Fanmix: Hamlet-Ophelia-"Kissed Me Quite Insane"
This mix began specifically with reference to whatthedenmark, hence the reason it says that on the cover. I was initially planning to do little EPs for each of the characters, but that never quite happened. Instead, this became a longer mix chronicling a sort of contemporary version of Ophelia's story.
It starts out simple and steady, gradually gaining speed until it fades away in disaster. Foreshadowing things to come.
1. Cool, Calm, and Collected--The Rolling Stones
In public the strain's heard to bear
She exudes such a confident air
But behind she is not without care
But she sweeps it right under her hair
She's well respected
Cool, calm, collected
Snapshots of how things were before Hamlet and Horatio went to school, before the king died, before everything.
2. These Photographs--Joshua Radin
And these photographs keep me alive.
And I wanna know what you know
And I wanna go where you go
These things remind me of
These things remind me of
These things remind me of you.
The beginnings of madness.
3. Ophelia--Darling Violetta
The water's quiet and calm
Makes me feel like I am home
If I could hold you
I'd try to show you
No one can own you
What difference does it make?
She didn't realize how much of a crush she had on Hamlet until he left...
4. How--Lisa Loeb
And there are some things that I'd like to figure out.
There are some things that I can do without -
Like you, and your letters that go on forever,
And you, and the people that were never friends.
With all the things that you could be,
You never could learn how to be me.
And now you want to ask me "how"?
It's like - how does your heart beat, and why do you breathe?
...but when he does come back, everything is different...
5. Happens All the Time--Cold
If a dream's all that I got
Then I wish you in a fairy tale
Where you're still in love with me
I can see it in your eyes
A look as if your hero fell and lost his soul
I must hold on, this happens all the time
I still find my faith in you
...and her world begins to spiral downward.
6. The Walk--Imogen Heap
It's not meant to be like this, not what I planned at all,
I don't want to feel like this, Yeah,
No it's not meant to be like this, not what I planned at all,
I don't want to feel like this, so that makes it all your fault.
Big trouble losing control,
Primary resistance at a critical low,
On the…on the double gotta get a hold,
Point of no return a second to go,
No response on any level, red alert this vessels under siege,
To a lower lever, systems failed, they've got control,
There's no way out, we are surrounded,
Give in, Give in…
She tries to convince herself she'll be fine.
7. Not Insane--Sarah Bettens
I told myself today
It's pretty nice to find your way
No matter what you say
I am not insane
The madness continues to creep in.
8. Opheliac--Emilie Autumn
Studies show:
Intelligent girls are more depressed
Because they know
What the world is really like
Don't think for a beat it makes it better
When you sit her down and tell her
Everything gonna be all right
She knows in society she either is
A devil or an angel with no in between
She speaks in the third person
So she can forget that she's me
The murder of her father by the man she once loved tips her over the edge.
9. Dig Ophelia--Rasputina
Cut the stem and you'll see how you feel
Floating orchids just ain't no big deal
Never knowing's like knowing too much
Tap the table, oh here's more bad luck.
Your eyes never close, your mind's not at rest,
Lay back, get waterlogged
Give us a kiss.
Water spreads the small seed,
Water kills the tall weed.
With weeds in her hair, she sings songs which before would have made her blush.
10. Marry Me--Emilie Autumn
But, oh, what beautiful things I'll wear
What beautiful dresses and hair
I'm lucky to share his bed
Especially since I'll soon be dead
What beautiful things I'll wear
What beautiful dresses and hair
I'm lucky to share his bed
So why do I wish I was...
Somewhere in her manic mind, she finds a resolve.
11. Mad World--Gary Jules
And I find it kinda funny,
I find it kinda sad,
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had;
I find it hard to tell you,
I find it hard to take,
When people run in circles
It's a very, very mad world, mad world
Maybe she knew all along the branch couldn't hold her weight, maybe she climbed it anyway...
12. Let Me Fall--Josh Groban
So let me fall
If I must fall
I won't heed your warnings
I won't hear
Let me fall
If I fall
There's no reason
To miss this one chance
This perfect moment
Just let me fall
Horatio writes her a eulogy and leaves it at her grave, knowing his mourning cannot match Laertes' or Hamlet's.
13. Ophelia--Natalie Merchant
Ophelia was a tempest cyclone
A goddamn hurricane
Your common sense, your best defense
They wasted, and in vain
For Ophelia 'd know your every woe
And every pain you'd ever had
She'd sympathize and dry your eyes
Help you to forget...
And help you to forget
And help you to forget
Ophelia's mind went wandering
You'd wonder where she goes
Through secret doors down corridors
She wanders there alone
All alone...
There Ophelia's story ends, with just another name carved in a stone to be forgotten.
14. Mad Girl's Love Song--Fisher
God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade:
And exit Satan and his men;
I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed,
And that you kissed me quite insane.
I close my eyes, the world drops dead-
I think I made you up inside my head.
I couldn't quite fit this song into the "storyline" of the rest of the mix, but I love it too much to leave it out, so y'all get it as a bonus track.
