Paige Williams lists 21 stories that mention music, from Hunter S. Thompson and The Fifth Dimension to Joan Didion and Herman’s Hermits: "Mere mention of the songs and their artists enhances scene and helps establish setting, character and mood. Good journalists, as they report, notice what is playing during the road trip or the ocean cruise or the juke-joint visit or the hospital stay. The songs signal something different each time: optimism, grief, mystery, terror."
