Characters and Music meme
For this entry, I am going to resurrect a meme that I did quite some time ago.
Choose fifteen characters. Then put your playlist on shuffle. Your first song with lyrics is your first character, and so on. For each song, choose lyrics that resonate with the corresponding character.
Last time some of the matches were pretty hilariously bad, while one or two were spot on. Let's see how many novelty songs or environmentalist protest songs we get this time!
Character list:
1. Steve Rogers (MCU)
2. Mary Morstan (BBC Sherlock)
3. The Doctor (Doctor Who)
4. Alec Hardison (Leverage)
5. Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel comics)
6. Peggy Carter (Agent Carter/MCU)
7. Martha Jones (Doctor Who/Torchwood)
8. October "Toby" Daye (Seanan McGuire's October Daye novels)
9. Eliot Spencer (Leverage)
10. Doreen Green (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl comics)
11. Melinda May (Agents of SHIELD)
12. Rose Tyler (Doctor Who)
13. Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
14. Molly Hooper (Sherlock)
15. Mr. Spock (Star Trek, I may do either TOS or AOS movies depending on the song)
Now for the songs.
1. Steve Rogers: "Lay Me Down (Live)" - The Swell Season
And lay me down
In the hallowed ground
Down by your side I will stay
So lay me down
I don't know if this is the best reading of the whole song, but this passage of lyrics read to me like Steve at the end of his first movie, willing to die not only because it was necessary but because it might bring him back together with Bucky. Damn, now I've made myself sad.
2. Mary Morstan: "The Heroine" - Unwoman
I saw this title come up and just started laughing. I really do see Mary as a heroine, but to so much of fandom she's a villain. This song as a whole seems to be about a stage actress in a war-torn city, sad and angry that the person she cares about isn't there at her play. There are some lyrics that work well for the way in which Mary is playing a part, taking on a role more sympathetic than her real past, yet her love for John is real.
I play the heroine
I play to their sympathies
I say the sweetest things
To command their empathy
I asked just one thing of you, to be here
Did I not let it slip that I was sincere?
3. The Doctor: "The Minnow and the Trout" - A Fine Frenzy
Help me out said the eagle to the dove
I've fallen from my nest so high above
Help me fly
I am too afraid try
Now saddled with a fear of heights
I'm praying you can set me right
[...]
We are tied in history
Connected like a family
This actually works really well for the general idea of the Doctor's connection to his companions. The Doctor relies on them to help him when he's been through so much that he can't really function well alone. Even though they're different species and different people, the connection is real.
4. Alec Hardison: "Anchorage" - Marian Call
Oh man, this is a gorgeous and moving song, but Hardison really isn't the best character to fit it. I guess some of the lyrics about finding one's place could apply to the home he built with the team. I like to think that the place he wants to be anchored is with Parker and Eliot, preferably at their brewpub.
Reel me in to the places we knew our own faces
Over wine, over coffee and beer
And anchor me anchor me anchor me anchor me here
5. Carol Danvers: "Dante's Prayer" - Loreena McKennitt
My first thought when this came on was that it's way too sad and uncertain for Carol, but after thinking about it I think it works well for Carol near the end of her Enemy Within arc, when she chooses to take a flight to save the world even though she knows it will mean losing most of her memories. She wants her friends to remember her. (They'll have to be the ones to teach her when she doesn't remember herself.) Plus there's a line about touching the face of the stars, so that definitely works for Captain Marvel.
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly
To touch the face of the stars
Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
We'll rise above these earthly cares
Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
6. Peggy Carter: "When You Come Back Down" - Nickel Creek
Damn, I wish this song had been for Carol or another a character who gets to literally fly. Still, I think it works if we imagine it's Angie speaking to Peggy, encouraging her to pursue her ambitions and promising to always be there when Peggy gets back from Spy Shenanigans:
You got to leave me now, you got to go alone
You got to chase a dream, one that's all your own
Before it slips away
When you're flyin' high, take my heart along
I'll be the harmony to every lonely song
That you learn to play
7. Martha Jones: "Rolling Sea" - Eliza Carthy
There are songs that are easy to interpret for a favorite character or ship. This is not one of those. This is a sea shanty. It's not even a sea shanty that can easily be turned around to be about traveling in time and space. *shakes head in despair* I guess we could pretend that this verse is about Martha near the end of the Year That Never Was, looking forward to an end to the war and pain:
When the wars they are all over
Peace and plenty come again;
Every bonny sailor laddie
Will come sailing on the main
8. Toby Daye: "Change" - Jennifer Nettles Band
This actually works really well for Toby, pushing against the conventions of the Fae that try to tell her how a Changeling ought to behave. This song suits her temper and her determination to do what's right.
Well anger from confusion is the oldest institution would you say?
