“Music can make you feel like a single drop and an entire ocean all at once.”
That might just be my favourite quote from ‘Your Rhythm.’ I knew all along I wanted to make the passion Matt and Kay share for music a central part of the story. Even though they express that passion in different ways—Matt through drumming and Kay through her writing—it’s a big part of what draws them together, and I think music really does have the power to bring people closer to one another like that.
The idea to name each chapter in the novel after a particular song struck me as I was putting together the track list for the book’s official playlist. Each song goes along with the events or mood of the chapter it corresponds with. That also means the table of contents doubles as a copy of the playlist! So cool, right? RIGHT?! You can listen along as you read!
You can find a copy of the playlist to listen to here, and here’s a list of all the tracks:
The Temper Trap- Fader
Figure it Out- Royal Blood
My Body- Young the Giant
She Wants to Know- Half Moon Run
Sick Muse- Metric
Lonely Boy- The Black Keys
Bad Habit- The Kooks
Hey! Ya, You- The Elwins
Stay Forever- Panama
Paralyse- Polarheart
Honey Whiskey- Nothing But Thieves
You Might Be- Autograf
Favourite Colour- Tokyo Police Club
What I Like About You- The Romantics
Inhaler- Foals
On Call- Kings of Leon
On Top- The Killers
You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid- The Offspring
End Love- Okay Go
Le Long de la Route- Zaz
Everlong- Foo Fighters
On Top of the World- Imagine Dragons
Some fun facts about the playlist:
There are a few Canadian and Montreal-based artists on there to make things extra appropriate
Nothing But thieves and Half Moon Run are two bands who have a very similar sound to how I imagine Sherbrooke Station would sound
The title isn’t directly mentioned in the story, but the song from the rooftop scene is indeed the one the ‘Stay Forever’ chapter is named after!
If you’ve yet to dive into ‘Your Rhythm,’ or even if you’ve already started, try listening along as you read to really get into the rock star mood.
As always, you can grab your copy of the book here.
