Dot Slash Soundtrack
Dot Slash Soundtrack
** SPOILER ALERT **
The list below explains how each song maps to the book, and gives some behind-the-scenes tidbits about my thinking surrounding certain characters and scenes. It contains plot spoilers.
Scroll to the bottom for top secret bonus content.
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I've attributed the songs to the artists who performed each version, and haven't indicated writing credits, which ones are covers, etc.
Click the track names to open the tracks in Spotify, or click here to open the complete playlist.
Come As You Are
Nirvana, Nevermind
Welcome to the book! We’re all freaks here.
Three Little Birds
Bob Marley, Exodus
Chapter One
Playing on the jukebox at the bar while Seven is FaceTiming with Mom and Dad. Maybe I was trying to do some foreshadowing with this one, and every little thing really is gonna be alright.
California, Über Alles
The Dead Kennedys, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
Chapter Two
Seven moves back to California.
This song was originally written to lampoon California's liberal governor Jerry Brown, which doesn't make a ton of sense, as the Dead Kennedys were vocally leftist. According to punk historians, the band just hated hippies, and criticized people from both the left and right. Either way, the original lyrics don't have any bearing on this book - unless you pretend, as I like to do, that they are about the far-right tech bros currently proliferating Silicon Valley (and the world.)
Better Things
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, I Learned the Hard Way
Chapter Two
We meet Alicia. Alicia seems well-adjusted, positive, warm, welcoming, fun, female-empowering, and all-around just a good vibe. Like this song.
About a Girl
Nirvana, Bleach
Chapter Two
Seven meets Kurt. I think this is just a cute song for two emotionally-stunted people falling in love.
Super Rad!
The Aquabats, The Fury of the Aquabats
Chapter Two
We meet Julian. It's not mentioned in this book, but this is Julian's favorite song. Fun fact: when I lived in San Diego, my ska band Nothing Special covered this.
Spanish Bombs
Tijuana No!, Contra-Revolucion Avenue
Chapter Three
Sol is wearing a Tijuana No! t-shirt when we first meet her after Seven stumbles into the Gathering room. Sol's character was partially inspired by local Santa Cruz punk band Los Dryheavers, and by a guitar player I used to gig with in San Diego and Baja, who lived in Rosarito and loved classic rock.
Pony
Ginuwine, The Bachelor
Chapter Three
Logan looks like Magic Mike. I’m laughing my ass off right now because I actually forgot I put this one on the playlist. But I kind of think it's perfect for Logan and his magic, inflatable cock.
I Fought the Law
The Clash, The Cost of Living EP
Chapter Three
Sol’s laptop has band stickers on it, one of which is for The Clash. It's not stated in the book, but Sol discovered The Clash and got into British/American punk through the Tijuana No! cover of Spanish Bombs (above.)
Llámame
Blondie, American Gigolo
Chapter Four
Sol is wearing a Blondie shirt when Seven runs into her after her memory is erased. I didn’t know this Spanish version of the song existed until I put together this playlist, and I think it’s pretty cool.
Shake It Off
Taylor Swift, 1989
Chapter Four
Playing in someone’s headphones on the bus while Seven is following Logan. My ska band also covered this.
Dumb
Nirvana, In Utero
Chapter Six
Seven is wearing a Nirvana shirt when she goes to Logan’s. She and Sol exchange their words about Seven’s t-shirt at the door, leaving Seven feeling dumb.
Rebel Girl
Bikini Kill, Rebel Girl EP
Chapter Six
Sol’s is wearing a t-shirt for this band when she trashes Seven's shirt. Objectively, Sol's shirt is cooler. Also, this is just a great song.
Magical Mr. Mistoffelees
Andrew Lloyd Weber, Cats
Chapter Six
Mía is watching a Mr. Mistoffelees video on TikTok. The theatre kid in me had to put at least one musical reference in the book.
Faceshopping
SOPHIE, Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides
Chapter Six
We meet Angel. Angel has definitely choreographed something to this song at some point. The name Angel was borrowed from Rent (oops, I guess that's two musical references!) I choreographed Rent once, and Angel was played by an insanely talented dancer friend. Angel's character in the book was loosely inspired by him.
Psycho Killer
The Talking Heads, Talking Heads 77
Chapter Nine
The soundtrack to Seven’s “monkey on a unicycle” era.
No Surprises
Radiohead, OK Computer
Chapter Ten
This song is Dot, cheerfully creating deadly rifts in spacetime.
Viva Las Vegas
Elvis Presley, Viva Las Vegas
Chapter Thirteen
Seven fights the kraken. I've been told by readers that this scene is "giving Bruce Campbell" which is great, because that's what I was going for. To be honest, though, the only films I've seen of Campbell's are the original Evil Dead and Bubba Ho-Tep. It's probably because of Bubba Ho-Tep that I associate Campbell with Elvis Presley, and therefore associate Elvis Presley with this scene.
Also, just imagine this scene with Viva Las Vegas playing behind it. HILARIOUS.
Godspeed
Frank Ocean, Blond
Chapter Fifteen
Alicia is dead.
Gangnam Style
PSY, Gangnam Style
Chapter Sixteen
Playing in the sushi restaurant under Angel and Julian’s apartment. Fun fact: that apartment is a real place. Trev and I used to live there. The restaurant is called RK Sushi. This song played constantly.
