We aren't perfect. We all have a little vulture inside us, and sometimes it makes us
take chances that we can learn from. I chose a vulture not only because it rhymed with
"shoulder," but because they're so evil and lazy. It waits for its food to die and isn’t
even a skilled hunter. Sometimes we get all get lazy. We feel fixed at zero, which
basically means to be stuck in one spot, not able to move forward or in the right
direction—in the sense that ten is the greatest and zero is the lowest. (Lyric
Interpretations, 1)
The song serves as a basis for Sarah’s personality and the situation she is in. She is a
musician who is having a writer’s block. She feels oppressed by her band mates, with whom
she has not been getting along with very well lately. She feels “fixed at zero” in that she
thinks she is unable to move forward in the process of writing new songs for her band. Sarah
might represent this “vulture”. Initially, she comes off as the victim of the narrative, but as the
plot progresses, it becomes evident that she has her flaws as well. She could be perceived as a
passionate, hard working person, trying to please herself and other people as much as she can,
but on the other hand, she could be seen as stubborn and awaiting. In the back of her head, she
appears to have known for a while how she could solve her problems: by leaving her band.
However, she waits until the very last moment before she actually does so.
Similarly to the main characters in Vikram Seth’s An Equal Music and Josef
Škvorecký’s The Bass Saxophone, Fixed at Zero’s main character’s life is all about music.
Besides being a musician herself, Sarah continuously surrounds herself with music, even
having picked out songs for certain moods. She is afraid to quit her band not only because she
fears the reactions from others, but mostly because making music and performing is what she
loves more than anything. Moreover, she feels that she has given up many things in order to
achieve her dream of being a successful musician. Additionally, Sarah’s complicated
relationship with her band mates is comparable to the relationship that Michael and Julia have
in An Equal Music, in that it is mainly music that binds the characters.
The setting of the story was not intentionally musical. However, the ways in which
music appears in the story and how it is described provide the text with a musical dimension.
The songs to which the main character is listening set, or perhaps complement, her mood and
help define the atmosphere of the narrative. When combining this with the main character’s
current activities and her profession, the setting automatically becomes highly musical as
well. It eventually leads to a narrative which allows its audience to not only read, but also hear
and see what is happening. This has previously been illustrated by Josef Škvorecký, who said
he intends to capture the “mood, the situation, or, rather, the love” of a narrative and “create
music out of letters that should reverberate in the mysterious cells of the brain where they
change into images, meanings, and hopefully into sounds” (627, 629-630).
However, Fixed at Zero does not take musicality as far as some of Samuel Beckett’s
works do, in which according to Walter Beckett, specific “language, the paring down of
words and the length of time given to pauses or silences” created a “rhythmical whole” (682).
Clearly, Beckett let musicality shine through in not only the narrative of his some his works,
but also in the language itself. This is the most evident limitation of Fixed at Zero. Musical
prose has been left out on purpose, because I did not intend to copy the writing style of
Samuel Beckett or any of the other authors mentioned. Moreover, it takes much more
experience to write prose like Beckett did. By leaving out the musicality in the language, I
meant to give Fixed at Zero an own identity rather than having the narrative’s style come off
as a forced copy of Samuel Beckett.
Some of the songs that have in some way influenced the short story have been
mentioned in the narrative, either implicitly or explicitly. Samuel Beckett was known for
regularly incorporating references to “musical works, lyrics and composers”, but they were
rarely literally cited (Sheppard, 682). Similarly, Fixed at Zero repeatedly makes use of certain
songs, but is not always revealed what song by which artist it is. Whenever a song has been
incorporated implicitly in the story, it was mainly meant to serve as an inspiration for the
direction of the story. For example, both the instrumentation and the lyrics from Paramore’s
“Pressure” and Young Guns’ “Weight of the World”, as well as other songs, in some way
complement the narrative. Subsequently, they were used to add musicality to the plot, setting
or main character. For example, the following lines are from the first verse of “Pressure”:
Tell me where our time went
And if it was time well spent
Just don’t let me fall asleep
Feeling empty again
Cause I fear I might break
And I fear I can’t take it
Tonight I’ll lie awake
Feeling empty.
