I secretly make a playlist on Spotify for any longer work I write (as well as other things in my life). I don’t write to music the way many people do. Instead, when a song reminds me of the story I’m working on, I add it to the list, and then I fiddle around with the song order until it feels like it cohesively tells the story. Then I listen to that playlist when I need to think about the story or get excited all over again for what’s inside it.
This also means my playlists are pretty specifically quirked to my (profoundly unsubtle) musical tastes and personal associations that may not make sense to other folks. But I’m happy to share them anyway. Here’s the music that will forever make me think of THE OUTSIDE:
(Mild spoilers below.)
- Within Temptation – “Why Not Me” [prologue; Nemesis]
- Amaranthe – “Afterlife” [angels and the setting in general]
- Nine Inch Nails – “Right Where It Belongs” [Yasira; or maybe Ev, at the corner of the frame, addressing her]
- Tarot – “Ashes to the Stars” [Akavi and angels generally]
- The Scarlet Pimpernel soundtrack – “Falcon in the Dive” [Akavi, tasked with finding Ev]
- Vangelis – “Mythodea”, movement 3 [~*~flying out of the galaxyyyy~*~]
- Rihanna – “Russian Roulette” [Yasira]
- Nine Inch Nails – “The Hand That Feeds” [Ev; I’m also really fond of the transition between tracks 7 and 8]
- Visions of Atlantis – “Passing Dead End” [Ev’s official theme song]
- Nine Inch Nails – “The Great Destroyer” [Yasira]
- Evanescence – “Whisper” [Yasira, in very dire straits]
- Christina Aguilera – “Army of Me” [Yasira, improbably]
- Avantasia – “Lost In Space” [Yasira again]
- Amaranthe – “Electroheart” [Akavi and Elu]
You can listen to the whole thing below: