Music and Literature 2- DC

Music and Literature 2: The List Continues

By Derek Campbell

The relationship between music and literature is one with extremely faded borders, constantly overlapping with each other. Here are 5 more examples of music/book cross-overs (as a continuation from the previous list)

Among the Living:

Being released by thrash metal band Anthrax in 1987, this song was reportedly based upon Stephen King's critically acclaimed novel The Stand. With the novel being published in 1978, the story describes a post apocalyptic future struggling under a new super influenza virus (also known as "Captain Trips"), and focuses on a small group of survivors in an area called the "Free Zone".  The song constantly refers to the novel and alludes to it often. Even the first line of the song is: "Disease! Disease! Spreading the disease. With some help from Captain Trips".   

Misery loves Company:

Another song by Anthrax (released in 1988), which also happens to be based on a King classic. If the title didn't give it away, this song was based upon the 1987 psychological horror story Misery. The story revolves around fictional author Paul Sheldon, who gets caught in a snow-storm and kidnapped by his supposed number 1 fan, Annie Wilkes. What proceeds is a shocking and gut-wrenching tale of a deranged psychopath and her captive writer, with copious amounts of torture filling every nook and cranny of the book (like breaking legs with a sledgehammer). Although the song does not directly refer to Paul or Annie, with lines like "I'm your number one fan, Misery loves company, Die with me", and "You know me, and I can be, A very, very vicious critic", it's obvious where the source material for the song came from.

Behind the Wall of Sleep :

A staple in metal history and classic, Behind the Wall of Sleep is an amazing Black Sabbath song released 47 years ago (relaxed in 1970). However, the inspiration for this song came 51 years before that, in the form of H.P. Lovecraft's short story Beyond the Wall of Sleep. The story describes the experiences of a mental hospital intern with criminally insane patient Joe Slater. Slater had many visions of light beings and fantastic stories, which was shown to the intern through a telepathic communicator. Slater eventually dies and becomes a "star" (you have to read it to truly comprehend it). The song constantly uses phrases such as "Visions cupped within a flower", "Feel your spirit rise with the breeze, Feel your body falling to it's knees", and "Sun shines in you have awoken", which relate to the story itself.

Lord of the Flies:

Released by Iron Maiden in 1995, it is obvious to see that this was based on William Golding. I won't go into plot, as there are already countless blogs about Lord of the Flies. The entire song itself is a basic retelling of the story, but one of the most important part of the song comes in when this line is sung: "Saints and sinners, Something within us, We are lord of the flies". Not only does the song maintain the story, but it's evident that it retains themes and messages, exploring the idea that the Lord of the Flies is not a physical being, but one that is within all of us.

Phantom of the Opera:

Another song with obvious origins, this 1980 Iron Maiden classic was based upon Gaston Leroux's 1909 classic novel and play of the same name. Again, considering the wide range Phantom of the Opera has, there is really no need to explain the story (its basically the story of desire and deformities). One important thing I would like to note is that the song is written in first person from the perspective of Christine Daaé, rather than the third person style of the novel.

And there are plenty more songs out there that directly tell the story of or relate to novels. This further solidifies the relation of books and music, and shows how humans can experience the same story in extremely different ways.

Summer Book Summary and review 11/22/63 Review By Madison Levinson

    11/22/63 is a novel by the author Stephen King, published November 8, 2011. It follows the story of Jake Epping, a high school English teacher and his journey in time, back to 1958. Jake single-handedly is responsible for the prevention of the murder of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. During his grand expedition to the past, Jake is responsible for the prevention of a small-town murder and the assassination of the President of the United States. Jake also falls in love with Sadie Dunhill, a teacher from the past. The book totals to 849 pages.

Cover of the novel 11/22/63 by Stephen King 

The first approximate 200 pages of the book consist of Jake learning about the ability to time travel and debating whether he should spend his life in the past to prevent the assassination of the president. The last approximate 200 pages consist of:  Sadie dying; Jake travelling back to a dystopian present; Jake returning to the past to reverse everything; Jake then travelling back to a "normal" future, and finally Jake dancing with Sadie now an old woman with nothing but a vague memory of the teacher's name. The beginning was too long and the end was too hokey.

In all, the first and last 200 pages are long and far-fetched while the middle 449 pages could sufficiently be the entire book. The middle contains a thrilling love story and suspense filled drama about love, loss and sacrifice. A reasonable length story a reader will want to sit down and enjoy without boredom or disbelief.

A picture from the show 11/22/63 showing Jake Epping,
played by James Franco, and Sadie Dunhill, played by Sarah Gadon

The book is well written, as expected from the famous author. The plot of the story twists and turns, revealing new truths and hiding other elements. 11/22/63 is in no way a quick or easy read, it involves time and energy to read, a real investment for any reader. Not only will the reader become invested in the story line but the characters. Tears will be shed and yelling in frustration is not uncommon. Stephen King is infamous for his grasp on the concept of horror in his other works such as It, The Shining, and Misery.  In 11/22/63, King       delivers a different concept with less horror and more history meets science fiction. This is very unlike Kings usual writing persona.

Overall 11/22/63 is a brilliant idea by a brilliant author executed near perfectly. The story of Jake Epping, his love, and his task would have been better delivered in a more condensed novel or over a series of books as to not bore the reader with so much empty scenes and hard to grasp details. Stephen King delivers a historical science fiction novel story line with success but fails to make every aspect of the book relevant and interesting. 11/22/63 is a brilliant idea that was not brilliantly executed.