What is in this file? Why is it here? Here you go!
Banshee's Folder
I feel like I have six million songs for Banshee. Here are the ones I thought were important or were the most strongly associated with her.
Spinnerette – Baptized by Fire : I usually have this associated with another original character from my Chaos Knot, but the single phrase seemed very Banshee, and the lyrics felt a lot like her final decision to go out into the world and try to kick ass.
Soraya – La Noche Es Para Mi : Mostly the sound of this helped me feel Banshee.
Susanna Georgi – Le teva decisi : Same feeling here. I used to play this and we called it the 'Banshee goes to college' song.
Svetlana Loboda – Be My Valentine (Anti-Crisis Girl) : People who have seen me draw pictures of Banshee in desperation know why this is here. Banshee is my anti-crisis girl.
Dover – Let Me Out : Another usually associated with another original character that came to be Banshee too.
Fefe Dobson – Take Me Away : Just the title was enough. I used to hear this while working in a girls' jewelry store. It felt like Banshee.
Ida Maria – Queen of the World : There's a lot of this song that isn't Banshee, but “I'm queen of the world, I bump into things... I spin around in circles...” was enough for it feel like her.
Little Boots – Remedy : Nearly every inch of this song is Banshee. I heard it while working in a Macy's and was blown away. I can't hear it without thinking of her. The refernces to mythology, the using dancing and music as a kind of self-medication against the dumb shit someone else is handing her? Every word screams Banshee.
Rouge Traders – Voodoo Child : The feeling I got from this was more important than the lyrics. Though I'll never get tired of 'Here come the drums, here come the drums'.
Rosenstolz – Ich Bin Ich : There had to be some German, right? 'Ich bin jetzt, ich bin hier, ich bin ich.' I am now, I am here, I am me.
Devi's Folder
Forgive me for how little there is in here.
Frou Frou – Close Up and Shh : Both of these songs feel similar to how I imagine Devi's song, and a lot of the lyrics hit me as very her, or very her and Tenna, but mostly very her. The sound, the feeling, they're good for her - a little hard and strange, but with a melody too. I think they feel a bit like her song does in my head.
Edgar's Folder
This folder is strange. It could have been stranger.
Magnetic Fields – The Things We Did and Didn't Do : Given to me by Spook, and eventually unable to untangle itself as related to Edgar in some way.
Franz Ferdinand – Walk Away : Some of this is very Edgar, some of it isn't, but enough of it is that it's here. A lot of 'I'm not as cold as you are' placed this one in Edgar's folder.
Guster – Fa Fa and Barrel of a Gun : Both of these are very early SWAN-feeling, from some of Edgar's first encounters with Johnny. They were helpful to keep around to remember when things with Johnny got a little weird in ISH. Fa Fa has a lot of the feeling of Edgar before he met the others as well. Barrel of a Gun was extremely rooted in SWAN and Edgar's afternoons with Johnny. You've got to reinterpret 'movie star' and switch some pronouns, but I think you'll feel it.
Tanita Tikaram – I Love You : This is a strange one, mostly because female vocal and the relevance sort of twisting in and out of it. But it was on a loop at one time enough that I feel very, 'Writing ISH now' when I hear it. There's another one of the same title that I can't find that felt similar, but more Johnny in that it was talking about killing people for the listener.
Stars – What I'm Trying to Say : This is my favorite Edgar song. My Doomlet LeeAnn sent it to me saying, 'omg, Edgar, wtf'. This was rather accurate. “I am trying to say what I want to say without having to say 'I love you.'”
Jimmy's Folder
Oh, Jimmy. He has some of the most strongly associated songs for me of the whole group, weirdly enough.
Bad Religion – I Want To Conquer the World : Well, really. Just look at it. Actually, I think the style of it is very Jimmy, more than the words, not that they aren't good too. This is thanks to PolyesterRage, who is responsible for a lot of my Jimmy-related anything, now that I think about it.
Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out : Sharing bands with Edgarrrr... This is a lot more of the sound of Jimmy with a lot of the feeling of the constant abuse he suffered before Edgar showed up. Not that they stopped, but Jimmy abuse was worse before the new kid. And essentially singing 'shoot me' is rather Jimmy.
