fairy skeletons.: Music Monday [8]: Alyssa Made My Week

You think I am exaggerating in the title of this post. I am actually not.

(I'm talking about this Alyssa and you should go give her ALL THE LOVE because she's a wonderful person.)

What happened, you might ask?

Only the most AMAZING THING OF EVER. Allow me to elaborate. (Which I'm already doing, but bear with me because my mind is still awash in fangirly nonsense.)

To be more specific, Alyssa was kind enough to make a fanmix for my novel-in-progress, On the Midnight Streets. It's so perfect that I had to clamp my mouth closed to keep from squealing while I listened to it, and so I feel that I should recommend it to you. (PRESS PLAY. You won't regret it.)

Here is the tracklist, with some commentary of mine included:

i. Skyfall - Adele (Cover)

skyfall is where we start / a thousand miles and poles apart / where worlds collide and days are dark / you may have my number, you can take my name / but you'll never have my heart

I already considered "Skyfall" one of the foremost theme songs of OtMS. The lyrics and melody capture the strength that the characters have to test time and again in order to see the brighter day that they're all waiting for.

ii. The Phantom of the Opera

in sleep he sang to me / in dreams he came / that voice which calls to me / and speaks my name / and do i dream again? for now i find / the phantom of the opera is there / inside my mind

This song perfectly sums up the entire kingdom's mental image of the Midnight Hatter, the thief who challenges the king's authority like no one else has before. In their minds, he's cunning - almost inhumanly so - and eerily magnetic. They wouldn't put it past him to have magical powers of some sort. He's so freaking deadly and almost stupidly brave, and they're amazed and terrified by it.

iii. Dark Paradise - Lana Del Rey

and there's no remedy / for memory / your face is like a melody / it won't leave my head / your soul is haunting me / and telling me / that everything is fine / but i wish i was dead (dead like you)

This is like ESMERALDA'S SONG. She used to have a lover named Julian who was killed in a street fight, and she's still constantly shadowed by grief for him. So while she tries to be strong for her friends, she still harbors a secret sorrow that's expressed beautifully in Lana Del Rey's smoke-filled voice.

iv. Everything Has Changed - Taylor Swift (Cover)

'cause all i know is we said hello / and your eyes look like coming home / all i know is a simple name / everything has changed / all i know is you held the door / you'll be mine and i'll be yours / all i know since yesterday is everything has changed

Well hello, Finn/Chantilly theme song. This song is reminiscent of a simpler time when the relationship was just boy and girl, with no complications. Finn and Chantilly used to have that kind of relationship, but now it's been shattered and molded by revolution and death and hope.

v. Star Wars: The Force Theme - John Williams

You can't argue with the Star Wars soundtrack. Ever.

vi. Aida: Fortune Favors the Brave - Elton John

nothing is an accident / we are free to have it all / we are what we want to be / it's in ourselves to rise or fall

I especially love the lyrics of this song. They're a bold statement of the daring that the revolutionaries must have in order to stand up against the government.

vii. Moonlight Sonata: First Movement - Ludwig van Beethoven

BEETHOVEN FEELS. I don't know how Alyssa managed to read my mind and put him in there, but he's one of my absolute favorite composers ever and the first movement of Moonlight just kills me.

viii. Ode to Joy - Ludwig van Beethoven

MORE BEETHOVEN FEELS. Need I say more?

That's it for today's Music Monday! Enjoy, and be sure to tell Alyssa thank you for existing.