Take Away the Saints

Reader Q&A with Ian R. Cooper

So I thought it would be pretty weird to do an interview with myself, so I've decided to host a little Q&A here where you, the readers, could ask me about noir, Smoke 'Em Up, the soundtrack (which I truly adore), any of the stories or authors in this anthology, or any of my other works.

Just post any questions in the comments below and I will include them with my answers to this chapter.

If I don't get any questions, I may write out a short essay on how Smoke 'Em Up came to be and what I wanted from it. But that seems like it would be even more needlessly masturbatory than the story already was, hahaha!

Cheers, and looking forward to hearing from you.

- Ian C.

Q1: Does your soundtrack represent the music that you listed to while writing it, or music that you felt matched the story's themes once you finished writing? - elfordalley

A1: Oh boy, great question! So here's a long-winded and overly enthusiastic answer.

I picked the songs based on some aspects of the story— be it feel, setting, character, or theme. I had a basic soundtrack layout before I wrote Smoke 'Em Up, based on the rough outline in my head. I knew I wanted to go on a variation of trip-hop. That being said, I did still listen to the songs while writing, for inspiration.

I chose Massive Attack's "Paradise Circus" first because it works so well as an opener or closer. See the BBC tv show "Luther" for an example. There's this air of curiosity about the instrumentation of the piece, which kind of juxtaposes with the hum-drum nature of the first chapter, but hints at rumblings to come.

I feel like "Starboy" by The Weeknd is Jase's theme song. It's modern and has a lot of swagger. Listening to it in accord with the description I had in my head brought the character to life for me. Man, what a dickhead.

Trent Reznor's "Technically, Missing" fits the paranoid feel of Carl's mindset in the third chapter, to me. It buzzes with crescendos and jarring, crunchy guitar bits that feel otherworldly. Add in the fact of what Carl had done in the previous chapter, Jase's fate, and to me it works on multiple levels.

The fourth chapter is based on setting with "6 Underground" by the Sneaker Pimps. It's a slow, sensuous groove you could see fitting in with a strip club. And a girl like Keely.

Portishead's "Roads" is another dual-purpose song. Both the lyrics and music portray a sense of introspection. For me it works with the lack of action in the chapter, but as we can see, Carl himself is at a crossroads. One where he's already made up his mind, but is finally forced to take the first step.

I suggest listening with headphones.