C6D Crisis-times Music Mixes for karraparis and hazelwho
Way back in the day (the day of October, before laptop died and had to be replaced), I offered my mix-compiling services in the helpsomalia auction, and got myself bought up by karraparis and 
hazelwho, who each asked for different C6D fandoms, characters, and prompts/premises (well, H gave me options and I chose to go with something different) that (in my head at least) dovetailed rather nicely, thematically. Hence: two separate music mixes, posted together, exploring similar angsty ideas re: confusion, deception, self-doubt and self-destruction, compromised self-integrity and questioning identity, and complicated, maybe unwise, sexual connections. They each come with a little ficlet for context and yes, they both contain songs by two separate Ontario bands/artists with "mannequin" in their names, among other artist overlaps.
Links, covers, prompt details, and track listings behind the cuts.
due South Dollhouse!AU Fraser/Kowalski mix for karraparis:
The request/prompt was for a due South/Dollhouse fusion, with the suggestion that perhaps RayK is an active in the Chicago House and Fraser is his handler. I have 'explained' my approach with an alternate take on the scene at the end of "Burning Down the House", here, and let the music carry the story from there.
Download: .zip
1. The Odds, "Someone Who's Cool"
A high-energy, mostly happy era-appropriate (well, 1997) start, and a song that suits Ray Kowalski to a T.
close but kind of meatless like actors who play Jesus
in movies of the week
what other people wish for oozes from my every pore
I'm the coffee not the sleep
2. Leonard Cohen, "I'm Your Man"
An obvious choice for a Dollhouse mix, but with good reason. Chose the original over the Patricia O'Callaghan cover for its extra servings of creep and cheese as well as the male voice, but mostly because of the ending with the fade-out on the first verse repeating, like he (Leonard, Ray) could just keep singing the same song over and over again . . .
if you want a lover I'll do anything you ask me to
and if you want another kind of love I'll wear a mask for you
3. The Decemberists, "Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect"
Another obvious Dollhouse song, but it gets at the dream-realness and sense memory of the imprint experience that I imagine stays with Actives even once they're wiped (hey look, an origami unicorn).
but the angles and the corners
even though my work is unparalleled
they never seemed to meet
the structure fell about our feet
and we were free to go
4. Rock Plaza Central, "Are We Not Horses"
The title track from a concept album about robots who think they're horses (awesome) and a perfect 'starting to question reality and my place in it' song.
came to you almost dead and the things that you said I was needing
how was I to know that the words weren't the ones that were leading?
but the light in your eyes made some of the lies worth believing
am I just a lightning rod or am I breathing?
5. Wax Mannequin, "Tell the Doctor"
The downward-spiralling journey into crumbling self-identity continues with a pleading for help and external validation (an AMAZING piece from Wax Mannequin's "meowing" phase).
yeah, alright, you've got to quench it to ignite
I sing no, no doubt, you've got to fuel it to put it out
6. Firewater, "Get Out of My Head"
The band to go to for mental breakdown jamz, Firewater. For this mix it was really a toss-up between this one and "Woke Up Down" (and the only reason I'm not changing my mind again and swapping it out for that one right now is because I've already uploaded the .zip and I'm lazy).
guess I knew it all along, being born's where I went wrong
I always took the medication I was fed
get out of my head!
7. Die Mannequin, "Near the End"
This isn't necessarily a narrative-linear mix, but whenever Ray's destructive spiral lashes outward or draws Fraser in, resulting in split lips, scraped knuckles, lost buttons, and other sundry dishevelments of the fighty-times-turned-sexy-times variety, this is the song.
I know I know I'm not myself I'm not myself I'm not myself
I know I can't control you but are you okay am I alright
8. Weeping Tile, " 2" "
A (relatively) mellow, introspective turn as Ray and Fraser process what they've done (together and to each other) and where and what that leaves them.
you will know
what I know
9. The Dears, "There Goes My Outfit"
It's hard to be the person you know you are once you know you aren't.
clearly this isn't my life
10. The Nields, "Monster"
cf. Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley etc.
I made you in the image of what I wish I were
11. Spirit of the West, "Tell Me What I Think"
Escape, attempt.
time to hold a breath and sink, I wish you'd
tell me, I wish you'd
tell me
12. The Barra MacNeils, "By Northern Light"
Feel like I must've used this song on a mix before, but it doesn't appear to be one I've shared? Beautiful Canadian cover of an outstanding Oysterband tune.
fear and beauty shake my heart, memories pursue me
not to let them break my heart, I let the wave roll through me
see these things by northern light, you'll never see them clearer
love's as short as summer nights my dear
Battlestar Galactica (2003) Kara/Leoben mix for
hazelwho:
I chose "Battlestar Galactica - I love Leoben/Kara in all their fucked up kinky glory" from the list of suggestions, and wrote a little angst cookie to go with it.
