The Songs Of Cassl and Bekt
I had never intended to write this post, because there are approximately 9427650481374547 songs that accurately describe Cassl and Bekt. But mainly I just want to make a small dent. So if, like me, you’re always looking for something new to listen to (and, also like me, everything in the world ever makes you think of this show), here are some of my thoughts.
Do you have a suggestion? I am always looking for more. Feel free to comment with music you hear as Cassl/Bekt LURVE music.
Rather than just drop them all on the page, I’ve attempted to slightly organize them.
Enjoy.
GENERAL
If It’s Love (Train) - So very them. “If it’s love, and we decide that it’s forever, no one else can do it better…” That, to me, is them. "You are the greatest thing about me." Yes.
I’ve Never Been In Love Before (“Guys ‘N’ Dolls”) - Like Cassl and Bekt, Sarah and Sky became the perfect couple. They initially didn’t get along, they fought, they resisted, and then suddenly, they couldn’t fight it. Perfect.
Stolen (Dashboard Confessional) - There is no better way in the world to express the two of them than these five words: you have stolen my heart.
L-O-V-E (Nat King Cole) - Do I even have to explain this one?
CASSL
You’re So Damn Hot (OK Go) - Probably more of the season 1 vibe, to be fair. “You don’t love me at all, but don’t think that it bothers me at all; you’re bad-hearted, boytrap, babydoll, but you’re - you’re so damn hot…” Exactly that sense of I Hate You/I Love You Too.
Must Have Done Something Right (Relient K) - These words could have been written by Rick Cassl himself. I see this as exactly the way he feels; it’s his paean to Bekt. "If anyone could make me a better person, you could - all I gotta say is I must've done something good..." It’s adorable and loving and just wonderful. Just listen. You’ll love it.
She Is (The Fray) - “She is everything I want that I never knew I needed.” Again. It’s like Cassl wrote it.
She’s So High (Tal Bachman) - Oh, yes. This is Cassl’s attitude towards Bekt as he gets to know her and realize just how dazzling she is in every way. And really, Tal Bachman’s whole album is worth listening to.
I Wanna (All-American Rejects) - Not only the phrase “I wanna, I wanna, I wanna touch you,” but of course, “our love’s the perfect crime.” And it’s so adorably sweet.
I’m a Believer (Smash Mouth) - This isn’t originally their song, but I love their cover. “I’m in love - I’m a believer, I couldn’t leave her if I tried.” Yep. That’s our Cassl.
Oah (Alexander Rybak) - I was going to quote part of the lyrics to demonstrate, but then I realized I’d basically quote the entire thing. So all I’ll say is “Never mind what your girlfriends say, deep inside I’m quite okay - I may have fooled around once or twice
but I really need you; and it’s not like I’m the only guy, oh, I know how you make them cry...” This song is adorbs. I can kind of see Cassl trying to sing it to her.
I Would Walk 500 Miles (Proclaimers) - Not only do I think this accurately expresses the kind of boyfriend Cassl is going to be when he and Bekt finally start doing the nasty, I also think he has probably belted out this song during karaoke nights. Complete with a horrifically bad accent. I do it too.
Hey Juliet (LMNT) - The cuter side of their relationship. “I think - you’re fine - you really blow my mind - ”, and “'Cause I know you really want me; I hear your friends talk about me - So why you tryin’ to do without me, when you got me where you want me?” That’s Cassl, through and through.
I’ve Got You Under My Skin (Sinatra) - Um. It’s a classic. Needs no other explanation.
True To Your Heart (98 Degrees/Stevie Wonder) - So……..OK, yes, fine, I love Mulan. But this song is all about being true to your heart. And not being afraid to let go. And “when you’re true to your heart, you know it’s gonna lead you straight to me.” i should point out, the vid is worth watching just to giggle hystericaly over Nick Lachey.
Glad To Be Unhappy (Richard Rodgers) - Apart from the composer’s name (heeeeeee), I do see this as Cassl’s attitude: “fools rush in, so here I am, very glad to be unhappy…unrequited love’s a bore, and I’ve got it pretty bad; but for someone you adore, it’s a pleasure to be sad.” Sinatra also sang this one, but this cover by John Mayer and Chris Botti is just yummy. Wistful and longing and so very, very loving.
SPECIAL SECTION: TAYLOR SWIFT
Now, Taylor Swift takes some explanation. Bear in mind, I like Taylor Swift. I do. Her music is steadily getting more creative as she gets older and matures. Her work resonates with a lot of people. And if you’ll recall, Princess Lex likes Taylor Swift.
Yes, Taylor’s music touches on a few of the same themes often. But they’re accurate, and that’s why it’s popular. And be honest: we’ve all been this girl, the girl desperately in love with a guy who might not see us (“You Belong With Me”). We all know that giddy, breathless rush of excitement on first meeting someone special, tempered by the quiet fear of maybe-it-won’t-work (“Enchanted”). We all all understand the inexplicable attraction to someone who's probably not what we think he should be ("Sparks Fly"). We’ve felt that overwhelming sense of fate, knowing it might be a mess but loving him for being kind (“Mine”). And we all know what it’s like to be so overwhelmed with feelings of fear and failure that you can barely move (“Innocent”).
