The Orpheus Myth Goes Grunge

You know the story of Orpheus and Eurydice? It's the ancient Greek myth, in which Orpheus’s singing and playing is so beautiful that when his wife Eurydice dies, he is able to go Hades, and through the power of his music, bring Eurydice back from the underworld. Of course there’s a catch: He can't look behind him while leading her out. They don’t call them "Greek tragedies" for nothing.

It's such a great story -- and musicians have always been drawn to it: Monteverdi’s opera Orfeo from over 400 years ago; Stravinsky’s ballet Orpheus; the Brazilian film Black Orpheus; and songs by folk singers like Anais Mitchell and rockers like Nick Cave.

Now, add to that list a new novel by Sarah McCarry. All Our Pretty Songs, -- which takes its name from a line in Nirvana's "In Bloom" -- sets the Orpheus myth in Seattle at the height of the grunge movement in the mid-1990s. It's a story of love, demons, and of course, the power of music. McCarry discusses her new book -- and shares of her favorite (and lesser known) bands from grunge-era Seattle.

Sarah McCarry's playlist of her favorite, but lesser-known 1990's Seattle bands:

• Sky Cries Mary, "Moonbathing"
• Lucky Me, "Saint Joan"
• 7 Year Bitch, "The Scratch"
• Goodness, "Goodbye"
• The Fastbacks, "In the Summer"
• The Gits, "Second Skin"
• Seaweed, "Losing Skin"
• Hammerbox, "Hed"
• 66 Saints, "Driver"
• Sage, "Forked"
• Maxi Badd / Danger Gens, "Big Black Marble Eyes"
• The Posies, "Dream all Day"