[fst] songs for "Something to Hold Onto"
Because Something to Hold Onto basically took over my brain for a couple of years, I quite unsurprisingly assembled a soundtrack for it along the way! Many of these songs were enormously important to the process of writing my fic, so! Perhaps, if you enjoyed the story (or just really dig Jet/Zuko Ba Sing Se AUs as a general concept) you might enjoy some of these as well!
My dear friend and sometimes beta hoshizora ALSO made a FST for the story, which he refused to give to me until I'd finished the epilogue. Took a little longer to get to that point than he'd planned, but I really loved the mix he put together once I finally got to listen to it, and he said he was all right with my sharing it here with you guys.
SO. First, the one I made...
Download: Megaupload
All tracks have their own artwork, including illustrations by boredgods, gulliblesnail, achtungbaby, kittyjimjams and Holly Mongi. I drew the cover, although it includes a screenshot of Ba Sing Se because there are some tasks I'm simply not equal to.
Ultimately, I decided against long-winded explanations for why I chose various songs -- between the artwork on the individual tracks and the lyrics excerpted below, I figured I'd done enough. Suffice it to say that the songs follow the arc of the story itself, emotionally if not always literally. However, if you're curious about any track in particular, please do ask about it in the comments and I will HAPPILY indulge in rambling about it for a while. <3
• The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning - Smashing Pumpkins
And now the kingdom comes
Crashing down undone
And I am a master of a nothing place
Of recoil and grace
[...]
No one can separate us
For we are all that is left
The echo bounces off me
The shadow lost beside me
There's no more need to pretend
Cause now I can begin again
• E-Pro - Beck - Jet
I won't give up that ghost
It's sick the way these tongues are twisted
The good in us is all we know
There's too much left to taste that's bitter
• 15 Step - Radiohead - Zuko
How come I end up where I started?
How come I end up where I went wrong?
Won't take my eyes off the ball again
First you reel me out and then you cut the string
• The District Sleeps Alone Tonight - The Postal Service - Zuko
I'll wear my badge:
A vinyl sticker with big block letters
Adhered to my chest.
It tells your new friends
"I am a visitor here... I am not permanent."
• Keep The Car Running - The Arcade Fire - Zuko
Every night my dream’s the same
The same old city with a different name
Men are coming to take me away
I don’t know why but I know I can’t stay
[...]
If some night I don’t come home
Please don’t think I’ve left you alone
The same place animals go when they die
You can’t climb across a mountain so high
The same city where I go when I sleep
Can’t swim across a river so deep
• One Line - PJ Harvey - Jet
I'm watching from the wall
As in the streets we fight
This world all gone to war
All I need is you tonight
And I draw a line
To your heart today
To your heart from mine
A line to keep us safe
(suggested by kittyjimjams)
• Escape Artist - Zoe Keating
*
• Hide And Seek - Imogen Heap - Jet
Where are we?
What the hell is going on?
The dust has only just begun to form
Crop circles in the carpet
Sinking feeling
Spin me round again
And rub my eyes,
This can't be happening
• All The Night Without Love - Elvis Perkins - Jet
Well I once caused your cells to shimmer
And you once caused my cells to shimmer
Now we go all the night without love
• Marching Bands of Manhattan - Death Cab For Cutie - Zuko
And it is true what you said
That I live like a hermit in my own head
But when the sun shines again
I'll pull the curtains and blinds to let the light in.
Sorrow drips into your heart through a pinhole
Just like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the sound
But while you debate half empty or half full
It slowly rises, your love is gonna drown
• River's Edge - Great Lake Swimmers - Jet
Making saviors out of ordinary people
• Chicago - Sufjan Stevens - Jet
You came to take us (all things go, all things go)
To recreate us (all things grow, all things grow)
We had our mindset (all things know, all things know)
You had to find it (all things go, all things go)
If I was crying
In the van, with my friend
It was for freedom
From myself and from the land
I made a lot of mistakes
• Mausam & Escape - AR Rahman
*
• Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) - Arcade Fire - Zuko
Ice has covered up my parents' hands
Don't have any dreams, don't have any plans
Growing up in some strange storm
Nobody's cold, nobody's warm
I went out into the night
I went out to find some light
Kids are dying out in the snow
Look at them go, look at them go!
