Pop Culture

What's on my iPod?

Indoor Fireworks by Elvis Costello.

And there's a story in that.

You see, for most people, Elvis Costello is either a) an acquired taste, b) the guy who sang "Alison," or "Radio, Radio," c) a music god. I'm with "c." But he is NOT a pop culture reference. Not exactly. He's too outside the mainstream. Just a "touch" too obscure for most of his songs.

More to the story. In Spanish Disco, Cassie drove across Alligator Alley listening to "Indoor Fireworks." If a reader was so inclined to find Elvis's lyrics, he or she would have discovered it was complete poetry and very much, I think, apt to Cassie's lovelife. If not, it was a throwaway line and much could be inferred by the song title and her rumination.

In Rock My World, a YA title of mine, every single chapter began with a song title that fit the "theme" of the chapter. But 99% of them could not be found on mainstream pop radio (thank God). I have had teens write me that they downloaded all the songs to listen to on their iPod as they read the book--that's dedication. But they weren't "pop" culture references. They were too obscure. Like Cake . . . you either love them or hate them, but they aren't on top-40 radio.

And in general, pop culture references are a reason to be cautious. And sometimes they can be a definite editorial no-no. For instance, my daughter has a new book--kind of an erotic romance if the back cover is to be judged (she's 17). And I flipped through it and saw this astounding line, "She looked like Nicole Kidman." WHAT?!?! I wanted to fling the book. How lazy . . . What a horrible shortcut! It's okay, by most editors' standards, to describe someone who ends up sounding an awful lot like Nicole Kidman, but that's for the reader to connect the dots (strawberry-red ringlet curls, porcelain skin, tall, whatever). I once edited a book in which the aspiring writer wrote, "She looked like Elaine from Seinfeld." Again, DESCRIBE her, but to shortcut that way is lazy. And there's always a chance the reference will cease to be recognizable--or won't be a touchstone for your reader the way it is for you.

Don't get me wrong. My characters have iPods. They log onto laptops. They have conveniences that date them to the here and now. And sometimes I will throw in some funny cultural reference. But MORE often, I will make it something funky and obscure--or a classic. For instance, I might reference a Slinky toy--but I wouldn't reference a Furby, whose tide of popularity has come and gone.

So . . . thoughts? How do you use pop culture in your books?

And what's on your iPod?

What's on your character's iPod?