The Wind Under the Door Playlist:
Chapter 1: Nina Simone “I Put a Spell on You”
I love you/I love you anyhow/And I don't care/If you don't want me/I'm yours right now
My novel begins at a Halloween party. Romantic spells are cast at the gathering while skeletons roam the house. Admittedly, the first version of this song I heard growing up was Bette Midler’s rendition in the 1993 Halloween classic, Hocus Pocus. And while Midler’s version is fun and mischievous, my novel’s opening chapter calls for Simone’s milder, moodier and haunting recital.
Chapter 2: Arcade Fire “The Suburbs”
Sometimes I can’t believe it/I’m moving past the feeling
My story’s main character, Ford Carson, is a collage artist. The majority of his works are visual interpretations of songs. But for his estranged son’s eighteenth birthday, Ford decides to interpret an entire album—Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs. Themes of isolation, disconnection and the lost sense of self are explored throughout the record’s sixteen tracks, making it an appropriate collection to accompany the story that unfolds.
Chapter 3: Frank Sinatra “That’s Life”
That's life/(That's life)/That's what all the people say/You're riding high in April/Shot down in May
This chapter is set inside the historic Grove Park Inn, located in North Asheville. Built in 1913, the stone structure is otherworldly like Sinatra’s voice. And like the lyrics to this song, the characters here are weighed down by their past. Yet they remain optimistic that their luck will change, just like Ol’ Blue Eyes sings in this number.
Chapter 4: Bruce Springsteen “State Trooper”
Maybe you got a kid/Maybe you got a pretty wife/The only thing that I got’s/Been bothering me my whole life
This song terrifies me in all the right ways. There’s so much desperation in Springsteen’s vocals; meanwhile the lone acoustic guitar creates this deep sense of isolation. My novel’s fourth chapter, like Springsteen’s song, takes place late at night when we are all prone to dangerous thoughts, if not impulses.
Chapter 5: Bob Dylan “Tangled up in Blue”
But all the while I was alone/The past was close behind/I seen a lot of women/But she never escaped my mind/And I just grew, tangled up in blue
This is one of my favorite love songs. Each verse is a glimpse into the life of an on-again, off-again affair. In a larger sense, the song touches on the inescapable connections we have with certain people. My novel’s fifth chapter is structured in a similar way, exploring the many phases of Ford’s past relationships with his son, Bailey, and his ex-wife, Emily. Like Dylan’s narrator, there are periods of proximity and distance between these characters—both physically and emotionally. But ultimately, no matter where they end up, Ford, Bailey and Emily can never quite untangle themselves from each other.
Chapter 6: The Strokes “Reptilia”
I said, “Please don’t slow me down/If I’m going too fast/You’re in a strange/Part of our town.”
I love the musical intensity and lyrical mystique that The Strokes create here. There’s this great mix of assertion and hesitation, aggression and fatigue. Which is why it’s a perfect match for this chapter, which takes place at a rundown amusement park in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Though dilapidated, the site’s rides still run and offer brief thrills for two of the story’s main characters who are trying to figure each other out without revealing their intentions to do so.
Chapter 7: Peter Matthew Bauer’s “Latin American Ficciones”
Daydreaming’s a curse/Drinking at the bar chinois/You’re waiting on a conflagration/A feeling on the avenue/Just like a fire
This song has such a raw sound and energy about it, which makes it the ideal track for the seventh chapter of The Wind Under the Door. In this section, readers catch glimpses of Ford’s past life in Florida, including an intense and disastrous appearance at his son Bailey’s middle school career day. Along with the lyrics above, one line that resonates with this chapter is when Bauer sings, How’d you get so reckless baby?
Chapter 8: Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam “When the Truth Is”
I was drowning out the night/With the last of the wine/And my story began to unwind
If you want to hear what loneliness sounds like, listen to practically any Hamilton Leithauser song. Loneliness drives his characters, though there is always a sense of hope, or a touch of humor, or the treat of outrage accompanying his songs’ lonely drifters. These unpredictable turns, both lyrically and musically, is what what I love about him as a songwriter.
With this in mind, it was hard to not fill my entire novel’s playlist with Leithauser’s music. Because if nothing else, The Wind Under the Door is about lonely people trying to find their way out of loneliness. And in the eighth chapter, the desperation that often accompanies such acts are on full display.
Chapter 9: Patsy Cline, “Lonely Street”
I’m looking for that lonely street/I’ve got a sad, sad tale to tell/I need a place to go and weep/Where’s this place called Loney Street?
I love Patsy Cline’s rendition of “Lonely Street.” The song’s opening lines also happen to be a perfect fit for the ninth chapter of The Wind Under the Door and the sad, sad tale Grace Burnett is about to tell.
Chapter 10: Jim James “New Life”
Babe, let’s get one thing clear/There’s much more stardust when you’re near/I think I’m really being sincere/I want a new life, a new life, with you
At its core this is a love song and a celebration of second chances. But Jim James refuses to romanticize what that actually looks like, offering lyrical nods throughout the number to the inherent difficulties and uncertainties that come with any new relationship—a wonderful admission and a fitting notion for this chapter.
Chapter 11: Angel Olsen “Intern”
Pick up the phone/But I swear it’s the last time/Falling in love/And I swear it’s the last time
So many of the characters in my novel are trying to hold relationships together—be it romantic, plutonic, familial or a combination of sorts. They all want to believe things are supposed to unfold a certain way, despite what past expereinces otherwise suggest.
There’s a similar tension in Angel Olsen’s “Intern.” For example, when she sings I’m gonna fall in love with you someday; and then later, Falling in love and I swear it’s the last time. Both lines reveal a desire for certainty amid self-doubt.
Chapter 12: Modest Mouse “Dance Hall”
I could give myself a shot/I could get myself a pill/I’m gonna go and try to buy a little more time to kill/I need a can opener ’cause I got some beans to spill
At times melodic, at times manic, “Dance Hall” is three minutes of emotional extremes. Chapter 12 offers similar fluctuations as an estranged father and son try and reconnect over a dead possum and then later a revealing dinner for three.
Chapter 13: Michael Kiwanuka “Cold Little Heart”
Bleeding, I’m bleeding/My cold little heart/Oh I, I can’t stand myself
Listen to the resignation in Kiwanuka’s voice when he sings: Oh I, I can’t stand myself. Self-loathing, though never explicit, is a trait that connects (and perhaps attracts) many of the characters to each other in The Wind Under the Door. But whereas most of the characters are trying to avoid acknowledging this fact, there is at least one individual hoping to avoid a life sentence of self-hatred. And it’s within this chapter that the issue comes up.
Chapter 14: Arcade Fire “Reflektor”
It’s just a reflection of a reflection of a reflection of a reflection of a reflection/Will I see you on the other side?/We’ve all got things to hide
This song plays during an intense moment in the penultimate chapter of The Wind Under the Door. I’d tell you more about it but … we’ve all got things to hide. ;)
Chapter 15: The Walkmen “Dónde está la Playa”
There is still sand in my suitcase/There is still salt in my teeth
“Dónde está la Playa,” which translates to “where is the beach,” is the opening track of The Walkmen’s 2008 masterpiece You & Me and the closing track for my novel’s playlist. Though the majority of The Wind Under the Door takes place in the mountains, the ocean plays a significant role in the story, meaning different things to different characters.
Some of the song’s lyrics also remind me of my characters—be it their unrealized hopes, unspoken desires, or quiet urge to find their way back to that familiar but lost place.