The City & the City

Book Playlist

The City & the City Playlist

by China Miéville

20 tracks

balanced

Sep 17, 2026

2 mixes for this book

Tyador Borlú’s search through two tightly governed cities is shadowed by unease, bureaucratic friction, and the unsettling possibility of parallel truths. This playlist balances cold, electronic sci‑fi atmospheres with noir-leaning voices and tense lyrical dread—mirroring Besźel and Ul Qoma’s mirrored-but-unbreachable reality, then easing into a more reflective close.

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Track List

20 songs

1

Mission Impossible Theme

Lalo Schifrin · Passion

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2

The Planets, Op. 32: I. Mars, the Bringer of War

Gustav Holst · Holst: The Planets

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3

Midnight In A Perfect World

DJ Shadow · Endtroducing.....

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4

Space Oddity - 2015 Remaster

David Bowie · David Bowie (aka Space Oddity) [2015 Remaster]

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5

Street Spirit (Fade Out)

Radiohead · The Bends

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6

Where Is My Mind?

Pixies · Death to the Pixies

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7

O Superman

Laurie Anderson · Big Science

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8

Paranoid Android

Sybarite5 · Everything in Its Right Place (Radiohead Remixed)

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9

Killing An Arab

The Cure · Boys Don't Cry

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10

Paper Planes

M.I.A. · Kala

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11

Kids Will Be Skeletons

Mogwai · Happy Songs for Happy People

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12

Clocks

Coldplay · A Rush of Blood to the Head

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13

Breathe

The Prodigy · The Fat of the Land

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14

Midnight City

M83 · Hurry up, We're Dreaming

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15

Neon Bible

Arcade Fire · Neon Bible

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16

Space Song

Beach House · Depression Cherry

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17

Seigfried

Frank Ocean · Blonde

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18

Gimme Shelter

The Rolling Stones · Let It Bleed

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19

The Less I Know The Better

Tame Impala · Currents

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20

Somewhere Only We Know

Keane · Hopes And Fears

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Playlist Settings

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Mood balanced

Genre match

Era any

Length medium

Instrumental request 50%

Environment balanced

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Matched to the book 50% instrumental 19 tracks · Jun 6, 2026Open