Most of my readers know that I write to music. A lot. Every book has its own playlist, and I add these into the back of the book so readers can hear what inspires me. A lot of music I listen to is darkwave, industrial, goth, and grunge/alternative.
But…there are several songs that don’t fit those categories, and they’ve been on almost every playlist over the years. What are the top ten that I almost always include? Well…here we go.
Zero Seven: In the Waiting Line: Ever since I heard a few bars of this and spent years tracking it down, this song has captured me with the smoky, moody music. For me, it’s part of that introspective analysis that takes us into the dark depths of the soul.
Android Lust: Here and Now: I know the singer–we met on Twitter years ago and I fell in love with some of her music. This song…this song is for the darker parts of the action, when they’re deep in the fighting and dawn is the faintest hope, through the blood and danger.
Eastern Sun: Beautiful Being: This song, I always play after Here and Now, because for me, this is the first glimpse of dawn, when you’re on the battlefield, looking at all you’ve lost, but there’s hope–there’s still hope.
The Verve: Bittersweet Symphony: That moment, after the heartbreak, when my characters stand back and realize that there might just be a chance that the love/hope they thought was lost is standing on the other side of the chasm, and that narrow bridge appears to connect them once again.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Feel It Now: This is the end of the line. This is the funeral song, the depths of despair. This is when everything around my characters is in tatters, when hope seems like a distant memory and loss is all around them.
Broken Bells: The Ghost Inside: When my characters go chasing what they think is the answer, but find that it’s an illusion, and they have to stand in the midst of their mistakes, and change everything they thought they knew.
Gorillaz: Demon Days: When the full extent of the enemy is realized, and my characters understand the true nature of the Big Bad, but they stand resolute and look to the future with the knowledge that maybe they won’t come through, but they’ll fight with every fiber of their being.
Low: Half-Light: The mysterious, supernatural engulfs my characters at every turn, and they are running in the shadows, chasing ghosts and demons, hiding from the red eyes in the forest at night.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Mary Jane’s Last Dance: A lot of my books have obsession as an underlying plot/theme, and this song speaks to me of that energy. When my characters can’t let go of an idea, or when a character can’t let go of my main characters.
Queens Will Play: Because all my female characters are dangerous to play with, and they don’t like losing.
Comments
I have only heard of Tom Petty. Never heard of the other bands at all.
I have a massive music library–and I like a lot of genres, except for country, muzak, and jazz. 🙂 And even in those three genres, I like selected songs.