Songs From the Prince of Palos Verdes Novel

Listen to the Songs in this Book
You will notice that in Chapters 19, 36 and 59, songs are referenced in the text. These are original songs. For a limited time, you can hear those songs in their entirety for FREE on this page.
These songs will be available later in 2023 via all popular streaming services, e.g., Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, et al.
Musicians Acknowledgement
In the novel I allude to the Michael Hall character playing live music with the aid of “tracks.” The tracks were supposedly recordings of himself playing piano, drums, bass, and other musical instruments. When Michael played guitar and sang along with the tracks, he sounded like a full band.
The fact is that three great and well-known musicians played on those tracks. John Burchett played bass on “Oh Virginia,” and “Crawlin’ Through Glass.” Bobby Furgo, who played violin and piano with Leonard Cohen for many years, played violin on “Oh Virginia” and “Crawlin’ Through Glass.” Matt Podschweit, one of the best keyboard players I’ve ever heard, played piano on “Crawlin’ Through Glass.” I cannot thank these guys enough for lending their considerable talent to these recordings.
Parallel
Stephen’s upcoming novel Parallel features a complete soundtrack that includes 12 songs. For more information click here.
Overview: After briefly losing consciousness as the result of an automobile accident, Nick Sands feels lucky to be alive. A few hours later he’s not so sure. Before the accident he was a successful San Francisco lawyer on his way to a deposition in Los Angeles. After the accident, he’s a 40-something faded rock star scheduled to headline a 90’s nostalgia concert later that week in LA. People know him in this alternate world as Nick Sands, the rock star. And while Nick remembers his “real” life in San Francisco, he also has all the memories of the rock star’s life.
Meaning of Life
Click Here to See Lyrics
Meaning of Life
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Smoke
Verse 1
All the statues are catchin’ fire
Newspaperman is a liar
Honest men don’t get their turn
But the city gets high…while the city burns
Baby says, “Are you tryin’ to find your bliss”
I said, “I’m just lookin’ for a kiss”
Searchin’ for the meaning of life, oh yeah
Searchin’ for the meaning of life
Verse 2
People say they’re lookin’ for truth
Ain’t gonna find it in a voting booth
All you get are practiced liars
And arsonists…good at settin’ fires
Politics is the litmus test
Who is cursed and who is blessed
Searchin’ for the meaning of life, oh yeah
Searchin’ for the meaning of life
Verse 3
Propaganda is the new art form
Havin’ information don’t mean you’re informed
Repeating lies don’t make them true
The emperor’s new clothes are all see through
If you’re gonna see it clear
Gotta get beyond your fear
Searchin’ for the meaning of life, oh yeah
Searchin’ for the meaning of life
Verse 4
I see religion gives you peace
Answers to questions that never cease
I know that it works for some
But I need a little somethin’, Baby, till the Kingdom Comes
I pray the saints keep me close
Save me from unholy ghosts
Searchin’ for the meaning of life, oh yeah
Searchin’ for the meaning of life
© Copyright 2019 Stephen Smoke. Kitmun Music (ASCAP) All Rights Reserved.
Oh Virginia
Click Here to See Lyrics
Oh Virginia
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Smoke
Verse 1
Oh Virginia, baby where you been
You know I miss you, since I don’t know when
Oh Virginia, I need you soon
Feel like a lyric without a tune
Oh Virginia
Oh Virginia
Sometimes I need you to want me
The taste of your last kiss it haunts me
Verse 2
Sex makes you stupid, love makes you blind
Searching for a lover, you ain’t never gonna find
Love is something, not to take but to give
Not something to fill a hole, or a passion to relive
Oh Virginia
Oh Virginia
Sometimes I want you to need me
Sometimes our love, it just bleeds me
Verse 3
It’s easy to say, time will tell
And while we’re waiting, love can go to hell
We can make this happen, or make it go away
Either way now there’s a price to pay
Oh Virginia
Oh Virginia
Sometimes I hold onto the past
Searching for something in this life that lasts
© 2012 Stephen Smoke. Kitmun Music (ASCAP) All Rights Reserved.
Crawling Through Glass
Click Here to See Lyrics
Crawlin’ Through Glass
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Smoke
Verse 1
Sometimes my life seems so well arranged
Then in a moment everything changed
I gotta to learn to need you less
Not to count on your love, I guess
I know you love me, girl
And you know I love you too
But sometimes it’s just too much to ask
Sometimes I feel like I’m crawlin’ through glass
Sometimes I feel like I’m crawlin’…
Crawlin’ through glass
Verse 2
I know what it’s like to be alone
But our love made a house a home
It scares me to know what was once so clear
In the blink of an eye…can just disappear
Maybe there’s something wrong with us
Something missing …maybe trust
Maybe this is the way it’s supposed to be
But sometimes I feel like it’s killin’ me
Sometime I feel like it’s killin’
Killin’ me
Chorus
Sometimes you choose to risk it all
Sometimes you rise, sometimes you fall
Here I am…I made my stand
For better, for worse
I am your man
Verse 3
Feelin’ untethered in a ragin’ storm
Miss bein’ with you, safe and warm
Love has conditions, there’re lines not crossed
If you forget this you can get lost
You and I can get really close
But sometimes it’s gone when I need it most
Love’s an illusion, shining bright
When it disappears…well, it steals the light
When it disappears…well, it steals…
Steals the light
Chorus
© Copyright 2019 Stephen Smoke. Kitmun Music (ASCAP) All Rights Reserved.

Back Cover of the Novel
After briefly losing consciousness as the result of an automobile accident, Nick Sands feels lucky to be alive. A few hours later he’s not so sure.
Before the accident he was a successful San Francisco lawyer on his way to a deposition in Los Angeles. After the accident, he’s a 40-something faded rock star scheduled to headline a 90’s nostalgia concert later that week in LA. People know him in this alternate world as Nick Sands, the rock star. And while Nick remembers his “real” life in San Francisco, he also has all the memories of the rock star’s life.
Nick desperately wants to return to his life in San Francisco because his girlfriend is about to give birth to their first child. He doesn’t know where to turn for help without sounding like a lunatic.
During his bizarre odyssey in the alternate world, Nick meets people like Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison, but they are not rock stars in the parallel world because they made different life choices. Nick is truly through the looking glass when he meets other eccentric characters, e.g., Rebecca, a psychiatrist—who also is a parapsychologist—specializing in “Parallel Reality Therapy”; and The Thin Man, a secretive tech genius and multi-billionaire who has devised a machine that projects virtual reality images created by the brain, simulating how the mind actually creates reality.
On his journey Nick receives assistance from many sources.
But nothing can prepare him for how that journey ends.
For a “limited time” you can listen to these songs in their entirety for FREE, by CLICKING HERE.
At some point this page will only offer “Samples” of the songs. At that time the songs will be available via the normal music distribution channels: Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Digital, and most other music distribution sites.
All songs were recorded by the group Shakespeare’s Cadillac. They can be accessed for FREE. We hope you enjoy the experience of having the choice to actually HEAR the music described in the novel.