THE ROBOT SCIENTIST’S DAUGHTER (Mayapple Press, Spring 2015)
I feel like this playlist may feel a little schizophrenic, as it zooms from sort of harder-industrial-feeling music to a bit more folksy, but that’s sort of the dichotomy of the book: the science and technology of nuclear science set against the oak trees, mockingbirds and barefoot children of my memories. Foxfire Books, alchemy and Oppenheimer. Cesium in the strawberries.
“Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons
The perfect song for this book, which is about growing up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where they built one of the first nuclear bombs and which continues to be plagued by problems of nuclear contamination.
“Titanium” by David Guetta
One of the iterations of “the robot scientist’s daughter” turns herself into a robot and a spaceship, in order to protect herself, so this song really speaks to that idea of protection and survival, of kind of mecha-girl as alter-ego.
“I Think I Can” by The Pillows
I picked this song out of the terrific soundtrack of FLCL, a kooky but loveable little anime series, because it just continues that theme of survival over the odds. One of the reasons I love this series is because the city the main characters inhabit is menaced by large, foreboding structures in the background with dangerous capabilities, which reminds me of living in Oak Ridge under the shadow of buildings that house nuclear reactors.
“The Scientist” (live cover version) by Aimee Mann
There are a lot of scientists who show up in this manuscript, plus I’ve loved Aimee Mann since I was a kid.
“Dark Days” by The Punch Brothers
Melancholy with a bit of an Appalachian sound, perfect for the poems about growing up in the forests of the Tennessee valley.
“Honey Don’t Think” by Grant Lee Buffalo
Again, a kind of feeling of maybe a little country/bluegrass, but with lovely haunting lyrics: “Can you look at my chart/ and help me heal these scars?/ Can you learn to read minds?/ In the case of mine, can you read in the dark?”
