July 11, 2021 by kira a. gold

Smoky Perfume – a playlist

*A wisp of incense smoke on a textured dark background.*

This whole not-being-able-to-smell thing is rather distressing, like the world has lost a dimension.
But I’m getting better enough to be bored and fidgety, and I haven’t lost my hearing, so–

Here’s a playlist of songs, from my ramblings on scents that are all tagged as having smoky notes. Many get their smoke from incense, some from black tea; labdanum–rock rose–can have a marvelous creosote layer, and gunpowder gives edgy darkness.

Some of the songs are harsh, some soft, but they all have an intimate bluesy smoke vibe.
Enjoy!
(And get vaxxed, and take your vitamin D.)

Absolue Pour Le Soir – Honey Bee by Muddy Waters
A City On Fire – Rooms on Fire by Stevie Nicks
Norne – If I Had a Heart by Fever Ray
O, Unknown! – Blood Makes Noise by Suzanne Vega
Breath of God – Just Breathe by Pearl Jam
Land of Warriors – Take out the Gunman by Chevelle
Fate – I Put a Spell on You by Samantha Fish
Timbuktu – Timbuktu Fasso by Fatoumata Diawara & Amine Bouhafa
Memoir – Insanity by Emaan Zadjali
Encens – Smoke & Mirrors by Gotye
Spice Must Flow – Capricorn by 30 Seconds to Mars
La Fin du Monde – Until the End of the World by U2
Everything & Nothing – Nothin’ by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Lui – Gentle Groove by Mother Love Bone

May 7, 2018 by kira a. gold

A DIRTY Vermont playlist

“A summer rain shower had left the evening air thick with steam.
Lazy fireflies flicked between the trees edging the streets as he drove. He tuned the radio to the campus station with eclectic song sets, and wound through several neighborhoods, old and new.”

In chapter thirteen–Kitchen Sync–of THE DIRTY SECRET, Killian drives through Burlington to walk in on Vessa, baking. She’s listening to the same indie radio station he was just playing.

A friend asked what song they were both listening to, so of course I had to make a playlist of some cool musicians from Vermont.

“He felt drunk, post coital with the euphoria spiraling through his guts and his spine, all because a girl had made him cookies.”

THE DIRTY SECRET Vermont Playlist:

THE DIRTY SECRET is available at amazon.com and other fine ebook retailers.

August 1, 2015 by kira a. gold

Songs for Seraphima

“What are you?” His voice is raspy with sleep. “I’ve never dreamed of an angel in a mask before.”
“In China, we get to be dragons.” A sharp pinch on her toe snaps Seraphima back into her bones, the boy and his room sliding into the astral plane like a morning star.

–The Scent of Flames, Chapter Three: A Borrower

the lovers