I’m trying to get to know the two main characters of my novel (to be turned into TV script or scripts), and I’m trying to branch out in ways that I haven’t before. I’ve created (goes to count) five Pinterest boards that are dedicated to Jill & Abby, and I’ve created playlists for most of the main characters.

First up: Jill.

Jill has just moved back to her hometown of Nashville, TN, after leaving her husband of five years, and is living in the basement of her younger sister and brother-in-law’s house. Jill is struggling to adjust to life as a newly-single woman: finding a job, reestablishing friendships, and just figuring out who she is now that she doesn’t have her husband in tow. She is an artist, primarily visual, and hopes to one day have a gallery showing, despite her losing her inspiration.

LOVES: llamas/alpacas, Wassily Kandinsky, the colors teal and coral; HATES: grammar police.

1

The opening scene of the original script (which honestly, I’m keeping because I freaking love this scene) has Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz” blasting, because Jill’s favorite music genre is 1970s glam rock. “Looking for a Kiss” by the New York Dolls happens to be my favorite of this genre, but I figure that Jill would love this song, too.

2

Nelly Furtado’s music pops up into my head quite frequently when I think of Jill, but a lot of that comes from Jill and I being the same age: I loved this album when it came out and have followed Furtado ever since hearing that first track, “Hey, Man.” She’s incredibly underrated and versatile and deserves way more attention than she gets.

3

Although Jill doesn’t always agree with Amanda Palmer (e.g. not paying artists because they should want to perform with her for free or some shit), she absolutely loves her music, and seriously, you should go check out the live version of “Melody Dean,” because this song is so hard to sing without nearly passing out. (Side note: this record was actually recorded in Nashville, a fact I just recently discovered.)

4

Back in the early 2000s, Diet Coke was doing a seriously good job picking music for their ads, and I’m assuming that this is how Jill first heard Bodyrockers’ “The Way You Move.”

5

Trip-hop was pretty much all Jill listened to in college (other than her daily glam rock wake-up call), and Morcheeba was her top artist. “Blindfold” is probably their most well-known song, but the rest of the album The Big Calm is such great studying music. And sex music … just saying.

6

Now, I didn’t discover Brody Dalle until I watched a makeup tutorial video by Pixiwoo, and that’s also how I imagine Jill found out about her: she wanted the best way to wear her makeup to keep people wondering if she did it on purpose or just forgot to wash her face after a late night. Her music, particularly “Don’t Mess with Me,” is badass, though, so it all worked out.

7

Jill and her best friend, Sunny, have a healthy love for all things Dolly Parton and hope to one day meet their idol, going to Dollywood every year, in efforts to just run into her. Jill has every single one of Dolly’s albums saved on her Spotify, so she just randomly puts it on shuffle, and it just so happens to “Backwoods Barbie” is the first song that pops up.

8

Jill and her father, Chaz, bond over their mutual love of soul music, and Mavis Staples’ Only for the Lonely was the first LP he ever bought for her. Its first track, “I Have Learned to Do Without You,” was played over and over again when she broke up with her first boyfriend in high school.

9

The very first job Jill had was as a clerk at Nashville’s Tower Records (RIP) and she found all sorts of diverse music, including the indomitable Love Psychedelico, who just recently came out with a new single, “Swingin’.”

10

And finally, Kate Bush’s “Babooshka” was the inspiration for Jill’s high school senior year Halloween costume. Her school held a Halloween dance to keep the kids from being hooligans and egging people’s houses. She was almost sent home but was able to convince the teachers/chaperones that, if they sent her home, they’d have to send the boys who were shirtless home too. She then continued to use Kate Bush as a fashion icon for the next five years.

Alrighty, stay tuned for next week. I’ll be introducing you guys to Abby!

Art Credit: Radio West, Official Charts, NPR, Amazon, The Quietus, NPR, The Tennessean, Discogs, Clockenflap, PopExpresso