Annie On My Mind (Soundtrack)

It's a bit surprising that in nearly 30 years, Annie On My Mind has never been committed to film, to my knowledge. I mean, its place as an all-time classic LGBT novel is virtually unanimous. How cool would it be if they made a movie version of it soon? I would flail so crazy.

I concede that, should a real film version of Annie be crafted, the proper way to bring it to life would be to stay true to Nancy Garden's original. Have them listening to Baroque and Classical, have Annie singing latin opera. It has a timeless dignity to it, befitting such a truly timeless love story.

But I don't know... it could be really great imbued with modern sensibilities, too. Timelessness is admirable, but there's nothing wrong with living in the immediate present, either.

So here's my imaginary soundtrack for the hypothetical film. I'm decently proud of it, to be honest.

Annie On My Mind (Soundtrack, 2011)


1. Candlelight -- Imogen Heap
2. Super Bass -- Nicki Minaj
3. Again & Again -- The Bird & The Bee
4. The Best Day -- Taylor Swift
5. On The Radio -- Regina Spektor
6. In McDonalds -- Burial
7. We Are Broken -- Paramore
8. Fearless -- Pink Floyd
9. Thrasher -- Juniper Tar
10. Endorphin -- Burial
11. Brick By Boring Brick -- Paramore
12. All The Way to Heaven -- Melissa Etheridge
13. Misguided Ghosts -- Paramore
14. Fearless -- Taylor Swift


I can see pretty much the whole film in my head, but I won't bore you with extensive detail. Tried to make the music fun and sentimental, true to the original.

(Warning: spoilers in this paragraph) I imagine the quirky, happy-go-luck tracks (Again & Again, On The Radio, Pink Floyd) accompanying Liza & Annie's various sessions of whimsical make-believe. Candlelight is perfect for their romantic dinner at the french restaurant, and their ferry ride amidst the lights. Burial's atmospheric IDM music is ripe for scenes where the emotion is so powerful that it overcomes words, 'In McDonalds' for good times and 'Endorphin' for the ill-fated run in with Ms. Baxter. 'We Are Broken' seems to fit the heartbreak when they first are forced to understand that some people see their love as deplorable, while 'Misguided Ghosts' fits perfectly for when they're sort of coming to terms with the fact that it's sad but the hate doesn't have to impede their lives. I see Taylor Swift's Fearless as the song that plays at the resolution, when Annie and Liza are reunited, and into the credits.

I want my non-existent imaginary movie to show that Annie On My Mind is a classic, endearing love story for anyone with a romantic soul. Up there with The Notebook and Titanic. I filled the soundtrack up with the music I know and love the best, but I was cautious to emphasize the sentimentality and romance instead of leaning on melancholic ballads, since the whole point of Annie was to show a happy, pure-hearted alternative to the grim perspective of The Well of Loneliness and its ilk. I wanted the soundtrack to hit on all of the classic love-story themes, but to do it in a manner that had character and was fitting for such a unique and genuine novel. I didn't want to reuse any of the songs you've heard in a thousand movies, but to still epitomize the quintessential romance themes.

^^ Threw this up here again because it's just such a perfect cover. It's like they're huddled together in their own little world, lost in pure happiness but also with a bit of foreboding, because of what the world might think of them. I want the imaginary soundtrack cover to be an exact recreation of this, but with the imaginary actors from the imaginary film.