A reader recently wrote me (hey Daren!) expressing an interest in other songs and images that inspired Something Like Summer. I have a previous blog entry about some of those inspirations, but there are indeed more sources not listed there. Let’s start with another hot image of Tim Wyman. Well, model Bruno Santos really. The photo you see to the left was the one I kept looking to during the college years. I gave him a haircut for the book, because I’ve always loved spiky hair, but that’s Tim all right. For me at least. Unfortunately I still haven’t stumbled on photos that truly remind me of Ben or Jace, which is especially frustrating in Jace’s case. I can see him see so clearly in my mind that I must have seen him somewhere, but I don’t know where.
As for other songs that inspired me, my descriptions of them get spoilerish. If you haven’t read the book yet, turn back now if you don’t want to know!
The first is Do You Sleep by Lisa Loeb, which gets me every time. This was the background tune to the end of Ben and Tim’s time together in highschool. There are a couple of scenes that are transparently taken from this song. Some lines I imagine Ben singing, some are Tim’s, but I feel it really resonates with how their relationship was falling apart.
The next song is sort of Jace’s theme. To me it’s about Ben needing him, and later missing him. The music itself reminds me of Jace’s character, kind of ritzy, classy, and offbeat, but also a little sad at times. “I have this picture hanging in my room, and I refuse to take you down…” This one is by Duran Duran and called We Need You.
Finally, we have another song by The Fold. The first inspiration article has a song by them as well, Faster Still, which was sort of the anthem of the novel. The song below, I Know You Well, represents the end of the story. No, not that part, but afterwards, when Tim is driving Ben home from the gallery. In the song Faster Still is a line “As I look into your eyes, I don’t know you any better” which is a doubt Ben shares at the end of the college years. This song is Tim’s answer and promise, as they cruise away into their happily ever after.
So there you have it, another set images and sounds by talented artists that helped fuel my words. I’m not sure if these resonate with you like they do me, but it’s safe to say that Something Like Summer wouldn’t have been the same without them. On that note, let’s end with one more photo of Tim Wyman. Just because.
