The Music of WVMP Radio
Since Wicked Game, Bad to the Bone, and Bring on the Night are about vampire DJs, it's not surprising that music inspired a lot of the novels’ creation and development. Now, thanks to The Playlist Project and Pandora.com, I can share some of that music with you!
The Official Playlists
Specific songs appear in many scenes in the novels, some by name and artist, and some only by artist. My publisher asked me to gather these songs in a ‘playlist’ for the front of the books. The fun part was figuring out which tune was playing when only the artist was mentioned (i.e., “a Bob Dylan song”).
To see all songs, drag the white scrollbar on the right side of the playlist. You can also hear the individual songs by clicking on their titles.
**NEW!** "Let It Bleed" (Book 3.5, free downloadable novella)
| Song | Artist |
| Folsom Prison Blues | Johnny Cash |
| Stack O'Lee Blues | Mississippi John Hurt |
| House of the Rising Sun | The Animals |
| In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida | Iron Butterfly |
| Gimme Shelter | The Rolling Stones |
| Amber | 311 |
| Everlong (acoustic) | Foo Fighters |
| The Righteous and the Wicked | Red Hot Chili Peppers |
| Give It Away | Red Hot Chili Peppers |
| Negative Creep | Nirvana |
| F.O.D. | Green Day |
| I'll Be Seeing You | Billie Holiday |
"Let It Bleed" Chapter Titles
Again, like the WVMP novels, each chapter of "Let It Bleed" is the title of a popular song (or at least a song that was popular in its time). I try to strike a balance among all the eras, from the 1940s to the present. The title of the book is usually the title of the penultimate chapter. And I always end on a Nirvana song.*
| Song | Artist |
| She's Not There | The Zombies |
| Dangerous Type | The Cars |
| Me and the Devil Blues | Robert Johnson |
| Down with the Sickness | Disturbed |
| Closer | Nine Inch Nails |
| A Mess of Blues | Elvis Presley |
| Where It's At | Beck |
| Cousins | Vampire Weekend |
| The Kids Are Alright | The Who |
| Come Out and Play | Offspring |
| Over, Under, Sideways, Down | The Yardbirds |
| Running on Empty | Jackson Browne |
| Born to be Wild | Steppenwolf |
| Running on Empty | Jackson Browne |
| Let It Bleed | The Rolling Stones |
| All Apologies | Nirvana |
* Except in Bring on the Night, which was framed by Neil Young's "Hey Hey My My (Out of the Blue)" and its counterpart "My My Hey Hey (Into the Black)," which Kurt Cobain quoted in his suicide note ("It's better to burn out than fade away."). So almost a Nirvana song.
Bring on the Night (Book 3)
Additional/Altered Playlist Songs (due to lack of availability on Playlist.com):
- “Back to the Bridge” by Asie Payton
- “I’m An Asshole” by Denis Leary
- “See That My Grave is Kept Clean” in the book is covered by Dream Syndicate
Bring on the Night Chapter Title Song List
Each chapter is named after a popular song, from the 1940s to our current decade. I chose them for how well the words of the titles (as opposed to the content of the songs) fit the chapters, so this list is much less of a “soundtrack” than the “Playlist” above. But it’s still a great bunch of tunes.
To see all songs, drag the white scrollbar on the right side of the playlist. You can also hear the individual songs by clicking on their titles.
Additional/Altered Chapter Title Songs:
- “How Many More Years” by Howlin Wolf
- “Home of the Blues” is a Johnny Cash song, but since that version wasn't available, I used the next best thing—Joaquin Phoenix.
- “All That Heaven Will Allow” should be by Bruce Springsteen, but his songs are strangely absent from Playlist.com.
- “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)” should be by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, but Playlist.com didn't have it, so I used this very faithful Oasis cover.
Wicked Game Playlist
Additional/Altered Playlist Songs (due to lack of availability on Playlist.com):
- “I’ll Never Get Out of These Blues Alive” by John Lee Hooker
- “Gallows Pole” by Lead Belly
- “Dreadlocks in Moonlight” by Lee “Scratch” Perry
- “Ciara” by Luka Bloom
- “The Old Main Drag” by The Pogues (I substituted “Dirty Old Town,” since it was a close second choice for the playlist in the book itself)
- “Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets)” should be by Neil Young and Crazy Horse
- “Crazy Love” by Van Morrison
Wicked Game Chapter Title Song List
To see all songs, drag the white scrollbar on the right side of the playlist. You can also hear the individual songs by clicking on their titles.
Additional Chapter Title Songs:
- “Run Like Hell” by Pink Floyd
- “You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had” by Muddy Waters
- “I'm Not Like Everybody Else” is by The Kinks
Bad to the Bone Playlist
Additional Playlist Songs:
- “CCKMP” by Steve Earle
- “A Child’s Claim to Fame” by Buffalo Springfield
- “Mother” by Pink Floyd
- “Graveyard Dream Blues” by Bessie Smith
- “Hidden Charms” by Howlin Wolf
- “Let the Good Times Roll” by Roy Orbison (used the similar-sounding Shirley & Lee version)
Bad to the Bone Chapter Title Song List
Additional Chapter Title Songs:
- “Time the Avenger” by the Pretenders
- “Nobody Told Me (There'd Be Days Like These)” by John Lennon
Coming eventually—Shane’s “5:54 am” songs!
Learn more about Project Playlist
The DJs’ Playlists
Check out the website for WVMP the Lifeblood of Rock ’n’ Roll to hear playlists for each of the six vampire DJs.
WVMP Rocks Pandora!
Visit WVMP's profile on Pandora.com to hear what the DJs' programs might sound like. (Note: I can’t dictate exactly which songs are played on Pandora, so a few weird tunes might creep in here and there. But that’s part of the fun!)
Learn more about Pandora.com’s Music Genome Project.
