The Music in You

The idea for "The Music in You" came to me while I was driving around and listening to a "90's One-Hit Wonders" playlist. I thought to myself, "You know what would be a good movie? Just a group of unrelated stories lines, on a road trip, each car listening to one of these songs, then at the end- it turns out, they were all headed to the same place.

I wrote part one and the event in the same night and filled in the gaps of the final chapter as each short story was written.

The 90's was a decade of music diversity like none other. I feel like it was a generation that was defined by "One-Hit Wonders" in a way that no other generation before or since has been.

The funny thing about listening to the play list was that each song brought back distinct memories- some to one specific- some to a handful. Stories that I could tell my kids; some that are better reminisced with the friends who were there.

The stories I wrote land somewhere between fiction and reality. I tried to write stories that people who were teens or early 20s during that time period could relate to. Having all of the people reunite at their High School Reunion just felt natural- instead of ending up at the same Spring Break location, or something generic like that. I thought about having them end up at a wedding for a classmate, a funeral, or some other major event that brings people back together. However, with the story starting in the school gym, and the theme of all of the stories bringing a person back in time, then returning to where they started- it only seemed right to have them end where it began.

I know some of the songs can be debated as to whether they were one-hit-wonders (minor follow-up songs that weren't as big; more popular in other countries) or hits in another decade (I'm Gonna Be was originally a hit in 1988, however, didn't make the American charts until after being in Benny and Joon in 1993.) I decided that for the sake of the stories, I would go with the general definition of One-Hit Wonders, in the American market.

Every song that I picked was picked with intention and purpose- I started with a list that was approx. 100 songs long. I did my best to research various aspects of the 90's and match up the culture to the best of my abilities (despite being there, it is difficult, if not impossible, to remember all of the details.) Small details were considered, like- "I'm Gonna Be" being a hit in 1993, the same year that Sunflower by Elizabeth Arden was released, and dELiA*s hit the scene. Including all of those aspects in the same story was important to me- as well as, realizing it was too early for her to reference "Cher Horowitz" no matter how appropriate it seemed to the character's personality.

Some have said that there are discrepancies with the ages of the characters, however, I pointed out that most stories contained at least 2 characters- and the reason for that was to be able to string them together, with less specifics- and more cultural references. And- to be able to do this without regard to staying within one age.

Characters have younger/ older siblings, friends, spouses, etc- and it is with intent that I don't give names or reference as to which one is belongs at the reunion. This was done to allow the reader to fill in the blanks with their imagination-

-Or perhaps, more importantly, allow for the reader to place themselves, their friend, their brother, their sister, their partner, or depending on the age of the reader, even parent, in the character.

Thank you for taking the time to read my stories.