XTC - Love on a Farmboy's Wages

“There’s a price for everything, Scotty.  Cute little chickens have to die to feed adorable kids and make Colonel Sanders fat.  That’s real life.”  David couldn’t tell if Scott, an even more intense introvert than Aaron at times, was appreciating his pearls of wisdom.  He began to pluck out the tune to XTC’s “Love on a Farmboy’s Wages,” not really expecting Scott would get the joke.

The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary

Triclops Studios

The novel references a small studio in Marietta, GA, where seminal albums from the alternative rock movement were recorded.  None of this was fiction -- Triclops Studios really was located in a nondescript location outside of Atlanta, in what appeared to be an everyday office complex.  You can see footage of the Smashing Pumpkins recording "Siamese Dream" in this video.

Nevermind the Garbage, Here’s Butch Vig

Weezer - Say It Ain't So

Perhaps the most famous "Child of Divorce Sends a Message to His Father" song of the era.  A subconscious influence on the novel, most likely.

Filter - Hey Man, Nice Shot

A song that will never disappear from movie trailers.  It even showed up in a trailer for a movie set in the '80s!  There's just a basic wrongness there.

Bjork - Army Of Me