The New York Times’ Paper Cuts blog features a New Jersey-themed playlist by Lauren Grodstein, New Jersey native, and author of A Friend of the Family.

Lauren describes the role of New Jersey in her novel on the Papercuts Blog:

“A Friend of the Family” is set in the New Jersey suburbs, a place the characters think of, aspirationally, as the West West Side of Manhattan. I was writing from my own experience growing up in Bergen County, where it was a truth universally acknowledged that everything — the hairdressers, the prep schools, even the pickles — was better on the New York side of the Hudson.”

A country song about New Jersey, Hoboken’s favorite indie band, and of course – a little Bruce! Lauren’s play list has a little of everything, kind of like New Jersey.

Head on over to PaperCuts, the New York Times blog by the editors of their Book Review, to see the entire play list.