A couple of years back a reader asked for a playlist of music mentioned in my novels. It’s time for an update. Here’s the 2018 playlist.
Into the Black Nowhere
- Chris Stapleton, “Midnight Train to Memphis”
- Beyoncé, “Freedom”
- Gary Clark Junior, “Numb”
- Stevie Ray Vaughan, “Pride and Joy”
UNSUB
- Gary Clark Junior, “Don’t Owe You a Thang”
- Stevie Ray Vaughan, “Little Sister”
- Jerry Jeff Walker, “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother”
- The Chieftains, “Mo Ghile Mear” (Our Hero) (with Sting & Anúna)
Phantom Instinct
- Taking Back Sunday, “What’s It Feel Like To Be a Ghost?”
- Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Give It Away”
The Shadow Tracer
- Sarah McLachlan, “In the Arms of the Angel”
- Foo Fighters, “Wheels”
Ransom River:
- Radical Face, “Welcome Home”
- Florence & the Machine, “Dog Days Are Over”
- Led Zeppelin, “Stairway to Heaven”
- Foo Fighters, “Long Road to Ruin”
- Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Sweet Home Alabama”
The Nightmare Thief:
- Frank Sinatra, “Come Fly With Me”
- Kings of Leon, “Sex on Fire”
- Beyoncé, “Crazy in Love”
The Liar’s Lullaby:
- “Bull’s-eye”
- “After Me”
- “The Liar’s Lullaby” (these three by Meg Gardiner/Paul Shreve, performed by Definitely Arson)
- “Amazing Grace”
- Shakuhachi — The Japanese Flute
- Alabama 3, “Woke Up This Morning” (The theme song from The Sopranos)
The Memory Collector:
- Slipknot, “Psychosocial”
- Incubus, “Sick Sad Little World”
- Foo Fighters, “The Pretender”
- The Killers, “Mr. Brightside”
The Dirty Secrets Club:
- The All-American Rejects, “Dirty Little Secret”
- Mahler, Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor
- Cheb Mami, “Mamazareh”
- Los Lobos, “The Wreck of the Carlos Rey”
- T-Rex, “Bang a Gong”
- Gipsy Kings, “Chan Chan”
Kill Chain:
- Ray Charles: “Sinner’s Prayer,” “You Win Again,” “Losing Hand,” “Unchain My Heart,” and “Hit the Road, Jack”
- Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Can’t Stop”
- Willie Nelson, “Georgia on My Mind”
Crosscut:
- John Coltrane, A Love Supreme
- Patsy Cline, “Crazy”
- Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Bad Moon Rising”
- Trisha Yearwood, “How Do I Live”
Jericho Point:
- Toby Keith, “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue”
- Run DMC, “Walk This Way”
- Beethoven, Ode to Joy
- Aretha Franklin, “Chain of Fools”
- Bruce Springsteen, “The Rising”
- Dixie Chicks, “Long Time Gone”
- Mary Chapin Carpenter, “Jubilee”
- Bruce Springsteen, “She’s the One”
Mission Canyon:
- The Supremes, “Stop! In the Name of Love!”
- Jimi Hendrix, “Voodoo Chile”
- Puccini, Tosca: “Vissi d’arte”
China Lake:
- Eric Clapton, Crossroads
- Steppenwolf, “Born to Be Wild”
- Jimi Hendrix, “All Along the Watchtower”
(Photo: Every Time I Die, performing at Webster Hall, New York City, July 14, 2017.)