Listening To Music While Writing
Here are a few playlists
During a recent book event, the subject of music and playlists came up, and an audience member boasted that some other hot-shot author had made a playlist that includes every single artist mentioned in their book. She went on about what a wonderful, informative reading experience it created, and as she spoke, I thought about what mine might feel like. I’m not a hip-hop guy, but the first three artists mentioned in my book are: N.W.A., Kendrick Lamar, and Kanye West. So, in theory, crafting such a playlist is feasible, but I don’t think it would accurately represent my taste.
I’ve never considered My Life in the Sunshine to be '“a music book.” Sure, there are lots of stories about both sides of my musical family, playing in bands and working in record stores and at a record label, and yes, there are references to a couple of hundred bands and artists throughout its pages. But at its core, my book isn’t solely about music.
Typically during my book events, I encounter these three questions:
Do you know if your father has read the book?
Have you learned if you and Karen are actually related?
Did you listen to music while writing?
Answering the first two questions isn’t as straightforward as offering a yes or no response, and I often go into the complexities surrounding them, providing context for people who might not be familiar with the story. These questions spark engaging discussions, but they demand substantial time and energy to answer adequately.
The third question, however, is 100% fun. The answer is yes, I listened to music constantly while writing. Throughout the process, I discovered that familiar music facilitated my writing, whereas listening to new music tended to be more distracting. I learned that revisiting albums from various stages of my life—ages five, or fifteen, or twenty-five—was the easiest way to evoke memories and emotions. And I learned that it was nearly impossible for me to write in silence.
I’ve had the pleasure of being a guest on several podcasts where I’ve discussed the music that influenced my book. One of my favorite conversations was on WFUV’s 8 track, where I discussed Bow Wow Wow’s mohawks, Journey’s air guitars, Missing Persons’ drum solos, and five more early-era MTV discoveries.
Over time, I’ve created some customized playlists to accompany my book. I’ve recently updated and pinned them to my Spotify profile. Feel free to explore and share.
The BOOK TOUR PLAYLIST is meant to be played both before and after my book tour events. It includes mostly ultra-positive cuts by artists I loved as a kid in the seventies—from Stanley Clarke, to Diana Ross, to Sly & the Family Stone. I encourage venues to play it on shuffle, and no matter what the surprise first song is, it always feels great.
The 1972-2022 PLAYLIST includes one song from every year of my life in chronological order. It was originally created for Amazon Music, where I chat between songs as if hosting a radio show. Admittedly, there are some less-than-stellar tracks on this playlist, but that’s what happens when you traverse five decades of music. These are not necessarily my favorite songs or the best songs, they’re simply songs that are connected to an important person, time, place or memory.
The INFLUENCERS PLAYLIST represents the music I listened to while writing—a lot that would have made the 50-year playlist if I wasn’t limited to one song per year. The term “Influencers” doesn’t refer to Tik Tok dance trends but rather to the artists who, either through their music or personal influence, played a significant role in my life. Have you ever wondered what Salt Lake City punk bands sounded like in the late ‘80s? Or about the many ‘90s bands whose major label albums you might have overlooked? If so, this one’s for you.
The last three artists mentioned in my book—Pixies, SAULT, and Stevie Wonder—align more seamlessly than the initial trio of rap artists that kick off the narrative, and in the 320 pages that separate these references, countless other artists, bands, and figures come into play.
As I chatted with that audience member about book playlists, I expressed just how strange an all-encompassing playlist might sound. It’s one thing to place Kiss and Patti LaBelle on the same playlist—those records sat next to each other in my childhood my record collection—but when you add in the dozens of artists my bands opened for or that I only mention in passing, it starts to feel pretty incongruous.
“I love that idea,” I responded. “And I’d love for someone to make that playlist.”
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Some exciting fall events are coming together. Details and updates can always be found HERE.
Wed Sep 13: Syracuse, NY / Syracuse University
Mon Oct 9: Oklahoma City, OK / University of Central Oklahoma
Tue Oct 10: Austin, TX / University of Texas, Austin
Tue Oct 17: Tucson, AZ / University of Arizona Humanities Festival
Wed Oct 18: Los Angeles, CA / UCLA
Thu Oct 19: Detroit, MI / Third Man Records, in conversation with Ann Delisi
Fri Oct 20: Madison, WI / tba
Wed Oct 25: Durham, NC / Duke University, in conversation with Mark Anthony Neal
My memoir My Life in the Sunshine is out now. I’d love it if you picked up a copy at your local independent bookstore. It’s also available at all the big places, and for your Kindle as well. There’s an audiobook that I spent 20 hours of my life reading (it’ll only take 7 hours to listen). You can listen to the 5-minute intro for free on Spotify.
I hope to see you somewhere soon.
Nabil Ayers / Brooklyn
Looking forward to checking out the playlists.