The Killers – Somebody Told Me : This sounds so much like Jimmy's song to me, holy shit. Every time I hear this I think of SWAN/ISH. Every. Time. The bits about rumors ruining moonlight feel like their world to me. It could be Jimmy, it could be even a little Johnny, but this just drips with ISH either way for me.
The Offspring – Self-Esteem : Change some pronouns, yet again, but this felt an awful lot like Jimmy's thing for Johnny.
Johnny's Folder
I have only slightly less Johnny than I have Banshee, but these are some that almost made it into the story. And one that did. ;)
Apoptygma Berzerk – Fade to Black : There's a lot of 'Hello, I am a techno thing, so the intro is most of the song' going on here. But the sound of it eventually and the lyrics have always been very SWAN/ISH!Johnny to me. They might be a little original flavor Johnny too.
Charlie Daniels Band – Devil Went Down to Georgia : I'm sorry. I just hear this song about a guy named Johnny doing a music duel with the devil and I think of Johnny and Pepito having one of those cool-kid 90's dance offs (with violins!) and I about piss myself.
Wagner – Ride of the Valkyries : Johnny's ringtone. Sorry. Not really.
Switchfoot – Stars : “When I look at the stars, I feel like myself.”
Wumpscut – Wreath of Barbs : I am not the first person to feel very Johnny about this. I won't be the last.
Tenna's Folder
Tenna's folder is primarily hilarity.
Boomtang Boys – Squeeze Toy : I couldn't not. You will understand.
Jill Souble – I Kissed A Girl : Too cheery to go in Devi's folder, really. But come on, aw.
Veggie Tales – The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything : Your atheist author brings you goofy songs from children's Christian television programming. It's the Circle of Life or some shit. I think this is how Tenna feels about the Homicides. Endless lol's.
Tess's Folder
There's a theme here.
Imogen Heap – Getting Scared : A bit more of Tess while controlled.
Two versions of Paint it Black from Vanessa Carlton and Within Temptation. : Because I couldn't make up my mind. But more control and frustration and such.
Vanilla Ninja – Black Symphony : Just as often associated with Banshee.
The Non-Folder
Electric Six – Danger High Voltage - Sent to me in Ye Olde Days of Cherry Doom by Kurumi, this doesn't have a huge number of lyrical significances to the story (though one could make some argument about Edgar's skin burning when he comes in close contact with Johnny), but it's mostly that I received it from a fellow Doomer around the time when there were people to call that. I just never let go of the association.
The Magnetic Fields – How Fucking Romantic - This really feels like how the entire cast approaches romance, and it has such a Jhonen/SWAN-world feel to it. It's hilarious.
Waldo's People – Lose Control – My Eurovision obsession rears it's ugly head with this one.
“I
don't wanna live a lie – Checking on my sanity
'Cause maybe baby
I can do without – Is it all a fantasy
I don't wanna live a lie
– Is this my reality
It's spinning round 'n' round day and
night
I don't wanna lose control, but I'm falling
I just
can't believe it
Never thought that I would be the one
Falling
down”
Captain Jack – Together and Forever – This is ridiculous, but when I feel really positive and pretty much completely optimistic about them, I am not above imagining part of Homcides' shows including this. They are sort of stuck together forever, and that the guy singing is saying, 'I'm the leader of this crew of him and her and you,' my mind flashes Jimmy, Devi, Edgar. This is such an old association, but it's never gone away.
Fastball – The Way - This one has people abandoning children for a weird life on the road, there's this surreal feeling in the whole song and the beginning starts with a fucked up radio. It's always felt like SWAN to me.
Jem and the Holograms – Glitter and Gold – I don't actually expect any of you to know anything about Jem and the Holograms other than that they inspired this entire thing, and some of you don't even know that. This is one of the Holograms' songs with a bit more bite to it, while the others are a little more sweet. That they're pretty much singing 'Here we come, and we are so fucking fabulous we're going to blind you,' feels very Homicides to me. There will probably be a Golden Homicidal Orgy in the future because of this song.
Jem and the Holograms – Only the Beginning – One of the other Jem songs with a less sweet feeling. Since they were working the 'Holograms' angle super hard in the first episode – the one this is from – they mention taking people by surprise and coming out of nowhere and their intent to shake some shit up. This is a very early Homicides feeling. And it's only right that there be some Jem songs in this collection.
