June 13, 2013

Music & Stories

As I was reading Glass Girl the last few days, a song kept running through my mind. A song that seemed to fit the mood of the story really well. In fact, it almost felt like the song and the story were meant for each other! That probably sounds silly, but it's true. It made me to wonder if I could possibly find other stories and other songs that would compliment each other like that. So guess what? I compiled a small list for you! Aren't you excited? (The correct answer is yes.) :)

Now granted, the authors of these books (were they to even read this) may not agree with me at all. In fact, you may not agree either! But that's okay. I had fun making this list anyway. :) I clicked around on YouTube as I scrolled through the books I've read and tried to decide what could match with what. (A good excuse to listen to music! Which....I didn't really need an excuse to do that, but anyway....)

I didn't want to bog you down with a huge list, plus I didn't have hours and hours available to write this either, so you're getting a list of five books with five songs. I chose each song based on the music and the lyrics both. I wanted the mood of the music to compliment the mood of the story and if the lyrics added to that, then all the better. The first set are the only ones I truly felt belonged together without a doubt in my mind, but the others work pretty well too. Let me know if you think I'm right, or if you have a better suggestion! Either way, I hope you enjoy. :)


Glass Girl by Laura Anderson Kurk





My Hands Came Away Red by Lisa McKay





Til Grits Do Us Part by Jennifer Rogers Spinola





Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren





The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen






18 comments:

  1. "Dreams" by the Cranberries is one of my favorite songs! It's been in so many great movies, too. Definitely an evocative song.

    Anyway, yes, some songs and stories just seem to go together, for sure. I even have certain songs that remind me of particular characters. I can never hear U2's "With or Without You" without thinking of Buffy and Angel's romance, for instance.

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    1. Isn't it a great song? One of my favorites too! :)

      I hadn't thought about that, but actually I think I could probably say the same thing. That when I hear a song it will make me think of a certain character. I do know that "Dreams" always makes me think of You've Got Mail, because that was the movie that introduced the song to me.

      Music and stories really do go together, whether book stories or movie stories either one. :)

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    2. "Dreams" makes me think of YGM and also this little-known movie called Safe Passage that uses it to great effect.

      The song "Wish You Were Here" by the Rednex makes me think of Sawyer from Lost. That's another, like "With or Without You," that wasn't used onscreen in conjunction with the character at all, but it makes me think of them.

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    3. I haven't heard of that movie, I'll have to google it now. See what it's about. :)

      I didn't get into Lost. But I just listened to the song on youtube and it's pretty good! So does that mean that Sawyer was a lonesone sort? I kinda know the storyline. The mere basics anyway. That song has me curious what he was like now.

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    4. It's a very odd, quirky, but nice movie.

      Sawyer was the very lonesome, mysterious sort. And I love him so very dearly, he's one of my 4 favorite characters of all time. He's got that dark past, loves to read, is very snarky, has fabulous hair sometimes, boxes...

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    5. Oooo, he definitely sounds like a great character! I can attest to the fact that he's awfully easy on the eyes. ;)

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  2. What an interesting post! I never thought of putting songs and stories together, now my mind is buzzing....

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    1. Thank you, Eva! I hadn't ever thought about it myself, until this song wouldn't leave my head while I was reading Glass Girl. I kept being reminded of it. :)

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  3. What a fun idea, Kara! Sounds like a fun way to kill some time, plus it combines two of the best things life has to offer. :)

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    1. Thanks, Kellie! That's exactly what it was. A combination of two wonderful things! :D

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  4. Seconding Kellie's comment; you've combined two of life's greatest simple pleasures, Kara. Music has always been a more poignant form of worship to me - even more so than a well delivered sermons. I like things kept simple (because that's when they are most profound) so most the time when speakers start speaking beyond "layman's" (sermonizing in deep/ancient theological terms) terms, things go over my head. Music doesn't do that to me, hence I am quite fond of it. :)

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    1. I feel exactly the same way, Rissi! Music and singing has always been a huge blessing for me. As you say, a form of worship, a way to be uplifted and reminded that there are far bigger and more awesome things awaiting us! I get as much from the songs we sing in church as I do from the sermons preached. So much of music is the mood it sets. It connects to our emotions and we are such emotional creatures. Not the constantly crying emotional stuff, but that our emotions affect our lives and music has a part in that. Does that make sense? It would truly be a sad world for me without any music in it. :)

      And since I love music so well, it makes sense that I finally figured out a way to combine it with my other love of books, huh? ;D

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  5. For some reason, it won't let me watch the videos, so I'll have to look them up. I'm especially curious about the Glass Girl one! This is actually a feature I'm doing with an author in a few weeks...Songs that make her think of her series. I'm really excited to see what she comes up with! :)

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    1. I'm so sorry, Bluerose! I just corrected it and you should be able to watch the videos now. I should have double checked that. :( I hope you were able to look them up? I'm curious if you agreed with my choice for Glass Girl or not. :D

      That sounds like a fun feature! I'll look forward to reading it.

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  6. I love this post so much! As an author I have playlists for each book and when I wrote Glass Girl I had a theme song of a sort. Want to know what it was? Shelter by Ray Lamontagne. It said everything I wanted meg and henry to feel for one another. By the way, our line of fiction is called Playlist YA for a reason.... thanks for this great look at songs and books. Cannot wait to listen to the song for GG.

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    1. Thank you, Laura! I'd been thinking I should share this with you just to see what you thought about my pick for Glass Girl, but I hadn't done it. I hope you like my choice! :)

      I've wondered if authors had songs or playlists for their books. Especially when I had that song running through my head the entire time I was reading your story. I don't know why I hadn't made the connection between Playlist YA and music before. Of course that makes sense! I'm so dense for not thinking about it. *rolls eyes at myself* And I listened to Shelter, I can see why you chose it. The lyrics really do fit Meg and Henry. Thanks for sharing it! :D

      And thank you so much for reading and commenting. I appreciate it. :)

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  7. Ahh!!! I love that song - Winter. I'd never heard it before. It's perfect for Meg and Henry. Thanks for pointing it out!

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