Soundtrack Sunday – ALONE AT NIGHT

I think I solved the problem for why some emails weren’t going out from the blog as well as my feedback form (I had to upgrade the PHP). ICYMI: I had a new release, the new hardcovers arrived, and everything else has been a mess. If I did not solve the problem, oh well, no one is going to get this outside of whoever clicks on social media. 🙃

My release day nearly two weeks ago was incredibly shitty, even accounting for how demoralizing publishing is in general. I had a few posts drafted here with updates about how things have been, but they sounded like whining so I haven’t posted them. Just insert Barbie here, cheerfully saying, “I’m definitely not thinking about death anymore!” (It’s fine, I’m fine, just a lot going on, and April is always terrible.)

Anyway, usual caveat–I listen to a lot of the same songs on repeat for this series, so check out the playlists for The Killing Beach, A Wild Kind of Darkness, and there are other series songs on the overview.

Zayde Wolfe – “Save Tonight (cover)“
This is probably the dark trailer theme song for the whole book for me.

Agnes Obel – “Riverside“
Waverly goes through Madison’s room/any scenes reflecting on the ghosts of dead girls in this book.
“Oh my god I see how everything is torn in the river deep//And I don’t know why I go the way//Down by the riverside”

Kirsty Bows – “Crawling (cover)“
I kind of hear this as Madison’s theme, even though she’s not in the actual book.

Alanis Morissette – “Perfect (acoustic)“
I think it should be painfully obvious why Waverly doesn’t get along with her mom (Rachael), but while her mothers aren’t quite this bad, this is what I hear with the household she grew up in, and certainly her little brother feels this way.
“We love you//just the way you are//if you’re perfect”

Ashley Johnson – “Take On Me (cover)“
Ashley Johnson has a beautiful voice–and I really admire how she can sing in character, keeping Ellie’s rougher, tentative voice for her TLoU songs (including “Wayfaring Stranger”, live). So this very quiet, gentle version of “Take On Me” was on repeat a few times in Alone at Night. Specifically the chapters putting the bed together, talking about the past case, etc.
“We’re talking away//I don’t know what I’m to say//I’ll say it anyway//Today is another day to find you//Shyin’ away//Oh, I’ll be comin’ for your love, okay”

Otis Redding – “For Your Precious Love“
Technically this was the song playing for the characters in that scene, though, lol.

Jessica Curry – “Mandus“

Sarah Brightman – “He Doesn’t See Me“
If anyone knows a more melancholy/darker/acoustic version of this, that’s more Waverly, hmu (I love SB, this is on the soundtrack for the lyrics). This is when she oversees someone seemingly on a date.
“When he passes me by, he’s a ray of light//Like the first drop of sun from the sky//And I know he’s a king who deserves a queen//But I’m not a queen, and he doesn’t see me”

Billie Marten – “In for the Kill“
I don’t know if I can specifically point to a scene for this one, although it gave me vibes of Waverly’s frustration and disappointment, and also in the latter part of the book when she’s watching him risk himself for the case.
“I hang my hopes out on the line//Will they be ready for you in time” and “I’m hoping you’ll understand//Now let go of my hand“

Sierra Eagleson – “A Case of You (cover)“
There are a lot of quiet moments in this book I love–one of them, without spoilers, is when Waverly finds her apartment very full of guests, and there’s a scene where they’re sitting on the floor and she confesses the maternal gene skipping her, and the different perspective she’s given on it.
“Oh, you’re in my blood like holy wine//You taste so bitter and so sweet//Oh, I could drink a case of you, darling//And I would still be on my feet”

Angelo Badalamenti – “Twin Peaks Theme (Instrumental)“
There’s a scene in this book that is 100% an Agent Cooper Moment, I don’t care that it’s blatant–I literally heard this song playing as I was typing despite not listening to anything at the time, and even the editor commented “He’s so dreamy.” (What is an ACM? When the theme kicks in while Cooper is kind as he declines Audrey’s advances, or one of the only great things that came out of The Return for me was the “I am the FBI” scene.)
“…there are vows we make, obviously, as part of our duties. But I made an oath myself to uphold certain values. One is to be in service not only to my community but to the world around me. Another is to never hold myself above anyone, victim, witness, or accused, and to afford each person I meet with the dignity everyone is owed from their very basic humanity. But the final one, perhaps the most relevant here”—he turns and looks at me—“is that the job is never above what is right. And if ever the job comes into conflict with what I believe is right, then my choice, while perhaps not easy, is clear and I will know the steps to take. I am not making a great sacrifice here. Even if it affects my case. Even as it most certainly affects my job prospects. There is right and there is wrong. What we’re doing is right.”

James Marshall – “Just You“
Last chapter/epilogue song. (Also, James has always been cool.)

Alone at Night is now available everywhere.