The Hollows (3 page)

JENKS

Track ten on the Ocean’s Eleven soundtrack, “Planting the Seed,” fits Jenks flitting about as a gardener. Thanks to Tim from Tennessee, I found “Peter Gunn” done by Henry Mancini. It fits fantastically. (Think The Blues Brothers.) Jenks’s son Jax gets into trouble thanks to “Red-Tape” from Agent Provocateur, which is also on the Underworld sound-track though we won’t see that for ages. And please don’t write to tell me the song isn’t really about little thieves. Inspiration is where you find it.

KISTEN

“Thinking of You,” by A Perfect Circle, seems to fit Kisten. Whether this means he will end up with Rachel or whether she is going to remain one of Kisten’s unresolved conquests, I honestly don’t know yet. Also from A Perfect Circle is “Weak and Powerless.” Right now the song is simply simmering in the back of my head, but I’m sure it’s going to fit somewhere with Kisten. (Sigh… I’m starting to like the guy despite my better judgment.) But the best fit for him I’ve found so far is “Never Say Never” from Queens of the Stone Age off the Punisher soundtrack The depth of that piece is hidden by the ego-testical attitude of the refrain—just like Kisten’s depth is shrouded under a carefully constructed front to disarm and beguile. NiN’s “The Only Time” fits a plot line that Kisten is wiggling his way into.

TRENT

Thanks to a reader who simply identified himself as ‘a fan from the Southeast,’ I have found a piece of music off the Queen of the Damned soundtrack that I think fits Trent Kalamack fairly well, especially the lyrics that Stephanie McKay sings. Try track 13, “Excess” by Tricky. If Trent believes in anything, it’s people. “Guilty” by Gravity Kills is good, too. I think Dash brought that one to my attention. “The American Way” by The Crystal Method fits well. Thanks, Beyari, for suggesting I listen to that one!

PISCARY

A fellow music aficionado suggested “Sympathy for the Devil” by The Rolling Stones, and after playing it to death, I realized it cast wonderful shadows on Piscary, one of Cincinnati’s Master vampires. “Pet” and “Lullaby” by A Perfect Circle strike close to home with Piscary as well. Piscary’s restaurant after Kisten assumes management— we won’t see this for some time, but it happens—brings to mind Rob Zombie’s “Living Dead Girl.” Think line-dancing vampires. Yes, line-dancing vampires. I only hope Rob will forgive me.

Nick

It took a while, but I’m finally nailing down a few pieces of music that I can relate to Nick. From Kip Winger comes “Sure was a Wildflower” and “Crash the Wall.” “That’s What I Get” from NiN works really well, too.

SEDUCTION

As the plotlines progress, I’m finding myself collecting a few pieces of music of seduction, and in the spirit of avoiding spoilers, I’m not saying yet to whom they relate. Dipping wa-a-a-ay back, I found Sting’s “I Burn for You,” which has a hidden thread of evil in it and a crystalline purity that makes it a delicious threat. Kip Winger has one here, too, with “Two Lovers Stand” as does Evanescence with “Even in Death,” which is terribly tragic. But I have yet to find a more seductive piece of music than “New Years Prayer” by Jeff Buckley off his Sketches for My Sweetheart Drunk. You may have heard it before as it’s used as the beginning music for The Dead Zone, but the real thing is oh-so-much more (languorous stretch) seductive. Also from Jeff Buckley is “You and I” and “Lilac Wine” which has all the markings of an old jazz song.

THE EVER-AFTER

I found, thanks to The-Guy-In-The-Leather-Jacket, a piece of music that just about blew me away with how close it sounds to my idea of the ever-after: A Perfect Circle’s remake of Lennon’s “Imagine.” Think of a red-smeared sky and a broken city skyline, and just try not to shiver.

FINAL NOTES

I recently ran into an entire album that just about blew me away in how many tracks related to story lines I was developing. It also made me a NiN fan, something I really didn’t expect. The entire album Pretty Hate Machine has found a place in the Hollows for me, and every song but the last easily relates to a developing or crumbling relationship from my books.

Almost the entire soundtrack for Underworld seems to have found a place in the Hollows. R
E
V 22:20 by Puscifer speaks to me of Kisten’s long-ago relationship with Ivy before she met Rachel and went on the wagon, so to speak.

When they are pulling the last job at the end of Dead Witch Walking brings to mind “Rehumanize Yourself” from Sting. And since I’m tripping down the paths of good 80’s music, whenever I hear Phil Collins’s “Long, Long Way to Go” all I see is Rachel driving across the bridge into Cincinnati, the sun going down with the sky all pink and blue, the wind in her hair and the concern for an entire city in her eyes.

On a last note, “My Immortal” by Evanescence is figuring into the grand scheme of things. Even I can’t see yet how all my characters’ relationships will be built before they can fall apart from tragic stupidity and pride. But the power and depth of that piece of music has left a mark on me and won’t let go.

© 2004 Kim Harrison.

'
Twas
the Night of the Solstice

by
Kim Harrison

'
Twas
the week before Christmas, and up in the Hollows,

Solstice bonfires were burning, to toast the marshmallows.

The pixies were snug in their stump, even Jenks,

Who claimed he was tired, and needed some
winks.

So I in my parka, and Ivy in her boots,

Were toasting the season, with thirty-year hooch.

When out in the street, there came such a crash,

I thought that it had to be 'coons in our trash.

Away to the gate, I trudged through the snow,

While Ivy just said, "If it's Kist, say hello."

I lifted the latch, and peered to the street,

My face went quite cold.  We were in it thigh deep.

'
Twas
a demon, who stood in the headlamps quite bright,

With his coat of green velvet, and his uncommon height.

His eyes, how they glittered, his teeth how they gnashed,

His voice, how he bellowed, his tongue, how it lashed.

The street wasn't holy, so on Big Al came,

As he bellowed, and shouted, and called me by name.

"Morgan, you witch.  You're a pain in my side.

"Get out of your church.  There's no place to hide!"

Like hell's fury unleashed, he strode to my door,

Where he hammered and cursed, like a cheap jilted whore.

But Ivy and I, we circled round back,

To stand in the street and prepare for attack.

"You loser," I shouted.  "I'm waiting for you."

And the demon, he spun, taking on a red hue.

Ivy stood ready, and I whispered, "Okay . . .

"If he wants to get rough, I'm ready to play."

With nary a word,
us
two girls got to work,

Putting foot into gut, of the soul-sucking jerk.

I circled him quick, with a few words of Latin,

While Ivy distracted him with lots of good
wackin
'

"Get back!" I yelled out when my trap was complete,

And Ivy somersaulted right over the creep.

My circle sprang up, entrapping him surely,

Al fussed and he fumed, like a demonic fury.

The neighbors all cheered, and came out of their houses,

Where they'd watched the whole thing, like little house
mouses
.

So Ivy and I, we both bowed real low,

Then banished Big Al, in an overdone show.

But I heard Al exclaim, 'ere he
poofed
from our sight

"You won this time witch, but I'll get you one night!"

Kim Harrison