And the power's out in the heart of man
Take it from your heart, put in your hand
• First Day Of My Life - Bright Eyes - Zuko
And I thought it was strange, you said everything changed
You felt as if you just woke up
And you said
"This is the first day of my life
Glad I didn't die before I met you
Now I don't care, I could go anywhere with you
And I'd probably be happy"
• Soul Meets Body - Death Cab For Cutie - Zuko
And I cannot guess what we'll discover
When we turn the dirt with our palms cupped like shovels
But I know our filthy hands can wash one another’s
And not one speck will remain
And I do believe it’s true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
But if the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
So brown eyes I hold you near
Cause you’re the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
• Til Kingdom Come - Coldplay - Zuko
And the wheels just keep on turning
The drummers begin to drum
I don’t know which way I’m going
I don’t know what I’ve become
For you I’d wait 'til kingdom come
Until my days, my days are done
And say you'll come and set me free
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me
• The Coast - Paul Simon - Jet
To prove that I love you
Because I believe in you
Summer skies, stars are falling
All along the injured coast
[…]
If I have weaknesses
Don't let them blind me now
• Deadman's Gun - Ashtar Command - Jet
And all the storms you've been chasing
About to rain down tonight
And all the pain you've been facin'
About to come into the light
(suggested by hoshizora)
• Ordinary Day - Vanessa Carlton - Jet
Just a day, just an ordinary day
Just trying to get by
Just a boy, just an ordinary boy
But he was looking to the sky
And as he asked if I would come along
I started to realize
That everyday he finds
Just what he's looking for
Like a shooting star he shines
• You're All I Have - Snow Patrol
Give me a chance to hold on
Just give me something to hold onto
Then, from hoshizora...
Download: Megaupload
• Rope On Fire - Morphine
• Please Bleed - Ben Harper
• Day After Tomorrow - Tom Waits
• (This is for the) Better Days - A Band of Bees
• No One's Gonna Love You - Band of Horses
• Overjoyed - Victor Wooten
• I Got Nobody Waiting For Me - M. Craft
• Dropping Like Flies - Firewater
• Fake Empire - The National
• What I'm Trying to Say - Stars
• All Is Not Lost - OK Go
My dear friend and sometimes beta hoshizora ALSO made a FST for the story, which he refused to give to me until I'd finished the epilogue. Took a little longer to get to that point than he'd planned, but I really loved the mix he put together once I finally got to listen to it, and he said he was all right with my sharing it here with you guys.
SO. First, the one I made...
Download: Megaupload
All tracks have their own artwork, including illustrations by boredgods, gulliblesnail, achtungbaby, kittyjimjams and Holly Mongi. I drew the cover, although it includes a screenshot of Ba Sing Se because there are some tasks I'm simply not equal to.
Ultimately, I decided against long-winded explanations for why I chose various songs -- between the artwork on the individual tracks and the lyrics excerpted below, I figured I'd done enough. Suffice it to say that the songs follow the arc of the story itself, emotionally if not always literally. However, if you're curious about any track in particular, please do ask about it in the comments and I will HAPPILY indulge in rambling about it for a while. <3
• The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning - Smashing Pumpkins
And now the kingdom comes
Crashing down undone
And I am a master of a nothing place
Of recoil and grace
[...]
No one can separate us
For we are all that is left
The echo bounces off me
The shadow lost beside me
There's no more need to pretend
Cause now I can begin again
• E-Pro - Beck - Jet
I won't give up that ghost
It's sick the way these tongues are twisted
The good in us is all we know
There's too much left to taste that's bitter
• 15 Step - Radiohead - Zuko
How come I end up where I started?
How come I end up where I went wrong?
Won't take my eyes off the ball again
First you reel me out and then you cut the string
• The District Sleeps Alone Tonight - The Postal Service - Zuko
I'll wear my badge:
A vinyl sticker with big block letters
Adhered to my chest.
It tells your new friends
"I am a visitor here... I am not permanent."
• Keep The Car Running - The Arcade Fire - Zuko
Every night my dream’s the same
The same old city with a different name
Men are coming to take me away
I don’t know why but I know I can’t stay
[...]
