At this moment in time my friend and I should be in the process of getting our copies of Mockingjay at the Children's Book World midnight party (if you're near the area, it'd be really cool to run into you there!). We will then proceed to drive home and stay up all night reading it. (It's even funnier, and more impressive, when you consider the fact that he only read the series for the first time a week ago.) For everyone else...
HAPPY MOCKINGJAY RELEASE DAY!
I hope you've gotten your own copies or will be getting them soon. I intend to stay offline until Mockingjay is finished--won't be too hard. In the meantime, I'm sure there are plenty of Mockingjay-related celebrations both on- and off-line. I want to highlight something that Lenore is doing: playlists for each of the main characters of The Hunger Games. She asked for my contributions for one of the playlists, and I rummaged through my iTunes and came up with... a playlist of my own. I welcome you to check it out if you like to find new music, or just to have something playing in the background as you do other stuff.
Rationale for playlist content: For The Hunger Games, I wanted to look for music with lyrics that spoke of discontent, rebellion, action, oppression, and similar topics. I looked for music in mostly minor keys, with a driving beat that was strong and insistent but not frenetic (okay, Khy, I'm waiting for your comment now). And I especially wanted songs sung by females. The songs below aren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination--if I were compiling the soundtrack for the actual movie I'd search a lot more--but it makes for a pretty decent playlist, at least for me, I think.
Youtube Playlist embedded at bottom.
Part 1 - Book 1: The Hunger Games
1. Carolina Liar - "Something to Die For"
Won't you see it in your heart, you should Know you always played your part real good, oh yeah That's something to die for
Scene: post-reaping, the train ride from District 12 to the Capitol
Rationale: The singer's voice is high, almost plaintive, with just the right hint of desperation, denial, and rebellion. I felt like this was appropriate for Katniss' mindset at this point: she's just left her family behind, for what she believes is forever, and she is dreading what will come next.
2. Muse - "Resistance"
Is our secret safe tonight And are we out of sight Or will our world come tumbling down? Will they find our hiding place Is this our last embrace Or will the walls start caving in?
Scene: the chariot ride
Rationale: I feel like this would add the right note of darkness and grimness to what the Capitol believes is a happy scene, the scene where Katniss and Peeta ride through the streets with their dazzling costumes. While everything looks like it's fine--everyone's smiling, waving, cheering--the dark energy of this song brings the needed anger to the surface.
3. Hard-Fi - "Stronger"
You dish it out, I'll take it in I can only grow from the lies you spin If you're not scared then you should be Nothin' in the world will keep you from me
Scene: group training
Rationale: A more upbeat, still minor-key song with determined vocals for the days that Katniss & Co. spend learning skills at the various stations in the training room. This song says, "Work and perseverance" to me.
4. Hard-Fi - "I Shall Overcome"
I look around, nothing seems to have changed, This dirty town, it hasn't somehow rearranged
But you say "Hold on, hold on... believe me, All the plans against you one by one, will come undone." I shall overcome.
Scene: private training session with the Gamemakers
Rationale: Playing as Katniss shoots The Arrow and gets the Gamemakers' attention. Also has a strong beat, but the melody is more serious, more determined than #3. Just like how Katniss gets the Gamemakers' attention here, so the song brings attention to the fact that Katniss just might have what it takes to defeat the Capitol and their manipulative Games.
5. Liz Phair - "Firewalker"
Me, I'm like a wild flame that catches on whatever's near but Your mind is a firewalker, it sets its course and never veers but I can grow in spite of all you know You might not recognize me tomorrow
Scene: Katniss, the girl on fire at the interview
Rationale: Because, um, did you see that song title? This slower, melancholic melody evokes for me a girl with her head held high in spite of all obstacles. She's an object of desire--the lyrics and the wanderings of the melody do that for me--slightly enigmatic and detached from the rest of the world. Very influential.
