[FST] His Dark Materials.
savoten requested an FST for His Dark Materials over at fst. I had to attempt it.
Please respond if you download.
ETA: Sorry it took so long, but I was having upload and internet problems. Regardless, zips are here:
Zip for the character songs.
Zip for the rest.
His Dark Materials or Heresy and Revolution for Fun and Profit
The Golden Compass
Like all good epics, it doesn't start out that way. It starts out with one of our main characters, Lyra Belacqua, going to the Arctic in order to find her friend Roger and her uncle father. Along the way, we meet warriors, witches, and armored smith-bears with prehensile thumbs. Of course, she's tied up into a greater destiny than she imagined. We also find out that her uncle father is trying to bridge the universes, and succeeds, mainly by being a prime jerk about the power source. He crosses the bridge, later followed by Lyra.
The titular compass is Lyra's alethiometer, basically an intricate mechanism that tells the truth of any question asked it. It's interesting that she can use it, since it normally takes years of study to understand it.
The Subtle Knife
Here we're introduced to the other of the main characters, Will Parry. He's simply trying to keep his mother safe, and find his long-lost father. He literally runs into Lyra when he finds a window into another universe and goes in. We find out more about Lyra's parents and what they're up to, along with what exactly Will's father has managed to do that would make his mother so paranoid.
The titular knife is Will's, claimed in a rather grisly way. It can cut through anything, the fabric of the universe included.
The Amber Spyglass
Add equal parts Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story, and Kingdom Hearts to epic in progress, distill through Paradise Lost. Allow to set, serve with marzipan. (is shot)
The titular tool here is the property of Mary Malone, an ex-nun cum Oxford physicist, and is used to view a particular elementary particle.
I realize that this summary is short and vague, but I don't want to give anything away. It's a rather good series. So, if you'd like to know more and be thoroughly spoiled if you haven't read the series, here's the link to the Wikipedia article.
Cover Art
Music Selection
As you can see from my commentary on The Amber Spyglass, I came into the series rather late into the game. As such, I had the interesting idea to attempt to use music from the games mentioned. I tried to keep the Kingdom Hearts to a minimum, though, and especially tried to keep away from the obvious. (Simple and Clean/Hikari for the end of The Amber Spyglass, for example.) Thankfully other things crept in there, but there's still evidence of what currently dominates my mp3's.
The songs are fairly divided into themes for characters and background music for places and events.
Track Listing
The People
1. Chant - Miki Higashino (Introduction to the Cast)
When I met you/I recieved life/When I lost you/I learned of death.
You have your pick of which relationship this can fit. Gregorian chanting fits into the whole religious philosophy bent of the multiverse.
2. Flicker - Masashi Hamauzu (Lord Asriel)
Instrumental. It starts out very grand and then quiets down into something broody. Besides, "One Who Bares His Fangs at God" would've been too obvious, right?
3. The Place I'll Return to Someday (Piano Collections version) - Nobuo Uematsu (Lyra Belacqua)
Instrumental. Yes, it's rather quiet for someone like Lyra at the start, but then it picks up. Some associations for her character with just the title alone are granted.
4. Rosso the Crimson - Masashi Hamauzu (Mrs. Coulter)
Instrumental. You know something is off about her. Yet, she draws you in. Some bits of piano, to tie her in with Lyra a bit more, much like what happens in The Amber Spyglass.
5. A Gathering of Warriors - Miki Higashino (The Gyptians)
Instrumental. Again, one of those tracks where both the music and title fit. At least, I think they do.
6. Wyvern - Hitoshi Sakimoto (Iorek Byrnison)
Instrumental. Quiet, but still intense and driving. This was a theme for a battle scene, so it can also do double duty for the Iorek vs. Iofur fight.
7. A Sai En - Yoko Kanno (The Witches)
Greenery of the earth/the fragrance of the flowers/in the sky, one who fills the sea with fish/More than anyone/I think you precious/With your light/Please fill me.
