Split Lip Print Issue v1: The Playlist

Hey, have you heard that we're celebrating the release of our FIRST-EVER PRINT ISSUE? Because we are. And we're celebrating the amazing authors whose words live in those pages.

We asked our print contributors: if your poem, story, or essay (characters or the actual piece itself) had a personal anthem/theme song, what would it be? And here's what they had to say:

Luis Lopez-Maldonado:
"Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera

Janelle Bassett:
The theme song for my story has to be a country song, given the setting, so I'll say "Baby Sister" by Dolly Parton.

Dan Coyle:
First thing that popped into my head was "Farewell Transmissions" by Songs:Ohia. It's a song about depression, death and destiny, and doing your best in spite of those things.

I will try and know whatever I try
I will be gone but not forever

Real truth about it is
No one gets it right
Real truth about it is
We're all supposed to try

Raven Leilani:
Oh my Gosh! I love this question. "Hunter" by Bjork.

Sara Lippmann:
King Missile's "Gary & Melissa," of course.

Darren Demaree:
If my poems had a personal anthem it would probably be an Explosions in the Sky track.

Tyler Barton:
My story, "Mannequins," is full of music--it kind of has it's own disjunct playlist (Biggie, Brand New, Slayer, Springsteen). But if I had to pick one song that speaks to the story as a whole, it'd probably be "Real Friends" by Kanye West.

Erin Calabria:
While writing I was listening a lot to "Elation" by Aldous Harding. In a live recording at Whammy Bar she says, "I was going to call this song 'I Feel Nothing,' but I went with 'Elation' instead." Harding's lightness holds the heavy truth that those states take turns, that they are both closer and more changeable than perhaps we tend to think. Some of that, and the way Harding thunders the song's final line - "the beauty is so close to me" - is what I hope you might hear in this essay too.

Hussain Ahmed:
If any of my poems should have an anthem, it will be the Nigerian national anthem, even though the country has failed many of her children, young boys risked their lives in the Mediterranean, girls are strapped with bombs, herdsmen clashes with farmers, in face of all these, we still believe there is a future free of smoke. "Ojuelegba" by WizKid should be a fit for my poems too.

Dorothy Chan:
"Take a Bow" by Madonna. It's weird. I don't think I'm a romantic person in real life, but I think I do bring out my hidden romantic side in my poetry.

Pete Stevens:
I like the idea of "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. being the soundtrack for this piece. In writing the piece, I wanted to bring in a number of voices and comments on guns, and her song would widen the scope. Plus, you know, that Bang, Bang chorus.

You can check out the full playlist on Spotify. And if you haven't ordered your print issue yet, never fear -- it's available in our online store.