Music to Read By
Playlists for your pleasure… and longevity!
When I think of the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, the first thing that comes to mind is the MUSIC.
RADIO STARR takes place in the 1980s, so for last week’s Retro Dance Party, I made a fifty-song playlist full of funk, new wave (the videos are ridiculously hilarious), rock, and country from that glorious era of hairspray and shoulder pads. If you missed the party, don’t worry—there are links below so you can recreate the experience in your living room. Leg warmers optional but highly recommended.
A 2018 study by the New York Times concluded the music you listen to when you’re thirteen-fourteen sticks with you—many of us cling to those playlists like our childhood stuffed animals for the rest of our lives. For my age group, that means the late sixties through the seventies: the Beatles, Motown, psychedelic rock, prog rock, classic country, funk, and what my mom called “hard rock.” (Unlike most mothers, Mom yelled “Turn it UP!”)
My novel has so many overlapping soundtracks it practically needs its own DJ. Each chapter is named after a song, and instead of a table of contents there’s “Eva’s Top 50 Countdown.” I’m not saying I spent more time curating that playlist than writing the book… but almost! These are the songs my main character, Eva LaVette, would play if she could program a radio station. And this Sunday morning, you can actually hear them on WLHA radio from 7–10 Central on the Lee Harris Show. Eva would be thrilled!
Now here’s something wild: A recent study in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry found “Always listening to music was associated with a 39% lower incidence of dementia and 17% lower incidence of cognitive impairment…”
Translation: Dancing around your kitchen to old favorites can keep your brain sharp. So my habit of blasting tunes all day isn’t just self-care—it’s neuroscience. The feelings I get from listening to great songs is indescribable, a feeling of fullness in my heart, goosebumps, and sometimes I don’t even want to breathe so I can take in every chord, instrument, and the quality of the singer’s voice.
WLHA plays a wide variety of the music I loved as a teen and young adult, and it’s mostly commercial-free—except for the parody ads, (like Stupid Stereo Steve’s and classics like “See the USA in Your Chevrolet”). Listening to music makes me ridiculously happy and drowns out the world’s endless chatter. And now it might also be preserving my cognitive function?
Best. Health plan. Ever!
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RETRO DANCE PARTY PLAYLIST
Spotify:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBNBmENRozM0b4cro4UA_w5bSkjywlaij&si=kgjFo55Jcco9_MZF
EVA’S TOP 50 COUNTDOWN
Spotify:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBNBmENRozM1Nn7g762x447do7BpPzcxe&si=NSjFoZesOSDwzHzw
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Purchase your copy of RADIO STARR: A Novel
Not sure where I read this (a LONG time ago), but I thought they said it was the music you listened to when you were sixteen, not 14 (then again, I was a late bloomer).
I love the Retro Dance Party with Andy Arns and WLHA!
Bought two copies of your book.