THE BETTER LIAR official playlist!
I listen to music obsessively while developing ideas & writing. Here’s a playlist of all the songs, diegetic and not, that helped me make The Better Liar over the course of 2015-2019. A few notes on certain standouts below.
“Sororal Feelings,” U.S. Girls
I listened to this album, and this song specifically, over and over during 2015-2016. The album is about girlhood and womanhood, and how women are trained to view themselves from the outside, from the perspective of men real and imaginary.
“Angel of the Morning,” P. P. Arnold
Tbh I like “The First Cut is the Deepest” a bit better—but it was too on the nose. This song entered the book as part of a rewrite. I wanted to introduce Mary a bit differently to readers, and it still makes me laugh to imagine the scene where she drives to her ex’s place singing along to this song on the radio.
“I Only Have Eyes For You,” The Flamingos
I find this song really creepy. It’s the sort of song that would begin playing by itself in an empty house in a horror movie. So of course it became the backing track for the scene where Leslie has her terrible, wonderful idea. I liked the twisting of the lyrics from romantic to obsessive, Leslie’s eyes following Mary as she passes in front of the television.
“Wedding Bell Blues,” Laura Nyro
I like the Laura Nyro version better than the Fifth Dimension one—it’s a bit sadder. I wanted something that evokes childhood for Leslie, but there’s a sense of inevitable despair to this song when I listen to it that resonated with its function in the novel.
“Please Love Me Forever,” “Funny How Time Slips Away,” Wanda Jackson
I discovered Wanda Jackson when I was 23. I had “Funnel of Love” on repeat on the way to work for a while. “Funnel of Love” is unbelievably hard to sing along to. She makes it sound so easy. I put her in the book just because I don’t think enough people know about her compared to her ex, Elvis. I wrote the scene between Mary and Billy the taxi driver fairly late in the game, I think—it was part of a general need for Mary to have her own car and get around behind Leslie’s back. The conversation they have about angels and ghosts underlines both Mary’s narcissism and her surprising gentleness.
“She Bangs the Drums,” Stone Roses
Probably no one remembers this being in the book. I think it’s a throwaway line about Mary skipping radio stations until she finds the Stone Roses. But I like it because there’s a strong 60s/70s vibe to the book’s music mentions and this offers a bit of dimension to her tastes.
“Sea of Love,” Cat Power
Leslie and Dave danced to this song at their wedding.
“Careless Whisper,” George Michael
This was the funniest song I could think of for Mary to choose at karaoke. Almost all George Michael songs are very funny when sung by someone other than George Michael.
“Thursday Girl,” Mitski
This is Leslie’s song. There’s no better way to send yourself into a screaming depression than to listen to Puberty 2 on repeat for an entire month. That’s a tip from me to you.
“I Go to Sleep,” Anika
This song isn’t mentioned in the book. It was the song I listened to while I wrote a scene that was cut from the book, about somebody’s death. You can probably guess whose if you’ve finished the book. It’s better that it’s not in there anymore, since it was just too awful, and I still avoid listening to this song because it always makes me cry.
“Girls,” Death in Vegas
This is the post-credits song. I especially like the cheering at the end.
