Two songs that would fit my audio script well are “Forever Broke,” by musician Yoko Kanno, and “The Girl Who Stole My Tamagotchi,” by producer Hot Sugar. Each has its own flavor and is appropriate for my essay in its own way, although the similarities they share are a sense of infused nostalgia and a reserved sorrow. Radio artists Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva share their expertise on song choice, saying, ”When we’re working with music, we’re often looking for something that isn’t too dense, maybe even spare, but has a strong rhythm and pulse, unless we’re trying to make an emphatic point.” Both of these songs are spare, and have plenty of space to fit words inside of, although “The Girl Who Stole My Tamagotchi” has more of a discernible pulse. On the other hand, the fluctuating and lazy tempo of “Forever Broke,” may aesthetically make more sense for my essay, whose setting is a river.

Additionally, the warmth in Kanno’s song is appropriate for the subject matter; the summer antics of teenagers. This sort of blues brings with it the murky heat of Louisiana, although muggy Massachusetts makes for a relatively easy adoptee. That being said, there is some undeniable regional discord, although this would be imperceptible to the audience; no affiliation to a state is actually specified in the essay. But I value formal truth.

Aesthetically, it makes more sense to choose Kanno’s song over the other. On the other hand, it may be overly attention grabbing, with its dynamic volume range and slide guitar swoops. It would make more sense as a punctuator to meaningful script lines, as opposed to running constant in the background. Substantial fading, levels work, and chopping would have to be applied, in a manner similar to what the Kitchen Sisters describe: “We often cut music to fit our tracks. And loop sections of it too. We sometimes add a little pause, or take a bit away to have the voice nestle onto an instrument or a beat.”

Yet, “The Girl Who Stole My Tamagotchi,” by Hot Sugar conveys more nostalgia than the other, something the audio essay is heavy with. Furthermore, it embodies the right kind of innocence and bumbling that we associate with young love, an underlying topic in my audio essay. Because it lacks boldness, it might be easier to maneuver the essay around it, and the clear differences between verse, chorus, and bridge provide opportunities for a narrative arc. One of the biggest downsides of this song, is that no part of it has the right emotion for the essay’s ending. Additional sound artifacts would have to augment one of the melodies for the right feel to be achieved.