Music in Caffrey Conversation

It's no surprise the Caffrey Conversation AU is filled with songs, given how much Silbrith and I love music. But our use of music is more than an indulgence. We use it to define our settings, to describe and solve cases, and to reveal things about the characters. This post will cover a “greatest hits” of the music in the AU, tracing the original uses and hinting at what’s to come.


Warning for spoilers for stories in the Caffrey Conversation AU.

The first stories in the AU are set primarily in December of 2003, and thus most of the songs are Christmas carols to remind us of the timeframe. I picked one song in particular – “Little Drummer Boy” – as one that would work well with a loopy Neal in Caffrey Conversation. Peter brings up the alphabet song that many of us learn as children, trying to connect to that childlike, loopy Neal.

In Choirboy Caffrey, Neal cons his way into a Christmas concert, shows us he can play the piano, and he also reveals himself to be a huge fan of an alternate rock group I invented called Local Devastation. These elements relate to the case of a former rock star receiving threatening messages, but they also set up the Urban Legend plot that continues to be hinted at in the following stories, until we finally reach the Masterson Music case in Caffrey Disclosure. For that case, it’s important that Neal be a proficient musician, and that he and his accomplices be familiar with rock and pop music. Initially I’d envisioned the Urban Legend plot line playing out in a current setting, so selecting music from 2004 was a challenge but also kept me and readers grounded in a time more than a decade ago.

Several or our characters are associated with specific types of music. We already knew from canon that Mozzie likes opera, and that June and her husband Byron are fans of jazz and the Rat Pack. I add onto that in By the Book and Caffrey Flashback, having Neal sing Sinatra songs for them. I use music to add to the emotion of Byron’s subplot, first with Angela sharing a story about singing at her father’s funeral, and then with Neal singing “Let It Be” for Byron’s funeral.

Neal’s grandparents are quickly associated with what they like to sing when they are introduced in Caffrey Flashback. Irene loves the songs of classic Hollywood musicals, and Edmund plays old Irish folk songs for his grandchildren. These musical interludes are a means to show us who these characters are and how they interact with their family. I even use music preferences to contrast between sisters Meredith and Noelle. We see Meredith’s influence as a loopy, hospitalized Neal sings a French children’s song.

Music allows us to get into Henry’s head. Under the influence of pain killers in By the Book, he picks spooky “My Immortal” as the song he wants to hear and that reveals some of his thoughts and worries about Neal. We learn in Caffrey Disclosure that to cheer his mother up after her divorce, he performed a dorky dance to “I’m Too Sexy,” and Neal uses Henry’s song choices to explain how his cousin is hurting over the actions of Robert Winslow.

Neal and his cousins turn music into a code, which Angela uses to communicate with Neal after she and Henry are kidnapped.

I must admit that I thought the music would fade to the background after the Masterson Music case was closed in Caffrey Disclosure, and I’m happy to report that Silbrith proved me very wrong. She started with asking if Neal would be open to a Celtic fusion, and I thought moving away from pop and rock would be an excellent idea. After years of performing with Urban Legend, Neal should welcome a change, and moving beyond the music of his teens and early 20s shows he's growing up. And thus as Neal begins his college career, his girlfriend Fiona pulls him into a new style of music with a new group of friends banding together (bad pun, I know, go ahead and groan) to let off some steam as they perform.

An element I love in Fiona’s band is the inclusion of Michael. The poor guy – like me and many readers – has no actual musical talents, but he wants to join in the fun. I thought it very true to our characters and the tone of the AU that he would find a place. All of this was being plotted as I wrote Caffrey Disclosure, and I loved knowing what was to come for Neal and friends, musically speaking.

The character Angela, who I imagined as looking like singer Amy Lee, initially took on a goth vibe to match the photos I was finding as inspiration. Silbrith decided to have Angela study ethnomusicology at Columbia, and our discussions led to a little foreshadowing in Caffrey Disclosure when Angela takes an interest in hammered dulcimers. While she waits for her plot line to expanded, Angela is working at the Aloha Emporium and chilling out to Hawaiian music.

By the time I finished Caffrey Disclosure, Silbrith was crafting The Queen’s Jewels storyline, which involved a literal soundtrack. Brainstorming songs with the theme of freedom led to a CD that the characters give Neal. It was a truly fun moment in the writing experience, and the songs were directly tied to the plot of the story.

As I wrote the holiday story Caffrey Aloha I turned to music again, portraying the group’s joy as they dance on the beach to a song similar to “Footloose.” In addition, the chapters and several story themes were inspired by the musical The Wizard of Oz.

What’s up ahead? Well, in Silbrith’s Arkham Files stories, the action happens in the 1970s, giving us a whole new realm of music to enjoy. Already Silbrith has mentioned several classics from that era to set the stage and to give insights into what Neal is feeling. And then there’s Silbrith’s upcoming Crossed Lines series. This is a crossover with Supernatural whose character Dean has a decided preference for 80’s classic rock. When I pointed out that in canon he listens exclusively to male artists, that opened our eyes to the need to highlight the great female singers of the era. We’ll also learn more about Peter’s musical tastes.

My initial entries in the Caffrey Vignettes don’t have many songs in them, but longer term I do have a few musically inspired ideas. Have you noticed a theme of fireworks in the AU? They appear in Caffrey Disclosure over the Fourth of July, and for New Year’s in Caffrey Aloha. Silbrith has also referenced fireworks at least once. Eventually, Neal will hear Katy Perry’s “Firework” and that will play a part in a future vignette.

I suppose the stories of the Caffrey Conversation AU could have been written with fewer references to music, but it would have been less fun and I think the stories wouldn’t be as strong. For me, the songs are part of the experience, as they add to the setting, to the characterization, and even to the plot. I think it’s safe to say you’ll continue to see songs mentioned as the series continues. Many are pinned to our Pinterest boards, and I invite you to browse through those boards to hear the series’ soundtrack. A few examples of the many moods of Neal are included below.