LIBRARY BLOG
A Playlist for The Raven Cycle
Dead kings! Psychics! Sentient forests!
Maggie Steifvater recently announced the title for the second book in The Dreamer Trilogy—Mister Impossible—so what better way to celebrate an astronomically great writer and an astronomically great series than with an astronomically long playlist? Have some vibes for where it all began: The Raven Cycle. No spoilers included, but some songs are explicit!
Some Encompassing
Soldier, Poet, King– Jacob Cook, for the lore vibes
Age of Man– Greta Van Fleet, for the mystic vibes
Come Along– Cosmo Sheldrake, for the fantastical adventure vibes
Come a Little Closer– Cage the Elephant, captures the series’ theme of dual/deeper identities
One of Us–New Politics, captures the series’ theme of found family
To Build a Home– The Cinematic Orchestra, captures the series’ theme of finding a home and being enough
Some Collectives
Renegades– X Ambassadors, the gang running around Henrietta, Virginia looking for ley lines, sentient forests, and dead Welsh kings
Unsteady– X Ambassadors, every single character in this book going through their various plights
Crush Culture– Conan Gray, everyone’s issues with love on top of every peril and mystery they face in these books
Adam
Hello My Old Heart– The Oh Hellos, for Adam’s searching for a place he belongs
Santa Monica– Everclear, Adam desperately wanting to leave Henrietta and his father behind
Don’t Worry, You Will– lovelytheband, for that one scene with Adam and Blue underneath the 300 Fox Way beech tree vibes
Fortunate Son– Creedence Clearwater Revival, Adam’s being the only non-wealthy Raven Boy and all of his financial woes
When the Party’s Over– Cole Norton, for Adam’s self-sacrificing nature
The Heart is a Muscle– Gang of Youths, for Adam’s character development
Blue
Rhiannon– Fleetwood Mac, all the Raven Boys (mainly Gansey) thinking about how cool and mysterious Blue is—and, you know, how Blue wants to be seen
3 AM– Matchbox Twenty, for Blue’s non-conforming nature
Ain’t it Fun– Paramore, Blue to all the Aglionby Boys, clearly
Wildflowers– Tom Petty, Blue’s personality and her penchant for tree rings and pygmy tyrants
Gansey
Lover, Leaver– Greta Van Fleet, but like, about Glendower, not Blue
You’re the One– Greta Van Fleet, Gansey feeling like Blue is a missing piece of the puzzle
Achilles Come Down– Gang of Youths, every time Gansey’s the only one able to mellow Ronan out
Sleep Paralysis– Bad Suns, Gansey desperately wanting to find meaning
Every Little Thing She Does is Magic– Sleeping at Last, Gansey when asked about Blue
Die Happy– DREAMERS, for the (totally not a spoiler) Gansey-Kiss-Death prophecy
Dear Fellow Traveller– Sea Wolf, “What do you know about Welsh kings?” vibes (and leading your friends on a quest in general)
To Be So Lonely– Harry Styles, for Gansey’s “wanting to pretend” vibes
Noah
Grow Up– Simple Plan, for the care-free, kind of rude pre-series Noah vibes
Fat Lip– Sum 41, for the care-free, kind of rude pre-series Noah vibes, part 2
Downhill– Lincoln, for the Noah’s pre-series downfall (duh) vibes
Goner– Twenty One Pilots, for the Sad Noah vibes
Snow (Hey Oh)– Red Hot Chili Peppers, for Noah somehow knowing everything
Cold Cold Cold– Cage the Elephant, for the one joke Blue made about Noah always being cold
Ronan
Cold is the Night– The Oh Hellos, for Ronan’s feelings about his parents
Lithium– Nirvana, for all of first-book Ronan’s self-deprecating thoughts and his finding a meaning with Gansey
Thanks to You– All Time Low, for Ronan’s anger and sarcasm towards that one character
Control– Halsey, for the neat Ronan growing/learning/understanding vibes
The Sharpest Lives– My Chemical Romance, for the general air of danger surrounding Ronan vibes
Yes I’m Changing– Tame Impala, Ronan in “Opal,” honestly
Some Gansey and Blues
🅴 FOOLS– Troye Sivan, “Only fools fall in love,” especially when you know it’ll lead to one of you dying
Love by Mistake– Bad Suns, essentially, what Gansey and Blue do
Wouldn’t It Be Nice– The Beach Boys, another one that reminds me of Gansey’s wanting to at least pretend
Can’t Help Falling In Love– Haley Klinkhammer, get it? because fate?
Some Either-Ors and Anys
THISKIDSNOTALRIGHT– AWOLNATION, either Ronan or Kavinsky, for their scattered, fast-past traits and moderately to severely illegal pastimes of Ronan and Kavinsky
The Moss– Cosmo Sheldrake, either Gansey or Neil Lynch, for the storytelling vibes
Spirits– Strumbellas, any of the Raven Boys, all the baggage those boys are carrying
Creep– Radiohead, either Adam or Noah, for the not fitting in but wanting love vibes
Some Kind of Disaster– All Time Low, either Gansey and Blue or Ronan and Adam, for the Blue/Gansey/Kiss/Death prophecy OR Ronan and Adam’s questions of how they could be polar opposites and still be close to each other (Get more context for this one here!)
We have more book playlists for you to browse at your leisure!
YA Novels with Compatible Vibes to Various All Time Low Songs
-Lillian LeCompte, Reference Department