ABBA

 I’ve had a long love affair with Swedish pop sensation ABBA. Ever since they burst onto the charts in the mid 1970s they had my heart (ousting the Bay City Rollers from top slot). So you can imagine my delight when the ABBASOLUTELY FABBAULOUS SHOW toured Newcastle last week.

I have SO many happy memories involving Agnetha, Frida, Benny and Bjorn.

#1: The day all the girls in my fourth class spontaneously broke into When I Kissed the Teacher when the much-adored sixth class teacher, Mr Malcolm, walked into our classroom. I can still remember the smiles, the happiness…and how that seemed to last the whole day. :) When I Kissed the Teacher is still one of my favourite ABBA songs.

#2: Being allowed to go to the drive-in with my older cousins to see the ABBA movie. It was one of those iconic “I’m a grown-up” moments (completely false, mind you, but I adored my cousins and I can still taste my excitement).

I now have the ABBA Movie on DVD!

#3: When I was an undergraduate—back in the old, old days (early 1990s)—my flatmate and I would religiously rock up to The Castle every Wednesday night for FABBA—an ABBA tribute band. We’d dance non-stop until the wee small hours, and then drag ourselves off to classes the next day. That was back in the days when a late night didn’t wipe me out for a week. ;-)

My battered Arrival album and a 45 of Fernando (B-side is -- swoon -- Tropical Loveland)

I loved Muriel’s Wedding and Priscilla Queen of the Desert when they came out. I swooned over both Mamma Mia movies. So it will come as no surprise to you that I was one of the first out of my seat at the theatre last Thursday when ABBASOLUTELY FABBAULOUS SHOW kicked off proceedings with Does Your Mother Know? Yes, much dancing and crazy good times were had. :)

You wanna know what else is putting a smile on my face? ABBA has just announced that they’re reforming to record two brand new songs!

TWO. NEW. SONGS. Coloured me excited.

Okay, it’s your turn now. What’s your favourite musical crush?

Soundtrack For A Book

Do you ever find the books that you read have a soundtrack in your head? 

It doesn't happen for me with every book, but sometimes the author mentions a certain band or song a few times and I start humming it in my mind even when I'm not reading. Or I'm listening to a new song or album when I read the book and the two become linked in my mind.  

It happens to me when I write books as well. I always make a playlist for a new book I'm writing, but the song that comes to embody that book sometimes surprises me. 

When I wrote my rom-com Cover Story, I played the soundtrack to The Blues Brothers over and over. And over. The tone really suited the story, but the main track I played was their version of The Peter Gunn Theme. To me, this is Tobi Fletcher as she's searching for the culprit of the gnomicides - determined and a bit ridiculous. Here, let me show you:

There were two romance themes. The first was Muse's version of Can't Take My Eyes Off You. Any version of this song would have worked, but this version has an irreverence (wait for the chorus) sitting right beside the sensual romance of it. (In fact, I even had my heroine's sister tell her that the hero couldn't take his eyes off her!)

The second romance theme was Pearl Jam's version of Soldier of Love. This song is so perfect about how Simon feels about Tobi:

I also played a bit of ABBA for the perky tone and sense of fun. If you've read the book, you'll know one of the characters, Jazlyn, plays ABBA pretty much all day, so the soundtrack made its way onto the page. (I have a feeling Michelle Douglas will appreciate this one being here!)

Another song that has the sense of fun is Queen's Crazy Little Thing Called Love. I played this one a lot too.

What I'd love to know is: when you're reading a book, do you ever associate a song with what you're reading? Maybe something the author actually wrote on the page, or perhaps a song that just seemed perfect for the story? Or is there a song that you've always thought would make a great book? And besides these questions, I'd love to hear what you think of Cover Story's playlist! :)