When you want mystical, you can't go wrong with this song. The images of nature and of what's important also lend it well to the witches.
8. Rakuen - Tsuneo Imahori (Lee Scoresby)
Instrumental. Guitar piece for a Texan. Shock. I was also considering "Sending a Dream into the Universe", but that's already a re-do of a character's theme and Uematsu's already well represented on this soundtrack.
9. Destati - Yoko Shimomura (Will Parry/The Torre degli Angeli)
You awake, you awake/Tighten your hand/You awake, you awake/It is time.
Yeah, very obvious. Opening and closing doors and waking up to the fact that you can/must do it.
10. Clocks - Coldplay (Mary Malone)
Come out upon my seas, curse missed opportunities/ (Am I) a part of the cure, or am I part of the disease?
I think that this particular lyric shows Mary's particular role in the prophetic side of things.
The Places
11. Parn's Theme ~Warm Friendship~ - Kaze no Orchestra (Lyra's Oxford)
Instrumental. When I read the bits about Oxford, this song immediately came to mind. So, it stayed as the theme for Lyra's Oxford.
12. Snares Laid by the Rabbit - Hitoshi Sakimoto (The Retiring Room)
Instrumental. This song is mainly the background for sneaking around bits--obviously, since it's from Vagrant Story. A survivor from one of the older versions of the FST.
13. Interview - Hitoshi Sakimoto (The Gobblers/Bolvangar)
Instrumental. There's the first part of this that seems to wander here and there, which shifts to something more ominous.
14. Succession of Witches (Piano Collections version) - Nobuo Uematsu (Mrs. Coulter and Lyra)
Instrumental. The relationship of the pair, mainly the start where Lyra is drawn in.
15. Desperate Struggle - Namco Sound Team (Lyra's Escape)
Instrumental. This one has a feeling of growing dread until finally the melody sets in, and that's when you have to run.
16. Ordinary Pain - Namco Sound Team (Iofur's Palace)
Instrumental. I hate this song. The reason this is in the FST is because I think of it as an attempt to come off and great and majestic, but one that went horribly wrong. Hence, the theme for Iofur's palace.
17. Divinity I - Nobuo Uematsu (Asriel's Bridge)
Alas, no translation of the Latin, so I'll have to go on the feel of the song. It's basically for Lyra's final race to save Roger. Too much Square-Enix has led me to want Latin for anything dramatic.
18. The Oath - Nobuo Uematsu (Lyra's Bridge)
Instrumental. Game Over. Continue? Lyra decides to, and off she goes into another universe.
19. Kilita Shrine - Hitoshi Sakimoto (Cittàgazze)
Instumental. This would be more of Cittàgazze as Will first finds it: a city seemingly abandoned, quiet in the moonlight.
20. Prologue - Kaze no Orchestra (The Adamant Tower)
Instrumental. This song, particularly the portions with the strings, are good for all of the talk of going against the Authority.
21. Blue Fields - Nobuo Uematsu (Mulefa village)
Instrumental. The song is slow-going, and the woodwinds bring to mind movements that the Mulefa would make with their trunks.
22. Troops March On - Nobuo Uematsu (The Chariot)
Instrumental. A theme for the strong, driving, antagonistic force.
23. End of the World - Yoko Shimomura (The Land of the Dead)
It's quiet, and mournful. It's also a throwback to Will's theme, and he's rather important at this stage of the game.
24. Imagine - John Lennon (The Republic of Heaven)
Imagine there's no Heaven, it's easy if you try...
Yeah, obvious. Fitting, nevertheless.
25. Dust in the Wind - Kansas (Lyra and Will's Goodbye)
Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky/It slips away, all your money won't another minute buy
Another obvious one. I mean, "everything is Dust in the wind" (spelling intentional) is more positive at the end of His Dark Materials than it is in the song.
Bonus: Passion ~single version~ - Utada Hikaru
I want to open a window back to the people and places I can't get to.
