SLEEPERS IN THE SNOW will be hitting the shelves from October 8th. By then the leaves will be falling, the mists will be rolling in from the moors, the woolly sweaters will be out of storage again and trust me, by then you’ll be in the mood for parkin, mulled wine, and ghost stories.
As you know, I don’t listen to music when I’m working because I read aloud so much that music would interfere with the sounds of the words and phrases. But I do like to make up playlists to accompany the book. Here’s one for SLEEPERS IN THE SNOW: just don’t try to dance to it…
- Laurie Anderson: O Superman: Simply the most eerie, evocative and prescient track of a decade. I’m still floored by its bleakness. And yes, she understands the assignment…
- Glen Campbell: Wichita Lineman: The discomfort of this track isn’t as obvious as the Anderson song, but there’s still so much tension hidden behind its apparent smoothness. I refer to it in SLEEPERS (for reasons that will be obvious).
- The Young Tradition: The Lyke Wake Dirge: There are many versions of this old ballad (Pentangle and Steeleye Span both did excellent ones), but I do especially like the relentless, doomy drone of the backing vocals in this one. The text, from which I quote extensively in SLEEPERS, dates back to the 14th century or earlier, but the music generally used by modern bands dates only from the 18th century, when it was composed to fit the ancient words. (Audio book listeners, in my recording of the audiobook, I deliberately didn’t use the music you might have expected, but inserted something of my own, to hint at something older…)
- Kate Bush: Wuthering Heights: The ultimate song for those lost souls wandering the moors…
- Johnny Cash: Hurt: A spectacular cover version of the original Nine Inch Nails song, I love this because of the utterly raw, sincere, broken quality to the voice and the distinct sense of something passing.
- Leonard Cohen: Dress Rehearsal Rag: Another brilliant anthem to self-hatred and regret, this version is particularly dark and bitter…
