I recently wrote a blog post on my characters favorite books and the books they secretly love (eg, book guilty pleasure). It was fun so I want to do a variation on the theme. This time it’s my characters favorite songs and the songs they secretly love but don’t want to admit to anyone. (You know, like you secretly love Dancing Queen but won’t admit it.)

Music is a huge part of my family’s life. We are one of those families that owns a record player. My daughter takes after her namesake, my grandmother, and plays a bunch of instruments.

And check out all my pretty records. Is there a recordstagram? If not, there should be.

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In my family, our tastes are eclectic but tend toward the indie rock genre. My current obsession is Banks & Steelz, a collaboration between the lead singer Paul Banks of Interpol and RZA from Wu-Tang Clan. This on the heels of Big Grams (Big Boi of Outkast+ Phantogram) and I nearly lost my mind with joy. One of my favorite songs is by a band called MGMT (song called Kids). And one of my favorite bands is Portugal. The Man. (Yep that’s the name, as in NOT Portugal. The Country.) Never heard of them? They aren’t super mainstream. But if you like the Beastie Boys, Mike D collaborated with the band on their upcoming album. (He also remixed one of the songs from their last album. Listen here.)  New song from their next album was also just released, if you want to check it out. And their last album was produced my Danger Mouse. Who. Is. Awesome.

OK I am music nerding out here. Bottom line, I kind of like music. So, now that we’ve established this, let’s get started shall we? This is going to be fun.

Dagny

  • Favorite Song: Run the World (Girls), Beyoncé
    • Why? It’s about powerful ladies kickin’ butt. This shouldn’t need explanation.
  • Song she secretly loves: Sweet Caroline, Neil Diamond
    • Why? It’s a song that’s always stuck with her from body to body and it just makes her smile. But she thinks if her new friends find out she likes Neil Diamond they may think she’s a dork and she wants to be a normal girl with friends.

Marc

  • Favorite Song: Karma Police, Radiohead
    • Why: Marc’s always liked Radiohead and has trouble picking just one song. He actually has trouble picking just one song as his favorite at all. He’d prefer to list his top 100. But that wasn’t the question asked, so he went with this.
  • Song he secretly loves: Summertime, Ella Fitzgerald
    • Why: It’s not that he’s embarrassed to like the song or or any song. Marc unapologetically likes what music he likes. But also knows he’s probably one of the few 17-year-olds on the planet who enjoys jazz. So, he doesn’t feel it’s worth mentioning to his friends.

Jillian

  • Favorite song: Black, Pearl Jam and Paint it Black, Rolling Stones
    • Why: Because she likes things dark and black.
  • Song she secretly loves: Shake it off, Taylor Swift
    • Why: The song gets stuck in her head even if she changes the channel when it comes on in the car. But she’ll never admit to liking a song by a peppy anti-Jillian artist like Taylor Swift.

Ava

  • Favorite “song”: Mozart, The Magic Flute
    • Why: It’s one of Mozart’s best operas  and she prefers classical music, which she just calls music.
  • Song she secretly loves: Blue Suede Shoes, Elvis
    • Why: She secretly loves Elvis in general. But doesn’t want to admit she likes any music from any time after the 1800s.

Jason

  • Favorite Song: All Along the Watchtower, The Jimi Hendrix Experience
    • Why: This song was originally written and recorded by Bob Dylan, but Jason doesn’t know that because he doesn’t pay much attention to music. He heard this version song during the Vietnam War and, like others at the time, it resonated with him.
    • (Side note: In case you don’t already think I’m a huge nerd, this song was prominently featured in the update to Battlestar Galactica – lyrics were even quoted and the Jimi Hendrix version played during the series finale. And this wasn’t just a random choice. One of the reasons it was used may have been that the lyrics to the song can be interpreted as describing a cyclical story, eg, all of this has happened before and it will happen again, a central theme to BG. I loved that show! Total. Nerd. Here. Can’t help it!)
  • Song he secretly loves: Watermark, Enya
    • Why: It’s relaxing and Jason needs to relax because he tends to have trouble controlling his anger. But he knows his family will mock him for liking it.

Brooke

  • Favorite Song: Hallelujah,  Jeff Buckley version of the Leonard Cohen song
    • Why: She finds the music and lyrics moving, particularly when sung in Buckley’s voice. She has a deeply lyrical soul that connects with the song.
  • Song she secretly loves: Groove is in the Heart, Deee-Lite
    • Why: Secretly Brooke loves to dance in her room to all types of dance music. But, she worries if Lily finds out she’ll drag her to a lame club downtown where they play remixes from Grease. She’d rather just dance alone.

Lily

  • Favorite Song: 24K Magic, Bruno Mars
    • Why: It makes her happy and excited. Plus, it’s everyone’s favorite song. So it has to be hers too, right?
  • Song she secretly loves: The Sweetest Taboo, Sade
    • Why: Lily is a romantic at heart and loves the romantic feel of Sade’s songs. But Sade is not a popular singer with her friends. In fact, the singer is very retro, and not in a cool way. Liking her music makes Lily seem different and she doesn’t want to be different.

 Cody

  • Favorite Song: “We the People…” A Tribe Called Quest
    • Why: Cody may be “chill” on the outside, and a true diplomat, who everyone confides in. But, he’s not frivolous. He has an artists soul and tends toward music that gets to the heart of injustice in the world.
  • Song she secretly loves: Footloose, Kenny Loggins
    • Why: He doesn’t want to like it, but he does. I’m not sure it needs an explanation why he keeps it a secret.