A lot of authors have this thing where they've spent so long working with a character, that they start to hear songs that they use to help define them. If an author spends long enough working on a project then they're likely to end up with a whole goddamn mixtape that they think perfectly defines their character and their fictional struggles.
Well, as some of you know I spent the worse part of 7-ish (I forget exactly) years on Days Too Dark, and during that time I encountered quite a few songs that I thought fit quite well with the story and themes I was trying to put forward. Some of the songs were actually mentioned in the book itself for this reason, others were just songs that worked really well with the overly angsty crap that the main character is drowning himself in.
Below is a list of songs that I felt meshed well with Mars and Days Too Dark as a whole, the specific number of them is curious and not just because there's almost enough for a stand alone album here. So, without further ado... the Maralinga Marquardt Mixtape!
Battle Cry - Imagine Dragons
New Divide - Linkin Park
Down Under - Men at Work
What I've Done - Linkin Park
Atlantic City - Bruce Springsteen
Thunderstruck - ACDC
In the Air Tonight - Phil Collins
Paint it, Black - The Rolling Stones
Monster - Imagine Dragons
The Unforgiven - Metallica
Carry on Wayward Son - Kansas
House of the Rising Sun - The Animals
Back in Black - ACDC
Demons - Imagine Dragons
Nine Inch Nails - Hurt
Gary Jules - Mad World
Knocking on Heavens Door - Guns'n'Roses
Silence - Marshmello
Now... there's an obvious theme there, one that I'll get into at a later date. But even with a cursory glance one could tell that these songs speak of conflict, torment and a shitty self-esteem. There's a few hints in there at where the story is going to go too, so if one were to listen to each of these songs they might have an idea of the roads that Mars is doomed to walk.
Funnily enough though, the song that I think speaks for Mars the best is the last addition - Silence, by Marshmello. There's a kind of sorrow about things that've happened, but also a regret about the choices that've been made in response to those troubling events. That's exactly the kind of mood I was going for with Mars, he's someone who has legitimately been through some seriously fucked up shit, but his own choices haven't made his situation any better. It's a great song, and if you haven't heard it then you should definitely give it a listen.
These are just the songs that have lyrics that I think suit what I was going for with Days Too Dark, and will be going for with the subsequent books in the series. There's a whole other slew of songs that I've got saved on YouTube that're pure inspiration, but I'll get to them in another blog post.