Just so that you know where I got all of the random text I'm throwing about.
Please respond if you download.
ETA: Sorry it took so long, but I was having upload and internet problems. Regardless, zips are here:
Zip for the character songs.
Zip for the rest.
His Dark Materials or Heresy and Revolution for Fun and Profit
The Golden Compass
Like all good epics, it doesn't start out that way. It starts out with one of our main characters, Lyra Belacqua, going to the Arctic in order to find her friend Roger and her uncle father. Along the way, we meet warriors, witches, and armored smith-bears with prehensile thumbs. Of course, she's tied up into a greater destiny than she imagined. We also find out that her uncle father is trying to bridge the universes, and succeeds, mainly by being a prime jerk about the power source. He crosses the bridge, later followed by Lyra.
The titular compass is Lyra's alethiometer, basically an intricate mechanism that tells the truth of any question asked it. It's interesting that she can use it, since it normally takes years of study to understand it.
The Subtle Knife
Here we're introduced to the other of the main characters, Will Parry. He's simply trying to keep his mother safe, and find his long-lost father. He literally runs into Lyra when he finds a window into another universe and goes in. We find out more about Lyra's parents and what they're up to, along with what exactly Will's father has managed to do that would make his mother so paranoid.
The titular knife is Will's, claimed in a rather grisly way. It can cut through anything, the fabric of the universe included.
The Amber Spyglass
Add equal parts Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story, and Kingdom Hearts to epic in progress, distill through Paradise Lost. Allow to set, serve with marzipan. (is shot)
The titular tool here is the property of Mary Malone, an ex-nun cum Oxford physicist, and is used to view a particular elementary particle.
I realize that this summary is short and vague, but I don't want to give anything away. It's a rather good series. So, if you'd like to know more and be thoroughly spoiled if you haven't read the series, here's the link to the Wikipedia article.
Cover Art
Music Selection
As you can see from my commentary on The Amber Spyglass, I came into the series rather late into the game. As such, I had the interesting idea to attempt to use music from the games mentioned. I tried to keep the Kingdom Hearts to a minimum, though, and especially tried to keep away from the obvious. (Simple and Clean/Hikari for the end of The Amber Spyglass, for example.) Thankfully other things crept in there, but there's still evidence of what currently dominates my mp3's.
The songs are fairly divided into themes for characters and background music for places and events.
Track Listing
The People
1. Chant - Miki Higashino (Introduction to the Cast)
When I met you/I recieved life/When I lost you/I learned of death.
You have your pick of which relationship this can fit. Gregorian chanting fits into the whole religious philosophy bent of the multiverse.
2. Flicker - Masashi Hamauzu (Lord Asriel)
Instrumental. It starts out very grand and then quiets down into something broody. Besides, "One Who Bares His Fangs at God" would've been too obvious, right?
3. The Place I'll Return to Someday (Piano Collections version) - Nobuo Uematsu (Lyra Belacqua)
Instrumental. Yes, it's rather quiet for someone like Lyra at the start, but then it picks up. Some associations for her character with just the title alone are granted.
4. Rosso the Crimson - Masashi Hamauzu (Mrs. Coulter)
Instrumental. You know something is off about her. Yet, she draws you in. Some bits of piano, to tie her in with Lyra a bit more, much like what happens in The Amber Spyglass.
5. A Gathering of Warriors - Miki Higashino (The Gyptians)
Instrumental. Again, one of those tracks where both the music and title fit. At least, I think they do.
6. Wyvern - Hitoshi Sakimoto (Iorek Byrnison)
Instrumental. Quiet, but still intense and driving. This was a theme for a battle scene, so it can also do double duty for the Iorek vs. Iofur fight.
7. A Sai En - Yoko Kanno (The Witches)
Greenery of the earth/the fragrance of the flowers/in the sky, one who fills the sea with fish/More than anyone/I think you precious/With your light/Please fill me.
