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Talia Wins: Metal Music Rules – My Playlist for Silver Blood
If Rachel Rener isn’t a metal-head herself, I will delete this post. A common theme in her books is the protagonists love of or interest in metal music. Metallica, Nunslayer, Godsmack – all of these bands get mentions in her books.
“‘…listening to metal music can be relaxing,’ she argued. ‘It’s a controlled outlet for processing intense emotions – anger, for one.'”
This line…*chef’s kiss*. I make the joke all the time that metal is angry music for happy people, and it’s true, at least for me. All you have to do to see my love of metal is to look at any of my other playlist posts or the “On Repeat” playlist in the widget tab – which shows my top songs of the week. The fact that Rener infuses metal into her books made this playlist all the more fun to make.
Naturally, there is some Metallica on there. I would be completely remiss not to include some of Talia’s favorite band. In her honor, Master of Puppets makes an appearance on the list. Included my personal favorite, Nothing Else Matters.
“For the time being, at least, the slightly better of two abysmal choices was to keep her under the watchful eye of the devil she knew.”
As cliche as it may seem, the song Devil You Know by Tim Montana was a must on this list for this line alone. Zayn continued with this thinking throughout the book, viewing himself as the threat Talia knew, even if she didn’t understand, more than anything else. I also think Zayn would appreciate the clean vocals, even if he doesn’t like metal.
The rest of the songs on the list are ones the made me think of Zayn’s mental state. My heart broke as he continued to tear himself down when his heart is beyond good. The way he treats Talia, Breta, Lamswyth, even just random girls in the bar who need a help to get out speaks volumes to the true nature of his character. It’s complete opposite to who what he thinks of himself.
I hope you enjoy the playlist as much as I enjoyed making it! -
Music for Empowering Women – Weyward’s Playlist
Weyward by Emilia Hart didn’t inspire a lot of music in me as I read it. I think the dark themes in the book made it hard to find the light in the moment that music brings to me. After reading, and for the purpose of this post, I went to build a playlist, and was drawn to songs of women empowerment. I guess, in that sense, the book hits it mark of building the resilience of women. You can find my review of the book here.
First, I found a pre-built playlist of songs for survivors put out by domesticshelters.org. The songs were suggested by survivors of domestic violence that have empowered and inspired them in their journeys. I would be remiss if I didn’t include it here. “Goodbye Earl” by The Chicks is a particularly fitting song for Weyward.
Once I gained a little inspiration from their list, other songs from my own inner repertoire of music began to present itself. Some of these songs made me directly think of the book. For example, “Monsters” by Shinedown is highly fitting for Kate’s moment of power. “Down with the Sickness” by Disturbed made me think of Violet and her father.
Others, such as “Titanium” by David Guetta ft. Sia and “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus just spoke to me in the sense of general female empowerment. (Sidenote: I also included a favorite cover of “Flowers” by Fame on Fire just because.) I also included some of my favorite mental health songs such as “Under Your Scars” by Godsmack and “Leave a Light On (Talk Away the Dark)” by Papa Roach.I truly hope any woman in situations the women in Weyward find themselves in find their way to freedom. Seek help. Please. There are others out there willing to help you even if they don’t even know you. You are worthy of love and worthy of a life well-lived. If you find yourself in need of help, please check out https://www.domesticshelters.org/ for help near you.
