Lux Lisbon, You're So Disco: The Virgin Suicides Musical

Well, not exactly. But that's what I'd call this playlist which runs a little more than an hour. The excerpt from the Jeffrey Eugenides novel recreated the musical dialogue the Lisbon girls had over the phone with the neighborhood boys.

This virtual mixtape contains 11 pop songs from the 70s, including James Taylor's "You've Got A Friend," The Beatles' "Dear Prudence," Elton John's "Candle in the Wind," Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water," Bread's "Make It With You"--I did say the list was sappy "nostalgia-inducing."

The playlist also has that anthem for angry young girls, "At Seventeen." I first heard this song when I was like twelve or thirteen, and felt real heavy, or to quote one of the Lisbon girls, I felt like saying, "Obviously, you've never been a thirteen year old girl." Anyway, here's what Janis Ian has to say about the song:

"I think 'At Seventeen' is a good song. It does what a good song should do, which is strike a nerve, communicate to any age group, cross class and cultural boundaries. The problem with protest stuff like 'Society's Child' is that I was singing to people who felt the same way I did. I wasn't changing anybody, or making any difference to the people. I think 'At Seventeen' may make some difference to some kid in junior high. A lot of people seemed to relate to it, anyway."

I didn't really catch all the words then, and years later, during one videoke session, another writer girl and I chose the song and when it played, it struck everyone's nerves. That was the first time I realized it was a damn sad song. Definitely not the one to shush out after Gloria Gaynor and Abba's "Dancing Queen."

But anyway, the playlist is really awesome. Makes you feel like you were actually eavesdropping on the Lisbon girls and the boys who adored them mightily.