Music is a huge part of THE
SOUND OF US. Kiki Nichols, the main character, is always searching for songs
that speak for her—choosing to express her emotions through the words of other
people, instead of using her own.
While working on the book, I created a huge playlist of songs to inspire me
while writing (or thinking about writing). These are some of the tracks I think
Kiki would’ve been listening to while trying to survive opera camp, her
tumultuous ex-best-friendship, and her relationship with Jack.
Untouchable
Face by Ani DiFranco (NSFW): First rule of
mixtaping is that you never include two songs by the same artist, so I had to 86
both “Superhero” and “Falling Is
Like This,” even though Ani was such a huge influence on both Kiki and me. I
think “Untouchable Face” is one of the best angry love songs on the planet.
Deathly by
Aimee Mann: Another Jack and Kiki song. The first line of this one kills me
every time. No wonder Paul Thomas Anderson used it verbatim in the movie
Magnolia. It’s simply perfection.
Break Your
Heart by the Barenaked Ladies: I don’t think he’d admit it, but
this song is Jack to a T. He’s afraid of change, afraid of making waves, and
afraid of making anyone feel bad—but by trying so hard to be the “good” guy, he
manages to do just that.
Elsewhere by
Sarah McLachlan: Oh, this song. This was one of my favorite “You are
speaking right to my life, lady songstress” tracks when I was in high school.
It’s all about growing up and finding your own path, even if your parents (and
the other people in your life) just don’t understand.
Northern Lad
by Tori Amos: This is the song Kiki’s playing when she first meets Jack. I
love the lyrics, but I also love the vocal range of this song. I used to sing it
myself when I was a (bad) voice student. It was one of my very favorite songs to
sing when performing my own solo concerts in my parents’ basement, just like
Kiki.
Language or the
Kiss by the Indigo Girls: Sorry, I have to break the mixtape rules
here. But of course, mixtape rules were made to be broken (and I broke them
often in my mixtape making days). That said, I’m going to call my flagrant
rule-breaking legal on a technicality—the first Indigo Girls song on this list
wasn’t really an “Indigo Girls” song.
“Language or the Kiss” is one of the greatest, saddest songs about being a
creative person, and it is so representative of Kiki. What’s more important—art
or love?
Julie Hammerle is the author of THE SOUND OF US (Entangled TEEN, 2016).
Before settling down to write "for real," she studied opera, taught Latin, and
held her real estate license for one hot minute. Currently, she writes about TV
on her blog Hammervision, ropes people into conversations about Game of Thrones,
and makes excuses to avoid the gym. Her favorite YA-centric TV shows include
90210 (original spice), Felicity, and Freaks and Geeks. Her music playlist reads
like a 1997 Lilith Fair set list.
She lives in Chicago with her husband,
two kids, and a dog. They named the dog Indiana.
She’s put her TV-loving, nerdy self aside for one summer to prove she’s got
what it takes: she can be cool enough to make friends, she can earn that music
scholarship, and she can get into Krause University’s music program.
Except camp has rigid conduct rules—which means her thrilling late-night jam
session with the hot, equally geeky drummer can’t happen again, even though they
love all the same shows, and fifteen minutes making music with him meant more
than every aria she’s ever sung.
But when someone starts reporting singers who break conduct rules, music camp
turns survival of the fittest, and people are getting kicked out. If Kiki’s
going to get that scholarship, her chance to make true friends—and her first
real chance at something more—might cost her the future she wants more than
anything.
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