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Did you read CATALYST or PROM?
Theo is putting the finishing touches on the playlist section of my Writerlady website overhaul. We’ve got plenty of songs for the other novels (special thanks to handworn and to John Connolly and his students for all their help). We are a little light on the number of songs suggested for PROM and CATALYST.
And I am on deadline. And after that, I have another book to write. And one of my kids finally comes home on break today.
So I could really use your help.
Any suggestions? What songs tie into the main characters and situations of PROM and CATALYST?
This is what I have so far:
CATALYST
Splintering – Arizona
The Great Escape – We Are Scientists
Under Pressure – Queen
Run, Baby, Run – Sheryl Crow
Runaway – Linkin Park
PROM
Alright – Supergrass
End of the Line – Traveling Wilburys
I Summon You – Spoon
Nowhere and Everywhere – Michelle Lewis
Survivor – Destiny’s Child
Lose Yourself – Eminem
Learn To Fly – Foo Fighters
Prom Theme – Fountains Of Wayne
Teachers! If your students help out with this, I promise a hand-written thank you note!
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25 Comments
Ooh, I love doing things like this!
For PROM:
Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard
This Ain’t a Scene, It’s a Death Arms Race by Fall Out Boy
Lust For Life by Iggy Pop
Cherry Bomb by The Foxes
Something So Strong by Crowded House
For CATALYST:
Into Dust by Mazzy Star
Walk This World by Heather Nova
Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead
Life is a Highway by Tom Cochrane
You rock! Thank you!
Sorry
Sorry I have not read either yet. I tend to only read stuff I am reviewing at the moment, both are on my to read list and I have Catalyst on the shelf.
Re: Sorry
No worries. Life is too short to feel guilty about unread books.
Prom
“Let’s Dance” – David Bowie (the lyrics don’t really match anything, but it’s fun to listen to!)
“Make a Plan” – Saturday Looks Good to Me
“Chariot” – Page France
“The Police and the Private” – Metric
“Why does it always rain on me” – Travis
“Bohemian Like You” – The Dandy Warhols
“Bookshop Casanova” – The Clientele
“80s Celebration” – The Reduction Agents
“Give it a Night” – Bela
“Jonathon Fisk” – Spoon
Catalyst
“Think Long” – Mates of State
“Parentheses” – The Blow
“Finally” – The Frames
“Exploding, Impacting” – Belaire
“I Woke Myself Up” – Julie Doiron
“Various Stages” – Great Lake Swimmers
“Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse” – Of Montreal
“Boat Song” – Elephant Parade
“Bush” – Page France
“Junkyard” – Page France
“No Lucifer” – British Sea Power
“Fortress” – Pinback
“Black Like Me” – Spoon
“Vladimir’s Blues” – Max Richter
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” – Sufjan Stevens
“Shameful” – Winterpills
Sorry, I went a little crazy.
PS Some of these remind me of the books in how they sound and feel, not necessarily in what they sing lyric-wise. I tried to use songs that fit with their lyrics though.
You are awesome – thank you very much!
Something about Bethlehem by Paula Cole has always reminded me of Catalyst. I’m not sure if the whole song fits thematically, but the bit about being sixteen and having an ulcer from trying to get straight A’s sure does.
Thank you!
Catalyst:
The Dandy Warhols – Love is the New Feel Awful
The Dandy Warhols – Sleep
Dave Matthews Band – Out of My Hands
Incubus – Love Hurts
KT Turnstall – Suddenly I see
Lamb – Little Things
Thank you!
songs for Catalyst
Just a few suggestions:
“Run” by Collective Soul
“Okay” by Rebecca St. James
“Move Along” by the All-American Rejects
Hope it helps!
Re: songs for Catalyst
Thank you, too!
