Enjoy The Madness: The Shade the Changing Girl Playlist

We at ComicsAlliance love comics, and we love music, so this week we’ve decided to combine those two loves and create playlist tributes to some of our favorite titles. Think of these as something to listen to while you read the comic, or an introduction to the vibe of a comic if you're not yet a fan.

Shade The Changing Girl --- part of DC's Young Animal imprint --- tells the story of Loma, a rebellious alien who steals a magic coat of madness, runs away to Earth, and possesses the body of a comatose teenage Earth girl. Along with Cecil Castellucci's trippy script, the space-bending, psychedelic visuals from artists Marley Zarcone and Kelly Fitzpatrick are a core part of what makes Shade the Changing Girl so fantastic. When planning the playlist, I wanted to find weird, intense tech/pop songs, less focused on the lyrics and more on the mood of each song.

Check out the track-by-track guide below, or listen along on the ComicsAlliance Spotify.

Please note some of these songs may not be safe to listen to in the workplace or in the presence of children!

Wonderland
Caravan Palace (<I°_°I>)
"Wonderland" is pretty much the perfect song to imagine for Loma's walk out of the hospital. I also wanted to put this first because its intro works great as the playlist's introduction.
Creator (vs. Switch and FreQ Nasty)
Santigold (Santogold)
Santigold's confidence in "Creator" fits well with Loma's newfound attitudes in Megan's body. Plus, there are those bird-like vocals at the beginning that make me think of Loma's non-human form.
Paper Planes
M.I.A. (Kala)
M.I.A. was one of the first artists I eyed for the playlist, and there were several songs I thought about picking. Ultimately, I chose "Paper Planes" for the cheery melody and the unnerving sound effects in the refrain.
Boogie With The Devil's Soul
Ida Maria (Accidental Happiness)
More recent issues of Shade have Loma losing touch with her own sense of self. "Boogie with the Devil's Soul" mixes jazz, weird discord, and Ida Maria's bouncy voice. Of course I was going to put it on this list.
Do I Wanna Know?
Arctic Monkeys (AM)
The way Shade's panels flow into each other reminds me of this Arctic Monkeys fave of mine. There's a scene in issue four where Loma can barely move from the Madness of the coat, and the intensity of this song fits that scene to a T.
On Melancholy HIll
Gorillaz (Plastic Beach)
Gorillaz and Shade share a lot of the same esthetics. Shade has pretty, eerie art, and Gorillaz has pretty, eerie music (with pretty, eerie music videos, no less). There were several contenders, but "On Melancholy Hill" got picked thanks to its bittersweet dreaminess.
Die Another Day
Beatrice Eli (Die Another Day)
While most of the songs were picked mostly for the mood, "Die Another Day" both has a good mood for the book and the most spot-on lyrics in this playlist.
REALiTi
Grimes (Art Angels)
For the closer, I went with the other-worldliness that Grimes brings to her music. The fact that "welcome to reality" is repeated throughout the song makes this a fitting end to the playlist.
If you want to check out these songs at home or on the go, we’ve assembled a playlist of all the songs available on Spotify to make it even easier. Make sure to follow ComicsAlliance on Spotify and keep an eye out for more comic themed playlists this week.

Next: Check Out The 'Deadman: Dark Mansion Of Forbidden Love' Mixtape