Nita’s Soundtrack, Revised Nov. 2017
One good thing about finally knowing the whole book, I also know the soundtrack, not just the songs that sound like they belong, but the songs that actually inform the different acts and plot moments. Taken together, they make an odd playlist, but as background music for the book, they’re a help to me for mood and character. They’re basically the aural version of collage, a tool that helps me stay on track with the world and the people in it that I’ve created, not meant to be a work of art.
Most of the lyrics aren’t directly related to the story, we’re talking mood here not illustration (wait, didn’t I say that about collage?) but there are some that are evocative. I love Lenka’s “Trouble is a Friend” for Nita’s first act theme, not just because she accepts that she’s always going to be in trouble one way or another but because she’s about to meet Nick. Chesney’s “Demons” has a couple of great lines that sum up Nick’s situation: “Once you’ve met the Devil, there’s no way he’ll set you free. When I’m not chasing demons, I’ve got demons chasing me.”
But mostly it’s mood; Henderson’s “Ghosts” doesn’t have the line alignment, but it captures the chaos of the turning point for Nita, all the things crashing down on her that lead to the fraying of her sanity. I liked Mullins’ “Lullaby” for Nick even though the story it tells is about a singer and a celebrity kid in LA; there’s a bemused detachment there followed by the lovely chorus that is pretty much Nick’s attitude toward Nita at the beginning of Act Two. It’s the same thing with Nita and Tunstall’s “Suddenly I See;” the words aren’t as important as the mood, the exhilaration as Nita looks at all the possibilities before her, admittedly with trepidation.
And then sometimes the songs just fit, like Lake Street Diva’s “Godawful Things” for Nita as she embraces a strange new world or “I Can’t Decide”for Nick’s third act when he becomes a Renaissance sociopath. My favorite might be “Future Starts Slow” by the Kills for Nita’s climax–Nita in a fury is nobody to mess with–but that may be because I will always see PoI‘s Shaw walking down that New York street at night when I hear it. Shaw is good inspiration for Nita.
Nita’s Soundtrack 11-2017
ACT ONE
Nita’s Theme: “Trouble is a Friend,” Lenka
Nick’s Theme: “Demons,” Chesney
Nita vs. Nick: “King of Anything,” Bareilles
Turning Point: “Ghost,” Henderson
ACT TWO
Nick’s Theme: “Lullaby,” Mullins
Nita’s Theme: “Suddenly I See,” Tunstall
Nita vs. Nick: “Together,” She & Him
Love Theme Nick: “Spooky,” Heap
Love Theme Nita “Godawful Things,” Lake Street Dive
“This Magic Moment,” Lake Street Dive
Turning Point: “Alone Together,” Fall Out Boy
ACT THREE
Nick’s Theme: “I Can’t Decide,” Scissor Sisters
Nita’s Theme: “Human,” Pretenders
“Such a Night,” Presley
Nita vs. Nick: “Ashes,” Tunstall
“Too Lost In You,” Sugababes
Love Theme: “Somebody Knows You Now,” Paisley
Turning Point: “Demons,” Imagine Dragons
ACT FOUR
Nita’s Theme: “World on Fire,” McLachlan
Nita Harrows Hell: “Future Starts Slow,” The Kills
Nick’s Theme: “Bleed to Love Her,” Fleetwood Mac
Resolution: “What Love Can Do,” Hiatt
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