Download: .zip
1. Spirit of the West, "Darkhouse"
Because this song is, to a suspicious degree, the pilot/mini-series right up until the attack on the Colonies (it's even sung by the dude who played Galactica's CAG in same, ~fifteen years later).
weathered old man, tending the flame
lit a big fire for the child in me
salty dog in a shoreline castle
being replaced by a chip in the sea
2. Bruce Peninsula, "2nd 4th World War"
BP are one of the few bands I care about whose music (which gets sometimes described as secular gospel or sort of a folk-soul-rock choral fusion) truly deserves the accolade of "epic", and this song covers so many bases of Kara's (and to a subtler degree, Leoben's) experiences of the 'verse post-exodus.
forever indebted to the feats of our fathers (carry it on your back, it's a sure collapse)
laid out flat, gasping
3. Weeping Tile, "Poked"
Another track for the earlier part of BSG's run and the creeping anxiety of they are among us and am I not myself?, that really makes me wish that the creative team had actually had a plan when they claimed to or at least had played by their own rules once they made them up.
well there are two of us, what I am what I was
at the end of the millenium we'll soon be replaced by replicas
4. The Odds, "Break the Bed"
The first song I chose while compiling this list, for reasons that I feel are obvious.
I live under a giant cloud
it's my shield and it's my shroud
at home on the range but alone in a crowd
I plug my ears when it gets too loud
5. Rock Plaza Central, "Holy Rider"
It was a tough choice between this one and "How Shall I to Heaven Aspire" (check it out, it's on Are We Not Horses), but this one won out for the "I don't wanna fight any more" refrain and the invocation of spiritual power (behold, a theme emerges).
I don't wanna fight any more
I just wanna feel the spot on your hip
with my tongue as we dip into the rolling sea
6. The Headstones, "Digits"
The (definitely otherwise flawed) lyrics I found on the internet suggest that Hugh is singing "and neither are the seconds" but on at least one repeat it sounds more like "and neither are the circuits", and even if he's not this is still such a poifect song for this 'ship.
she's got the numbers, man, I've got the digits
everybody knows, their own pulses quicken
don't know the answers, well they've gone and made a mess
7. Die Mannequin, "Upside Down Cross"
I think most of the good Kara/Leoben fic I've read has had one of them really confident and sure of what's going on and basically opaque to the other who is confused and raw and looking for a direction (not an uncommon pattern by any means, but this 'ship seems particularly suited to it); this is Kara's turn being lost (and musing on abuse and rejection by parent/creator figures) . . .
who's there, coming up slowly
starting to grow on me, perfect and lonely
8. Wax Mannequin, "God's Love"
. . . and this is Leoben's (Wax Mannequin is a genius of weird, and I love this for the lyrical simplicity and the la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-las, like, that's really all there is to say but omigosh there is so much not simple about that).
"this is the end of my love for you"
that's what God wanted to tell you
He was going to tell you
9. Veda Hille, "One Hot Summer"
Ladies and gentlemen, Kara Thrace in three minutes and forty-four seconds.
gravel and sand, I am avalanche land
tiptoe around me like children
I'll give you fire and brimstone
damp sheets and darkness, your life is a liar
and the grass in the city is catching on fire
10. Tonella, "Mad Game"
This is a classical piano-style solo mash-up of "Mad World" and "Wicked Game", your argument is invalid (like salted chocolate, the use of Gary Jules nicely tempers the extra-sappy Chris Isaak treatment, which likewise helps to prevent overindulgence in emo with its sticky sweetness).
hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
no tomorrow, no tomorrow
and I don't want to fall in love
no I don't want to fall in love . . . with you
11. The Dears, "Find Our Way to Freedom"
I can't really say much about this song that it doesn't say for itself.
I want, I wanna have it
lucky foot of a rabbit
alas, people ain't worth their salt
12. HIM, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"
Not exactly a unicorn chaser, more like a dusting of parmesan and gothic rock. This duet version is often misattributed to Nick Cave and Enya (no idea how that started but it really makes me wish that such a thing did actually exist) but it's actually by a Finnish "love metal" band who shortened their name from His Infernal Majesty (the Mutton Birds cover from the end titles of Frighteners is good too but it doesn't have the same OTT sweep, and neither one has cowbell).
seasons don't fear the reaper
nor do the wind, the sun, and the rain
we can be like they are
dragovianknight, I have started working on your writing mix and hope to have something ready for you soon. My apologies for the delay. podfic_lover, I've been waiting for a quiet day at home to record your stories without much success, but I hope to get to them soon.
