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July 9, 2019
Juliet Escoria's Playlist for Her Novel "Juliet the Maniac"
In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.
Previous contributors include Jesmyn Ward, Lauren Groff, Bret Easton Ellis, Celeste Ng, T.C. Boyle, Dana Spiotta, Amy Bloom, Aimee Bender, Heidi Julavits, Hari Kunzru, and many others.
Juliet Escoria continues to impress with her debut novel, Juliet the Maniac, a brilliantly written tale of mental illness and coming of age.
The New York Times wrote of the book:
"For fans of Ottessa Moshfegh, Juliet the Maniac is a worthy new entry in that pantheon of deconstruction... Dazzling."
In her own words, here is Juliet Escoria's Book Notes music playlist for her debut novel Juliet the Maniac:
I wouldn’t consider Juliet the Maniac to be a “drug book.” If anything, it’s a “mental illness book,” but, admittedly, it contains a lot of drugs, both illicit and prescribed. The following is a list of most of the mind-altering substances the character Juliet consumes in the book, along with a paired song that evokes (at least for me) the drug itself. I tried not to be obvious as much as possible, so you will not see “Cocaine” by Eric Clapton in this list. Sorry, Eric Clapton fans!!
Despite the fact that drugs are fun, they are generally bad for you and it’s best to avoid them. Drugs aren’t cool, stay in school.
Mushrooms: “A Minha Menina” – Os Mutantes
Most recreational drugs have a turn to them, where they stop being fun and start to feel ominous instead. Mushrooms, however, always felt benevolent to me. I thought for a while that Os Mutantes had been on Sesame Street, but according to the internet this never happened and I have no idea where I got this idea from.
Ativan: “Close Another Door” – Bee Gees
Ativan always caused me to have strange memory blackouts, a side effect that is concerning considering how often it’s dispensed at hospitals. It seems too easy to forget that the Bee Gees were actually a really great band before they turned disco.
Cocaine: “Rich Girl” – Hall & Oates
Nothing embodies like the cocaine-twisted, metallic, mostly soulless ‘70s sound quite as much as Hall & Oates.
Acid: “Cheree” – Suicide
This song feels “shimmery” to me.
Ketamine: “Ganges a Go-Go” – Dan the Automator
The real era of ketamine in my life wasn’t during my teen years, but in my early twenties. My boyfriend and I would do ketamine and listen to this album over and over.
Somas: “Always See Your Face” – Love
There is a warmth to Somas, and a warmth to this song, which has been recently featured in a (really bleak) Volkswagen commercial. The A&E app has been forcing me to watch this commercial approximately 3-6 times per The First 48 episode. Normally I am against commercials using great songs because they tend to ruin them, but I love this song so much that I’m happy to hear it, every damn time.
Zyprexa: “wish you were gay” – Billie Eilish
Apparently in the ‘90s, Zyprexa was marketed as some kind of new miracle drug, for not just schizophrenia but also bipolar mania, depression, dementia, and everyday childhood behavioral problems, despite the fact that it caused rapid weight gain and a slew of other health problems. I really like Billie Eilish, but still, it feels like she’s being forced on us by people who desperately want a best-seller.
Trazodone: “Honey” – Mariah Carey
If you take Trazodone and stay up instead of going to bed once it kicks in, it sort of feels like being on a boat. I like Mariah Carey in a bikini on a boat with a bunch of sexy dancers. It’s weird that the sepia tint was a thing for a minute in late ‘90s music videos.
Tegretol: “Monolith” – T. Rex
My memories of Tegretol involve it making me dizzy, and getting caught in my throat when I tried to swallow it; it came in a big flat pill with no coating. T. Rex sounds “guttural,” in a good way.
Marijuana topped with red rock opium: “Ain’t Got No – I Got Life” – Nina Simone
“Red rock opium” was popular in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. I remember smoking a fair amount of it, thinking it amplified the effects of marijuana, making me feel more calm and less paranoid. But it turns out this was all a lie. While heroin may have occasionally been mixed in, most likely I was smoking dragon’s blood, a type of incense made from plant resin, and the high I thought I felt was only the placebo effect. The mind is a hell of a drug.
It might be a cruel, terrible world, but if you remind yourself: Hell yeah, I got my liver and my boobies, then suddenly for a moment everything feels okay.
Zoloft: “Grinding Halt” – The Cure
Zoloft gave me chronic diarrhea. This song has the jittery urgency of diarrhea.
Buspar: “Don’t Be Angry” – Ros Serey Sothea
I love the warm, wistful sound of ‘60s & ‘70s psychedelic Cambodian rock music, but you can really feel the threat of death under the surface. Ros Serey Sothea disappeared under the Khmer Rouge regime and nobody knows what happened to her. It’s been a long time since I took Buspar, but from what I remember, it made me feel calm but dead inside.
Alcohol: “Swinging Doors” – Merle Haggard
Drunk driving is very bad on numerous levels and you should never do it. However, it is enjoyable to drink and drive while listening to Merle Haggard.
Percocet: “Ladies and Gentleman We Are Floating in Space” – Spiritualized
Percocet is one of the most fun variants of synthetic opioids. It feels floaty, without the harshness of straight Oxycodone. I will use any opportunity to put this song on a mixtape.
Ecstasy: “Ecstasy” – Rob Gee
I promised I wouldn’t be obvious with my song choices, whoopsie! This song is so annoying and I love it dearly. Purposely annoying people is a hobby of mine so I couldn’t resist.
Depakote: “Man is Too Ignorant to Exist” – Eyehategod
I took Depakote for twelve years and I really, really hate it. Twelve years of stupid pink pills, making me feel sluggish and achy and nauseous. Fuck Depakote. I considered putting a song I hate here but instead I put one that I am now too old for; I still like Eyehategod but they make me feel too stressed out to actually listen to them.
Juliet Escoria and Juliet the Maniac links:
the author's website
the author's Wikipedia entry
New York Times review
NPR Books review
Washington Post review
Largehearted Boy playlist by the author for Black Cloud
Largehearted Boy playlist by the author for Witch Hunt
also at Largehearted Boy:
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