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Ever hear a song and think "I'd like to see a story based on this"? I find them frequently, possibly because I listen to a lot of different kinds of music and because my mind likes to wander down every rabbit trail it can possibly find.

Anyway, the song this time was "Dance with the Devil" by Breaking Benjamin. (I know nothing about the band and I don't care to know--nothing personal, I almost never care about bands / singers on that level, I just like the lyrics and rhythm.)--granted, I'm not listening to the original. I prefer the nightcore version.

So, if you've had this sort of experience, what song gave you that burst of inspiration, or alternatively made you wish someone else got it?

Those bloody/tongueless stone monsters from that one forum game were inspired by a vision I had when 10-12 y/o me took all the lyrics to Clutch's Guild of Mute assassins literally. Really, though it's about the hashashins of the Crusades killing a the wife and son of a nobleman who didn't pay them... Or maybe it's about a dude retiring from the group after being converted to Christianity and leaving the knife with the baby so that the assassins would recruit it instead of hunting him down,but that doesn't explain the widow's death, or why she's called a widow...

Fire coming out of the Monkeys head- Gorrilaz

Monster by The automatic. I want to find out once and for all if it is in fact a monster coming over the hill.

Dead Silence may or may not be an epic tale of nuclear warfare. 

Hotel California.

-Is a narrative from the POV of a misgynistic schizo serial killer in an insane asylum.

Ms. Jackson by OutKast

I'm not really into rap but the overall tone of the song paired with the music video is definitely story-worthy. The main chorus can be interpreted in many ways and gives a lot of flexibility to the story's possible plot.

I based my Forum Game "Database" on a song I heard which goes by the same name made by Man With a Mission. I use a lot of music when it comes to seeking out ideas and such, especially OSTs which fit the theme I'm trying to (re)create. :P

I would have liked a story based off the song "Ghost" by 2pac.

"Woke up in the morning, heard a scream. Go into the hallway to see the blood from the murder scene. Don't cry, just ask why, but try not to die as I take you through a ghetto N©$@®'s lullaby"

Honestly, not really. I guess most of the times when I listen to the song, the song wraps up all the loose ends, so it seems like the story is over. No need to tell it again when its already been done, I suppose...

Most recently? Some of Blur's stuff. Can't recall the title, but one of their music videos definitely sparked something for me.

Hangman Jury by Aerosmith

I picture it set in a Louisiana swamp with at least one person being murdered via alligator.

I listen to the interstellar soundtrack. Either its fucking epic, or very emotional. Gives me a lot of inspiration.

The song "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons makes me think of firefighters for some reason so it gives lots of motivation when I am working. I would like to see the song featured in a firefighting montage or something like that.

Ooh. One of my favorites. Good energy in that one.

Huh. I never thought of it that way. I actually really like that mental image set to that song. Again, I'm less about bands than I am about the songs themselves, but I like Imagine Dragons--at least, what I've heard so far.
 

Running Back To You by The Juan Maclean gets credit for my most recent bursts of daydreams and inspiration. It's got a modern elegance to it that's very attractive to my ears.

Tupac's "Hit 'Em Up"

All of ya'll mothafuckas

Fuck ya'll die slow mothafucka

My .44 makes sure all ya'll kids don't grow

You motherfuckers can't be us or see us

We motherfuckin' Thug Life riders

Westside till we die!

It kind of reminds me of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, like two opposing gangs about to have a shootout. (In this case it would be Biggie and Junior M.A.F.I.A. vs. Tupac and Outlawz I guess)

There's also Tupac's "Hail Mary" which reminds me of a kid lost to the streets and thug life.

I also listen to some electronic stuff. "Warhead" by Muzzy (ft. Droptek) kinda reminds me of the moments before a nuclear bomb is dropped upon a city, complete with panic and air-raid sirens going off, and of course the bass drop would be impact. Noisestorm's "Heist" makes me think of a really high-tec futuristic bank robbery. Speaking of Noisestorm, the sheer brilliance and epicry in "Breakdown V.I.P" can get ne motivated any day, damn that song never grows old.

God rest that poet's soul. 

Yeah it's quite sad. Screw Suge for setting up Pac and Biggie. Who knows maybe he even set up Eazy with the girl that killed him?

I mean it's not hard to imagine, plus E knew about what was going on with Dre years before everyone else:

They treatin you like boot camp

Gotta follow ya sargent's directions, or get yo ass popped with a Smith and Wesson

Almost forgot to mention my go-to for work: The Glitch Mob. I mean, maybe that's stating the obvious? I never know how popular my personal favorite stuff is, because I pay so little attention to pop culture. XD

drink the sea is my go-to album :D Glitch Mob is great for sparking imagination.

Telemiscommunications by Imogen Heap and Deadmau5 is pretty self-explanatory through the lyrics, if not the music video.

"What's Up People?" by Maximum the Hormone presents a narrative to a pessimistic person's worldview.

Fitzpleasure and Tesselate by alt-j are incredibly scandalous and just absolutely insane from the first verses.

I've always read certain stories (that I deemed fit well with the song) while listening to "The End" by The Doors. The latter parts of the song (after the spoken word verse and before the repeating of the first verse at the end) definitely up the excitement during the climax of a story, IMHO.

But on the topic of stories based on songs... Well, I can't think of one really. You could try it with this song, I guess.

Another one bites the dust is a good one.

I don't really know what better thread to put this in, so I'll put this here:

Thunderstruck is about a fugitive in the Wild West who gets ditched by his accomplice when the police show up, then runs away. They meet up again in Texas and go back to their old cardsharking ways, and the narrator gets the blowjob to end all other blowjobs. In the end, they've made up and are ready to keep on going.

To be perfectly honest, almost every (serious) song I've ever listened to gives me something to work with creatively, whether it's a character or a story narrative or whatnot. I just kind of...run through videos and ideas in my head based on what I'm listening to. 

To name a few specifics, "From Heads Unworthy" by Rise Against and "Silver Moonlight" by Within Temptation are usually songs that inspire me...the first one helps if I'm writing something or someone particularly rebellious at best, or someone aiming for revolution at worst. Silver Moonlight makes me think of the relationship between two of my VN characters Raine and Kiro. There's also "Nightmare" by Set It Off that is currently giving me a little bit of inspiration for Gear, another VN character of mine.

But really, a lot of music inspires things from me...my character Seth's entire existence started with a song I listened to called 'Yuki's Death' (can't remember the artist's name), and while he's changed a lot from then, that is where he started, 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMCSCej5ziU

(heads up; it's a more christian song)

The main part is the 'Oh these hands are tired. Oh this heart is tired. Oh this soul is tired. But I'll keep on, I'll keep on, I'll keep on." that inspires a story based around pure determination to keep going. (I swear, I've been listening to this all day, whenever I'm not watching Naruto/being at school.)