Cross-posted from Dreamwidth, where there are currently
comments. Please comment there using OpenID.
hazelwho, who each asked for different C6D fandoms, characters, and prompts/premises (well, H gave me options and I chose to go with something different) that (in my head at least) dovetailed rather nicely, thematically. Hence: two separate music mixes, posted together, exploring similar angsty ideas re: confusion, deception, self-doubt and self-destruction, compromised self-integrity and questioning identity, and complicated, maybe unwise, sexual connections. They each come with a little ficlet for context and yes, they both contain songs by two separate Ontario bands/artists with "mannequin" in their names, among other artist overlaps.
Links, covers, prompt details, and track listings behind the cuts.
due South Dollhouse!AU Fraser/Kowalski mix for karraparis:
The request/prompt was for a due South/Dollhouse fusion, with the suggestion that perhaps RayK is an active in the Chicago House and Fraser is his handler. I have 'explained' my approach with an alternate take on the scene at the end of "Burning Down the House", here, and let the music carry the story from there.
Download: .zip
1. The Odds, "Someone Who's Cool"
A high-energy, mostly happy era-appropriate (well, 1997) start, and a song that suits Ray Kowalski to a T.
close but kind of meatless like actors who play Jesus
in movies of the week
what other people wish for oozes from my every pore
I'm the coffee not the sleep
2. Leonard Cohen, "I'm Your Man"
An obvious choice for a Dollhouse mix, but with good reason. Chose the original over the Patricia O'Callaghan cover for its extra servings of creep and cheese as well as the male voice, but mostly because of the ending with the fade-out on the first verse repeating, like he (Leonard, Ray) could just keep singing the same song over and over again . . .
if you want a lover I'll do anything you ask me to
and if you want another kind of love I'll wear a mask for you
3. The Decemberists, "Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect"
Another obvious Dollhouse song, but it gets at the dream-realness and sense memory of the imprint experience that I imagine stays with Actives even once they're wiped (hey look, an origami unicorn).
but the angles and the corners
even though my work is unparalleled
they never seemed to meet
the structure fell about our feet
and we were free to go
4. Rock Plaza Central, "Are We Not Horses"
The title track from a concept album about robots who think they're horses (awesome) and a perfect 'starting to question reality and my place in it' song.
came to you almost dead and the things that you said I was needing
how was I to know that the words weren't the ones that were leading?
but the light in your eyes made some of the lies worth believing
am I just a lightning rod or am I breathing?
5. Wax Mannequin, "Tell the Doctor"
The downward-spiralling journey into crumbling self-identity continues with a pleading for help and external validation (an AMAZING piece from Wax Mannequin's "meowing" phase).
yeah, alright, you've got to quench it to ignite
I sing no, no doubt, you've got to fuel it to put it out
6. Firewater, "Get Out of My Head"
The band to go to for mental breakdown jamz, Firewater. For this mix it was really a toss-up between this one and "Woke Up Down" (and the only reason I'm not changing my mind again and swapping it out for that one right now is because I've already uploaded the .zip and I'm lazy).
guess I knew it all along, being born's where I went wrong
I always took the medication I was fed
get out of my head!
7. Die Mannequin, "Near the End"
This isn't necessarily a narrative-linear mix, but whenever Ray's destructive spiral lashes outward or draws Fraser in, resulting in split lips, scraped knuckles, lost buttons, and other sundry dishevelments of the fighty-times-turned-sexy-times variety, this is the song.
I know I know I'm not myself I'm not myself I'm not myself
I know I can't control you but are you okay am I alright
8. Weeping Tile, " 2" "
A (relatively) mellow, introspective turn as Ray and Fraser process what they've done (together and to each other) and where and what that leaves them.
you will know
what I know
9. The Dears, "There Goes My Outfit"
It's hard to be the person you know you are once you know you aren't.
clearly this isn't my life
10. The Nields, "Monster"
cf. Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley etc.
I made you in the image of what I wish I were
11. Spirit of the West, "Tell Me What I Think"
Escape, attempt.
time to hold a breath and sink, I wish you'd
tell me, I wish you'd
tell me
12. The Barra MacNeils, "By Northern Light"
Feel like I must've used this song on a mix before, but it doesn't appear to be one I've shared? Beautiful Canadian cover of an outstanding Oysterband tune.
fear and beauty shake my heart, memories pursue me
not to let them break my heart, I let the wave roll through me
see these things by northern light, you'll never see them clearer
love's as short as summer nights my dear
Battlestar Galactica (2003) Kara/Leoben mix for
hazelwho:
I chose "Battlestar Galactica - I love Leoben/Kara in all their fucked up kinky glory" from the list of suggestions, and wrote a little angst cookie to go with it.
