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It’s playlist time! And World Undone has a long-ass playlist, mainly due to the number of songs our friends play in the story. Because karaoke! Don’t worry, that’s not much of a spoiler, and if you haven’t yet read World Undone, it’ll answer the question you’re surely asking yourself as you scroll down the list of songs: What the hell is going on in this book?

That’s part of what’s going on. The rest of the songs? Well, you’ll have to read and see for yourself.

Don’t want to see links to the YouTube videos and read all my ramblings about each song? Here’s a TL;DR link to the Spotify playlist:

Now, without further ado:

Doves “Pounding��
I wanted to start with something upbeat but also sort of bittersweet. Because all is well for now �� and we know how long that usually lasts in the zompoc. You’ve gotta grab the good when you can.
“See the light, But it won’t last forever, Seize the time, ‘Cause it’s now or never, baby.��

All right, here’s where it kinda goes wackadoodle, so I’ll just put most of the songs without a lot of commentary. But there’s singing and dancing involved!

Dion “Runaround Sue��

Pat Benatar “Love Is A Battlefield��
I mean, who doesn’t love the shoulder shimmy? It’s a classic.

ABBA “The Winner Takes It All��
That high note at the end �� hahahaa

Redbone “Come And Get Your Love��
I would pay good money to see this song’s scene in real life.

The Weather Girls “It’s Raining Men��
You had to know it’d show up sooner or later. And, yes, I love disco. Unreservedly, unabashedly, and forever. World without end, amen.

El DeBarge “Rhythm of the Night��
How can you not dance to this? You could do any dance move on Earth, and it’d work. You’re freaking right that it’s a celebration, Mr. DeBarge. It’s like he wrapped up *fun* and put it in a song. An ��80s song. And it doesn’t get much better than that.

Morrissey “Sing Your Life��
As some of you know, I’ve included a Smiths song on every playlist of this series. I’ve decided this counts as that song. Also, this is one of the best songs to sing along with. Try it. You’ll see!

Dolly Parton “Here You Come Again��
It’s Dolly, y’all. That’s why.

David Bowie “Modern Love��
I have a Bowie story! Years ago (2003, maybe? You can Google �� I’m too lazy), we saw Radiohead at an MTV $2 bill concert at the Beacon Theater in NYC. We slept outside for the tickets, and there’s a whole annoying story around that because people who �󲹻��’t waited in line all night pushed their way in and got the tickets because sometimes people are total assholes with absolutely no conscience or sense of fair play.
But I digress. We did get to go to the show after all, and we ended up in the 7th row. Which was pretty awesome. At one point, we turn around, and David Freaking Bowie is sitting a few rows behind us. Aside from the fact that David Bowie was sitting a few rows behind us, we also had better seats than David Bowie. How the hell did that happen?
Anyway, that’s my story. No, I didn’t go up to Bowie. My extremely introverted ass doesn’t do things like that, and I’m sure old DB appreciates it.

Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers “Islands in the Stream��
This is it, y’all, where some magic happens between two people who shall remain nameless. FINALLY.

REO Speedwagon “Can’t Fight This Feeling��
This is another scene between two people. It was an unexpected moment, but as we all know, “No mortal man can resist The Wagon.��

Radiohead “Up On The Ladder��
Chapter 15
“Up on the ladder, we wait for your mistake.�� It only takes an instant.

Mother Falcon “Marigold��
Chapter 17
This is where someone is telling someone else to give in and try for love. Fight! Fight! Fight!
Also, one of my all-time favorite songs is by Mother Falcon (the kind I can have on repeat for 20 minutes straight), and I keep trying to work it into a playlist, but I haven’t yet found a spot that works. One day I might have to force you to listen to it just because.
The video has 42 seconds of silence/video at the beginning, and since I figured many of you would be like WTF are you playing at, Sarah? I’ve started the embedded video at :40.

Israel “IZ�� Kamakawiwoʻole “Somewhere Over The Rainbow��
Chapter 20
I love this song. And, apparently, so does someone in Alaska.

Gorillaz “On Melancholy Hill��
I realized something as I was searching for songs that I love that would be good for scenes where people are going about their business and working together and are all yay for stuff! And that realization was that so many songs are NOT yay for stuff! Or they’re yay for LOVE instead of yay for EVERYTHING, and I didn’t want a love song.

For instance, here was one of my thoughts: “It’s summer and things are good, so how about ‘It’s Summertime�� by the Flaming Lips?�� And then I really thought about the lyrics. “It’s summertime, and I can understand if you still feel sad…When you look inside, all you’ll see is a self-reflected inner sadness�� …and so on. Ha, nope!
This kept happening, over and over.

Despite its name, “On Melancholy Hill�� isn’t sad sad. It’s bittersweet, maybe. And in the movie version of World Undone in my head, we’re only playing the cheery melody and good lines. So just vibe out with me and picture lovely gardens and good friendships and laughter.

Journey “Don’t Stop Believin'��
Chapter 22
Yeah, I know we’ve all heard it a million times, but c’mon. It’s impossible to not belt out, “Streetlights, people-ul-ul-ul!�� every time.

Prince & The Revolution “When Doves Cry��
Chapter 23
Breakdance battle!

Midlake “Roscoe��
I’m picturing a montage of them building a life and canning food and battening down the hatches, just in case.

M83 “Don’t Save Us From The Flames��
Chapters 34-35
By now, y’all likely know that I have some go-to bands for action scenes, and M83 is on the list. This is a great one.

Brighton “Forest Fire��
Chapter 36
I’ve been waiting to give y’all this song for YEARS. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking and perfect for this whole part. You could probably just play it for the next four chapters.

Radiohead “Like Spinning Plates (Live)��
Chapter 41
If you know Radiohead, then you know the live version of this song is completely unlike the album version. It’s soaring and yearning and just…gorgeous. I wanted so badly to hear it live, and when I finally did for the first time at one of their shows in 2001, I cried. And now you know what a complete dork I am.
Anyway, this song. This chapter.

The New Pornographers “We’ve Been Here Before��
Final chapter
I had several contenders for last song, but this ended up winning, as I thought it captured the mood and setting best. The lyrics, y’all. You gotta read them.

Until next time! Thanks for listening!
xo S