Alright. I’m making this a regular thing: The playlist to go with the book. Can’t read about nonsensical stuff without a good riff in the background, can you?
No, you can’t. I don’t care what you answered. “No, you can’t” is the only correct answer.
And because I’m told Youtube is for old people, I have suffered through that infernal Spotify miscreant to whip you up a nice little playlist as well. “Stairway To Heaven” is on it this time.
Also, BE AWARE!
The following comes with spoilers.
Can’t do a Souls playlist without kicking it off with a Judas Priest song, so let’s start with the Judas Priest song… No, not “Breaking The Law.” The one that some people think is about Jesus Christ, because that’s far more appropriate here.
This. Is. The. Painkiller.
One
I already did the original “Safety Dance” for As Far As Souls Go, but Eddie mentioned it again and I really wanted to include it because I also like rock chicks.
So here’s The Donnas.
Nine
Eddie is driving to the tunnel, trying to figure out what to do with the Rooney-situation, and he isn’t sure. “Fuel” is blasting from the car stereo, but he isn’t enjoying it like he usually does.
Doesn’t mean you can’t.
When Eddie calls the Underworld and gets put on hold, he has to listen to a muzak version of Black Sabbath’s “Heaven And Hell.” I tried finding a muzak cover for shits and giggles, but there doesn’t seem to be one.
And let’s be honest, do we really want that? Or do we prefer the razorsharp vocals of the legendary Ronnie James Dio? That was a rhetorical question, and even if you answered, there is, again, only one possible answer.
Eddie tells Lilith that Rooney is “dead as disco” and Lilith replies that disco is still doing alright. This prompts a reference to Twisted Sister’s famously disagreeable stance on the subject, which I shall refer you to here.
Ten
Which song do you play when you’re barreling down a flaming highway to the Underworld?
Yes. Obviously.
Eleven
Every now and then you’ll find yourself on an elevator in the Afterlife, and somebody familiar will get on. Sometimes it’s an old friend, and other times it’s a blues legend responsible for the whole Devil at the crossroads cliché.
Thirteen
Helen uses her mighty, mighty bosstone when she’s talking to her assistant manager.
So… here you go.
Fourteen
At some point you’ll have to leave the Underworld, and “Highway To Hell” won’t be appropriate. One suggestion might be “Hellraiser” and though I believe Eddie would have the Motörhead version in his playlist, 2022’s 30th Anniversary edition is a beautiful thing.
Seventeen
Raphael, at some point, is in a hurry to take Jonah and Eddie on a tour of Heaven’s facilities. He needs to be back in time to pick up one David Jones who apparently chronicled the rise and fall of somebody named Ziggy Stardust.
And just in case a relevant record exec is reading this: Fuck you. This is one song that didn’t need a remaster, and at least give people the choice to listen to the original version which I can’t find.
Twenty-Two
Okay, so you try to leave the Underworld for the second time, but this time God’s driving. Are you sticking with “Hellraiser,” or are you taking her suggestion for the ride back?
Yeah, that’s what I thought.
Rigby & Yeager, in the meantime, are waiting for their boss and the leader of the Current Day Saints.
Twenty-Three
Lilith makes a Tetris reference, which gives me a nice opportunity to introduce you to Charles Berthoud, if you don’t know him already.
Lilith also gets a little overwhelmed with the task resting on her shoulders, and I think we should all have a little sympathy for her.
Twenty-Five
Okay, this last one is lyrically not exactly relevant, but for a brief moment in the story, there is life on Mars.