The Playlist
The music I listened to while writing Ask Me if I'm Happy.
Inspiration for a story can come from all sorts of sources: a news story on television, a stranger spied doing something odd, a half-remembered tale from childhood, a particularly vivid dream.
For Ask Me if I'm Happy, music was frequently the catalyst for scenes - in fact, the title itself was taken from a song by Italian singer/songwriter Samuele Bersani.
Here is a playlist which I listened to daily while writing. Not always all the way through, not always every single song. But some songs really helped to breathe life into scenes, others simply had particularly fitting music or lyrics for a given moment while I wrote.
If you care to take the time to track down the songs (many of which are in Italian), I think you might enjoy listening to them while you read Ask Me...
So here's the list:
All I Want Is You - U2
Always On My Mind - Pet Shop Boys
Amandoti - Gianna Nannini
American Girl - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Amore che vieni amore che vai - Fabrizio de Andre
And I Love Her - Beatles
And If I Fall - Charlatans
And So Is Love - Kate Bush
Andrea - Fabrizio de Andre
Angel - Sarah McLachlan
Because The Night - 10,000 Maniacs
Bellamore - Francesco De Gregori
Breaking Us in Two - Joe Jackson
Bring Me Some Water - Melissa Etheridge
Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley
Canzone dell'amore perduto - Fabrizio de Andre
Chiedimi se Sono Felice - Samuele Bersani
Chrome Plated Heart - Melissa Etheridge
Coming Back to Life - Pink Floyd
Constant Craving - k. d. lang
Crying - Roy Orbison & KD Lang
Desire - U2
Don't - Elvis Presley
Dreaming - Blondie
Elisir - Gianna Nannini
Ever Fallen in Love - Pete Yorn
Fall On Me - R.E.M.
Falling Away With You - Muse
Ferragosto - Samuele Bersani
Find The River - R.E.M.
Foolish Games - Jewel
Frozen - Madonna
Giudizi Universali - Samuele Bersani
Gli Ostacoli Del Cuore - Elisa
Half A World Away - R.E.M.
Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright
Happy Together - The Turtles
Head Over Feet - Alanis Morissette
Here with Me - Dido
Homeward Bound - Simon and Garfunkel
I'll Cry Instead - Beatles
I'm A Man - Pulp
I'm With You - Go-Go's
I Get Weak - Belinda Carlisle
I Only Want To Be With You - Dusty Springfield
If I Fell - Beatles
Incantevole - Subsonica
L' Oroscopo Speciale - Samuele Bersani
la donna cannone - Francesco De Gregori
La Guerra è Finita - Baustelle
La Risposta - Simone Cristicchi
La stagione del tuo amore - Fabrizio De Andrè
Lay Lady Lay - Bob Dylan
Legato A Te - Simone Cristicchi
Let My Love Open The Door - Pete Townshend
Life for Rent - Dido
Little Earthquakes - Tori Amos
Losing My Religion - R.E.M.
Love and Anger - Kate Bush
Love Comes Quickly - Pet Shop Boys
Love Is Blindness - U2
Love Is Only Sleeping - Monkees
Lunedi' - Samuele Bersani
Mad World - Gary Jules
My Hero - Foo Fighters
My Immortal - Evanescence
Nei Nostri Luoghi - Subsonica
No One Is To Blame - Howard Jones
No Souvenirs - Melissa Etheridge
Non Portami Via Il Nome - Samuele Bersani
Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien - Edith Piaf
One - U2
One Slip - Pink Floyd
Out of my head - Fastball
Pensandoti - Samuele Bersani
Perfect Day - Lou Reed
Precious Things - Tori Amos
Qualcosa Che Non C'è - Elisa
Replay - Samuele Bersani
Adia - Sarah MacLachlan
Sweet Surrender - Sarah MacLachlan
Se Ti Convincerai - Samuele Bersani
Season of Hollow Soul - k. d. lang
Smile - David Gilmour
Spaccacuore - Samuele Bersani
Stay - Elisa
Stay - Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories
Still Thrives This Love- k. d. lang
Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of - U2
Suicidio d'amore - Gianna Nannini
Sul treno - Simone Cristicchi
Thank You - Dido
The Last Worthless Evening - Don Henley
The Power Of Goodbye - Madonna
The Sensual World - Kate Bush
The Waiting - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Things We Said Today - Beatles
Time Is Running Out - Muse
Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
Un periodo pieno di sorprese - Samuele Bersani
Un Romantico A Milano - Baustelle
Una delirante poesia - Samuele Bersani
Verranno a chiederti del nosto amore - Fabrizio de Andre
Volta la carta - Fabrizio de Andre
Walking After You - Foo Fighters
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away - Beatles
You look so fine - Garbage
You Were Meant For Me - Jewel
For Ask Me if I'm Happy, music was frequently the catalyst for scenes - in fact, the title itself was taken from a song by Italian singer/songwriter Samuele Bersani.
