7 Tunes Complementing Web Surfer

Tunes of Web Surfer

While listening to music while I write is often too distracting for me, musical references have often found their way into my works (either just titles, songs out of copyright, or allusions that don’t directly quote copyrighted materials.) Likewise, music has been known to influence or partially inspire me as I write, and I’ve also been known, while listening to music, to go, “hey, that’s the same theme as my story, that song harmonizes!” And one thing I’ve been known to do for fun is to up with lists of songs for mock soundtracks to mock movie versions of my books. Here is a selection of seven of such songs that complement Web Surfer in these ways, with brief notes on why it was chosen, in the order I came up with them.

1) You Won’t Relent
Manna’s relationship with Sander brings this one to my mind sometimes. Incidentally, Manna can represent both the Bride of Christ and the Holy Spirit in relation to her bridegroom. She prays the scripture text the song is based on over their relationship, as she is still jealous over his lovers, though she knows he hates his sin and is actively fighting to break free of that bondage. Read the serial’s third volume and all four novels to see how their love turns out.
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2) It is Well With My Soul by Horatio G. Spafford
A more subtle influence that unlocks part of the imagery with the key, “sorrows like sea billows roll.” One reason Sander surfs is to cope with grief and stay on his “surfboard of faith.” That metaphor is from the Life After Mars Series, but he’d have learned it from his foster family. He also has a real struggle to believe “it is well with my soul” is true of him despite his brokenness.
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3) Hold Me Together (Hello Mercy) by Royal Tailor
The second Web Surfer novel is about a search for Sander’s foster daughter, Mercy, and it has themes and symbolism that are comparable to this song.
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4) Wings of a Dove by Hal Ketchum
Inspired imagery in the forth and final Web Surfer book.
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5) Wind Beneath My Wings
Sander feels this way about his supercomputer, AKA his throne, AKA his metal head. Like his organic body parts, it has a mind of its own, but it normally only speaks to Sander, within the privacy of their own metal head. The rest of us only hear from the it apart from the him during times of major crisis. Note the Lord and his foster parents are at the top of his “heroes I want to be just like” list.
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6) How Can It Be – Lauren Daigle
Speaks to Sander’s battle with the sin in his life and his faith journey. Yes, he’d know all of the songs on this list. He knows everything that’s ever been posted on the internet. He’d have picks on his own list that we’ve never heard of, though, (Note: the worship leader at my church who sings this is male.)
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7) Our God is Greater by Chris Tomlin
This song is principally about magnifying the Lord. That is one of Sander’s supreme goals. At every opportunity presented to him, he testifies truthfully, “I’m nothing like God, not even close.” That’s a huge claim when his earthly power is so great, once he’s out of his chains, only his own character can hold him back from nightmare scenarios, and that he has developed a conscience is another problem for the people he’s saying “no” to. But as powerful as Sander is, his power is nothing beside God.
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