These lyrics describe Sarah’s situation, in that she seems to be on the verge of a nervous
breakdown and longs back to the time when she and her band mates were doing fine.
Additionally, the following lines form the first verse and chorus from “Weight of the World”:
A continent of doubt weighs heavy on mind
How long can my brittle bones bend
Before they yield and snap
I don't wanna know cause I'm so scared
It's not gonna get easier than this
Because it's too much to bear, my darling
The weight of the world
And I would carry it for you,
But please don't ask me to because the
Weight of the world is a burden I can't bear
These lyrics relate to the short story, again because they reflect idea of nearly collapsing
under a large amount of pressure. The lyrics resemble Sarah because she is willing to work
hard for her band, but has doubts concerning whether or not she should continue fighting for a
band in which she does not feel comfortable anymore.
Furthermore, some songs served as an inspiration for very small elements in the story.
For instance, the band name “The Riots” was taken from a song by The Blackout. “I’m a
Riot? You’re A Fucking Riot!” was one of the first songs the band had released, and although
it was never released as a single, it is one of the most popular songs among their fans and it
often serves as the closing song during live shows. In order to increase the band’s popularity,
a street team was formed, which was named after the song: “Riot Squad”. The street team
consists of fans who are willing to actively spread the word about the band. These members
are often referred to as “The Riots”, which is where the band name in Fixed at Zero was
derived from.
In An Equal Music, Seth frequently mentions works of celebrated composers such as
Bach and Mozart, and even compiled a soundtrack which contains works that have been
discussed in the story. Stephen Benson, on the contrary, did not make use of a soundtrack, yet
he also takes musicality in fiction a step further. He not only says he would like to add a
melody by Edward Elgar to Gerontius, but also provides the actual melody on a music bar. He
does so because he believes it will help him convert the narrative to an “imaginary
audiobook” (17).
Although both a soundtrack as well as music bars are useful ways of allowing a reader
to hear the music in a work of fiction, Fixed at Zero only makes use of the former.
Additionaly, the short story explicitly cites musical works, either by mentioning the title or
providing pieces of lyrics. For example, “Wake Up (Make A Move)” by Lostprophets is cited
at the beginning of the story, and lyrics by Limp Bizkit and Placebo are provided later on.
Therefore, it is mostly the musicality of Vikram Seth’s An Equal Music which is similar to
Fixed at Zero, rather than the works by Benson, Beckett and Škvorecký.
In conclusion, musicality in Fixed at Zero mainly differs from the works of fiction by
Stephen Benson, Vikram Seth and Samuel Beckett, as focuses on rock and its subgenres,
whereas the three authors aimed at classical music. The story is slightly limited in that it does
not make use of all of the theories proposed by them. The musicality of Samuel Beckett’s
language proved too difficult and unfitting for the short story. Subsequently, this has been left
out completely. However, the manners in which this musicality is incorporated in Fixed at
Zero is still, to a large extent, highly comparable to the previously discussed theories. The
plot, setting and character are each full of musical references. Additionally, musical
references have been mentioned both explicitly as well as implicitly. Finally, the story comes
with a soundtrack which contains all works of music that have either appeared in or inspired
the story. In overall, Fixed at Zero does illustrate the previously discussed theories concerning
the influence of music on prose. Moreover, it shows that an entire narrative can be constructed
solely on the basis of music. Therefore, it could be said that music does not merely
complement fiction, but could serve as a fundamental segment of contemporary literature.
WORKS CITED
Benson, Stephen. Literary Music: Writing Music in Contemporary Fiction. 1st Ed. Aldershot:
Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2006. Print.
