Throwback Thursday: Music Edition

It's kind of funny writing YA as an adult. Silly things that are different now than they were back in the day and all that. Music is another part that kills me. I write to "soundtracks," but the music is... not necessarily what a lot of teens listen to.

For example, the soundtrack to Pretty Souls contained not one, but two, remakes of songs from the 80s. "Wicked Game" and "Islands in the Stream." Both were very different from the originals, updated and all that, but remakes nonetheless.

And then there's Memory Keeper. For whatever strange reason, the band that most speaks to me with regard to that story is Bon Jovi. Yes, I know they are still around and still putting out music, but I've been listening to them since they had longer hair than I do.

I'm not sure if I listen to "throwback" songs and bands when I write YA just because I love them or if it goes deeper than that. If the music and singers from when I was a teenager help me to tap into the recesses of my memory to harness a younger me. All I know is the one time I tried to create a soundtrack with all "new" music, I couldn't write to it. I completely lost focus when listening.

So, I'll stick with old school since it seems to work for me. And just for fun, a little Bon Jovi for your listening pleasure.