Soundtrack Monday: Fool For Love

I know I missed last week’s Soundtrack Monday due to grief, but I’ve got a great one for you this time around, dear Readers.

Roadtrip Z started out with my writing partner making an offhand comment about competence in a zombie apocalypse. Both she and I consider competence to be one of the sexiest things in a person, and I started thinking about who would actually survive when the infrastructure went down. It often isn’t the people you think, and of course I had an idea for a semi-hero.

Unfortunately, he had other ideas.

It took me a long time to get into Lee Quartaine’s head. I knew what he did, certainly, but it took at least four drafts of the first half of Season One before I started finding out why. Then, my writing partner sent me a Youtube link to Lord Huron, and all of a sudden, Lee began talking.

Afterward, playing Fool for Love reliably got me into the Lee mood. (So did Wham!’s I’m Your Man, but that’s–say it with me–a different blog post.) It’s all there–the stiff upper lip, the driving rhythm, the quiet plucking of strings, and the snow. I ain’t afraid to die, just mad I left Big Jim alive, the singer croons, and that’s Lee all over. And, you ain’t gonna win a woman’s heart like that.

Fortunately, Ginny saw through Lee’s somewhat plain exterior. It was hard not to, and thank goodness both of them changed quite a bit over the course of the serial. Lee learned that he did have more to offer a city girl, and Ginny found out that the skills needed in civilization would keep while she quickly learned the ones needed in the breakdown. And both of them learned to rely on each other for certain things.

Sometimes, when you find the right music, it’s a key in the door. Other times it’s the mood that sets your prey to talking. And sometimes, the exact right collection of notes and lyrics comes along just when you need it, and gives you a whole world.