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August 27, 2021
Johnny Shaw's Playlist for His Novel "The Southland"
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, Roxane Gay, and many others.
Johnny Shaw's novel The Southland is poignant, timely, and unforgettable.
Publishers Weekly wrote of the book:
"Shaw movingly reveals how each woman, under unbearable circumstances, survives in a land that doesn’t want her. Those who like their crime fiction with a social conscience will welcome this timely novel."
In his own words, here is Johnny Shaw's Book Notes music playlist for his novel The Southland:
I wrote the first draft of my novel THE SOUTHLAND while living in Europe. While writing in cafes in Zagreb, Glasgow, and Valencia, I preferred to let the ambient music playing in the cafe be my writing soundtrack. But rather than include a random batch of Croatian pop songs, 1980s hair metal, or that one ubiquitous Proclaimers song, I’ve made a list of the handful of songs that I used to ground myself.
Because my novel is set mostly in Los Angeles, particular songs and albums were a valuable way to connect me to the places and people that influenced the book. And to evoke ideas and emotions that centered me in the process of writing THE SOUTHLAND.
I’m not sure how the individual tunes are going to work together as each song served a different purpose. At the very least, this will offer a tour inside my head and maybe a window into the influences and tone of the book.
My Head’s In Mississippi - ZZ Top
I generally walk for at least a half hour before I sit down to write. It clears my head so I can get to work. There’s nothing better than letting my mind wander as I get slightly lost in a foreign city. It’s as close to meditation as I get. However, if I just can’t clear my head, this song is my cure. I don’t know when I started using it, but if I play “My Head’s in Mississippi” it shakes the Etch-a-Sketch for me. Analyzing would take away the magic. It’s arbitrary, maybe Pavlovian at this point, but when I hear the opening riff, my brain kicks in and I know I’m going to get some shit done. Everyone should have a song that does this. Not this song. This song is mine.
Clandestino - Manu Chau & Playing For Change
The original title of THE SOUTHLAND was CLANDESTINO, named after this Manu Chao song, which to me is one of the great anthems for the migrants of the world--the subject of THE SOUTHLAND. While I would be much more likely to listen to Manu Chau’s studio version, I find the Playing for Change version to be so beautiful and inspiring that I have to share it. There are few pieces of art that express the journey and the struggle that immigrants face better, while at the same time conveying a joy and camaraderie of life.
I listen to a lot of heavy metal. I grew up on it and it’s built to keep me alert, engaged, and energized. At the time I was writing THE SOUTHLAND, I was listening to this album a lot. I mean A LOT. I couldn’t get enough of it. Metal works best at its most earnest, but just because you’re taking the subject matter seriously, doesn’t mean that you have to take yourself seriously. Zeal & Ardor are a great example of this principle and the song just plain rocks.
Tres Veces Mojado - Los Tigres Del Norte
There’s no way I could have made this list without including at least one Los Tigres Del Norte song. Their music brings me back to the Imperial Valley and the music that was always playing at the bar across the road from my house. Like “Clandestino”, few songs capture the experience of the immigrant more poignantly and more sympathetically. And while the lyrics center around Central Americans traveling through multiple countries, that only highlights the hardship and complexity of any migrant’s journey. Each person’s story is different, but the struggle is the same.
INS Greencard A-19 191 500 - Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy
This is a bit of a cheat, as I mostly found myself going back to this album, “Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury” a lot during this time. Overtly political, presented in a unique way, I not only like the music but find it inspiring. A reminder that innovation can still be entertaining. I will admit this isn’t close to the best song on the album, it’s just the most appropriate. Like Zeal & Ardor, I’ve always drifted toward bands that didn’t sound like anyone else, combining multiple ideas successfully. Before Michael Franti was Spearhead, DHOH was a sound like no other in hip hop.
El Rey De Los Chingones - Chingon
When not digging into some heavy metal, Robert Rodriguez movie soundtracks have always been a good background sound for my books. There’s a violent, goofiness of tone that mirrors my earlier books like DOVE SEASON and BIG MARIA. And even though THE SOUTHLAND is more serious tonally and more grounded in realism, it still maintains a thriller pace and I didn’t want to forget that. I listen to this album a lot. There’s something over-the-top about the band that tells me to go big and scale back. It sounds like there are like 15 guitars playing simultaneously during this song. I’m convinced that the best writing is in touch with one’s sense of excess.
Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones & Merry Clayton
I included Merry Clayton’s name because, let’s be honest, this is a duet. She carries the song. Hell, she is the song. Nothing against Mick here. It’s not just those voice cracks but the sheer emotion that makes this song something that gives me chills with every listen. Passion, strength, power, and emotion in a perfect moment. My guess is that this song is on a lot of writers’ lists.
To fully represent the inside of my brain, I needed at least one more heavy metal song on this list. And while I could have included Clutch, Fu Manchu, Monster Magnet, or The Sword, I’m going with Puya. They’re something special to me. This Puerto Rican salsa/nu-metal band rocks and does that thing of combining seemingly disparate elements. Just like I believe it’s possible to write an entertaining story with depth and compassion, Puya brings the fun and the hard together. Metal needs more brass.
I can’t think of a band that better represents the beauty of the diversity of Los Angeles than Ozomatli. Because I wrote this book in Europe, I needed a band and a song that connected me to Los Angeles. I hadn’t lived there in a decade, so I needed to ground myself in the place. From the get-go, they have been the sound that best captures Los Angeles. A mishmosh of so many musical influences, but all authentic and true. The fact that this is a peppy song about police brutality feels important too.
Look Down That Lonesome Road - The Pilgrim Travelers
If the ZZ Top song is the intro to my process, this is my outro. This song was sung at my Pop’s funeral. According to my aunt, her most vivid memories of my father as a boy were the two of them walking home from school down a dirt road along the ditch bank. He would sing, hum, or whistle this song. Even though I wasn’t there, I can see it clearly enough that I may as well have been. I play this song when I need to connect to my Pop and that same ditch bank road that I walked down myself.
Johnny Shaw was born and raised on the Calexico/Mexicali border in the stifling heat of the California desert. He is the author of six novels including the Jimmy Veeder Fiasco border novels: DOVE SEASON, PLASTER CITY, and IMPERIAL VALLEY. Johnny has been nominated for the Anthony Award three times, winning for Best Paperback Original in 2013 for the comedic adventure novel BIG MARIA. He has been shortlisted for a number of awards and has won the Spotted Owl Award twice. His short fiction has appeared in Thuglit, Plots with Guns, Crime Factory, Shotgun Honey, and numerous anthologies. He was the Grand Marshal of the Holtville Carrot Festival Parade in 2016, which means nothing to you, but everything to him. You can find Johnny on Twitter at @BloodandTacos.
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