And if you're part of the problem and not the solution would you stay out of my way
I do it in luxury when I can barely pay the rent
And I'll do it just for spite just cause you say I can't
I'll do it cause it's right for the integrity
I do it cause it's all I know it's every part of me
9. Eliot Spencer: "Days Go On" - Greg Laswell
Eh, I'm not really feeling it, but I guess this bit can be Eliot trying to be all broody (and musical) and getting interrupted in it by Hardison or Parker:
I beg your pardon, love
But you've interrupted me
And the sad song that's played
Like a drum inside of me
10. Doreen Green (Squirrel Girl): "The Sea" - Carbon Leaf
Dammit, iTunes, squirrels are not ocean-going creatures! This just doesn't work at all. Maybe for Koi Boi, but not Squirrlel Girl. I guess the least unsuitable part of the song is this passage that could be about how Doreen and her friends support each other:
Hang on to me and I'll hang on to you
Until the end, or until the day is through
11. Melinda May: "History of Us" - The Indigo Girls
I knew Melinda was likely to be tough, and of course the song that came up on shuffle is very personal and particular. I guess the chorus could work for Melinda caring about her team even when she knows that their line of work makes life very fragile:
So we must love while these moments are still called today
Take part in the pain of this passion play
Stretching our youth as we must, until we are ashes to dust
Until time makes history of us
12. Rose Tyler: "Michelle" - The Beatles
Other than being addressed to the wrong name, much of this song could easily be Ten attempting to let Rose knows how he feels but then not coming out and saying the words ("Tell her...oh she knows.")
I need to, I need to, I need to
I need to make you see
Oh, what you mean to me
Until I do I'm hoping you will
Know what I mean
13. Buffy Summers: "Son of a Preacher Man" - originally recorded by Dusty Springfield, though this version was an a capella cover by Mixed Company
Do we know if either Spike or Angel was the son of a preacher man? :D Anyway, the song is about transgressive young love, which Buffy certainly knows something about.
Being good isn't always easy
No matter how hard I try
When he started sweet-talkin' to me
He'd come and tell me everything is all right
He'd kiss and tell me everything is all right
Can I get away again tonight?
14. Molly Hooper: "City of New Orleans" - Willie Nelson
Oh my god, this has nothing whatsoever to do with Molly. It's about a train going from Chicago to New Orleans. Every line is about trains, the sort of people riding this particular train, or America. I throw my hands in the air and give up. iTunes, you fail.
15. Mr. Spock: "Rich Kid Blues" - Lykke Li
I put Spock on this list knowing that I was unlikely to get a song that fit, and I was right! Now I'm trying to imagine Spock as a wild, rich party kid like the speaker of this song. Needless to say, it's a bit of a stretch. Even the concept of the blues is not something Spock would admit applied to him. I guess I can take some lines utterly out of context and imagine they're Spock admitting that he has inherited certain human emotionality from his mother:
Mama I got your wild-eyed ways
Mama, there's nothing you can do or say
Choose fifteen characters. Then put your playlist on shuffle. Your first song with lyrics is your first character, and so on. For each song, choose lyrics that resonate with the corresponding character.
Last time some of the matches were pretty hilariously bad, while one or two were spot on. Let's see how many novelty songs or environmentalist protest songs we get this time!
Character list:
1. Steve Rogers (MCU)
2. Mary Morstan (BBC Sherlock)
3. The Doctor (Doctor Who)
4. Alec Hardison (Leverage)
5. Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel comics)
6. Peggy Carter (Agent Carter/MCU)
7. Martha Jones (Doctor Who/Torchwood)
8. October "Toby" Daye (Seanan McGuire's October Daye novels)
9. Eliot Spencer (Leverage)
10. Doreen Green (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl comics)
11. Melinda May (Agents of SHIELD)
12. Rose Tyler (Doctor Who)
13. Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
14. Molly Hooper (Sherlock)
15. Mr. Spock (Star Trek, I may do either TOS or AOS movies depending on the song)
Now for the songs.
1. Steve Rogers: "Lay Me Down (Live)" - The Swell Season
And lay me down
In the hallowed ground
Down by your side I will stay
So lay me down
I don't know if this is the best reading of the whole song, but this passage of lyrics read to me like Steve at the end of his first movie, willing to die not only because it was necessary but because it might bring him back together with Bucky. Damn, now I've made myself sad.
2. Mary Morstan: "The Heroine" - Unwoman
I saw this title come up and just started laughing. I really do see Mary as a heroine, but to so much of fandom she's a villain. This song as a whole seems to be about a stage actress in a war-torn city, sad and angry that the person she cares about isn't there at her play. There are some lyrics that work well for the way in which Mary is playing a part, taking on a role more sympathetic than her real past, yet her love for John is real.
I play the heroine
I play to their sympathies
I say the sweetest things
To command their empathy
I asked just one thing of you, to be here
Did I not let it slip that I was sincere?
3. The Doctor: "The Minnow and the Trout" - A Fine Frenzy
Help me out said the eagle to the dove
I've fallen from my nest so high above
Help me fly
I am too afraid try
Now saddled with a fear of heights
I'm praying you can set me right
[...]
We are tied in history
Connected like a family
This actually works really well for the general idea of the Doctor's connection to his companions. The Doctor relies on them to help him when he's been through so much that he can't really function well alone. Even though they're different species and different people, the connection is real.