If some night I don’t come home
Please don’t think I’ve left you alone
The same place animals go when they die
You can’t climb across a mountain so high
The same city where I go when I sleep
Can’t swim across a river so deep
• One Line - PJ Harvey - Jet
I'm watching from the wall
As in the streets we fight
This world all gone to war
All I need is you tonight
And I draw a line
To your heart today
To your heart from mine
A line to keep us safe
(suggested by kittyjimjams)
• Escape Artist - Zoe Keating
*
• Hide And Seek - Imogen Heap - Jet
Where are we?
What the hell is going on?
The dust has only just begun to form
Crop circles in the carpet
Sinking feeling
Spin me round again
And rub my eyes,
This can't be happening
• All The Night Without Love - Elvis Perkins - Jet
Well I once caused your cells to shimmer
And you once caused my cells to shimmer
Now we go all the night without love
• Marching Bands of Manhattan - Death Cab For Cutie - Zuko
And it is true what you said
That I live like a hermit in my own head
But when the sun shines again
I'll pull the curtains and blinds to let the light in.
Sorrow drips into your heart through a pinhole
Just like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the sound
But while you debate half empty or half full
It slowly rises, your love is gonna drown
• River's Edge - Great Lake Swimmers - Jet
Making saviors out of ordinary people
• Chicago - Sufjan Stevens - Jet
You came to take us (all things go, all things go)
To recreate us (all things grow, all things grow)
We had our mindset (all things know, all things know)
You had to find it (all things go, all things go)
If I was crying
In the van, with my friend
It was for freedom
From myself and from the land
I made a lot of mistakes
• Mausam & Escape - AR Rahman
*
• Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) - Arcade Fire - Zuko
Ice has covered up my parents' hands
Don't have any dreams, don't have any plans
Growing up in some strange storm
Nobody's cold, nobody's warm
I went out into the night
I went out to find some light
Kids are dying out in the snow
Look at them go, look at them go!
And the power's out in the heart of man
Take it from your heart, put in your hand
• First Day Of My Life - Bright Eyes - Zuko
And I thought it was strange, you said everything changed
You felt as if you just woke up
And you said
"This is the first day of my life
Glad I didn't die before I met you
Now I don't care, I could go anywhere with you
And I'd probably be happy"
• Soul Meets Body - Death Cab For Cutie - Zuko
And I cannot guess what we'll discover
When we turn the dirt with our palms cupped like shovels
But I know our filthy hands can wash one another’s
And not one speck will remain
And I do believe it’s true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
But if the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
So brown eyes I hold you near
Cause you’re the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
• Til Kingdom Come - Coldplay - Zuko
And the wheels just keep on turning
The drummers begin to drum
I don’t know which way I’m going
I don’t know what I’ve become
For you I’d wait 'til kingdom come
Until my days, my days are done
And say you'll come and set me free
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me
• The Coast - Paul Simon - Jet
To prove that I love you
Because I believe in you
Summer skies, stars are falling
All along the injured coast
[…]
If I have weaknesses
Don't let them blind me now
• Deadman's Gun - Ashtar Command - Jet
And all the storms you've been chasing
About to rain down tonight
And all the pain you've been facin'
About to come into the light
(suggested by hoshizora)
• Ordinary Day - Vanessa Carlton - Jet
Just a day, just an ordinary day
Just trying to get by
Just a boy, just an ordinary boy
But he was looking to the sky
And as he asked if I would come along
I started to realize
That everyday he finds
Just what he's looking for
Like a shooting star he shines
• You're All I Have - Snow Patrol
Give me a chance to hold on
Just give me something to hold onto
Then, from hoshizora...
Download: Megaupload
• Rope On Fire - Morphine
• Please Bleed - Ben Harper
• Day After Tomorrow - Tom Waits
• (This is for the) Better Days - A Band of Bees
• No One's Gonna Love You - Band of Horses
• Overjoyed - Victor Wooten
• I Got Nobody Waiting For Me - M. Craft
• Dropping Like Flies - Firewater
• Fake Empire - The National
• What I'm Trying to Say - Stars
• All Is Not Lost - OK Go