Bonus Track: Ophelia--Bethany Joy Lenz
Woe is me, something dramatic like I could be
Ophelia
Love's labor lost, before it began
I’m not trying to be clever
I’m just saying what I am
Ophelia
Kissed Me Quite Insane (Zip of all songs and artwork)
It starts out simple and steady, gradually gaining speed until it fades away in disaster. Foreshadowing things to come.
1. Cool, Calm, and Collected--The Rolling Stones
In public the strain's heard to bear
She exudes such a confident air
But behind she is not without care
But she sweeps it right under her hair
She's well respected
Cool, calm, collected
Snapshots of how things were before Hamlet and Horatio went to school, before the king died, before everything.
2. These Photographs--Joshua Radin
And these photographs keep me alive.
And I wanna know what you know
And I wanna go where you go
These things remind me of
These things remind me of
These things remind me of you.
The beginnings of madness.
3. Ophelia--Darling Violetta
The water's quiet and calm
Makes me feel like I am home
If I could hold you
I'd try to show you
No one can own you
What difference does it make?
She didn't realize how much of a crush she had on Hamlet until he left...
4. How--Lisa Loeb
And there are some things that I'd like to figure out.
There are some things that I can do without -
Like you, and your letters that go on forever,
And you, and the people that were never friends.
With all the things that you could be,
You never could learn how to be me.
And now you want to ask me "how"?
It's like - how does your heart beat, and why do you breathe?
...but when he does come back, everything is different...
5. Happens All the Time--Cold
If a dream's all that I got
Then I wish you in a fairy tale
Where you're still in love with me
I can see it in your eyes
A look as if your hero fell and lost his soul
I must hold on, this happens all the time
I still find my faith in you
...and her world begins to spiral downward.
6. The Walk--Imogen Heap
It's not meant to be like this, not what I planned at all,
I don't want to feel like this, Yeah,
No it's not meant to be like this, not what I planned at all,
I don't want to feel like this, so that makes it all your fault.
Big trouble losing control,
Primary resistance at a critical low,
On the…on the double gotta get a hold,
Point of no return a second to go,
No response on any level, red alert this vessels under siege,
To a lower lever, systems failed, they've got control,
There's no way out, we are surrounded,
Give in, Give in…
She tries to convince herself she'll be fine.
7. Not Insane--Sarah Bettens
I told myself today
It's pretty nice to find your way
No matter what you say
I am not insane
The madness continues to creep in.
8. Opheliac--Emilie Autumn
Studies show:
Intelligent girls are more depressed
Because they know
What the world is really like
Don't think for a beat it makes it better
When you sit her down and tell her
Everything gonna be all right
She knows in society she either is
A devil or an angel with no in between
She speaks in the third person
So she can forget that she's me
The murder of her father by the man she once loved tips her over the edge.
9. Dig Ophelia--Rasputina
Cut the stem and you'll see how you feel
Floating orchids just ain't no big deal
Never knowing's like knowing too much
Tap the table, oh here's more bad luck.
Your eyes never close, your mind's not at rest,
Lay back, get waterlogged
Give us a kiss.
Water spreads the small seed,
Water kills the tall weed.
With weeds in her hair, she sings songs which before would have made her blush.
10. Marry Me--Emilie Autumn
But, oh, what beautiful things I'll wear
What beautiful dresses and hair
I'm lucky to share his bed
Especially since I'll soon be dead
What beautiful things I'll wear
What beautiful dresses and hair
I'm lucky to share his bed
So why do I wish I was...
Somewhere in her manic mind, she finds a resolve.
11. Mad World--Gary Jules
And I find it kinda funny,
I find it kinda sad,
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had;
I find it hard to tell you,
I find it hard to take,
When people run in circles
It's a very, very mad world, mad world
Maybe she knew all along the branch couldn't hold her weight, maybe she climbed it anyway...
12. Let Me Fall--Josh Groban
So let me fall
If I must fall
I won't heed your warnings
I won't hear
Let me fall
If I fall
There's no reason
To miss this one chance
This perfect moment
Just let me fall
Horatio writes her a eulogy and leaves it at her grave, knowing his mourning cannot match Laertes' or Hamlet's.
13. Ophelia--Natalie Merchant
Ophelia was a tempest cyclone
A goddamn hurricane
Your common sense, your best defense
They wasted, and in vain
For Ophelia 'd know your every woe
And every pain you'd ever had
She'd sympathize and dry your eyes
Help you to forget...
And help you to forget
And help you to forget
Ophelia's mind went wandering
You'd wonder where she goes
Through secret doors down corridors
She wanders there alone
All alone...
There Ophelia's story ends, with just another name carved in a stone to be forgotten.
14. Mad Girl's Love Song--Fisher
God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade:
And exit Satan and his men;
I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed,
And that you kissed me quite insane.
I close my eyes, the world drops dead-
I think I made you up inside my head.
I couldn't quite fit this song into the "storyline" of the rest of the mix, but I love it too much to leave it out, so y'all get it as a bonus track.
Bonus Track: Ophelia--Bethany Joy Lenz
Woe is me, something dramatic like I could be
Ophelia
Love's labor lost, before it began
I’m not trying to be clever
I’m just saying what I am
Ophelia
Kissed Me Quite Insane (Zip of all songs and artwork)