In my last post, I introduced the soundtrack to my new stand-alone contemporary romance Cicadas: A Totally Ordinary Epic Love Story, a soundtrack you can find in all these places:

• Tidal (I use this service because it pays artists more and has the best sound quality)
• Spotify (embedded below)
• YouTube (also embedded below)
• Amazon
• Apple Music

Scroll down to find out why I included each song. 🚨Warning: Cicadas spoilers ahead!

Notes on Part 2 (2004)

Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand: In the record shop, Joel makes Dan buy this debut CD from FF. “That album’s amazing,” Joel says. “And a little bit gay. Just like you.”

Hey-Ya! by Outkast: Late in Part 2 as they’re lying in bed, Joel explains to Dan the chaotic nature of cicadas’ mating ritual:

Imagine a massive, jam-packed speed-dating event where all of the guys are singing Outkast’s ‘Hey Ya!’ at the top of their lungs. And then every time a woman smiles at the man across the table from her, three other dudes show up and try to sing over their conversation.

Cicadas: A Totally Ordinary Epic Love Story, Chapter 12

What makes this song SO appropriate is that the chorus “Heeey-yaaaaaaaaa!” features a downslur on the second syllable, just like the mating call of the Magicicada septendecim. Serendipity!

Thematically, it’s a song about two people with divergent ideas about relationships. And about shaking it like a Polaroid picture.

Rich Man’s War by Steve Earle: Along with the backlash to same-sex marriage, the main issue in the 2004 election was the Iraq War and its complicated relationship to 9/11 (Joel and Dan have a thoughtful conversation about all of this in Chapter 8). Two major protest albums were released that year: American Idiot by Green Day and The Revolution Starts Now by alt-country artist Steve Earle.

When will we ever learn
When will we ever see
Stand up and take our turn
Tellin' ourselves we're free

The final verse about the boy from Gaza is the gut-punch that elevates this song to the realm of brilliance.

The Hardest Button to Button by White Stripes: No special meaning other than I wanted to include a song from this prominent album, and Seven Nation Army has become timeless, thanks to sporting events.

Pink Bullets by The Shins: Oh man, this whole song could be Joel and Dan in the first half of their lives, both the 1987-2004 separation and the 2004-2021 one: the regrets, the moving on, and the way they held each other in deepest memory.

When our kite lines first crossed
We tied 'em into knots
But to finally fly apart
We had to cut them off

Everybody’s Changing by Keane: This one’s right in the text, as they listen to it during the drive back to the hotel. Later, as Dan confesses to driving 1,489 miles to see Joel, he’s rubbing the title on the CD case: Hopes and Dreams. Oh, Dan. ❤️

Hands Down by Dashboard Confessional: This is the opening track not just to their album A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar, but to my Cicadas 2004 playlist I listened to when I was working on Part 2. It’s so joyous and passionate, perfect not just for their first kiss in the car but for all of Part 2 when they’re together.

My hopes are so high that your kiss might kill me
So won't you kill me, so I die happy?
My heart is yours to fill or burst, to break or bury
Or wear as jewelry, whichever you prefer

Moonrock Mambo by Yo La Tengo: This song encapsulates the joy, laughter, and passion Joel and Dan find together in that hotel room. And it’s the mambo Joel mentions when Dan puts on the CD.

Lack of Color by Death Cab for Cutie: Another band that no mid-00s soundtrack would be complete without. I chose this song because it uses photography as a metaphor for a relationship:

And when I see you
I really see you upside down
But my brain knows better
It picks you up and turns you around

Love Can Destroy Everything by The Raveonettes: One of my favorite bands. The song title says it all. And it’s a waltz!

My Happy Ending by Avril Lavigne: Dan plays his new CD of hers as he speeds away from Columbia. But he can’t outrun his heartbreak, and Avril doesn’t help.

What I didn’t realize until a couple of weeks ago is that there’s a line in the song that refers to an “unbreakable thread,” which is a recurring motif in the novel. Serendipity Part Deux!