When you want mystical, you can't go wrong with this song. The images of nature and of what's important also lend it well to the witches.
8. Rakuen - Tsuneo Imahori (Lee Scoresby)
Instrumental. Guitar piece for a Texan. Shock. I was also considering "Sending a Dream into the Universe", but that's already a re-do of a character's theme and Uematsu's already well represented on this soundtrack.
9. Destati - Yoko Shimomura (Will Parry/The Torre degli Angeli)
You awake, you awake/Tighten your hand/You awake, you awake/It is time.
Yeah, very obvious. Opening and closing doors and waking up to the fact that you can/must do it.
10. Clocks - Coldplay (Mary Malone)
Come out upon my seas, curse missed opportunities/ (Am I) a part of the cure, or am I part of the disease?
I think that this particular lyric shows Mary's particular role in the prophetic side of things.
The Places
11. Parn's Theme ~Warm Friendship~ - Kaze no Orchestra (Lyra's Oxford)
Instrumental. When I read the bits about Oxford, this song immediately came to mind. So, it stayed as the theme for Lyra's Oxford.
12. Snares Laid by the Rabbit - Hitoshi Sakimoto (The Retiring Room)
Instrumental. This song is mainly the background for sneaking around bits--obviously, since it's from Vagrant Story. A survivor from one of the older versions of the FST.
13. Interview - Hitoshi Sakimoto (The Gobblers/Bolvangar)
Instrumental. There's the first part of this that seems to wander here and there, which shifts to something more ominous.
14. Succession of Witches (Piano Collections version) - Nobuo Uematsu (Mrs. Coulter and Lyra)
Instrumental. The relationship of the pair, mainly the start where Lyra is drawn in.
15. Desperate Struggle - Namco Sound Team (Lyra's Escape)
Instrumental. This one has a feeling of growing dread until finally the melody sets in, and that's when you have to run.
16. Ordinary Pain - Namco Sound Team (Iofur's Palace)
Instrumental. I hate this song. The reason this is in the FST is because I think of it as an attempt to come off and great and majestic, but one that went horribly wrong. Hence, the theme for Iofur's palace.
17. Divinity I - Nobuo Uematsu (Asriel's Bridge)
Alas, no translation of the Latin, so I'll have to go on the feel of the song. It's basically for Lyra's final race to save Roger. Too much Square-Enix has led me to want Latin for anything dramatic.
18. The Oath - Nobuo Uematsu (Lyra's Bridge)
Instrumental. Game Over. Continue? Lyra decides to, and off she goes into another universe.
19. Kilita Shrine - Hitoshi Sakimoto (Cittàgazze)
Instumental. This would be more of Cittàgazze as Will first finds it: a city seemingly abandoned, quiet in the moonlight.
20. Prologue - Kaze no Orchestra (The Adamant Tower)
Instrumental. This song, particularly the portions with the strings, are good for all of the talk of going against the Authority.
21. Blue Fields - Nobuo Uematsu (Mulefa village)
Instrumental. The song is slow-going, and the woodwinds bring to mind movements that the Mulefa would make with their trunks.
22. Troops March On - Nobuo Uematsu (The Chariot)
Instrumental. A theme for the strong, driving, antagonistic force.
23. End of the World - Yoko Shimomura (The Land of the Dead)
It's quiet, and mournful. It's also a throwback to Will's theme, and he's rather important at this stage of the game.
24. Imagine - John Lennon (The Republic of Heaven)
Imagine there's no Heaven, it's easy if you try...
Yeah, obvious. Fitting, nevertheless.
25. Dust in the Wind - Kansas (Lyra and Will's Goodbye)
Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky/It slips away, all your money won't another minute buy
Another obvious one. I mean, "everything is Dust in the wind" (spelling intentional) is more positive at the end of His Dark Materials than it is in the song.
Bonus: Passion ~single version~ - Utada Hikaru
I want to open a window back to the people and places I can't get to.
Just so that you know where I got all of the random text I'm throwing about.