Lichtenfels ft. Phil Und Inusa – Kill the Silence - If there's ever a phrase for what they do when they play, it's “Kill the Silence”. There are no real profound lyrics here, just a trance sort of song that feels like the Homicides and is relevant in what few lyrics there are.
Lordi – Hard Rock Hallelujah – I think it helps just to watch this one on YouTube.
Zombie. Cheerleaders.
Seriously, though, this is a big song from a bunch of people dressed up as monsters singing about shit going down. It's always felt like a Homicides song. I love this one.
Magnetic Fields – You and Me the Moon – Given to me by Spook, who cited Johnny's enjoyment of the moon as part of the motivation for connecting this song to the SWAN-world thing. I agreed and here it is.
Sophie Ellis-Baxter - Murder on the Dance Floor – I think it is clear from the first lines of this that is belongs here. In fact, that's really all one needs.
Nada Surf – Blankest Year – Nny sings parts of this in an unused scene and like so many of these others, it's always felt like it belonged in my SWAN-verse. The lyrics fit, the sentiment of 'Oh, fuck it,' fits... it's just a good time all around. There were many times during the course of writing this when I wanted to have someone just say, “I'm gonna have a party” in place of “Fuck it.”
Nine Inch Nails – Sin - I drew a lot of Pepito to this song. There is probably some residual Todd or Edgar in there. It's a good fit, regardless.
Peter Schilling – Noah Plan – I used to imagine the Homicides performing this, pretty much because it's a Peter Schilling song and I'd already used half of his Fehler Im System album in this story. The super fast parts sitting next to the float-y space feeling chorus also made me think of Nny's song. The apocalyptic feeling of the song felt relevant... It's a great song. I used to just lie on the floor in the dark and listen to this one, even well before the Homicides. This is one I always imagined I'd eventually used to inspire a Homicidal Orgy.
'Oh, Edgar' Theme – Just in case you didn't get enough of it on the website, you can own your very own snort-laugh inducing sitcom theme song and imagine Edgar moving astro-turf at any time!
Billy Joel – 'Why Should I Worry' from Oliver and Company – Eurovision and Disney. I am neverending quality. Seriously, though, this is the pre-SWAN crew. Even early SWAN, before Edgar sort of de-losered himself. This song breaks down to 'I don't give a fuck,' and it's great.
Oomph! ft. Nina Hagen – Fieber – There is not a lot to this song, lyrically, but it combines the vocals of the people who gave you Augen Auf and 99 Luft Balloons, so it's sort of special. This feels like a Homicides song, intensely. It's angry and kind of fucked up. It being in German makes it one Jimmy would have pulled for, Nina Hagen makes Devi or Banshee able to step in, it's good fucking times. Check here for relevant lyrics - http://lyricstranslate.com/en/fieber-feat-nina-hagen-fever.html-0
Passionworks – Surrender - http://4lyrics.eu/national-final/passionworks-surrender/ Lyrics quite relevant, sound quite relevant. This one has strong Johnny and Edgar connections for me. Different parts sound like they're coming from one or the other, sometimes both, it's good times. It's a little scary and the relationship portrayed in it is a little alarming, so it's sort of perfect. I don't know, as I look at it, if it glorifies that kind of relationship or not. It shouldn't, since both the song and Johnny and Edgar are super unhealthy, but there you have it.
Pat Benetar – Invincible – This is very pre-SWAN, but also a little 'Genesis of the Homicdes'-y. It has ties to the overall story, really. It very nearly went into Devi's folder, and then almost into Tess', and then almost into Banshee, and after a while, it was everyone's voice, so it's here. You can almost take a single line for everyone at various points in the story from this. It's like a mental music video.
Patent Pending – The Website is Under Construction – This was referenced somewhere or used in a deleted scene or I don't know, but it's the sound of a band throwing some hastily constructed song out there because they needed to tread water or something, and I just like the feeling of it. It manages to date itself by mentioning MySpace, but SWAN exists in such a weird timeline, it thankfully doesn't matter.
FreezePop – Plastic Stars – Come on, it's stars and these people did a cover of the Jem theme song. It also has the feeling of being the song played over a unrealistically sweet Johnny and Edgar goofing off in his house montage.