6. Muse - "Falling Away With You"
so I'll love whatever you become and forget the reckless things we've done I think our lives have just begun
and I'll feel my world crumbling I'll feel my life crumbling
Scene: rising up to the arena
Rationale: This song starts out quietly, almost contemplatively, but then evolves into a rich and plaintive cry. The ascending notes in the chorus remind me of the way the tributes rise up to the arena via the metal plates. And the lyrics mention what Peeta is concerned about, and what Katniss is only beginning to understand: the possible loss of humanity, loss of self-identity, out there in the arena.
7. The Perishers - "Let There Be Morning"
I don't know how I made it till now Let there be light Let there be morning
Hello future goodbye past Now each breath can be my last Will I see another dawn? Will I be reborn?
Scene: nights in trees
Rationale: This song is sad and slow, resigned in a way. As a tribute, how do you know if you're going to make it through the night, make it through another day? I can hear this as montage music as Katniss straps herself into a tree at night, watches the faces of her fellow tributes pass overhead, and falls into a restless, worried sleep.
8. Cavo - "We All Fall Down"
Everything is random, everyone is fake Everything we built will just disintegrate No one will remember, would anybody care If everything around us just disappeared?
Scene: running away from the wall of fire
Rationale: The fast rock beat reminds me of the running, but the singer's resonant voice and the motion of the melody focuses the terror of that situation into determination to evade the fire, instead of the scene just dissolving into a quivering mass of fear.
9. Something Corporate - "Only Ashes"
I can tell as you turn, I smell the sulfur so clear and fire's a beautiful sound- and the wings that you burn, turn to ashes my dear and ashes just fall to the ground.
Scene: tracker jackers
Rationale: The lyrics talk about fire, but the repetitive strumming of the bass and guitar remind me more of the chaos that follows after Katniss drops the tracker jackers on the Careers.
10. Mute Math - "Chaos"
It’s hard to trust anyone again after all the let downs I’ve been through, haunted by what I’ve been through.
I know you stay true when my world is false everything around’s breaking down to chaos
Scene: running with Rue
Rationale: I can hear this playing as Katniss and Rue meet up, move through the forest together (in the trees, maybe?), and make their plans to destroy the Careers' food and supplies. The bass line wanders but has lots of energy, suggesting a playful or young attitude, and the singer's voice, always bordering on cracking as he slams into his words, evoke a young person's vocalization of their frustrations.
11. Thriving Ivory - "Angels on the Moon"
I wanna sunburn, just to know that I'm alive Don't tell me if I'm dying 'Cause I don't wanna know
Scene: after Rue's death
Rationale: The singer of this power ballad has a plaintive, tortured voice. That, combined with the lyrics, has me finding this song appropriate for Katniss' unvoiceable grief over Rue's death. The best way she can mourn her little friend's death is by ploughing forward and giving the Games her all.
12. Thriving Ivory - "Where We Belong"
See I have to believe that there's more than this seems More than a soul in a boat in a sea of sinking dreams And I have to be sure that there's gonna be a cure 'cause somewhere down the line, I lost that part of me that's pure.
Hold on we're gonna make it if takes all night Hearts racing like a rocket at the speed of light Don't fight it we've been running for far too long We're going back to where we belong
Scene: finding Peeta
Rationale: I needed a solid, not quite hopeful but not entirely hopeless song for a search montage. I like how the lyrics reflect Katniss' disbelief over her own survival, coupled with her newfound hope now that the Gamemakers have changed the rules.
13. The Perishers - "Still Here"
When you’ve fired your last shot You’ll come back for me
When you’ve gone I’m still here I know you’ll come around I’m waiting patiently When you’ve tried all other ways You’ll come back for me
Scene: Peeta and Katniss in the cave
Rationale: I think of this as Peeta's song for Katniss. Did you read the lyrics? It's a love song, but the singer's throatiness lends a bit of sarcasm and frustration to the song that I think illustrates the conflicted feelings going on between and within Katniss and Peeta in that cave.
14. New Pornographers - "Challengers"
On the walls of the day In the shade of the sun We wrote down Another vision of us We were the challengers of The unknown
Scene: the final hovercraft ride
Rationale: I see this playing in the crazy scene within the hovercraft, as Katniss screams for Peeta as he is taken away from her. This song has few instrumentation and an almost whimsical feel... in a sad way. I think it really brings out the horror of the whole Hunger Games, of all the emotional and physical stress that these teens had to endure, for such a horrifying reason.
