Here are Pam Bachorz's picks for a soundtrack to her new book, Drought.
--THE OLD APARTMENT (Barenaked Ladies): A song about an abusive relationship about a man and a woman, which we see between DROUGHT's villain (Darwin West) and my main character's mother (Ruby). The rage and sorrow in this song played a major part in my development of Darwin West.
--LOOK AFTER YOU (The Fray): While I was writing DROUGHT, I tweeted asking for people's favorite love songs, and this was one of the suggestions. The song is sung by a dude, obviously, but it makes me think of how Ruby's allegiance starts to shift from her family to her new love, Ford: "You've begun to feel like home...what's mine is yours to leave or take..."
--DARK BLUE (Jack's Mannequin): This was another suggestion from Twitter. When I listen to this song, I picture Ruby and Ford, alone together. They're both overwhelmed by the feelings they've got for each other: "this flood is slowly rising up, swallowing the ground beneath my feet... tell me how anybody thinks under this condition..."
--FALLING SLOWLY (Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova): I love the tentative, beautiful sound of this love song. Perfect for falling in love the first time, like Ruby is. I also hear Ford's voice in here, urging Ruby: "Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice..."
--IF THERE WAS NO YOU (Brandi Carlile): Brandi C. is a major muse for me. There are some lyrics in here that make me think of the climax of the story. But I won't ruin it for everyone!
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Because this is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard, here's a video for Falling Slowly. If you've never seen the movie Once, then you're missing something great. Really and truly.