And these songs all, all, fit Castle and Beckett. Taylor’s lyrics ring true for Beckett’s situation. In “Sparks Fly:” “My mind forgets to remind me you’re a bad idea.” In "Mine:" “You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter; you are the best thing that’s ever been mine.” “Innocent” is a painful look at Beckett’s tragic past: “It’s all right, just wait and see, your string of lights is still bright to me; who you are is not where you’re been…” and particularly accurate, “thirty-two is still growing up.” It’s such a good reminder that our darling girl Bekt, who is strong and brave and loving and amazing and extraordinary, is still vulnerable. She still needs other people. We all have a scared teenager inside us somewhere. So does Bekt.
BEKT
Stupid Cupid (Mandy Moore) - We focus so much on Cassl - to be fair, he’s already said I love you - but let’s remember, Bekt’s in love too. And I think it drives her nuts, because it’s the one guy who is so utterly wrong for her that there’s no one in the world who’s more right. “Stupid Cupid, you’re a real mean guy…”
You Drive Me Crazy (Britney Spears) - Haha, yes, there’s Britney on here. This song (to be fair, the movie is hilarious too) just about nails it. “Baby, thinking of you keeps me up all night.” It’s You Drive Me Crazy, But OH Do I Want You.
I Won’t Say I’m In Love (Disney’s “Hercules”) - Oh, sweet Bekt. Our girl tries so hard to deny it. But alas. The denial, she is not just an Egyptian river. She is Bekt’s modus operandi. Besides. Lanie and the sweet Bros are the gospel muses. Boom. Done and done.
Sweet-Talkin’ Guy (Chiffons) - Well, yeah. So basically this is Rick Cassl’s middle name.
Hot (Avril Lavigne) - I particularly like the way this song captures that heady flush of attraction. The sort of fluttery feeling is so well expressed in the shift from the verses to the refrain. “You make me so hot…I can hardly breathe - you’re so fabulous - you’re so good to me.” It echoes (what I assume is) Bekt’s inner monologue so very well.
Big Bad Handsome Man (Imelda May) - Bekt cannot deny it. Rick Cassl IS a big, bad handsome man. He’s the “devil divine.” Yes.
Candyman (Christina Aguilera) - Really, really, for real. Cassl is the candyman, and it will do no good to argue here. “He’s a sweet-talkin’, sugar-coated candyman.” Bad boy of bestsellers, remember?
Je ne t’aime pas (Kurt Weill) - This one. Oh. I just recently heard it at a recital, and it’s such a painfully sweet cabaret song that just guh. She keeps insisting I don’t love you, I don’t, but all the while, even she knows it’s not true. And seeing as Stana Katic A.) has a lovely, smoky, lounge-y voice and B.) speaks French, I would LOVE to hear her sing this. It also exists in German (as Wie lange noch), though I think I like the French version better (text/translation found here).
How Long Has This Been Going On? (George Gershwin) - Mmmmm. I do love my Gershwin. And this song reflects that sense of accidentally falling in love with someone completely unexpected. “There were chills up my spine, and some thrills I can’t define,” and of course, “Kiss me once, then once more - what a dunce I was before…” This one got popular on Kristin Chenoweth’s album Let Yourself Go, but this cover is by Judy Butterfield. Also wonderful.
DRAMA
If You Could Read My Mind (Gordon Lightfoot) - This might be a little bit of a reach, but I think of this as the song of that last summer apart. I hear it as the perfect soundtrack while Cassl sits on the beach with a hole in his heart and Kate sits in the woods with a bullet hole in hers and they silently miss each other so badly they can hardly breathe. “I never thought I could act this way, and I’ve got to say that I just don’t get it; I don’t know where we went wrong, but the feeling’s gone, and I just can’t get it back.” So sweet and sad. I love this song.
Someone To Save You (OneRepublic) - Bekt’s trying so hard to hold herself together, but the one thing that can really destroy her is this gaping personal tragedy, this hole in her heart. And Cassl, bless him, is that someone who can save her.
Fix You (Coldplay) - Cassl would do anything in the world for her. Anything. He just wants to make it all better. He just wants to fix it.
En fermant les yeux (des Grieux’s act 2 aria, Manon, Massenet) - Had to be true to my (classical) musical roots, yo. This one is a more mature Cassl. I think it reflects the way he feels about this ongoing pain of her mother’s murder: he loves Kate with all his heart, and he would take her away and protect her from all of this, and give her everything in the world. With her's it's perfect. Without her, it's nothing. All she has to do is say she wants it. Text/translation found here. Video bonus: Rolando Villazon looks kind of like Mr. Bean. I do not lie.
Somewhere Only We Know (Keane) - He wants to protect her. Because she doesn’t deserve the hand she was dealt.
Somewhere (West Side Story, Leonard Bernstein) - Like I said, Bekt was thrown into this fight she never wanted. And now she’s in it for life. And I think this song depicts so well that sense that she and Cassl have been caught in something huge that’s working so hard against them.