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Monday, July 17, 2023

The Good Son Playlist

I don't listen to music while I write, but music has always played a tremendous role in the story-mapping and scene-setting stages of my creative process. I listen to music while I walk, or work out, or clean house, and those are the times when I lay out the book like a movie in my mind, complete with scene transitions, interesting camera angles, lighting, and soundtrack. Story-wise, I tend to have a thing for song intros, as opposed to choruses, and it's often more about the "feel" of a song than its lyrics, but not always. 

Each series has its own vibe, and there are certain songs and certain artists that repeat throughout. With Dartmoor, I lean heavy on rockabilly, classic rock, and with a little select country thrown in. AC/DC and Marianas Trench are my favorite bands of all time, so those are always woven into everything I write. Mercy, specifically, has two songs I think of as "his." One is "Rooster" by Alice in Chains, and the other is "Master of Puppets" by Metallica, so both those songs will repeat through the Lord Have Mercy song list. 

I had fun putting this together, and I highly recommend going back to listen in order with each chapter/scene in mind to enhance the overall experience.  


chapter one
stranglehold - ted nugent 
(opening riff)

chapter two
strange desire - the black keys 

chapter three
down to the river to pray - alison krauss

chapter four 
strange - miranda lambert 

chapter five
take it easy - the eagles 

chapter six
outlaw man - the eagles

chapter seven
if you want blood, you got it - ac/dc

chapter eight
rooster - alice in chains

chapter nine
working man - rush

chapter ten
future starts slow - the kills 
(Alex in his motel room)

chapter eleven
goodbye babylon - the black keys
(cue scene: church starting)

chapter twelve
city of new orleans - willie nelson
(pulling up to the house)

chapter thirteen
master of puppets - metallica
(at the old cattle property barn) 

chapter fourteen
enter sandman - metallica 
(in Briar Hall's barn)

chapter fifteen
saturday night special - lynyrd skynyrd
(at The Bait Shop)

chapter sixteen
act nice and gentle - the black keys 

chapter seventeen
one way out - the allman brothers band

chapter eighteen
welcome to the jungle - guns 'n' roses 

chapter nineteen
the killing kind - marianas trench 
(back at the precinct)

chapter twenty
something bad - carrie underwood and miranda lambert

chapter twenty-one
hell on heels - pistol annies

twenty-two
the killing kind - marianas trench
(2:00 onward when Mercy first sees Alex)

twenty-three
hells bells - ac/dc
(softly underneath the festival scenes)


chapter twenty-four
stranglehold - ted nugent
("c'mon, c'mon"  bridge to end)




 

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