Listen to Nathan Hill’s “Wellness”-Inspired Playlist
If you're reading along with us, you know that Oprah’s 102nd Book Club pick is a treasure trove of ’90s music nostalgia. At the start of the novel, Jack scrounges together work taking “photos of bars, bands, parties. Cool people being cool.” Over the course of their courtship, he and Elizabeth find themselves in some enviable crowds: “They see Veruca Salt at the Double Door. The Jesus Lizard at Czar Bar. Urge Overkill at Lounge Ax. Wesley Willis just out on the sidewalk with his keyboard playing for anybody who will listen. The Smashing Pumpkins at Metro. Liz Phair at the Empty Bottle.” It’s enough to make any former college radio DJ swoon.
Even if you didn’t come of age in the golden age of indie rock (guilty), Nathan Hill’s description of the scene is vivid enough to make you feel like you did—or at the very least wish that you did. You almost hear music playing in the background of Jack and Elizabeth’s adorable meet-cute or cranked up in Jack’s computer lab during a late night of, ahem, photo research.
While it’s easy to imagine the sort of songs that the characters of Wellness were listening to, now you don’t have to. Author Nathan Hill has put together what he describes as “Jack’s ’90s Mixtape.” These were the songs Hill himself listened to on heavy rotation while writing the Wicker Park scenes of the novel in order to transport himself back to the era of oversize plaid flannel and distressed sweaters. You can travel back in time, too, by jamming out to this curated collection of classic hits—grunge attire and combat boots not included.
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