Say Hello to my Little Friend is, on its surface, a novel about a failed Pitbull impersonator (though you could argue that Pitbull himself is a failed Pitbull impersonator). My publisher describes it as “Scarface meets Moby Dick.” In their review, Kirkus called it “unclassifiable and unforgettable,” which is basically what I was aiming for when I set out to write this wild book: I wanted to write a novel that pushed directly up against what we think a novel can (or should) do. The songs that follow are excerpted from the much longer playlist I listened to while writing and thinking though this book. Mercifully, the version below only contains one Pitbull song (though you could argue it’s really a Christina Aguilera song that samples another song so heavily it barely counts as a Pitbull track). I titled the playlist LOLITA, because that’s where the writing process all started, with the real-life whale who is the beating heart of the book.
“Down the Line” – José González
There’s a lyric that’s heavily repeated in this song – “Don’t let the darkness eat you up” – and I imagine that as Lolita’s mantra for how she managed to stay (relatively) sane while in captivity. (Did I mention that a large part of the book is sort-of-but-not-exactly from the whale’s perspective? Now you know.) It also felt to me like a directive in the writing: that ultimately, I had to outrun the darkness of the book’s themes – namely, climate catastrophe and its inevitable impact on my hometown of Miami – in order to render them accurately. My preference is for the live version of this song, though in that case, I’d move it to the end of this playlist.
“Get Free” – Major Lazer
This is a song I thought of as floating around in Lolita’s tank, trying and failing to keep her company. There’s a chapter in the novel that’s a moment-by-moment depiction of a typical Lolita show at the Miami Seaquarium. In real life, they used really crappy techno and rock songs – and yes, even Pitbull tracks – as the backdrop for these shows. (Can you imagine how those songs sounded to an orca as the notes screeched around the all-concrete arena? The book’s narrator describes it as “an acoustic hellscape.”) There’s a sort of desperation that this song captures but doesn’t signal outright. Again, that’s a needle I tried to thread while writing.
“People Got A Lotta Nerve” – Neko Case
I saw Neko Case in concert and she sang this song and I took it as a sign from the Universe that I was on the right track (pun intended). She has a whole verse about orca that starts with They call them ‘Killer Whales’ and she then proceeds to drag the melody down, down, down along with the whale, describing how an attack from an orca in captivity takes “half your leg and both your lungs.” The moment in the song is terrifying, and to explain why this song is relevant would be to give a lot away, but so does saying that it’s Scarface meets Moby Dick.
“Que Calor” – J Balvin, Major Lazer, El Alfa
This is in large part a novel about the climate crisis and its impact on urban areas, so how can I not have a song about how hot it is? I imagine this song playing in the protagonist’s car during a very tongue-in-cheek chapter called “Autofiction,” which the book’s narrative voice refuses to define as anything other than fiction about, taking place in, or written by a car.
“Scarface (Push it to the Limit)” – Paul Engemann
This song is from the soundtrack to Scarface and backs the montage that swiftly and efficiently (if not somewhat unbelievably) chronicles Tony Montana’s rise to the top of the 1980s drug game in Miami. I listened to this one on repeat while drafting the chapter I titled “Push it to the Limit” that does the literary equivalent of a montage in the novel. It was a narrative experiment fueled by this song, which I now know by heart, unfortunately.
“Feel This Moment” – Pitbull, Christina Aguilera
This is maybe the only Pitbull song I can stomach lately. I had to listen to this one on repeat while drafting the book’s “Feel this Moment” section, which was maybe the most challenging one to get right and so took a while. Playing it so many times in a row really fucked up my Spotify year end situation. It might be the only Pitbull song that doesn’t have any blatant misogyny in it, and Aguilera’s powerhouse voice can push you through any kind of slump, writing or otherwise.
“Take Your Time” – John Cunningham
I have the incredible Joe Pernice to thank for introducing me to Cunningham’s music. I was lucky enough to hear Cunningham perform this song at a Joe Pernice concert when he was touring for his book/album It Feels So Good When I Stop. This song connects to the process aspect of writing the novel more so than inspiring its content. It’s a good reminder for any artist when we feel like rushing the process of creation: It’s all you have to do, take your time, take your time.