I Listen To One Band When I Am Writing And It Never Fails To Inspire Me
Up front, this is a Florence + The Machine worship piece, so if you hate haunting, beautiful, raw music that tears at the fundamental fabric of your soul keep scrolling.
To be clear, vocalist Florence Welch must have endured a great many things. There is a soulfulness in her voice and her lyrics are incredibly introspective. Most of their music is powerfully vulnerable. But the aesthetic of the band is something that would have been drowned or burned at the stake during the inquisition.
Their latest releases hold true to the kind of honesty and empowerment those of us who love FATM have come to be inspired by. The new album even came with an epic trailer that is part interpretative dance, and all divine feminine. The lyrics are always poetic, sometimes playful, but brazen in their honesty. Sometimes I think maybe when I need creative inspiration, Florence keeps me honest. Writing for money sometimes means you write utter shit that you would not otherwise be interested in if it weren’t trending at the time. When you finally get to write your passion after the rent is paid, you should be able to revel in that creativity. If you want unfettered joy, listen to “Dog Days Are Over”.
When I lack direction on creative work or I am struggling through endless rounds of editing, I look to music to still my mind. Some folks cannot abide by other noises happening when they process. Music helps me drown out the unpredictable noises of life and allows my brain the stillness it needs to realize whatever project I am working on.
Any given Florence + The Machine album reads a lot like an autobiography — there will be pain, there will be anger, there will be light. Whatever witchcraft she writes into her lyrics works for me. Sometimes they remind me of a time I need to craft understanding for, this is usually stored in my poetry which rarely sees the light of day. Sometimes I need the urgency of the instruments to move forward on an idea. Whatever it is, Florence + The Machine has a song for that, too.
The latest “My Love” sort of sums it up beautifully.
I always able to write my way out. The song always made sense to me. Now I find that when I look down, every page is empty. There is nothing to describe
And she moves forward in the song with a master’s level process of accepting that empty frustrating feeling, the weightlessness of spring, the stillness in quiet. If you have big feelings and you write big feelings, I can’t recommend Florence + The Machine enough to inspire both your spirit but also make you face some really challenging moments in life. We write life, after all, without living through all of the dirty and clean parts, what would be pen?
So, I encourage you to “Shake It Out” and try Florence + The Machine the next time to you need to feel inspired. She either speaks a spell over your work or you come to find some peace in sharing experiences with a total stranger. What is writing if not sharing with a world full of strangers? There is nobility in the intimacy of words.
