{"id":7821,"date":"2012-02-14T01:15:57","date_gmt":"2012-02-14T09:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aidanmoher.com\/blog\/?p=7821"},"modified":"2012-09-09T14:08:44","modified_gmt":"2012-09-09T22:08:44","slug":"guest-post-the-music-behind-the-novels-by-stina-leicht","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aidanmoher.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/articles\/guest-post-the-music-behind-the-novels-by-stina-leicht\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Post | ‘The Music Behind the Novels’ by Stina Leicht"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AND<\/a>As a former art student, I\u2019m a visual person, but music has always played a big role in my life. One of my earliest memories is of sitting in the back of my parents\u2019 car with \u201cHit the Road, Jack\u201d playing on the radio. My parents had just had an argument where my father had walked out the door and then turned around and come back. That song perfectly fit a moment I\u2019d lived through not twenty minutes before. My mother says I might have been two years old at the time — tops. Ever since then, I\u2019ve associated songs with certain events in my life. So, it was a natural transition from real life to novel scenes.<\/p>\n

I used music to help me travel back in time to the \u201870s. While I was writing Of Blood and Honey, I dumped anything I remembered hearing in addition to anything I might like from the era into a huge playlist. (Of course, Charles de Lint had more than a few suggestions, thank goodness.) I usually run through the giant list a few times until a select few frame up into something that tells the story of the novel I\u2019m working on. That becomes my final list. Here\u2019s the list for Of Blood and Honey<\/em>:
\n<\/p>\n

Magic Man<\/em> — Heart<\/a>
\nTeenage Kicks<\/em> — The Undertones<\/a>
\nStreet Fighting Man<\/em> — The Rolling Stones<\/a>
\nKashmir<\/em> — Led Zeppelin<\/a>
\nThe Boys Are Back in Town<\/em> — Thin Lizzy<\/a>
\nNights in White Satin<\/em> — The Moody Blues & London Festival Orchestra<\/a>
\nTake the Money and Run<\/em> — Steve Miller Band<\/a>
\nLong Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)<\/em> — The Hollies<\/a>
\nBang a Gong (Get It On) [Single\/LP Version]<\/em> — T. Rex<\/a>
\nBad Penny<\/em> — Rory Gallagher<\/a>
\nBad Moon Rising<\/em> — Creedence Clearwater Revival<\/a>
\nLive and Let Die<\/em> — Paul McCartney & Wings<\/a>
\nWhite Riot<\/em> — The Clash<\/a>
\nKnockin’ On Heaven’s Door<\/em> — Bob Dylan<\/a>
\nJohnny Appleseed<\/em> — Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can imagine how happy I was to have my agent call me and say, \u201cHave you heard this song by Joe Strummer? I think of your book every time I hear it.\u201d (Ah, moments when you know you\u2019re working with the right people.) For the record, I\u2019ve always seen Liam in the middle of that riot in chapter one with \u201cStreet Fighting Man\u201d playing in the background. That was even before I\u2019d had a final list. With that novel, I was very careful to keep my soundtrack to songs which were popular in the 1970s. However, with And Blue Skies from Pain I decided to be a bit more relaxed. I\u2019d gotten tired of hearing the same songs over and over for two years. I wasn\u2019t ready to go through a third year of the same. So, with And Blue Skies from Pain<\/em> I went with the feeling of the song. If it fit, it got dropped into the play list. In the end, I came up with this:<\/p>\n

Father Forgive<\/em> — The Will<\/a>
\nDead Heaven<\/em> — Gary Numan<\/a>
\nMad World<\/em> — Michael Andrews & Gary Jules<\/a>
\nWish You Were Here<\/em> — Pink Floyd<\/a>
\nCan’t You Hear Me Knocking<\/em> — The Rolling Stones<\/a>
\nYour Decision<\/em> — Alice In Chains<\/a>
\nPassive<\/em> — A Perfect Circle<\/a>
\nGolden Slumbers<\/em> — The Beatles<\/a>
\nCarry That Weight<\/em> — The Beatles<\/a>
\nLittle Lion Man<\/em> — Mumford & Sons<\/a>
\nGimme Shelter<\/em> — The Rolling Stones<\/a>
\nPretty Vacant<\/em> — Sex Pistols<\/a>
\nSeven Deadly Sins<\/em> — The Outcasts<\/a>
\nBrand New Cadillac<\/em> — The Clash<\/a>
\nThe Ballroom Blitz<\/em> — Sweet<\/a>
\nThe Angel Wars<\/em> — Gary Numan<\/a>
\nSober<\/em> — Tool<\/a>
\nMy Way of Saying Goodbye<\/em> — Arlene Bishop<\/a>
\nGolden Slumbers<\/em> — Mindy Gledhill<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As you can see, there\u2019s a big difference between the two song lists. The Will track is, of course, a Father Murray song, the Gary Numan tracks are for the Fallen, and \u201cPassive\u201d was definitely for Liam and D.C. Haddock. \u201cLittle Lion Man\u201d was one my husband found. He said that it was very much a Bran and Liam song. And it is. I\u2019ve a whole host of car chase songs. \u201cBrand New Cadillac,\u201d \u201cThe Ballroom Blitz,\u201d \u201cLong Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)\u201d and \u201cBang a Gong (Get It on)\u201d are all songs designed for slamming the gas pedal to the floor. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the list. I don\u2019t know that readers ever pop a suggested soundtrack into the stereo while reading. (I\u2019m curious to find out if anyone ever has.) But it\u2019s fun putting the mixes together anyway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a former art student, I\u2019m a visual person, but music has always played a big role in my life. One of my earliest memories is of sitting in the back of my parents\u2019 car with \u201cHit the Road, Jack\u201d playing on the radio. My parents had just had an argument where my father had… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[102,87,86,85,35],"class_list":["post-7821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-guest-post","tag-music","tag-night-shade-books","tag-stina-leicht","tag-urban-fantasy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n