Best Book and Music Pairings - Three Books That Inspired Music
Putting on some nice background music and relaxing with a good book is one of the simple pleasures in life. As long as you choose music that isn’t distracting it can make the experience a lot more enjoyable. However, some songs or artists fit certain books in a way that goes beyond mere background music. Here are just a couple of examples of books that are even better to read when paired with the right songs.
Book: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Music: Haunted by Poe
House of Leaves is the tale of a family moving into a small home only to discover that it is actually bigger on the inside than what it is when viewed from outside. Even stranger is the appearance of strange things within the house, such as a closet and hallway. It is a eerie and creepy tale, but in the footnotes there is also a second story that unfolds, which makes the book even more surreal.
What makes “Haunted” the second album by Poe such a great companion to the book is the fact that it was specifically created as a counterpart. This is because Poe is actually the sister of the author and created the album as a counterpart to the book.
Book: Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk
Music: A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out by Panic! At The Disco
Chuck Palahniuk is best known for his novel, Fight Club, but Invisible Monsters is another nihilistic tale that is well worth the read. Like Fight Club, it is a story that isn’t afraid to take some dark turns and this time the author has turned his focus to the world of fashion. It features Shannon McFarland, a fashion model whose career ended after her face was disfigured under mysterious circumstances.
The album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, by the American rock band Panic! At the Disco is a great match for the book partly because it was actually influenced by it. Not only are some of the song titles direct quotes from the book, but the track “Time to Dance” actually tells the story of the book. Throughout the album you’ll hear quotes and references to the book, which makes it a good pairing.
Book: Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy
Music: Hex; Or Printing in the Infernal Method by Earth
Blood Meridian is the tale of The Kid, a fourteen year old who runs away from home and falls in with some bad company. The book is set in the 1800s, but don’t expect a typical tale of the Old West. Blood Meridian is filled with a lot of violence and brutality, which can make it difficult to read, but the excellent writing style of the author makes it hard to stop once you have started.
Earth, one of the pioneers in the drone metal genre, might seem like a strange choice to pair with this book, but once again there is a lot that dies their album Hex together with Blood Meridian. All of the song titles are named after phrases in the book and the western feel of the tracks fit well with the theme of the novel.
