deancasbigbang 2010: polar night: fanmix

[kristin]

I really enjoy making fanmixes, putting together songs to work with the fic as well as with each other. I really try to make each song serve a purpose, either musically or lyrically. This is an explanation of the songs I chose for phate_phoenix's fic Polar Night. Contains some spoilers for the fic. The rest of the art is here.

All my friends were vampires
I didn't know they were vampires
It turns out I was a vampire myself in the the devil town
Devil Town - Bright Eyes

The first couple songs are all about the setting. Our intrepid heroes find themselves in Forks, Washington. Now, millions of preteens and Twi-moms can tell you what that means: Vampires. Throughout this fic the town becomes a hub of supernatural beings, and not everyone is what they seem.

When it rain, rain, rains
It rain, rain, rains
More than this...
Baby, I hate days like
Trying to be ordinary
Was it me who was the fool?
Rain - Mika

One of the reasons so many creatures have set up shot is the, you guessed it, rain. It is a gloomy place. I love the rhythm of the song which echoes rain’s patter. That makes it an awesome segue to...

A-ha! candid camera!
Hook, line and sinker
For the four-wheel drive
Cost you to keep me quiet!
Keep me quiet! (keep me quiet!)
Aha! - Imogen Heap

Beyond having the similar rainy rhythms, this also fits plot-wise. Dean and Sam are working a case when they meet Cas. This song scores the search, as well as Dean’s growing certainty that Cas is not quite what he seems.

She says "that I've been waiting for you"
And I know you've been chasing me too since they kidnapped me from a castle
I been thinking of you
I told her fire breathing dragon he bet not harm me or he be sorry when he meets my one man army
And thou has come to rescue me
My knight in shining armor, yes you be
Sunshine - Lupe Fiasco

This is the first song I picked. One of the major threads of the fic is Celestial power, aka the sun and the moon. The chorus of this matched that perfectly. But this song is really about the romances, Cas and Dean, Anna and Gabe and Sam and Madison.

After the cut, then comes the blood
Falls to the dirt, turns into mud
From this soil we'll grow together
That's no way to get to heaven
That's No Way to Get to Heaven - Guster

Dean finds out that Cas is an angel. Their trust is growing and yet Dean is worried about some of his less pure thoughts. It also, musically, provides a transition between the stylistically very different songs before and after it.

I know I'm near the holy ranks
Of friends and kindred dear
I brush the dew on Jordan's banks
The crossing must be near
Angel Band - The Stanley Brothers

Ok, this one was picked solely for the title. It also provides a style variation, with its bluegrass feel. This is the song for the garrison.

The scary part, the aftershock, the moment it takes to fall apart
The time we have, the task at hand, the love it takes to destroy a man
The ecstasy, the being free, the big black cloud over you and me
And after that, the upwards fall, and were we angels after all?
I don't know, I don't know...
The Night Starts Here - Stars

After we are introduced to angel garrison it becomes clear something dark is coming. Lilith and her soul sucking vampires are approaching. Also, the layering of the lyrics reflects the multiple threads to the fic coming together.

Oh dear, the biggest of all fears,
You wish to hell I was not here
You wish to hell and I appear, oh dear
I want blood, I want blood from you
If it ain't your love, I want blood from you
I Want Blood - empires

And this is the battle. The vampires tearing into werewolves, Gordon biting Sam etc. This is the hardest song on the mix to reflect that.

We may dig amongst the rocks and stones
To find a fragment of the past
And we may consecrate our ruins
In praise of how
In praise of how
How they last
And the moon is a blind eye
The Moon is a Blind Eye - I am Kloot

Oh, Sam. This is the search of a cure. This is Jo with the gun. It is Cas wearing himself out to save Dean’s pain. It is also just a fantastically gorgeous song.

And we were running.
For a reason.
For the burning, in our veins.
And we were running.
For a reason.
We just need to get away.
Running with the Wolves - Cloud Cult

Whereas the last song reflected the first six stages of grief, this is the acceptance. This is Madison and control and reclaiming the power over his body.

Now simmer down and manage your mayhem
I'm bright as the A.M.
And you're rock and roll out the station
And blessed with the fresh from day one
I got it today done
We all going back to the same one
Quiet Dog - Mos Def

This is the final battle after Uriel’s betrayal. I chose this more for the into and rhythms rather than the lyrics. (I love hip hop but it can be hard to find a place for it on fanmixes for that reason.) But it works here to amp up the tension. Also, with the title, it ties the Sam segment of the mix back to the battle plot.

In the morning, it comes
Heaven sent a hurricane
Not a trace of the sun
But I don't even run from rain
The Light - Sarah Bareilles

This is Cas making Dean an angel. This is the most unabashedly romantic song on the mix, and the arrangement of the song is a lot lusher than the rest of this songs. That allows this to act as the climax of the mix even though it is slowish. Also, the percussion line has the same staccato feel as some of the earlier songs along with the pensive vocals of the second half, tying it together.

Well you were there when the wall came down
A baby king with a grown man's crown
And we played in the sun as the curtain was tumbling
Well I was young and I could not see
That if you go won't you please take me
I Thought it was Over - The Feeling

However, it was not a happy note to end on. This is the musical epilogue. Dean thinks he will be leaving, that it is over. But as the title says, it is not.

You're everything I need and more (I'm walking on sunshine, wooah)
It's written all over your face
Baby I can feel your halo (I'm walking on sunshine, wooah)
Walking on Sunshine/Halo Mashup - Cast of Glee

His wings only appear in the sunshine. I have no other explanation for this pick.

Download the complete mix here on Megaupload. The individual songs are linked after the lyrics. Let me know if any of the links go down and I will reup them.