Lyrics used in my novels – The Cure, Placebo, and more

To follow up on my last post – about how Brian Molko of alternative rock group Placebo helped inspire Naked in the Rain and Afterglow – it seems appropriate to talk about lyrics.

Music has always been a huge part of my life – my “first love” so to speak, along with books. Which is probably why the main character in my novels, Brian, is a talented musician, both classically (piano) and in the rock world – playing guitar, singing and forming his own band.

Music is critical to Brian, so lyrics tend to find their way into the text, whether it’s a song he’s listening to (for example, Pixies), playing on the piano (such as Tori Amos), or covering with his band (like the “The Kiss” by the Cure) – as he is a huge Robert Smith (pictured above) / The Cure fan.

I also decided to include lyrics as an epigraph for each chapter in Naked in the Rain, and in Afterglow on chapters of particular significance. For these, I chose lyrics that somehow reflect what happens in the chapter – whether it’s a general mood or something more specific – some characters even have “theme songs.” (I may share more about why I chose specific lyrics in future blogs…)

This resulted in getting permission from 21 different artists to include their lyrics in these books. Even more artists are mentioned within the text, but without using their actual lyrics.

Here’s a partial list of the artists and songs – you can click here to see a full listing of all artists mentioned or quoted in the books.

• The Cure – The Kiss, Lullaby, If Only Tonight We Could Sleep, Faith, and more
• Placebo – Bionic, Nancy Boy, Scared of Girls, Teenage Angst
• Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes, Precious Things, Silent All These Years, and more
• Pixies – Bone Machine
• PJ Harvey – Mystery of Love
• Smashing Pumpkins – Disarm
• Sparklehorse – Cruel Sun, Ghost of His Smile, Junebug
• Throwing Muses – Flood, Teller
• John Lee Hooker – House Rent Boogie

By the way, when Naked in the Rain was named, I had NO idea that the Red Hot Chili Peppers (who are mentioned in it as Stuart’s favorite band) have a song called “Naked in the Rain.” Seems like an odd coincidence! Speaking of coincidences, it has often seemed that Brian Molko and PJ Harvey have been peeking into my brain for their material… More about that later!

And yes, I promise there will also be blog posts that are not all about music! Leave a comment to let me know what you want to read about…