Donne, John. Preface. An Equal Music. 1925. By Vikram Seth. 1st Ed. London: Phoenix
House, 1999. Print.
Gritten, Anthony. “Literary Music: Writing Music in Contemporary Fiction.” Journal of
Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 66. 99-102. (1 Jan. 2008). 1 Nov. 2011. Web.
Lyric Interpretations. “VersaEmerge: Fixed at Zero Meaning.” (25 August 2010) 4 Jan.
2012. Web.
Mosusova, Nadezda. “Samuel Beckett and Music: an Absurd Essay About the Idea of
Musicality and Musical Form in Samuel Beckett’s Short Pieces – Influences and
Possibilities.” Muzikologija, Vol. 2004. 113-120. (2004) 1 Nov. 2011. Web.
New York Times. “John Cage, 79, a Minimalist Enchanted With Sound, Dies.” (13 Aug.
1992) 27 Dec. 2011. Web.
Prieto, Eric. “Deleuze, Music and Modernist Mimesis.” Word and Music Studies: Essays on
Music and the Spoken Word and on Surveying the Field. Suzanne M. Lodato and
David Francis Urrows. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2005. 3-20. Print.
Seth, Vikram. An Equal Music. 1st Ed. London: Phoenix House, 1999. Print.
Sheppard, Anthony. “Samuel Beckett and Music.” Notes, Vol. 55. Mary Bryden. 682-684.
(March 1999) 1 Nov. 2011. Web.
Škvorecký, Josef. “Drops of Jazz in My Fiction.” Black American Literature Forum, Vol. 25.
621-632. (1991) 1 Nov. 2011. Web.
Squidoo. “Vikram Seth: Writing.” 1 Nov. 2011. Web.
Word Press. “An Equal Music by Vikram Seth.” 19 Nov. 2011. Web.
DISCOGRAPHY
Songs that appear in or inspired the short story.
Anderberg, Jesper, Johan Bengtsson, Maja Ivarsson, Fredrik Nilsson, and Félix Rodríguez.
"Hope You're Happy Now." Living in America. The Sounds. New Line, 2002. MP3.
Bassett, Dave, Blake Harnage, and Sierra Kusterbeck. "Fixed at Zero." Fixed at Zero.
VersaEmerge. Fueled by Ramen, 2010. MP3.
Borland, Wes, Leor Dimant, Fred Durst, John Otto, and Sam Rivers. "Break Stuff."
Significant Other. Limp Bizkit. Flip/Interscope, 1999. MP3.
Butler, Gavin, James Davies, Matthew Davies, Gareth Lawrence, Rhys Lewis, and Sean
Smith. "I'm a Riot? You're a Fucking Riot!" The Blackout! The Blackout! The
Blackout! The Blackout. Fierce Panda, 2006. MP3.
Chiplin, Mike, Lee Gaze, Mike Lewis, Jamie Oliver, Stuart Richardson, and Ian Watkins.
"Wake Up (Make a Move)." Start Something. Lostprophets. Visible Noise, 2004.
MP3.
D'Sa, Ian, Jonathan Gallant, Benjamin Kowalevicz, and Aaron Solowoniuk. "This Is How It
Goes." Billy Talent. Billy Talent. Atlantic, 2003. MP3.
Falconer, Kyle, Steven Morrison, Pete Reilly, and Kieren Webster. "Same Jeans." Hats Off to
the Buskers. The View. 1965 Records, 2007. MP3.
Farro, Josh, and Hayley Williams. "Pressure." All We Know Is Falling. Paramore. Fueled by
Ramen, 2005. MP3.
Forrest, Steve, Brian Molko, and Stefan Olsdal. "For What It's Worth." Battle for the Sun.
Placebo. PIAS, 2009. MP3.
Jolliffe, Ben, Simon Mitchell, Fraser Taylor, John Taylor, and Gustav Wood. "Weight of the
World." Mirrors EP. Young Guns. Live Forever, 2009. MP3.