Download: .zip
1. Spirit of the West, "Darkhouse"
Because this song is, to a suspicious degree, the pilot/mini-series right up until the attack on the Colonies (it's even sung by the dude who played Galactica's CAG in same, ~fifteen years later).
weathered old man, tending the flame
lit a big fire for the child in me
salty dog in a shoreline castle
being replaced by a chip in the sea
2. Bruce Peninsula, "2nd 4th World War"
BP are one of the few bands I care about whose music (which gets sometimes described as secular gospel or sort of a folk-soul-rock choral fusion) truly deserves the accolade of "epic", and this song covers so many bases of Kara's (and to a subtler degree, Leoben's) experiences of the 'verse post-exodus.
forever indebted to the feats of our fathers (carry it on your back, it's a sure collapse)
laid out flat, gasping
3. Weeping Tile, "Poked"
Another track for the earlier part of BSG's run and the creeping anxiety of they are among us and am I not myself?, that really makes me wish that the creative team had actually had a plan when they claimed to or at least had played by their own rules once they made them up.
well there are two of us, what I am what I was
at the end of the millenium we'll soon be replaced by replicas
4. The Odds, "Break the Bed"
The first song I chose while compiling this list, for reasons that I feel are obvious.
I live under a giant cloud
it's my shield and it's my shroud
at home on the range but alone in a crowd
I plug my ears when it gets too loud
5. Rock Plaza Central, "Holy Rider"
It was a tough choice between this one and "How Shall I to Heaven Aspire" (check it out, it's on Are We Not Horses), but this one won out for the "I don't wanna fight any more" refrain and the invocation of spiritual power (behold, a theme emerges).
I don't wanna fight any more
I just wanna feel the spot on your hip
with my tongue as we dip into the rolling sea
6. The Headstones, "Digits"
The (definitely otherwise flawed) lyrics I found on the internet suggest that Hugh is singing "and neither are the seconds" but on at least one repeat it sounds more like "and neither are the circuits", and even if he's not this is still such a poifect song for this 'ship.
she's got the numbers, man, I've got the digits
everybody knows, their own pulses quicken
don't know the answers, well they've gone and made a mess
7. Die Mannequin, "Upside Down Cross"
I think most of the good Kara/Leoben fic I've read has had one of them really confident and sure of what's going on and basically opaque to the other who is confused and raw and looking for a direction (not an uncommon pattern by any means, but this 'ship seems particularly suited to it); this is Kara's turn being lost (and musing on abuse and rejection by parent/creator figures) . . .
who's there, coming up slowly
starting to grow on me, perfect and lonely
8. Wax Mannequin, "God's Love"
. . . and this is Leoben's (Wax Mannequin is a genius of weird, and I love this for the lyrical simplicity and the la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-las, like, that's really all there is to say but omigosh there is so much not simple about that).
"this is the end of my love for you"
that's what God wanted to tell you
He was going to tell you
9. Veda Hille, "One Hot Summer"
Ladies and gentlemen, Kara Thrace in three minutes and forty-four seconds.
gravel and sand, I am avalanche land
tiptoe around me like children
I'll give you fire and brimstone
damp sheets and darkness, your life is a liar
and the grass in the city is catching on fire
10. Tonella, "Mad Game"
This is a classical piano-style solo mash-up of "Mad World" and "Wicked Game", your argument is invalid (like salted chocolate, the use of Gary Jules nicely tempers the extra-sappy Chris Isaak treatment, which likewise helps to prevent overindulgence in emo with its sticky sweetness).
hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
no tomorrow, no tomorrow
and I don't want to fall in love
no I don't want to fall in love . . . with you
11. The Dears, "Find Our Way to Freedom"
I can't really say much about this song that it doesn't say for itself.
I want, I wanna have it
lucky foot of a rabbit
alas, people ain't worth their salt
12. HIM, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"
Not exactly a unicorn chaser, more like a dusting of parmesan and gothic rock. This duet version is often misattributed to Nick Cave and Enya (no idea how that started but it really makes me wish that such a thing did actually exist) but it's actually by a Finnish "love metal" band who shortened their name from His Infernal Majesty (the Mutton Birds cover from the end titles of Frighteners is good too but it doesn't have the same OTT sweep, and neither one has cowbell).
seasons don't fear the reaper
nor do the wind, the sun, and the rain
we can be like they are
dragovianknight, I have started working on your writing mix and hope to have something ready for you soon. My apologies for the delay. podfic_lover, I've been waiting for a quiet day at home to record your stories without much success, but I hope to get to them soon.
Cross-posted from Dreamwidth, where there are currently
comments. Please comment there using OpenID.