So, another apology: I haven't been doing things on this blog as often as I would like. I know I keep saying I'll keep up with it. This summer shall be a bit different, with this Top Ten meme. I have little to do and more will to do anything at all.
With that said, this Top Ten might be a little difficult. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is a freebie, so I thought I should mention my Top Ten Song-Book Character Matches.
(Or, the top ten songs that match a certain book character really well. Look at the title of this blog again, if you expected me not to take this opportunity to share great books AND music.)
As a side note, the music is written artist:song title, and each link goes to a video with lyrics. (Or most of them do, anyways.) If I don't list an author in my little summary, then it is either easily searchable or extremely popular.
1. Sebastian (Black Butler manga) -- Pirates of the Caribbean: Pirates Montage
Yes, it's a manga, not a book. But the difference between manga and novels is a post for another day. Sebastian, a demon butler, fits the suaveness of this piece really well. The adventure caught up in both the music and the manga fit together better than some puzzles. (Don't get me started on puzzles.)
2. Kelsier (Mistborn) -- Imagine Dragons: Ready Aim Fire
Kelsier is a true revolutionary in a dystopian future. The mood of both Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series (specifically the first one, which is the only one I've read) and this song fit really well, and the lyrics do, too.
3. Katniss's Mum (The Hunger Games) -- The Civil Wars: Kingdom Come
I don't remember Katniss's mum's name. I know. But I like this song for her because you cannot tell whether she is good or bad. She is a very gray character; she is not at all the sort of stereotypical mom you usually find in media, but neither is she the demonized "bad" mom that you might also find. She's not high on drugs, but neither does she take care of her children. She cares for them -- she takes care of Prim while Katniss is away in the Games -- but her grief after her husband's death has subsumed her character. And this song (which, I know, is from the Hunger Games movie soundtrack) captures that grayness.
4. Lia (Wintergirls) -- Helio: To Write Love on Her Arms
Lia definitely deserved to hear this song. She was dark and sick; mentally ill. This song is made for the TWLoHA project (To Write Love on Her Arms), which is meant to help self-mutilators and raise awareness. This song both fits her and would have been an inspiration to her. Lia's anorexia and her grief after her best friend dies combine in a spiraling way, and this song both acknowledges the pain and the mental illness, and tries to comfort.
5. Jennifer Strange (The Last Dragonslayer) -- Superchick: Not Done Yet
Jennifer Strange is a very tough character, but not in the muscles-and-kicking-butt sort of way. She sticks things out and is always fair, even if that means being forced to kill a creature who is the last of the kind. She is one of the only people in Jasper Fforde's world who wants to stick out and give a dragon the fair end of the deal. And this song represents that willingness, in the same easygoing way that Jennifer herself has.
6. Maddy (Gamer Girl) -- Britt Nicole: Headphones
Now, Maddy is not a music person, and the song, of course, tells you to put on your headphones. But both are about that escapist healing. Maddy disappears and grows through her manga drawing and her video game, which this song captures so perfectly. Put on your headphones, pick up a video game, find something to distract you and make you happy! (This book is by Mari Mancusi, in case you want to read it.)
7. Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter) -- Owl City: Fireflies
Yes, I have to pair two famous, widely loved things. Luna and Owl City just go together. They both have that scatterbrained, chaotic splendor that makes them such compelling dreamers. Although they seem somewhat random (Fireflies? Nargles?), their randomness shows perfectly an undercurrent of emotion that speaks deeper than the practical characters around them.
8. Joe Zabbidou (Black Book of Secrets) -- One Republic: Secrets
Okay, this song is less Joe and more the people he deals with. He deals in secrets, and records them in a big, black book. (Hence the title.) F.E. Higgins wrote this quirky book, and it is quite a good read. The mysterious pawnbroker of secrets has a knack for making people feel that yearning to share what's on their mind, the same compelling that is behind this song.
9. Devon (After) -- Linkin Park: What I've Done
I wasn't overly fond of Amy Efaw's novel, After. Devon is a very unlikeable character, but I am not sure that is why I didn't like this novel. In any event, she is a very complicated young woman -- the book revolves around the aftermath, as she waits for the trial to convict her of putting her newborn in the trash. And, while the Linkin Park does not match the atmosphere of this novel -- Linkin Park has a darker, deeper, timeless quality to their music, where After has a much more contemporary feel to it -- I think the message behind this song does match an undercurrent to Devon. "Let mercy come/and wash away/what I've done" and all that.
10. Doctor Who -- Celtic Woman: A Spaceman Came Traveling
Okay, this is totally cheating. Doctor Who may be a TV show, but I feel that there is enough fanfiction written and published on this show that I can sneak this one in last. Really, this song is perfect for Doctor Who; the background singers are even wearing TARDIS blue! I can imagine a fanfiction somewhere about the Doctor showing up at the birth of Jesus.
Those are my Top Ten this week. What're yours? Leave a comment!