Here is a playlist which I listened to daily while writing. Not always all the way through, not always every single song. But some songs really helped to breathe life into scenes, others simply had particularly fitting music or lyrics for a given moment while I wrote.
If you care to take the time to track down the songs (many of which are in Italian), I think you might enjoy listening to them while you read Ask Me...
So here's the list:
All I Want Is You - U2
Always On My Mind - Pet Shop Boys
Amandoti - Gianna Nannini
American Girl - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Amore che vieni amore che vai - Fabrizio de Andre
And I Love Her - Beatles
And If I Fall - Charlatans
And So Is Love - Kate Bush
Andrea - Fabrizio de Andre
Angel - Sarah McLachlan
Because The Night - 10,000 Maniacs
Bellamore - Francesco De Gregori
Breaking Us in Two - Joe Jackson
Bring Me Some Water - Melissa Etheridge
Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley
Canzone dell'amore perduto - Fabrizio de Andre
Chiedimi se Sono Felice - Samuele Bersani
Chrome Plated Heart - Melissa Etheridge
Coming Back to Life - Pink Floyd
Constant Craving - k. d. lang
Crying - Roy Orbison & KD Lang
Desire - U2
Don't - Elvis Presley
Dreaming - Blondie
Elisir - Gianna Nannini
Ever Fallen in Love - Pete Yorn
Fall On Me - R.E.M.
Falling Away With You - Muse
Ferragosto - Samuele Bersani
Find The River - R.E.M.
Foolish Games - Jewel
Frozen - Madonna
Giudizi Universali - Samuele Bersani
Gli Ostacoli Del Cuore - Elisa
Half A World Away - R.E.M.
Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright
Happy Together - The Turtles
Head Over Feet - Alanis Morissette
Here with Me - Dido
Homeward Bound - Simon and Garfunkel
I'll Cry Instead - Beatles
I'm A Man - Pulp
I'm With You - Go-Go's
I Get Weak - Belinda Carlisle
I Only Want To Be With You - Dusty Springfield
If I Fell - Beatles
Incantevole - Subsonica
L' Oroscopo Speciale - Samuele Bersani
la donna cannone - Francesco De Gregori
La Guerra è Finita - Baustelle
La Risposta - Simone Cristicchi
La stagione del tuo amore - Fabrizio De Andrè
Lay Lady Lay - Bob Dylan
Legato A Te - Simone Cristicchi
Let My Love Open The Door - Pete Townshend
Life for Rent - Dido
Little Earthquakes - Tori Amos
Losing My Religion - R.E.M.
Love and Anger - Kate Bush
Love Comes Quickly - Pet Shop Boys
Love Is Blindness - U2
Love Is Only Sleeping - Monkees
Lunedi' - Samuele Bersani
Mad World - Gary Jules
My Hero - Foo Fighters
My Immortal - Evanescence
Nei Nostri Luoghi - Subsonica
No One Is To Blame - Howard Jones
No Souvenirs - Melissa Etheridge
Non Portami Via Il Nome - Samuele Bersani
Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien - Edith Piaf
One - U2
One Slip - Pink Floyd
Out of my head - Fastball
Pensandoti - Samuele Bersani
Perfect Day - Lou Reed
Precious Things - Tori Amos
Qualcosa Che Non C'è - Elisa
Replay - Samuele Bersani
Adia - Sarah MacLachlan
Sweet Surrender - Sarah MacLachlan
Se Ti Convincerai - Samuele Bersani
Season of Hollow Soul - k. d. lang
Smile - David Gilmour
Spaccacuore - Samuele Bersani
Stay - Elisa
Stay - Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories
Still Thrives This Love- k. d. lang
Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of - U2
Suicidio d'amore - Gianna Nannini
Sul treno - Simone Cristicchi
Thank You - Dido
The Last Worthless Evening - Don Henley
The Power Of Goodbye - Madonna
The Sensual World - Kate Bush
The Waiting - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Things We Said Today - Beatles
Time Is Running Out - Muse
Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
Un periodo pieno di sorprese - Samuele Bersani
Un Romantico A Milano - Baustelle
Una delirante poesia - Samuele Bersani
Verranno a chiederti del nosto amore - Fabrizio de Andre
Volta la carta - Fabrizio de Andre
Walking After You - Foo Fighters
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away - Beatles
You look so fine - Garbage
You Were Meant For Me - Jewel
