While I never listen to music while reading, when I was reading through the books this summer I had the soundtrack to the video game Hitman: Blood Money in my car constantly, so I guess a connection was sort of formed. I don't if anyone here has played the Hitman games, but the entire series is scored by this guy Jesper Kyd and they're all phenomenal; really dark, epic-sounding stuff. I guess it sort of fit the reading material.

Maybe its just the new York connection, or the fact that I know Jack listens to them (ok, so I assume that he does based on the Christmas album quote in Criss Cross), but I think the Steely Dan album Royal Scam fits Jack really well. Actually, just about anything from the SD catalog, but that album feels the most "New York" to me.

Matt

You mean like this?

DON'T TAKE ME ALIVE

Agents of the law
Luckless pedestrian
I know you're out there
With rage in your eyes and your megaphones
Saying all is forgiven
Mad Dog surrender
How can I answer
A man of my mind can do anything

CHORUS:
I'm a bookkeeper's son
I don't want to shoot no one
Well I crossed my old man back in Oregon
Don't take me alive
Got a case of dynamite
I could hold out here all night
Yes I crossed my old man back in Oregon
Don't take me alive

Can you hear the evil crowd
The lies and the laughter
I hear my inside
The mechanized hum of another world
Where no sun is shining
No red light flashing
Here in this darkness
I know what I've done
I know all at once who I am

CHORUS

Yeah, that about sums up wat Iw as thinking. Plus, the title track's portrayal of the seedy underbelly of the city and its immigrant population, the solitude of the narrator in Caves of Altamira, the concept (minus the sci-fi) of Sign in Stranger, and the "Where did the bastard run? Is he still around?" thing from Everything You Did. It all fits. I mean, I can hear the guitar solos to Kid Charlemagne and Haitian Divorce behind several scenes in the series.

For the sake of full disclosure, I did tour with Steely Dan one tour (2000) and think they are the greatest songwriting duo still working.

Matt

A GREAT musical accompaniment to Repairman Jack is a little-known German jazz band called Bohren & Der Club of Gore.

A four-piece instrumental group, "Der Club's" sound is ultra-low-key, ambient, very dark, very beautiful minimalist jazz. Their albums Sunset Mission and Black Earth are exceptionally "Jack-like," with their "cruising the city at night" kind of vibes at their strongest on Sunset, and some particularly dark parts on Black Earth (just listen to the coda on "Vigilante Crusade" - it seriously might just make you shift in your seat).

They're seriously worth checking out, if you haven't already.

And for you iTunes people who value songs over albums, I'd recommend the following tracks to start:

• "Midnight Walker"
  
• "Dead End Angels"
  
• "Midnight Black Earth"
  
• "Maximum Black"
  
• "Vigilante Crusade"

And P.S. - Headphones and darkness recommended.

While at the time, it was just a song. Janie's Got A Gun seemed oddly appropriate for Legacies

For the sake of full disclosure, I did tour with Steely Dan one tour (2000) and think they are the greatest songwriting duo still working.

Matt

Tell me more, Matt. Do they still work together anymore? Were you in their band, or opening?

For the sake of full disclosure, I did tour with Steely Dan one tour (2000) and think they are the greatest songwriting duo still working.

Matt

In 2000? So you visited to Japan with them for tour?

LUNASA - a wonderful modern Irish traditional music band.... (have I posted this before? )

LUNASA - go buy their CD's...

(OK, I don't know the guys in the band, unfortunately, but I've been listening to them since their early days.)