Prophecy Playlist

The Official Prophecy Playlist

By Ellen Oh

1. “Life in Mono” By Mono - This is one of my favorite songs and for some reason it was the tune that always came to me when I thought of my main character, Kira. When I was working on her scenes, trying to figure her out, I’d literally hear this song in my head. So I just started playing it all the time and Kira came to life. I find it perfect for her because it’s a melancholy piece—sad and lonely, but still filled with hope. Kind of like Kira.

2. “Voices Carry” By Til Tuesday - There’s this scene in PROPHECY where Kira has to walk by all of the court ladies and they flick open their fans in front of their faces and just whisper. And I remember immediately hearing this song in my head as I envisioned this scene.  Particularly that one refrain at the end - “He said shut up, he said shut up. Oh God can't you keep it down! Voices carry.” And I thought that this would be what she was thinking in her head as she walked past them and had to hear once again all their mean taunts.

3. “King of Sorrow” By Sade - This song is Jaewon. He is the King of Sorrow. Just look at these lyrics. “I'm crying everyone's tears, I have already paid for all my future sins. There's nothing anyone, can say to take this away. It's just another day and nothing's any good.” He has had so much pain and suffering in his young life. This is what he feels like everyday.

4. “Gimme Shelter” By The Rolling Stones - When Kira and her group are on the run, I would hear the Stones in my head. If I were a movie director filming this scene, this is what would play in the background. I think there is something epic and almost western sounding about this song, which works when you’ve got horses and danger and a demon army hunting you down.

5. “Pray” By Sunny Hill - Pray is a gorgeous K-pop song with one of the most bizarre music videos I’ve ever seen. It actually gave my kids nightmares. Seriously, don’t watch it. It’s freaky. But the song is beautiful and kind of heartbreaking. One of the chorus lines reminded me of a part of my book where Kira sheds tears for the souls of the unfortunates she needs to save. “Cry for me, and I'm sorry. It's not fair for me to put you through my sorrow.”

6. “Sweet Sacrifice” By Evanescence - Whenever I had to write a battle scene, I cranked this song. LOUD. There’s this one perfect line in the song that just resonated with me so much. “Fear is only in our minds but it's taking over all the time.” Yeah, that one.

7. “If” By Janet Jackson – “If” is definitely Shin Bo Hyun’s song. Because there’s something sexy about that bad boy and without a doubt, this is a sexy song.

8. “Get It In” By Yoon Mi Rae – This is a badass song. It has a badass video. Kira is a total badass. Enough said. Here’s the link to the video. Although it is mostly in Korean, there is an English version of the song. Warning: the video is violent.

http://youtu.be/nLR0x2k1SKM

9. “Rocketeer” By Far East Movement - Love this song! When it came out, I’d have it on repeat pretty much all day long. I adore Ryan Tedder’s voice.  But my favorite part of the song is when they sing and rap “Let’s fly-y-y-y! Up up here we go, where we stop nobody knows.” To me, it’s kind of a perfect ending anthem for Kira.

10. “Rabbit Heart” By Florence and the Machine – I love this song and it really fits PROPHECY because even the bravest people will have moments where they are filled with fear and doubt. Not that Kira was ever a “rabbit hearted girl” but like the lyrics, she “must become a lion hearted girl, ready for a fight, before I make the final sacrifice.” Well in her case, more of a “tiger hearted” girl.

11. “May” By Belle Epoque – This is a K-Indie song from the soundtrack of the Korean hit drama Coffee Prince. It’s a thoughtful song, one I liked to play a lot while just staring blankly at my computer. I like to call this my thinking song! But it also has some lovely lyrics. “Even that dream we shared, shy words exchanged, those dream-like days are over…”

12. “The Kiss” By Trevor Jones from The Last of the Mohicans Soundtrack – Music and writing is all about mood. I am such a visual writer that scenes come completely to life in my head before I write them. But they aren’t silent. I’m never quite sure what the music might be, but I know the mood, in fact I can hear it. And to me, music is always about enhancing the mood. The Last of the Mohicans soundtrack, and this particular song, does exactly that. It envokes an emotional response that I tend to equate with Prophecy.