Catalyst~
TAKEN FOR A RIDE- Tally Hall
(sample lyric: “One secondary smile
To go that extra mile
To make me feel today
To make it go away
The chemistry is gone
Taken for a ride”)
WORD DISASSOCIATION- Lemon Demon
(sample lyric: “dollar jade velocity meringue assuming gentle mister advertisement suitcase pining lobsters over murderous distraction flames imposter a-cappella crouch about bionic ruby quickly antidisestablishmentarianism”)
Prom~
FLUORESCENT ADOLESCENT- Arctic Monkeys
(sample lyric: “Oh that boy’s a slag
The best you ever had
The best you ever had
Is just a memory and those dreams
Not as daft as they seem…”
MAGIC JUICEBOX- Lima Research Society
(sample lyric: You stepped on a nail
You lost your grandma in the mail
And curse words landed you in jail
What miserable luck)
CATALYST
When I run, I like to listen to things with a fairly rhythmic beat. When I first started running regularly (over 12 years ago), Aerosmith was in pretty heavy rotation and two songs stand out as possible Catalyst songs: Livin’ on the Edge and Amazing.
Both have lyrics that kind of tie into the story:
Kate’s perspective at the start of the story, with laser-like focus on MIT and her fairly rigid beliefs, and the mirror of that rigidity in Mitch’s decisions at the end: “There’s something wrong with the world today; I don’t know what it is. Something’s wrong with our eyes…” (Livin’ on the Edge)
And then Kate’s involvement with the Litches and her changes to perspective: “In the blink of an eye, you finally see the light” and “Life’s a journey, not a destination. And I just can’t tell just what tomorrow will bring. You have to learn to crawl before you learn to walk.” (Amazing)
So there you go. My $.02.
For Catalyst, I think Jack Black’s “Math Is A Wonderful Thing” would be appropriate. It’s satirical, but hilarious. Also, on a more serious note, Switchfoot’s “Learning to Breathe” is a great song to emphasize character growth.
For some reason, CATALYST makes me think of the song FREE WILL, by Rush. “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice…”
What fun! I’ll be sure to promote this on my school book blog.
A group of my 7th graders read CATALYST as a literature circles choice this fall, so I gave them your blog post instead of their regular journaling assignment today. Here’s a list of suggestions, courtesy of Kianna, Eunice, Amy, Caitlin, & Kadijah:
Suddenly I See – KT Tunstall
Good Riddance – Green Day
100 Years – Five For Fighting
Tears in Heaven – Eric Clapton
Big Girls Don’t Cry – Fergie
Concerto in A Minor – Vivaldi (to portray Kate’s anger)
We’re all excited to see your final playlists!
I haven’t read Catalyst in a long time, but the song She’s Saving Me by Indigo Girls comes to mind.
For Catalyst,
Muse – Starlight
and
The Arcade Fire – Neighborhoods #3 (Power Out)
come to mind
For Prom, I like–
My Kinda Scene-Powderfinger
Really perfect.
I’ve only read Speak and Twisted
But I never knew that authors really make home made albums for their novels. I feel dumb asking, but what’s the purpose behind that?
Catalyst:
- The Tourist = Radiohead
- Such a Rush = Coldplay
- Politik = Coldplay
These three have similar meanings. They talk about slowing down and taking time to appreciate life, and question time and money. They have insanely brilliant climaxes as well.
- See You Soon = Coldplay
- Only Hope = Switchfoot
- The Scientist = Coldplay
“Sad” songs if you will. A bit more mellow and very meaningful.
- 1.36 = Coldplay
A nice upbeat running song. Talks about being stuck and trapped.
Well, obviously I’m a Coldplay fan!
. But if I had to pick two of theirs, they would be The Scientist and See You Soon to match themes and moods from Catalyst.
Thank you for this! I had a good time picking out songs, but especially reading your books. I just finished Twisted yesterday and can’t wait for you next one!
Thank you again!
i like a lot of the songs on the lists! not sure if i’ll be much help, but here are some suggestions from me:
Prom:
“Picture to Burn” -Taylor Swift (for when Ash and TJ break up)
“Hips Don’t Lie” -Shakira feat. Wyclef Jean (it seems like something the kids at the school would dance to.)
“I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing” -Aerosmith (that could be used when the guy (sorry i can’t remember his name) proposes to Junie at the prom.)
Catalyst:
“Big Girls Don’t Cry” -Fergie (i saw someone put that up as a suggestion, and it could work with Kate being upset about being rejected from MIT and also with Teri when she lost Mikey.)
“Breathe (2AM)” -Anna Nalick (it makes me think of Kate when i hear it.)
“Dare You to Move” -Switchfoot (this song also makes me think of Kate when i hear it.)
if i think of any more, i’ll post them! =) ♥