There was always a soundtrack for Humidity.
I love music almost as much as I love books, and over the 20 – yes, 20 – years I spent writing my novel, I would inevitably hear songs that resonated with what I was writing.
In My Life by The Divinyls
Vibrant, raw and unmistakably Australian, this song about a “hardheaded, solid fisted” young woman who was “brought up wrong” always makes me think of Marty. No other song even comes close.
The Way I Made You Feel by Ed Kuepper
I’ve been obsessed with Ed Kuepper’s music for decades – and many of his songs suit the tone of Humidity, from New Bully in Town and Burned My Fingers to Too Many Clues.
But if I have to pick just one of his songs for my novel’s playlist, it would be The Way I Made You Feel, which has the great line:
“I hadn’t seen such mass destruction, until I saw you. It was the way I made you feel.”
If anything describes the incendiary relationship between Marty and Ben, it’s that.
Sounds of Then by Ganggajang
Sometimes, it’s the little things that captivate us.
I first heard Sounds of Then by Ganggajang on a steamy summer afternoon more decades ago than I care to admit. As it crackled onto the radio, its line “the humidity we breathe” stuck with me … so much so, it eventually inspired my novel’s title.
Loverman by Nick Cave
A reader said Humidity made them think of Nick Cave – which made me darkly happy.
Picking a Cave song for my book’s soundtrack, however, is tricky: his lyrics always tell such a specific narrative that they can’t map onto any world other than their own. Yet two songs still come to mind: Abattoir Blues is an obvious choice for several reasons, and yet it’s the intense, unhinged Loverman I’m choosing.
All The Way by Icehouse
If you’ve ever become so obsessed with someone that all you wanted was another night – regardless of what the following day would bring – All The Way from Icehouse should resonate.
For me, this song evokes the compulsion that drives Ben, my novel’s narrator, even when he knows it’ll end badly.
Enter Sandman by Metallica
Whereas the other songs capture the mood of certain scenes or characters, Metallica’s Enter Sandman is actually featured within the book as it’s a popular song on the Iron Duke’s smashed up jukebox – so much so, the pub’s regulars scream “Fucken A!” whenever it plays.
Burn For You by INXS
Burn For You was in the back of my mind the entire time I wrote Humidity – partly due to the video clip, partly because it’s just so catchy, but also because of the way it captures both the Australian heat and the lust that plague my narrator.
Alone With You by The Sunnyboys
This is one of my favourite Australian songs – and it fits one of the scenes in Humidity perfectly.
Songs that don’t quite fit with Humidity – but damn, I wish they did
Streets of Your Town by the Go-Betweens
There are so many other songs I considered that didn’t quite fit my novel’s atmosphere – with the most notable being Streets of Your Town. However, I adore this song for so many reasons that I’m still mentioning it here.
Dumb Things by Paul Kelly
This could be the anthem of my life, even if it doesn’t exactly fit my novel:
If You Want Blood by AC/DC
You can’t have an Aussie soundtrack without AC/DC – and If You Want Blood is perfect for Humidity (plus it’s the type of song many of the book’s denizens would listen to).
Flame Trees by Cold Chisel
My favourite Cold Chisel song also happens to be about a small town – albeit one a little friendlier and less dangerous than my novel’s.
The Girl of My Dreams is Giving Me Nightmares by Machine Gun Fellatio
The lyrics tell a completely different tale to my novel’s – but the title alone certainly works, and it’s a great song:
