John Brandon’s novel Penalties of June is an unforgettable literary thriller.
Publishers Weekly wrote of the book:
“Bursts with sharp descriptions of the Sunshine State. This noirish romp hits all the right notes.”
In his own words, here is John Brandon’s Book Notes music playlist for his novel Penalties of June:
I managed to write a novel set in the decade (the ’90s) when I was in high school and college without including any of the music I listened to over and over back then—without including it in the book or in this playlist. Perhaps it felt indulgent enough to write a character with very similar sensibilities to my own (though with more sorrow and excitement then I could’ve imagined), living in a slightly fictionalized version of my hometown, without also cramming in Nirvana and The Pharcyde and Pearl Jam and Del the Funky Homosapien. Pratt (my main character) is much more a loner than I was, so maybe it didn’t feel right to align him with the musical zeitgeist of the day. At any rate, I hope you enjoy this mostly non-’90s list as an accompaniment to a ’90s book that was written with/through much nostalgia. (And I hope you enjoy the book.)
Got by Mos Def
Though character-driven, this is still a crime story that revolves around the age-old questions of who shall get got and when and how and by whom, and what miscalculations got the gotten got, and whether the getters will get away clean.
Too Close by Next
–If you were of dance club age in the late 90s, you’re familiar with this song. Apparently (the internet tells me so), it was the #1 song of 1998. Even Pratt, with precious little interest in music and no interest in dancing and having spent the last few years in prison, would not have been unaware of this sensual track. He would not have been able to avoid it. He would have heard it coming out of other cars and playing in strip-mall stores and playing at cookouts and parties he wasn’t invited to and just generally playing everywhere.
Animal (F*%k Like a Beast) by W.A.S.P.
This charming self-titled debut album is the one that gets stuck in the tape player of Pratt’s Chrysler Le Baron, and this particular song is described in the book. I guess I chose this album to get stuck in Pratt’s stereo because it’s the last thing you’d want to listen to over and over—with that said, once I stopped wondering whether the whole album/band/genre was an elaborate joke, some of the songs grew on me. If Too Close (from earlier on the list) is too subtle for you, this song will be up your alley.
Florida Blues by Ricky Skaggs
Most of Florida, including most of the locales where Penalties of June takes place, is much more country than it is city. This bluegrass-sounding instrumental—maybe it’s called blues, but it ain’t sad—celebrates the tropic boondocks that are the Sunshine State.
Watching the Detectives by Elvis Costello
Irresistibly on-the-nose. Pratt watches a good many people during the course of the novel, becoming sort of a detective himself, but one of his rare moments of open pride is prompted by his successful surveillance of an actual badge-carrying detective while said detective engages in activities outside the realm of service and protection. Gianakos may not have a heart, but it remains to be seen whether he can be wounded.
Bad to the Bone by George Thorogood & The Destroyers
This is for Nairn, the tobacco-spitting, rich-old-lady-dating, patricidal, meaner-than-a-snake redneck who’s always eager to remind Pratt of his past screw-ups and try to ensnare him in new ones. While Pratt is watching everyone else, is Nairn watching him?
Some Like It Hot by The Power Station
The June heat in Florida, intensifying by the day, is a relentless irritant as Pratt drives around in cars, rents cars, buys cars, eats in cars, and worst, just sits in cars. I made a special effort to give the searing sun and heavy humidity their just due. I wanted the reader to feel stuck to the upholstery just like Pratt, sweat trickling down from their armpits, throat dry, growing faint because the air conditioner won’t blow cold unless the car is moving.
Deep Down in Florida by Muddy Waters
A vision of Florida as a simplistic heaven where you can take your woman out on the beach and sit down on the sand and play. In this version of Florida, you might wind up there instead of starting there, and you might be happy.
Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio by Les Brown and His Orchestra
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Baseball was a fond, innocent part of Pratt’s childhood—now that his childhood and his innocence are a distant memory, he avoids the game like the plague. I’ve paired two baseball singalongs here. It was surprising to me that the newer one, which celebrates the baserunning prowess of Mariner’s great Ichiro Suzuki, is the more optimistic and purely celebratory of the two. The earlier song includes a villain (the umpire), and alludes to the sad end of the famous hit street. To Ben Gibbard’s credit (the Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service guy), his song openly embraces the old-fashioned style of a bygone era while still sounding immediately like a Ben Gibbard creation.
Ode to My Car by Adam Sandler
Pratt’s Chrysler Le Baron—a memorable character in itself and worthy of recognition—doesn’t have quite as many problems as Adam Sandler’s ride, but it’s firmly in the piece- of-shit range. Sandler’s backup singers are fantastic. Still no idea what accent he’s doing.
Ta Pedia Tou Pirea by Melina Mercouri
For the two important characters of Greek extraction, here’s one of the most popular Greek songs ever recorded. This was the theme for the movie Never on Sunday. The movie won the Best Original Song Oscar for 1960, and the singer (and star of the movie) was nominated for Best Actress and actually won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival. The song has been re-recorded countless times, by the likes of Bing Crosby, Lena Horne, Doris Day and Petula Clark.
John Brandon has published five previous books with McSweeney’s―the novels Arkansas, Citrus County, A Million Heavens, and Ivory Shoals, and the story collection Further Joy. Arkansas was adapted into a movie of the same name starring Liam Hemsworth, Vince Vaughn, and John Malkovich. Citrus County was a finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Award and was reviewed on the cover of the New York Times Book Review.
Brandon has been awarded the Grisham Fellowship at Ole Miss and the Tickner Fellowship at Gilman School in Baltimore, and he has received a Sustainable Arts Foundation Fellowship. His short fiction has appeared in ESPN the Magazine, Oxford American, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Mississippi Review, Subtropics, Chattahoochee Review, Hotel Amerika, and other publications, and he has written about college football for GQ.com and Grantland. He was born in Florida and now resides in Minnesota, where he teaches at Hamline University in St. Paul.
also at Largehearted Boy:
John Brandon’s playlist for his novel Ivory Shoals
John Brandon’s playlist for his story collection Further Joy
John Brandon’s playlist for his novel A Million Heavens
John Brandon’s playlist for his novel Citrus County
John Brandon’s playlist for his novel Arkansas