Mary Chapin Carpenter released a new album this month; to my great horror, I was unaware that she had one in the pipeline, or even that she had a tour date here in the Old Pueblo back in June. I discovered these major oversights while surfing her website looking for song lyrics; I couldn’t do much about having missed the concert, but the new album (and one that she released in January) immediately landed in my iTunes library as quickly as the payment could get processed. Personal History has been on deep repeat ever since; it’s another master class in how amazing writing paired with the perfect music can evoke the rawest of emotions — across the entire spectrum.

I’ve never tried my hand at writing music, but I often use music as part of my writing. Artists such as Mary Chapin Carpenter provide me with the right kind of background when I’m trying to reach for a certain feeling in a given passage or section of a novel; perhaps it’s a bit of a cheat for me, but when I need to hang on to something visceral while a character is dealing with what I’ve thrown at them, the perfect soundtrack can help to keep me in that space. A happy side effect of that has been a strange intimacy with the poetry of crafting a song; I remain in awe of anyone who is capable of rhyming in perfect time with the beat.

(I have so many questions! Does the music come first? Or the lyrics? I think the answer is often both — or either, depending on the artist.)

In any event, listening to Personal History made me think back to my post from January of last year where I outlined some of the music that has become the soundtrack of my novels. Looking it over once more, I found myself smiling that not much has changed in the eighteen months since; I’ve added a few new tracks, perhaps, but the overall balance is still the same. I thought it would be fun to put them all together in a single list this time out, including some of the new material that trickled in with the addition of Kate and Tenoch.

These are presented in no particular order (and, honestly, is just a fraction of what is on my writing playlist).

Background/EmotionalPeter WhiteCataloniaLight of DayChasing the DawnBueno FunkCaravan of DreamsVenice BeachMindi AbairOooh-Aah (Catalina)3rd Street PromenadeEverything’s Gonna Be All RightNothing Ever Hurt Like YouTrue BlueBloomMichael BroeningSummer In BlueLet It BreatheCarol AlbertSunshine YellowPerfect SundayOn My WayMichael LingtonShow MeBrian SimpsonWhat I’m Waiting ForNathan MithcellMinha AmadaNelson RangellThe Way To YouBrian CulbertsonCome On UpLet’s Get StartedLet’s GoStep Into LoveDance With Me TonightFly HighNilsCaught in the GrooveMary Chapin CarpenterThe Way I FeelWhat You Look ForThe Age of MiraclesSomething Tamed, Something WildThe Long Way HomeAlmost HomeTranscendental ReunionSoul CompanionBetween Here and GoneIt Must Have HappenedOn With The SongThe Hard WayI Feel LuckyStones In The RoadThis ShirtBitter EnderHold EverythingTrisha YearwoodThey Call It Falling For A ReasonEverybody KnowsBelieve Me, Baby (I Lied)There Goes My BabyDolly PartonHere You Come AgainLove Is Like A ButterflyThe Bargain StoreBig Dreams and Faded JeansTime For Me To FlySara EvansPerfect21 DaysReal Fine Place To StartAs IfCéline DionSet My Heart On Fire (I’m Alive x And The Beat Goes On)That’s The Way It IsI Drove All NightA New Day Has ComeI’m AliveAdeleSkyfallSet Fire To The RainWillie NelsonMaria (Shut Up And Kiss Me)Mendocino County LineAlison Krauss & Union StationThe Lucky OneGravityRestlessCrazy As MeRoseanne CashBurn Down This TownDreams Are Not My HomeModern BlueReba McEntireWhoever’s in New EnglandFear of Being AloneOne Promise Too LateThe Heart Won’t LieBackground/SoundtracksStar Trek: The Motion Picture (Jerry Goldsmith)Main Title/Klingon BattleFloating OfficeThe EnterpriseLeaving DrydockThe MeldThe Thomas Crown Affair (Bill Conti)Black & White x 5Goodnight / Breaking & EnteringGlider Pt. 1Glider Pt. 2Action/High TensionStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (James Horner)Surprise AttackKirk’s Explosive ReplyCaptain Terrell’s DeathBattle in the Mutara NebulaGenesis CountdownStar Trek III: The Search for Spock (James Horner)Prologue and Main TitleThe Mind-MeldStealing the EnterpriseSunset on GenesisBird of Prey DecloaksThe Black Hole (James Barry)Zero GravityThe Door OpensDurant Is DeadInto The HoleStar Trek, Volume 2 (Original Television Soundtrack) (Gerald Fried & Sol Kaplan)What Is Doomsday MachineGoodbye, Mr. DeckerKirk Does It AgainThe ChallengeThe Ritual