15. Arcade Fire - "Rebellion (Lies)"
Sleeping is giving in, no matter what the time is Sleeping is giving in, so lift those heavy eyelids. people say that you'll die faster than without water but we know it's just a lie, scare your son and scare your daughter
Scene: end credits
Rationale: It's a song with a lot of energy and power behind it, without getting too crazy. For me, this wraps up the mental/emotional state that I feel at the end of the book: interested, hooked, pro-revolution.
Book 2: Catching Fire
16. Brandi Carlile - "I Will"
I don't think you ever learned a thing from me But I'm sure that you want me to learn from you
You can't break a heart that wasn't even yours to break
You can never be there for me in the end
But I will do the right thing
Scene: Katniss and Peeta in the Victor's Village
Rationale: Thwarted love, man! Who knows what is real and what was put on as a show for the Capitol? Can a love still be true if it's documented for millions to see? Brandi Carlile's voice captures the angst and hurt between these two people, as they struggle to figure out their feelings for one another after the Hunger Games.
17. Muse - "Unnatural Selection"
They'll laugh as they watch us fall The lucky don't care at all
I'm hungry for some unrest I want to push this beyond a peaceful protest I wanna speak in a language that they'll understand
Scene: the Victory Tour
Rationale: Something that the Capitol intends to be a celebration turns out to incite rebellion. It's clear that the front Peeta and Katniss are forced to put up does not convince everyone, that the dissatisfaction and cries for revolution are already in place.
18. Missy Higgins - "Nightminds"
And in our honesty, together we will rise, Out of our nightminds, and into the light
Scene: Gale and Katniss at the lake
Rationale: Missy Higgins has a full, honest voice. This ballad is full of unfulfilled longing, which I think really reflects the impossibility of Katniss and Gale's plans at this moment.
19. Michelle Branch - "It's You"
If tomorrow never comes I would want just one thing I would tell it to the stars and the sun I would write it for the world to see And it's you
Scene: watching over Gale's whipped body
Rationale: Similar to the "Nightminds" song. Once again, Katniss realizes too late how she might feel about Gale. Now she's already caught up in the Capitol's games, Gale's hurt and threatened, and she has all this suppressed frustration, fear, and dispair within her.
20. Train - "Calling All Angels"
I need a sign to let me know you're here All of these lines are being crossed over the atmosphere I need to know that things are gonna look up 'Cause I feel us drowning in a sea spilled from a cup
Scene: District 12 takeover
Rationale: A great song to express the frustration, simmering rebellion, hatred, and determination brewing within Katniss' mind as she is forced to witness Romulus Thread's takeover of District 12. A very deliberate beat, in a hopeful major key, and the singer's voice is a great blend of strength and pleading.
21. Lesley Roy - "I'm Gone, I'm Going"
I'm like a rat in a cage about to lose it all And I ain't gonna give up until I'm standing tall I'm gonna throw it all in Just get it over with Watch me, watch me
So sick of falling apart and crawling back again So sick of playing the games that I can never win
Scene/Rationale: I forget--it's too close to midnight, I'm losing my ability to think coherently within going into fangirl zone. Suffice it to say that this might be the most upbeat, most "poppish" of the songs on this playlist. But I love how this just shouts female empowerment, and the lyrics are also about overcoming adversity and constraints. This says "Katniss taking a stand" to me.
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That's where I stopped in Catching Fire cuz I found all these songs in one go and never went back to it when I realized the songs could be spread out over the two books. Here is the playlist:
You can also go to its Youtube page here. This has been basically what I've been playing nonstop for the past week (again, like all my other Mockingjay posts, this was not influenced by anyone else, except by Lenore asking me to help her out: all of these songs came out of my head alone). If you're in the mood to experience new music while reading, say, a dystopian novel or something, give this a try and let me know what you think! I'd also LOVE for you to give me some songs that remind YOU of The Hunger Games!
