MUSIC: The Proposed Soundtrack In Francie Lanoo's Head

If you’re a music lover like me, the songs that were playing in the background during life's most memorable moments—i.e the first kiss, a heart-wrenching break-up, while laughing hysterically on an amusement park ride—somehow got catalogued in the brain for all eternity, and whenever they are reheard, trigger a vivid flashback to the moment they made their impactful impression. Sometimes the recollections are smile-inducing. Sometimes they provoke a good cry.  Always, they have me singing along.

Photo Credit: tumblr.com

While writing the novel IF NOT 4 U and Some Shoes, I listened to a lot of music, and because I was plucking story arcs from my teenage/young-adult experiences (first love, coming-of-age, hanging out at parties, taking road trips with my friends), I got nostalgic and listened to my own buried-in-the-back-of-the-brain favourites.  A word of warning, there's a segment of the soundtrack-of-my-youth that is timeless and classic, like The Ramones, Jackson Browne, Badfinger, The Who, The Allman Brothers Band, Bruce Springsteen, Queen etc; there's another segment that is  a collection of really bad one hits wonders; and on a seriously-wish-we-could-forget level,  there's a final segment that involves phrases like Boogie-Oogie-Oogie. Regardless of the flavour, it's all fun to listen to ... once in a while.

For fun, I kept a log of some of those old songs, the ones that I thought conveyed Francie Lanoo’s sentiment during the most poignant moments of her life. I've listed a selection of them below, and would suggest to readers  that they simultaneously listen to the songs while working their way through IF NOT 4 U and Some Shoes. 

Sure, the exercise will probably result in a few eye-rolls, groans, and mumblings of the word hokey,  but I bet it'll also result in some smiles and emotional ahhhs.

(Quick Clarification: IF NOT 4 U and Some Shoes'  chapters aren't actually called chapters, they're called FOOT NOTES … because the book is about shoes and feet and such. Get it?)

FOOT NOTE ONE (during The Big Bang Moment)  Suggested Song: I SAW THE LIGHT IN YOUR EYES         Artist: Todd Rungren

FOOT NOTE TWO (At the Dance, Before Francie & Berkeley First Speak)  Suggested Song: I’D LOVE YOU TO WANT ME      Artist: Lobo

FOOT NOTE TWO (during The First Dance Together)  Suggested Song: MAKE IT WITH YOU                          Artist: Bread

FOOT NOTE TWO (while Francie and Berkeley are Sitting in a Tree)  Suggested Song: I WANNA BE WITH YOU      Artist: The Raspberries

FOOT NOTE SIX (on the First Valentine’s Day)  Suggested Song: BABY I LOVE YOU                             Artist: Andy Kim

FOOT NOTE SEVEN (at Berkeley’s Birthday Party)  Suggested Song: LAY A LITTLE LOVIN’ ON ME      Artist: Robin McNamara

FOOT NOTE FOURTEEN (Post Francie's Ski Trip)  Suggested Song: JUST GIMME SOME KIND OF SIGN      Artist: Sattalites

FOOT NOTE TWENTY (While Playing With the Mistletoe)    Suggested Song: GO ALL THE WAY                             Artist: Eric Carmen &The Raspberries

FOOT NOTE THIRTY (Francie in Italy)   Suggested Song: SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH ME      Artist: Austin Roberts

FOOT NOTE THIRTY-ONE (New Year’s Eve Party)  Suggested Song: NEVER GONNA FALL IN LOVE AGAIN   Artist: Eric Carmen

FOOT NOTE THIRTY-FIVE (At The R.H. High School Graduation Dance)  Suggested Song: MAKE ME DO ANYTHING YOU WANT    Artist: A Foot in Cold Water

FOOT NOTE THIRTY-SIX (when Francie and Berkeley Head Off to College)  Suggested Song: FOOL (IF YOU THINK IT’S OVER)        Artist: Chris Rea

FOOT NOTE THIRTY-EIGHT (Meeting Garner Vale)  Suggested Song: SO INTO YOU                                  Artist: Atlanta Rhythm Section

FOOT NOTE FORTY-ONE (Reminiscing During The College Years)  Suggested Song: CRAZY LOVE        Artist: Poco

