You Know You're Obsessed Too

Currently, it seems that many people (myself included) have all jumped on the pop-culture train into one particular box car, creating a resurgence in the sci-fi/fantasy world of VAMPIRES. Books, TV series, movies, video games, board game, you name it, Vampires are out to tap that market and suck all the blood from it.

Personally, I've drawn my limits at Twilight (all 4 books and the unpublished, unfinished manuscript of the illusive 5th book) and HBO's series, TrueBlood. Both are engaging and simple. Romance- Check. Action- Check. Drama- Check. Adventure- Check. Good Man with Bad Boy qualities- Check. Fantasy- Check. Sex- Check. In short, perfect.

What does this have to do with music you may wonder? Well, Ms. Stephanie Meyer, author of the famous book series was inspired by music as she wrote. Her playlists are pretty great. Artists such as Radiohead, Death Cab for Cutie, Muse, Leonard Cohen have all helped mold the scenes from her imagination onto paper (and now into feature films). Even better, she delivers HER playlist to us on her website per book. (Click here for Twilight's list) And, because what would Hollywood (or the rest of the world be) if it didn't try to make a few extra bucks by creating an almost entirely different playlist for the movie's soundtrack? Both lists of songs and artists cover an array of decades and genres while managing to match the drama and emotion evoked from the reader with each turning page. From lyrical whispers to epic guitar and drum crescendos- the music covers the gamut.

Based in Bon Temps, LA, TrueBlood has an entirely different sort of sound. Playing on its southern bayou locale, rockabilly and soul, the music to this show makes my Southern Girl heart thump to a livelier beat. Zac Brown Band, Allan Toussaint, Lucinda Williams and Ryan Adams are all names that no one scoffs at these days (in the name of talent). The title track of the show "Bad Things" by Jace Everett is just about as seductive as the show itself.

While you may have your doubts, hesitations and apprehensions about being "glamoured" into the Vampire fixation, don't knock the music that inspires and drives these shows. If I can commend Gossip Girl for the majority of the music it unveils to the masses, you can give this stuff a shot.