4. Alec Hardison: "Anchorage" - Marian Call
Oh man, this is a gorgeous and moving song, but Hardison really isn't the best character to fit it. I guess some of the lyrics about finding one's place could apply to the home he built with the team. I like to think that the place he wants to be anchored is with Parker and Eliot, preferably at their brewpub.
Reel me in to the places we knew our own faces
Over wine, over coffee and beer
And anchor me anchor me anchor me anchor me here
5. Carol Danvers: "Dante's Prayer" - Loreena McKennitt
My first thought when this came on was that it's way too sad and uncertain for Carol, but after thinking about it I think it works well for Carol near the end of her Enemy Within arc, when she chooses to take a flight to save the world even though she knows it will mean losing most of her memories. She wants her friends to remember her. (They'll have to be the ones to teach her when she doesn't remember herself.) Plus there's a line about touching the face of the stars, so that definitely works for Captain Marvel.
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly
To touch the face of the stars
Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
We'll rise above these earthly cares
Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
6. Peggy Carter: "When You Come Back Down" - Nickel Creek
Damn, I wish this song had been for Carol or another a character who gets to literally fly. Still, I think it works if we imagine it's Angie speaking to Peggy, encouraging her to pursue her ambitions and promising to always be there when Peggy gets back from Spy Shenanigans:
You got to leave me now, you got to go alone
You got to chase a dream, one that's all your own
Before it slips away
When you're flyin' high, take my heart along
I'll be the harmony to every lonely song
That you learn to play
7. Martha Jones: "Rolling Sea" - Eliza Carthy
There are songs that are easy to interpret for a favorite character or ship. This is not one of those. This is a sea shanty. It's not even a sea shanty that can easily be turned around to be about traveling in time and space. *shakes head in despair* I guess we could pretend that this verse is about Martha near the end of the Year That Never Was, looking forward to an end to the war and pain:
When the wars they are all over
Peace and plenty come again;
Every bonny sailor laddie
Will come sailing on the main
8. Toby Daye: "Change" - Jennifer Nettles Band
This actually works really well for Toby, pushing against the conventions of the Fae that try to tell her how a Changeling ought to behave. This song suits her temper and her determination to do what's right.
Well anger from confusion is the oldest institution would you say?
And if you're part of the problem and not the solution would you stay out of my way
I do it in luxury when I can barely pay the rent
And I'll do it just for spite just cause you say I can't
I'll do it cause it's right for the integrity
I do it cause it's all I know it's every part of me
9. Eliot Spencer: "Days Go On" - Greg Laswell
Eh, I'm not really feeling it, but I guess this bit can be Eliot trying to be all broody (and musical) and getting interrupted in it by Hardison or Parker:
I beg your pardon, love
But you've interrupted me
And the sad song that's played
Like a drum inside of me
10. Doreen Green (Squirrel Girl): "The Sea" - Carbon Leaf
Dammit, iTunes, squirrels are not ocean-going creatures! This just doesn't work at all. Maybe for Koi Boi, but not Squirrlel Girl. I guess the least unsuitable part of the song is this passage that could be about how Doreen and her friends support each other:
Hang on to me and I'll hang on to you
Until the end, or until the day is through
11. Melinda May: "History of Us" - The Indigo Girls
I knew Melinda was likely to be tough, and of course the song that came up on shuffle is very personal and particular. I guess the chorus could work for Melinda caring about her team even when she knows that their line of work makes life very fragile:
So we must love while these moments are still called today
Take part in the pain of this passion play
Stretching our youth as we must, until we are ashes to dust
Until time makes history of us
12. Rose Tyler: "Michelle" - The Beatles
Other than being addressed to the wrong name, much of this song could easily be Ten attempting to let Rose knows how he feels but then not coming out and saying the words ("Tell her...oh she knows.")
I need to, I need to, I need to
I need to make you see
Oh, what you mean to me
Until I do I'm hoping you will
Know what I mean
13. Buffy Summers: "Son of a Preacher Man" - originally recorded by Dusty Springfield, though this version was an a capella cover by Mixed Company
Do we know if either Spike or Angel was the son of a preacher man? :D Anyway, the song is about transgressive young love, which Buffy certainly knows something about.
Being good isn't always easy
No matter how hard I try
When he started sweet-talkin' to me
He'd come and tell me everything is all right
He'd kiss and tell me everything is all right
Can I get away again tonight?
14. Molly Hooper: "City of New Orleans" - Willie Nelson
Oh my god, this has nothing whatsoever to do with Molly. It's about a train going from Chicago to New Orleans. Every line is about trains, the sort of people riding this particular train, or America. I throw my hands in the air and give up. iTunes, you fail.
15. Mr. Spock: "Rich Kid Blues" - Lykke Li
I put Spock on this list knowing that I was unlikely to get a song that fit, and I was right! Now I'm trying to imagine Spock as a wild, rich party kid like the speaker of this song. Needless to say, it's a bit of a stretch. Even the concept of the blues is not something Spock would admit applied to him. I guess I can take some lines utterly out of context and imagine they're Spock admitting that he has inherited certain human emotionality from his mother:
Mama I got your wild-eyed ways
Mama, there's nothing you can do or say