I had difficulties coming up with a song for my work-in-progress, so I asked the two main characters, Rosy and Jaz, for their opinions. Rosy immediately nominated Vincent by Don McLean, because Vincent van Gogh is her favourite artist and he makes an appearance in the book.
“It’s a very brief appearance, though, isn’t it?” I said. “I was hoping for a song that’s about the entire book.”
“Oh, right,” Rosy said. “You want something science-y, then. Never fear, I will use my amazing research skills to find a song for you.” She flipped open her laptop. “What about Weird Science by Oingo Boingo? Or She Blinded Me With Science by Thomas Dolby? Or Science Friction by XTC? Ooh, here’s a good one – Science Genius Girl by Freezepop! Or how about Biology by Girls Aloud? If only that song was a lot smaller. They could have called it Microbiology …”
I went off to find Jaz, who said she didn’t know anything about music but wanted to see what Rosy had discovered. When we returned, Rosy was still at it.
“Did you know that there’s a band called Placebo? And there’s a song called Bad Medicine. But I think you should go with a song from They Might Be Giants – they have loads of science songs. This one’s my favourite.”
“Is this song funny?” I asked. “Because the last song I chose for Five Books, Five Songs was really sad, so I need something cheerful.”
“It’s funny,” Rosy assured me. “Also, there’s a giant squid on the album cover.”
“But the lyrics say ‘koala bear’,” said Jaz, peering over my shoulder at the computer screen. “Koalas aren’t bears, they’re marsupials.”
“Well, They Might Be Giants aren’t Australian,” said Rosy. “Or scientists. You can’t expect them to know very much. They were probably getting koalas confused with drop bears.”
“At least they understand how the blood circulation system works,” said Jaz.
“William Harvey would love this song,” said Rosy, nodding.
“Right, then,” I said. “It’s decided. Mammal by They Might Be Giants. Okay?”
“Okay,” said Rosy.
“Okay,” said Jaz. “But, Michelle?”
“What?”
“You should stop messing about on the internet and get back to writing our book now.”
So I did.
_____
More in Five Books, Five Songs:
1. The Rage of Sheep – Hester’s Request
2. A Brief History of Montmaray – The Sea Is Writhing Now
3. The FitzOsbornes in Exile – Doing The Lambeth Walk
4. The FitzOsbornes at War – We’ll Meet Again
5. The Work-in-Progress – Through The Large Four-Chambered Heart