So many authors create playlists for their novels. I never quite got it until now. You see, I usually pick ONE song and play it on a loop while I’m working on a novel. It just plays over and over and over and the vibe I get from that particular song sort of infuses with the words.
For Sebastian’s Poet, the ONE song was ANTHEM by my glorious Leonard Cohen. The story took place in Toronto’s Beaches District in the 1970s and the main character was a folksinger named Teal Landen, who had the nickname of The Poet. The young narrator, Sebastian Nelson, woke up one morning to find Teal sleeping on his couch. In the absence of Sebastian’s parental influences, the two form a relationship that–in the end–helps to save Sebastian. I wrote that novel over a 48hr period during my very first Muskoka Novel Marathon. 48 hours listening to the same song on repeat. It’s pretty powerful. I’ll just say right now that Teal Landen is my interpretation of Leonard Cohen himself.
For Pride Must Be A Place, the ONE song was RISE UP by The Parachute Club. I reached out by email to Lorraine Segato (the lead singer of The Parachute Club) for this one. I originally envisioned using Ms. Segato as a character in the novel, so I wanted to run it past her. Also, I wanted to infuse the story with RISE UP. I was going to write Pride at another Muskoka Novel Marathon over the course of a 72hr weekend (I did!). What I didn’t expect was receiving a phone call from Ms. Segato while I was driving up north to Huntsville, Ontario to participate in that marathon. I quickly pulled off the road and had a conversation with Ms. Segato that lead to me making some really big changes to the Pride idea. For those who read the book, spoiler alert…Ms. Segato does not appear in its pages. She did, however, give me the permissions to use lyrics from the song…and some direction in the story. I’ll be forever thankful. The playlist for that novel? RISE UP. In case you’re wondering…YES!!!! It is totally empowering and uplifting to listen to RISE UP on repeat for 72 hours. I was literally ready to TAKE ON THE UNIVERSE! To this end, the endless supply of coffee and Skittles did not hinder a thing.
Did I do another digression? Maybe. I wanted to mention 2 of my favourite novel writing experiences prior to getting to THE CAMINO CLUB!
During the writing of this novel, I finally discovered the joy of creating an entire playlist!
I wrote The Camino Club over the course of a couple (maybe 3) weeks. It was a completely different experience from my usual tactic of getting the first draft down over the course of a weekend. I had more time to spend with it, so I flexed on the playlist. And I admittedly stole a whole bunch of the songs from the soundtrack for the movie THE WAY (With Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen).
So, without further ado, here is the playlist that I created for the novel of my heart and soul!
THE CAMINO CLUB PLAYLIST
- Nadal de Luintra by Berrogüetto
- Thank U by Alanis Morissette
- Pink Moon by Nick Drake
- Fusco by Berrogüetto
- Mykonos by Fleet Foxes
- Daniel by Tyler Bates
- Santiago de Compostela by Tyler Bates
- Muxia – A True Pilgrim by Tyler Bates
- Lost by Coldplay
- Daniel by Elton John
- Country Road by James Taylor
- My Oh My by David Gray
- Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads
- This is the Day by The The
- Living on the Ceiling by Blancmange
- Perfect Way by Scritti Politti
- Blister in the Sun by Violent Femmes
- I Try by Macy Gray
- Afternoons and Coffee Spoons by Crash Test Dummies
- And if Venice is Sinking by Spirit of the West
- Pull up to the Bumper by Grace Jones
- Sissy that Walk by Ru Paul
- Cover Girl by Ru Paul
- Late in the Evening by Paul Simon
- Kodachrome by Paul Simon
That’s it. I know…it’s long. But it is what it is. The songs that saw me through the writing of The Camino Club. ❤
HERE’S A SPOTIFY LINK TO THE FULL “THE CAMINO CLUB” PLAYLIST!
Did I mention it’s on PREORDER?!
The hashtag for this novel is pretty simple. If you ever want to tag it, it’s #TheCaminoClub
KEVIN CRAIG 