The 2009 Soundtrack

Music is a huge part of my story. I mean, duh, look at the title. It's about a couple of musician kids. Shanna is a very skilled musician, and a good part of the relationship with her brother is built on her teaching him to play guitar.

It's also a quasi-scientific fact that art begets art, and most writers can't function without a good dose of appropriate music. So, every year for NaNoWriMo, I make what I call "The Soundtrack."

"The Soundtrack" tends to have a theme, with songs that fit the theme of the story and help spur the writing along and set the mood. It also tends to evolve with time, with songs adding and dropping as the story changes.

For now, I'm pretty happy with what I've got for Music Lessons and have been actually listening to it quite a bit on my work commute. Tonight, I changed some songs (yet again) so I actually haven't listened to this version... but I think the additions will work.

1) Anberlin - Paperthin Hymn // Never Take Friendship Personal
2) The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out // The Queen is Dead
3) The Fray - You Found Me // The Fray
4) Needtobreathe - Streets Of Gold // The Heat
5) Copeland - Chin Up // Dressed Up & In Line
6) Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees // The Bends
7) Linkin Park - Breaking the Habit // Meteora
8) Skillet - The Last Night // Comatose
9) Imogen Heap - Clear The Area // Speak For Yourself
10) U2 - Stay (Faraway, So Close!) // Zooropa
11) Jon Foreman - I Am Still Running // Winter EP
12) Alanis Morissette - You Learn // Jagged Little Pill
13) Switchfoot - Dare You To Move // The Beautiful Letdown
14) Linkin Park - Shadow of the Day // Minutes to Midnight
15) Imogen Heap - Wait It Out // Ellipse
16) U2 - Walk On // All That You Can't Leave Behind
17) Death Cab for Cutie - All Is Full Of Love // The Stability EP
18) Coldplay - Fix You // X&Y
19) Anberlin - The Unwinding Cable Car // Cities
20) Radiohead - Videotape // In Rainbows

(I forbid you to laugh at my double inclusion of Linkin Park. They are my guilty pleasure and the songs fit. So there. ;))

Other albums that I think will get a lot of spinning this month:

• Anberlin - Cities (quite possibly my favorite album ever, most of the lyrics fit really well.
• The Smiths - The Queen is Dead (I picture this being Neil and Shanna's favorite to play loud with the windows down.)
• Radiohead - The Bends (I don't know why, but 90's alt-rock seems to put me in the mood. And Thom Yorke and co are such happy rays of sunshine, right? ;))
• Sigur Ros - Takk... (has absolutely nothing to do with the story, but always takes me to my artsy happy place. I don't know what the heck he's saying, and I don't care. It's so dang beautiful. :))