Happy reading; may the odds be ever in your favor!
I was listening to my little sister's mp3 today and we both download a ton of songs and she actually listens to them ALL and picks out the best ones and puts them on her mp3 so most of her songs are the best picks. Gawd my sister is listening to better music than me. Whenever I get on the computer I just play all my music in my files at random but for some reason I usually don't hear the new songs at random. For some reason, I like music but I usually tune out the lyrics. I don't always listen to the lyrics. I know it is dumb for those crazy music fanatics who know every word and every beat to their favorite songs but that is how I listen to music. I am more for the rhythm and the beat than the lyrics. I remember in middle school I had a friend who was crazy over Eminem and she knew all the lyrics to his songs AND when he would take a breath between raps. Pretty crazy right? I am a fan of certain artists but I have never been a CRAZY fan who stalks that artist's webpage/myspace/forum constantly. I really cannot focus so much devotion for one artist. I can be fangirly but looking at certain fangirls online on forums, I am a bit jealous. I can never be that devoted to an artist. I truely would love to meet certain artists but I probably wouldn't deserve it as much as some crazy fangirls who really obsess over them. But I do respect devoted fans. They have a passion for their favorite artist. And that makes me a bit jealous. I have never had a passion for a certain person ever. I think. I've had close feelings but not as near close as some people.
Anyways, back to lyrics. When I do actually stop and listen to the lyrics of songs, they are amazing. It opens a whole new world. I am really astounded by people who write songs. I wish I could. I mean first to think of the WORDS then to think of how the WORDS go with MELODIES and to make the WORDS COME ALIVE. It is truely amazing. And to think that those words that turns into a song actually brings a meaning to other people. It is crazy.
Well here are my little picks that I love.
I love the Strokes. Not a true passion but I have a great fondness for them. They are unique to me. They have this sound that bring memories. Julian Casablancas' voice reminds me of last year, sophmore year. It reminds me of Marie Antoinette (the movie haha), talking to Vivian (I listened to them after hearing them on her myspace), fall to spring, Amelie (the movie), Science of Sleep (the movie), going to Min's house, summer shorts.
Not sure where my little sister found this band but I like their sound. Though looking at their lyrics, they are a bit repetitive.
I really can play this song over and over again. Though I kind of get annoyed by their voices in most of their songs. I really love this song. I remember this being one of my myspace songs last year.
So I am slowly becoming a fan of Kate Voegele. Though to me she has a sort of country voice but she has more soul than twangy countryness. She has passion in her voice. And I love any ballady song with piano alone.
I like the original with Cee-lo too but here is a special version with Se7en. This is a really good dancing song. Gets me really hyphed when I'm in the car.
I am not a big fan of Jonas Brothers but I LOOOOOOVVVEEE THIS SONG!!! I know Jonas Brothers are really teen boppy and everything and yeah I did not really care much for them until I actually saw this song on Disney (YES I WATCH DISNEY...i have younger siblings). Pachia posted the actual version a couple posts back but here is the acapella. I like the regular version better but the acapella really shows off their voices. Though sometimes I get annoyed by Joe's kind of..."whiny" voice like how it isnt really smooth and sounds like nails on a chalkboard in the beginning when he is like "ooohh yeahhh" but t hen he breaks into the smooth " if the heart is always searching...". But yeah I am becoming a teeny boppy fan of them. But yeah the LYRICS to this song are freaking HEART TOUCHING. Love it. But yeah the second one is the FIRST VERSION when they were younger. Nick's voice is all undeveloped. How did Joe's voice get so annoying now?
That Apologize song does not do One Republic justice. After listening to several of their songs, I really like One Republic style. The style of their songs are similar with that slow powerful songs with great lyrics. I love the part "all I need is the air i breathe, and a place to rest my head". Beautiful song.
Dude, Maroon 5 are freaking sexy. Adam Levine's voice is freaking sexy. Augh this songs makes me want to make babies with this man. It has sex appeal. Haha. I like the song a lot.
I love music. They give me warm cuddly feelings. Augh must continue to study for mid-terms tomorrow :(.