Sister Dynamite
Alice Bag, Sister Dynamite
Chapter Sixteen
Sol is wearing an Alice Bag shirt when she fights Seven at the gorge. This song touches on gentrification, which Sol’s neighborhood of Barrio Logan has experienced and is experiencing.
Just a Girl
No Doubt, Tragic Kingdom
Chapter Seventeen
Being “butchered” by a local ska band in a practice room in the UCSD music building during the Game. To me, this song is emblematic of SoCal, pop feminism, and the nineties. Fun to sing at karaoke.
Exit Music (For a Film)
Radiohead, OK Computer
Chapter Nineteen
Julian is dead.
(Don’t Fear) the Reaper
Blue Öyster Cult, Agents of Fortune
Chapter Twenty-Three
The hold music for the Magical Board of California. Seven listens to it on the phone with Rachel. It foreshadows what is coming her way in the last quarter of the book, but I put it in mostly because the book needed more cowbell.
Toxic
Britney Spears, In the Zone
Chapter Twenty-Five
Logan is toxic. If you've seen my TikToks, you might have been clued into his toxic masculinity way back in chapter 3, when the chapter ends with Seven saying he smells like "clean laundry and---"
The bit that gets cut off at the end of that chapter: CINNAMON.
As fans of my videos know, toxic masculinity and cinnamon go hand-in-hand in romance books.
Killing in the Name
Rage Against the Machine, Rage Against the Machine
Chapter Twenty-Five
First song on Seven’s running playlist. A good song for exorcizing your female rage.
All the Small Things
Blink 182, Enema of the State
Chapter Twenty-Five
The last song on Seven’s running playlist. Honestly, I just wanted an excuse to put this song somewhere.
Feminazi
FEA, Fea
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sol is wearing a FEA t-shirt when she and Seven talk. I'm not super familiar with this band - I actually discovered them while writing this book and listening to Tijuana No! on Spotify, and I'm glad I did.
Little Bird
Annie Lennox, Diva
Chapter Twenty-Five
Seven talks to Mom. My mom used to play this song in the car all the time when I was a kid. My take is that it’s about a girl growing up and feeling like she’s outgrown her mother’s advice. It’s also a straight banger.
Human Behavior
Björk, Debut
Chapter Twenty-Six
Seven and Kurt talk about how they don’t understand people, and almost say they like each other.
Boys Don’t Cry
The Cure, Three Imaginary Boys
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Angel makes Seven look like the lead singer of The Cure, partly because helping Seven is a way to distract themself from crying about Julian. Angel’s relationship to the word “boy” is too complicated to get into in the limited space we have here, unfortunately, but book two is coming.
To Live and Die in LA
Wang Chung, To Live and Die in LA
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Seven receives the phone alert from the Magical Board and the bugs come through the ether. IDK why this song fits that moment. Probably just the SoCal vibes and that they are all about to die.
Don’t Stop Me Now
Queen, Jazz
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sol is wearing a Queen t-shirt for the final showdown. If you've seen Shaun of the Dead, you may recall they use this song in the final showdown to absolute perfection. If you haven't seen Shaun of the Dead, please watch it immediately.
Down Boy
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, IS IS
Chapter Thirty
Kurt tells Seven down girl. This song is sexy.
Seven Nation Army
The White Stripes, Elephant
Chapter Thirty
An army of foxes and magic jaguars is coming.
Hide and Seek
Imogen Heap, Speak for Yourself
Chapter Thirty
Kurt is dead.
Rock 'n' Roll Suicide
David Bowie, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Chapter Thirty-One
Seven slays the fucking dragon.
Walk Like a Zombie
Horrorpops, Bring It On
Chapter Thirty-Two/Three
Seven wakes up after blowing herself up and discovers she's a zombie. All her friends are there. She takes a big pill. It’s weird.
The Man Who Sold the World
Nirvana, Unplugged
Chapter Thirty-Two
Seven meets One. We discover he was the man behind it all. He didn’t sell the world, but he did sell out Seven.
Pink Pony Club
Chappel Roan, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
Chapter Thirty-Three
Seven misses her mom.
Cold War
Janelle Monáe, The ArchAndroid
Chapter Thirty-Four
Alicia takes up the mantle of the Messiah in the robot revolution. This song for me captures the vibe of how she does this: with grim, compelling determination. Monáe's ArchAndroid album is also a great example of Afrofuturism, which Alicia and One will connect over in book 2.
Pictures of You
The Cure, Disintegration
Chapter Thirty-Four
Seven and Remy stand on the deck together, looking at a picture of him and bracing for the future. They are in love but he doesn’t remember. Are they hopeful? It’s unclear.
Virtual Insanity
Jamiroquai, Traveling Without Moving
Honestly, just a banger. This song is about the future being crazy magic, and I wanted to end the list on something upbeat.
Top Secret Bonus Content
I thought this might be nice context for nerds who want to get, like, really in the weeds about the book (and if you've come all the way down here, I figure you might be one of those people.)
I used to be a musician, and this book is a bit of a love letter to that, and to music and theatre in general. I got my BA in jazz composition and vocal performance from UCSD, after going through the music program at the community college in my hometown of Santa Cruz, where I also worked in musical theatre.
Here are a couple of tracks I wrote for my old jazz/funk/soul band The Village Squares (a different band from the ska band mentioned above.) If you happen to enjoy them, we make the complete (and only!) album we produced in 2016 available on YouTube for posterity, along with lyrics and some music videos.