-
“So Alive” by Love and RocketsTrue story: In 1990 I was in Chang Mai, Thailand with my mother and sister, and we got into a tuk tuk, which, if you’re not familiar with Thai conveyances, is an open-air three-wheeled vehicle that is commonly used as a taxi. We’d taken a lot of tuk tuk rides during our time in Thailand; they were much cheaper than traditional taxis, and the lack of seatbelts wasn’t too concerning since, Thai traffic being what it is, we spent most of the time at a complete standstill. Then the strangest thing happened. The tuk tuk driver turned on the radio. And he had a sound system. In a tuk tuk. (It’s difficult for me to overstate how odd this was.) The song that was playing was “So Alive,” and to this day, it makes me think of being in a foreign land. Kind of like Poppy experiences in Portugal.
-
“Feel it Still” by Portugal. The Man
Did you think I wouldn’t include a song from a band called with Portugal in its name? (Although the grammar nerd in me is completely flummoxed by the period in the middle.) This song was everywhere when I was writing The Other Miss Bridgerton, and I liked it enough to put it on my Spotify “my songs” playlist, which I’m told by members of my family I overplay.
-
“Just What I Needed” by The Cars
No particular reason except that I’ve loved this song for decades. And when Ric Ocasek sings, “I don’t mind you hanging out/And talking in your sleep,” it makes me think of Andrew and Poppy sharing his cabin.
-
“We Speak No Americano” by Yolanda Be Cool and DCup
I was first turned on to this song years ago when I saw a hand-dancing video by Up & Over It. After watching the video about 800 times, I added the song to my playlist, and it’s been there ever since. None of this has anything to do with The Other Miss Bridgerton, but I really did enjoy exploring Poppy’s thoughts about being in a foreign country and not understanding the language. So maybe I can nickname it “We Speak No Portugueso.”
