My book has a soundtrack. It is approximately 90 minutes long because that is how long the TDK mixtapes I used to make as a kid were. It felt right to create some limits for this list or it would have been hours long.

I’ve been asked, “Why? Why do you have a soundtrack for your book, Future Eli & Future Jane?”

To which I’ve replied, “Because, I damn well want one.”

Just kidding. Kind of.

Why I have a soundtrack for real

I always listen to music when I write. I can’t write without it. Depending on what I think I’m writing about, I’ll pick a playlist or a song to create a station out of that I think will mirror the mood I want to end up on the page. I should rephrase my earlier statement. I can’t start writing without music.

Sometimes the music stops and I don’t even notice. Sometimes the sun goes down and none of the lights are on, but I’m oblivious. I’m in the zone, so to speak. My wife usually comes in at some point and flips on the lights. I’ll look up in surprise and she’ll scold me–nicely, of course–before turning on a lamp.

While I’m writing, the music will play and the songs interweave themselves into my emotional state, and by extension, into whatever I’m working on. If I’m stuck, I’ll write the the line of a song in my notepad. Then I’ll write it again and again, modifying each line with a word or a punctuation point until an entirely new thought appears. In short, music is essential to my process.

The idea for Future Eli and Future Jane as an extension of Eli & Jane actually began with the phrase, “I’ll be here in the morning,” which is also the title of a classic Townes Van Zandt song. It became the theme of the book. I even reached out to the Van Zandt family asking for permission to quote the song, but sadly received no response. I still love the song, though.

How I chose these songs for this book

All of the songs on this 90-minute playlist were part of the longer playlist I was listening to while this book. That playlist lives on my Spotify account and grows every week as I discover new music or rediscover old music. These particular songs all stuck out during the writing of the book and ended up on repeat. My original book soundtrack was more than three hours long. I culled it down to this list of 20. It wasn’t easy. Some great songs got cut.

Some were obvious, Townes Van Zandt, A Tribe Called Quest, Johnny Cash, Buddy Guy, and Bonny Doon were mentioned by name or referenced in the book. The others felt emotionally connected either by content or tone or lyric to Eli and Jane’s journey along the coast of California as they tried to feel out the potential for a relationship. That said, don’t take the lyrics too literally. Some just felt right.

The songs in this list are in a specific order meant to match the themes in the book, but play it straight through or on shuffle and it all fits together despite the mash-up of different genres. Like in relationships, sometimes it is the differences, the conflicts, the opposites attracting that make it work.