Over the years, as I’ve been writing first The Key To Alexandria, and then as it morphed in TAU CETI, I’ve had a short playlist of songs that I felt either captured a theme of the story or the mood of a particular scene.

First, I’d start with Michelle’s theme song, (Watching) Worlds Crumble by Glass Tiger. You may have never heard of the band, I don’t think they broke out of Canada, and even among those who would know them, Watching Worlds Crumble isn’t their most famous song. The whole first verse definitely fits Michelle:

I can see the look in their eyes
Their fears, cold tears fall to the ground
And their words just echo more lies
More plans, blood stained hands all around

But the lyric that grabs me is in the chorus, “Take my hand, oh lord, it’s all I’ve got”

If Jeff has a theme song, it’s Don’t Bang the Drum by the Waterboys. I’m not sure if this song should only apply to Jeff, though. I think it works best in conflict between Jeff and Marc Piñero. I’d focus on these lines:

Now we stand in a special place
What will you do here?
What show of soul are we gonna get from you?
It could be deliverance, or history
Under these skies so blue

In some ways, Shout by Tears for Fears is a better fit for at least the mood of Jeff’s story arch. The thing is, when we, my friends and I sang along with Shout, as teens, we changed a few words. Instead of “Shout, shout, let it all out. These are the things I can do without. Come on, I’m talking to you.” We’d sing much more aggressively, “Shout, shout, get the f*** out. These are the things I can do without. Come on, I’m talking to you.” This version, basically demanding a rumble, fits Jeff quite well.

There’s a song called Meet Me in Montana by Dan Seals and Marie Osmond (yes, really, I used to listen to country) that fits one poignant scene in TAU CETI.

Then there’s First We Take Manhattan (REM’s cover of the Leonard Cohen amazing song). There’s a whole group in TAU CETI called The Scary Monster Group, and this lyric absolutely encompasses their mindset “I’m guided by the beauty of our weapons.”

The lyric in that song that makes me think of Jeff’s story arch is “You loved me as a loser, but now you’re worried I just might win.” and “I’m coming now. I’m coming to reward them.”

Humans From Earth by T-Bone Burnett catches the motivation of a number of the different factions in TAU CETI, especially the Scary Monster Group in the first verse:

We come from a blue planet light-years away
Where everything multiplies at an amazing rate
We’re out here in the universe buying real estate
Hope we haven’t gotten here too late

More by the Sisters of Mercy gives a mood that fits in a few spots in the story, with both the good guys and the bad guys.

Other songs that are a part of my “Book Score” play list include:

• Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke by the Alarm
• Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel
• And for reasons that I can’t now place, Cry for Help by Rick Astley (yep, the ‘Rick Roll’ Rick Astley).

And if I ever do invest in writing the full the trilogy that I’ve flirted with, One O’Clock Tomorrow by Canadian band FM becomes very relevant.