Apparently, the last post I wrote (and kept as a draft) was on this topic. But a few things have changed since then.
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In this story, Juan Paulo is my protagonist's love interest. He's spending the summer at the island where the story takes place and along with friends of his from his old neighborhood, they bring their garage band back together. They secure residency at a new club (owned by colleagues of the sirens' employers) and their goal is to compile enough material for a record deal
...I'm still working on the details of that last part of it.
But after meeting Natalia, Juan Paulo becomes so inspired that a steady stream of music comes out of him through the course of several weeks.
While writing this story, I'd taken inspiration from so much music. And most of it is to determine the course of events that will take place.
But for this particular case, I'm using the songs to develop how he relates to Talia. The feelings and emotions that come to mind after spending time with her and her behavior toward him. So I guess the only thing that makes this different from what I have been doing is that things are a bit more abstract.
One fascinating thing that's happened as of late, though. I can clearly picture him in my head as he performs the songs I'm listening to. It's really moving. And when that picture is clear, I know I'm definitely on the right track.
Plus, some of the newest songs have come from male artists I'd recently listened to for the first time in years. By pure coincidence, they happen to be what I'm looking for. And they resemble the kind of artist I want him to be.
Juan Paulo is a singer-songwriter at heart, but he's also a rock star that I may give a little gravel to his voice to coincide with the artists I'm including.
Most, but not all of them, also happen to be guys I'd found through American Idol... and one from The Voice.
1. Declaration- David Cook
* this was the opening track of his album... I hadn't heard it in several years, but as soon as I put it on, I could imagine JP performing it. It would be a great opening to a concert showcase.
2. Outta my head- Daughtry
*I had a dream where someone was doing a tightly choreographed cha-cha to this song... I want to say that person was Mayte Garcia (Prince's first wife) because there were some bellydancing rolls in that as well. So I decided I'd write him dreaming of Talia dancing and he records the demo as soon as he wakes up. Later in the story, one of the other sirens joins the band as a back-up dancer and she brings this vision to life
3. She's a Rebel- Green Day
* Talia spends at least the first 50 pages of the story buffering JP's advances toward her... but she's not interested in having a serious relationship with anybody. It's a self-perservation thing. Much to her frustration, her attempt to "scare him off" with an off-the-wall dance routine only makes him fall further in love with her.
* I'd been listening to this song with this project in mind for so long that I cannot shake the associaton. It's kinda funny
4. Extraordinary Girl- Green Day
* The timing of the opening percussive segment is identical to the chorus of another song I used for the overall soundtrack. But the lyrics go in further depth about Talia's insecurities but also her fear of being alone... in the actual story, she leaves before hearing all of the lyrics.
5. In the Night- The Weeknd
* When I first got this dude's album and heard this song, it blew my mind. I also thought "oh shoot, that's Talia's story in a nutshell"... if my ultimate dream of this story being turned into a musical panned, this would have to be an acoustic cover because the techno R&B production isn't on brand with the band. But this is kind of the "Darling Nikki" moment of the story where Talia breaks up with JP (they'd only been together for a week or two... I have songs in mind for when she accepts his advances from her perspective but not his). He'd heard more about her past and why she is the way she is from her best friend... her motivation for doing so was completely in the right, but Talia certainly doesn't agree. But JP notices whenever the two of them are together and in close quarters, she always winds up crying and it's something he has trouble reconciling.
6. Shoot Love- Maroon 5
* this is one of those songs that would work better in an album for context rather than being incorporated into the actual scene... Talia goes on an angry tirade with him, saying how he'd made her look weak in front of a lot of people. And he doesn't quite understand what he did wrong. The chorus of this song is about him throwing his hands up, saying not to shoot or just to stop attacking him and listen to reason. But clearly she's not in the mood.
7. I did it for you- David Cook
* recently added this yesterday... I could imagine him writng this the mornig after his big fight with her. Saying how he only wanted to help her, but she still refuses to listen to him. It's a pretty emotional showcase, especially toward the end
8. Wrecking Ball- Lifehouse
* This song is a HUGE earworm for me. It's so well constructed and scratches me right where I itch. But I kinda realized after a little time that this wasn't going to work in the story. The song is about how the girl building him up just to knock him down, how all she does is take when he's doing all the giving... so it sounds like he's being taken advantage of in this scenery. I'd taken a couple of Daughtry songs off this tracklist as well because they come from a similar place. Also because the set-up of those songs isn't true for the story and they kinda make him into more of a wimp than I want him to be
9. Had Enough- Lifehouse feat. Chris Daughtry
* I imagine the band's showcase for record executives ending with this song... and they tell him that his narrative voice is brilliant, but the end lets it all down. Even his best friend tells him that giving up just isn't like him... the whole point of this scene is to make him leave the showcase earlier than planned and it brings him into the path of the main plot of the story. Where he helps one of the other sirens when she gets into serious trouble and his heroics bring him back in Talia's orbit. Although the reconciliation doesn't happen immediately
* the song fits them really well because it talks about him trying to reach her, but there's nothing there to hold onto. Her being emotionally unavailable and not being in a place to forgive him.
10. Wrecking Ball- Ricky Manning (cover from The Voice)
* It'd also be confusing to have two songs with the same title in this tracklist... and this one had been in rotaion for a long time
* The original Miley Cyrus song is her best... after the VMA thing with Robin Thicke, I wanted nothing to do with her, but this song was an exception. Then when I heard this version done live on The Voice, I had to download the cover. The emotion he brought to it was just so good... I didn't really care for Ricky Manning until he did this, but he wound up going home the following week. When I think of JP, I imagine his face, but I also see sandy blonde hair and a slighty tanner complexion because Juan Paulo is an American Latino.
* this song is about trying to get her to give him a chance in the beginning, trying to win her over and make her see from his point of view. But in present day, he never wanted to hurt her and only wanted her walls to come down so he could help her
11. So Contagious- Acceptance
* This song hits me so hard whenever I listen to it... I'm just dying to incorporate it somewhere in my fiction. The other day was the first time I really got a good picture of them performing this live. And maybe she's in the audience and it's enough to win her back. Although I'm also considering a karoake reconciliation because that's the place they first met.
12. Falling In- Lifehouse
* "don't be scared, it's only love that we're falling in"...
* yeah, this song most likely will not get on the final tracklist because it's a little too poppy, a little too predictable. But dang, it's such a great melody. I still can't believe I hadn't heard this song in a decade and that chorus was still very solid in my brain
13. True- Ryan Cabrera
* I'd love for this to be a bonus track... Talia hearing the final configuration of the album and talking him into including this one. Because it was the one that actually made her fall for him. There's one part of the story where the band does an acoustic night. And he knows she'll be in attendance so he makes various declarations, including an earlier song on this one album. But this seals the deal. And he'll say how she never told him that and she replies "I didn't know it myself"... like the feeling snuck up on her and she didn't know what to do with it.