FOOT NOTE FORTY-FIVE (At the Cemetery)  Suggested Song: JUST REMEMBER I LOVE YOU             Artist: Firefall

FOOT NOTE FORTY-NINE (After Saying Goodbye in the Airport)  Suggested Song: WITHOUT YOU         Artist: Harry Nilsson

FOOT NOTE FIFTY (At College Graduations, Worlds Apart)  Suggested Song: YOU ARE EVERYTHING        Artist: The Stylistics

FOOT NOTE FIFTY-ONE (during Francie’s Time in London)  Suggested Song: I AIN’T GOT TIME ANYMORE            Artist: The Glass Bottle

FOOT NOTE FIFTY-SIX (Francie Solo Dancing)  Suggested Song: DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT          Artist: Baha Men

FOOT NOTE FIFTY-SEVEN (Nostalgic Drive Around Town)  Suggested Song:  LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE              Artist: Rose Royce

FOOT NOTE FIFTY-EIGHT (Dancing with Robert Matthews)  Suggested Song: EVERYTHING I OWN        Artist: Bread

EPILOGUE (In The Hammock)   Suggested Song: EVERLASTING LOVE     Artist: Carl Carlton

The novel contains a whopping 59 chapters, correction: FOOT NOTES, so this list only provides background music for roughly half of the story. If any musically-inclined readers are interested, feel free to suggest some other songs to fill in the blank spots (from any era of music, not just my golden-oldie era). Or, if a reader believes that my musical associations (listed above) are way off base, please send a list recommended replacements.  I'm all ears.

FLORENCE, ITALY: Why There?

In the novel IF NOT 4 U and Some Shoes, artsy girl Francie Lanoo accepts a prestigious bursary to study at an arts-oriented institute called Idea Incubatrice, located in Florence, Italy. Though the school is a figment of my imagination, the city is very real … and very fabulous. I chose it as a pivotal destination for Francie’s life-adventure partly because it’s one of my favorite places to visit, but mostly because it possesses all of the elements necessary for opening up the dewy eyes of this particular lead character.

Impromptu Street Art, Florence, Italy

For example, Florence is the birthplace of Renaissance art and architecture, and home to a wealth of historical artwork, landmark buildings, and monuments. For someone studious and enthusiastic about art (as Francie is), being immersed in such an abundance of artistry would be Utopian.

Florence is a key city for fashion, with a history dating back to the year 1300 when it became Europe’s main hub for textile production (thanks Wikipedia, for that tidbit of info). Since then, it has become the headquarter-location for several high-profile Italian fashion companies, like Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci, Roberto Cavalli and Emilio Pucci. Additionally, it’s home to established design boutiques like Prada, Chanel, Armani and Bulgari, as well as emerging fashion designers with fresh and unique ideas, and for someone with career aspirations in the fashion industry, that’s a whole lot of eye candy.

Florence is situated in the heart of Tuscany, offering up picturesque landscapes, as well as an all-around pleasant climate (void of harsh winters)--which seemed ideal for opening up this character’s mind to the joy of world travel.

Florence has an actual shoe museum, The Salvatore Ferragamo Museum, created in 1995 to illustrate the company’s artistic qualities, as well as the role it played, historically, in the world of shoe design and international fashion. The city also has hundreds of shoe stores (some of them high-end boutiques, some of them less-expensive chain stores, some of them old-world-cobbler style niches)—great from a shoe-research perspective.

Most important, Florence—like the rest of Italy—is a mecca for amore (love and romance)—key to opening Francie’s eyes to the fact that there are many fish in the sea of love. No surprise, the experience of living there impacts her perspective on relationships.

If you haven’t been to the city of Florence, Italy, consider adding it to your Bucket List, because it really does offer an array of enjoyment: cuisine, vistas, culture, history, shopping, entertainment, relaxation. For more info, check out: www.visitFlorence.com.

Has anyone had a noteworthy Florence experience they’d like to share? Like: Eating octopus on an outdoor patio in a crowded piazza? Sleeping on real linen sheets at Hotel Savoy? Navigating a rent-a-car along a downtown cobblestone street that, without warning, turns into pedestrian-only street market?  If so, I'd love to hear about it.