The Emerald Ring Playlist
As we struggle out of our turkey comas, here’s the Emerald Ring playlist to get you up and dancing– or running off to Ireland with a group of spies in knee breeches. Take your pick.
Follow You Down, Gin Blossoms
If following Geoff to Ireland doesn’t count, I don’t know what does.
As you may have noticed, I have a thing for soundtracks. It’s like a mix tape you didn’t have to mix yourself. I listened to the How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days soundtrack a lot while writing Emerald Ring. Like, really, a lot. So if you notice a whole bunch of songs from that soundtrack on this list… there’s a reason for that.
Weight of the World, Chantal Kreviazuk
Given Letty’s propensity for carrying the weight of the world—or, at least, the Alsworthy household—this song struck me as very appropriate.
And, yes, it was on the How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days soundtrack.
We Could Still Belong Together, Lisa Loeb
Something about the optimism of this just says “Letty” for me—even though it’s not on the How to Lose a Guy soundtrack.
Candide, Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim
When I wasn’t listening to How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, my most played CD while working on Emerald Ring was the musical version of Candide. There’s nothing like a little Voltaire and a little Bernstein, all rolled up with trills. Of all my characters, Geoff has always struck me as the most in tune with the Enlightenment (despite his propensity for writing bad poetry). If he’s a Quod Erat Demonstrandum kind of guy, then Letty is definitely a Best of All Possible Worlds sort of girl.
I’m No Angel, Dido.
It was a toss-up between this and White Flag. I listened to both Dido CDs a fair amount while writing Emerald Ring (they make good, mellow evening writing music, as opposed to peppy daytime writing music), but something about the tone of No Angel is more Letty and Geoff to me, as both of them come to grips with the fact that they’re not actually perfect.
Do you have any good Letty and Geoff songs to add to the list? When I post the lists to the Diversions page in January, I’ll be adding a “Readers Recommend” section to each list. So please recommend away!
