In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.
Jennifer Maritza McCauley’s speculative fiction collection Neon Steel is a profound and entertaining homage to Black culture, nerds, and Pittsburgh.
Kirkus wrote of the book:
“These linked stories are valentines to Black culture, Blerds (Black nerds), and Pittsburgh. . . . McCauley is deeply interested in the intersections of Black and Asian culture, and it’s delightful to see a collection explore this under-illuminated space. . . . A fun homage to anime.””
In her own words, here is Jennifer Maritza McCauley’s Book Notes music playlist for her story collection Neon Steel:
Neon Steel is a speculative collection of fiction set in Pittsburgh in the late ’90s and early 2000s. I wanted this playlist to reflect the flavor of the post-industrial city and project a certain energy, futurism, and joy.
In Neon Steel, the characters are grasping for some kind of happiness amid personal pain and when they find it, within themselves, or in their “tribe”, they experience a more complicated fulfillment. This playlist captures the range of characters’ emotions but also is infused with the style of the book itself—neon-lit, bright, robotic and, somehow, still warm. There’s techno-pop, rap, K-Pop, rock—a wide range that reflects the assortment of character personalities. I hope you enjoy it.
“Overdrive” Ofenbach ft. Norma Jean Martine
I love this song because it sets the tone of the book. “Overdrive,” with its deceptively straightforward lyrics, discusses “a dancefloor in my dreams” that will whisk the speaker away to brighter environs. The book celebrates exuberance and joy despite internal and external struggle, the power of music and falling in love. This song expresses these ideas perfectly. The insistence in the chorus that the speaker is “going into overdrive” suggests they’re leaving something terrible behind and seeking to “come alive.” Additionally, the song, sonically, “sounds” like Neon Steel—it’s bright-colored, techno-infused and neon-lit. I adore it.
“Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd
This is another song that captures the flavors and colors of Neon Steel sonically. It was also one of the main inspirations for the titular story, a remake of The Terminator (1984) told from a Black female robot assassin’s point of view. When I first heard the song, its story laid itself out before me immediately. I imagined a robot speaker, cold but longing for warmth, who “can’t sleep until [she feels]…touch…” The sense of abandonment and loneliness stuffed in the song reminds me of the narrator in Neon Steel’s need to connect, despite her single-minded goal to kill her nemesis. The Weeknd’s ability to merge robotic vacuity, splashy style and lyrical loneliness were particularly inspirational to me.
“Superpower” by Valorant, Kiss of Life, Mark Tuan
The song “Superpower” contains the iconic line “Pain is my superpower” which could easily be a thesis for Neon Steel. While the characters struggle with death, painful home lives, and an uncertain future, they transform these struggles into “superpowers.” Their interests and hobbies allow them to become extraordinary and most of all, their community gives them a certain superpower. This is also a futuristic song that perfectly captures the vibes of Neon Steel.
“When You Were Young” by The Killers
When I was in college, this song was a huge hit, especially in Pittsburgh where I was completing my undergraduate degree. I didn’t quite relate to the song; I was still too young to fully comprehend it. The speaker sits “in her heartache, waiting for a beautiful boy to save her from her old ways…he doesn’t look a thing like Jesus but he talks like a gentleman/just like you imagined when you were young.” The song hits so much harder now that I’m an adult and can reflect on lost loves and past problems. So much of Neon Steel is about crystallizing youth and the excitement of finding your tribe and falling in love. The song, and the book, assert that community and love do not always come in the likeliest of places. Sometimes they can be found in forms we might not expect. It’s also, like Neon Steel, a love letter to youth and the strange and exciting things that can happen when we look back on our younger lives.
“Try Again” by Aaliyah
In “Romeo Must Die Again, a story from the collection, love interest Jake Yee and Neon Steel protagonist Adrienne debate why the movie Romeo Must Die didn’t include a kiss between Aaliyah and Jet Li at the end of the movie, as was expected. It also surmises why a similar occurrence happened in Ninja Assassin, in which Rain and Naomie Harris are positioned as lovers, however, they do not express sexuality or affection for the majority of the movie. Jake Yee and Adrienne wonder if it’s an instance of lazy early 2000s racism or a narrative decision. Of course, I had to include the song that “made” Romeo Must Die, and arguably eclipsed it, “Try Again.” The song tells a simple story, the speaker is interested in a potential lover but pushes him to “try again” and keep trying, to be a better partner and to earn her affections. This also pertains to how Adrienne actually treats Jake Yee; they challenge each other to try harder whilst dealing with familial problems. This song is a classic I deeply adore.
“Gods” by League of Legends and New Jeans
This song correlates with the story “Vampires of Pittsburgh.” In the piece, select characters have the “Godsource” that provides them with supernatural powers to destroy demons. The question of what and who a “God” could be and how humans can become their own kinds of gods (to their detriment) is explored in the story. This song by League of Legends suggests that we are all violent, bloody, worthy of praise and powerful—just like a god. The piece says “This is why we’re immortal/once you play God/They gonna crumble one by one/Then we gonna ride into the sun like it’s the day of kingdom come…” The song, just like the story, suggests that humans have their own supernatural strengths and that perhaps they are both gods and demons.
“Neva Play” by Megan Thee Stallion ft. RM
Megan Thee Stallion famously came out as an otaku in the past few years and ushered in a new love for anime for former and new fans. Anime was previously, when I was growing up especially, a deep-seeded subculture, a hush-hush hobby you only shared with very close friends. Megan helped bring the world of American “otaku” to the mainstream. So I of course had to include a song in which Megan and RM from BTS collaborate and rap easily and joyfully together. This song speaks directly to themes presented in Neon Steel: Afro-Asian collaboration, the love of anime, the thud and thump of a great song. This one is a recent favorite of mine.
“Mastermind” by Deltron3030 (Del the Funky Homosapien, Kid Koala, Dan the Automater)
I’ve been a fan of Deltron for a very long time. This classic song by Del the Funky Homosapien was a hit in my youth, especially amongst my friends. The cinematic piece singlehandedly delivers fun, nerdiness and insight, a goal of mine for Neon Steel. In the song, Del is asserting he is a “mastermind” of rapping and shows how his raps aren’t just for a battle, they are actively pushing against a corporate system. In the song, he shows his lyrical genius whilst delivering a catchy and entertaining song. In Neon Steel, the characters listen to Deltron3030 and sing along to it, indicating that it also had an impact on their little world in Pittsburgh as well. Their fandom is also actively going against systems that sideline the marginalized, that insists fandoms can only look “one way.”
“Saiyan” by Stray Kids
This is one of my favorite songs by the popular South Korean group Stray Kids. It’s about finding yourself in anime characters (in this case Dragon Ball Z, in which powerful warriors are called Saiyans) and learning to “level up” and push against the world’s barriers and borders. The song projects victory, rebellion and joy, all themes I wanted to portray in Neon Steel. It’s also just an incredibly whimsical song, full of ensemble singing and rapping that provide a great mix and variety. The song suits the book’s genre love and its characters’ quests to find strength within themselves.
also at Largehearted Boy:
Jennifer Maritza McCauley’s playlist for her poetry collection Kinds of Grace
Jennifer Maritza McCauley’s playlist for her story collection When Trying to Return Home
Jennifer Maritza McCauley is the author of the cross-genre collection SCAR ON/SCAR OFF (Stalking Horse Press), the short story collections When Trying to Return Home (Counterpoint), and Recognition (U. Wisconsin Press, ‘27), the poetry collections Kinds of Grace (Flower Song) , VERSUS (Texas Review Press, ‘27) and Tumbao (Texas Review Press, ‘29) and the speculative collection NEON STEEL (Feb ‘26). She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Kimbilio and CantoMundo and her work has been a New York Times Editors’ Choice, Best Fiction Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews and a Must-Read by Elle, Latinx in Publishing, Ms. Magazine and Southern Review of Books. She is an assistant professor of English at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.