Scooter – Aiii Shot the DJ – Everytime I listen to this to try to get a feeling for why I decided to include it, I end up dancing and have to go back three minutes later and try again. There is not a lot here lyric-wise that makes any sense, much less is relevant, but such is the way of Scooter. Any meaning one can get from the song's lyrics are completely not-Homicides-y. I guess maybe they're a little Jimmy. But it's the feeling of jumping around and dancing – and the image of them taking out the DJ so they can perform instead – that appeals to me.
Smile Like You Mean It – The Killers – This has a very specific time-frame imprint for me, and that is an intensely ISH time. It's less angry than the songs I typically associate with the Homicides, but it's still a little bizarre, which is all that's usually required. I love all that is implied in the phrase 'smile like you mean it,' I love the pun about saving face. It's all so SWAN/ISH that it hurts a little.
Sphinx – Vitalize – This is a remnant from Cherry Doom. If I recall, there was a Zarla drawing with Homicides!Nny singing this song. It's been stuck with a SWAN/ISH association ever since.
SR-71 – Right Now/Kick Me When I'm High – This was a song I acquired around the time that SWAN was being written, so it doesn't have a lot of lyrical relevance, but more a 'A lot of this was written while this was on' relevance. Not that I don't think 'I used to be such a nice boy,' isn't relevant, but the rest... just isn't, haha.
SR-71 – Last Man on the Moon – This feels a little more lyrically relevant, but it was similar to the previous one in that I had just been given it, so it was a frequent background to early SWAN shenanigans. I think any song with imagery about dreaming, time passing, or inability to do things like normal people automatically ends up on the SWAN-list. If Edgar had ended up reacting by withdrawing instead of being ridiculously clean and punctual when he discovered how alone he was, this might apply to him. It's a little bit Johnny, it's a little bit Jimmy. It might just be a bit 'Homicides Boys' all around.
The Stingers – Destiny – No, I am not done with inflicting Jem on people. The Stingers are my favorite band in the show, and their music is so ridiculously Homicides-y. The arrogance that they sing with really makes me think of Johnny, and this one is absolutely in line with that. 'Fate is on my side.'
The Stingers – It's A Hard, Hard Life – The Stingers sung this when they were nobodies, and the 'people stand in your way, but you push past them running for your life' line really does something to me.
The Stingers – Mind Games – “Manipulation is the name of the game, Manipulation makes other games look tame. The goal is control of your soul...” I could post the entire lyrics of this song here and every stitch would make sense. The original context is the band completely mind-fucking a little old lady and conning her out of all her money. This is so Homicides that is honestly gets me a little excited. The Homicides would love to fuck with people like this.
The Stingers – Take It Or Leave It – In which The Stingers acknowledge that they are shitheads and they like it that way. There is nothing so Nny and the Homicides. I fucking love these Stingers songs.
Shatter Creek – Worlds Away – Ah, more Cherry Doom music. This is very 'Johnny degenerated badly' or weird sad reminiscing. There's a line about life being just a bunch of memories that is pretty relevant. It also just showed up at the right time with the right tone to be a heavy background song for the writing of a lot of the original stuff.
The Dandy Warhols – We Used To Be Friends - Weird sound, and talk of formerly being friends? Already a good contender for this. This is another that feels like the three Homicides boys in some way, even if not lyrically.
The Doors – People Are Strange – The Homicides are strange. 'When you're strange, faces come out of the rain. When you're strange, no one remembers your name.'
The Eagles – Hotel California – This song used to scare and intrigue me when I was little, and that's sort of how I imagine a lot of people interacting with the Homicides. The song's lyrics are a creepy sort of story, there's desert imagery, mentions of Heaven and Hell, remembering and forgetting, being trapped in a place with people of dubious intent... It's sort of all there. The story in the song is not likely to relate directly to the Homicides, but it has a very distinct feeling. A bit like 'The Way' in the way I feel about it.
The Misfits – Universal Appeal – The Misfits from Jem routinely sung more aggressive and angry songs than the Holograms, and Universal Appeal felt so Homicides I had to include it. Part of what was great about The Misfits singing a song about having universal appeal was that they definitely did not have it, and the Homicides are in the same boat, really. (Though they ended up with a lot of fans who were simply mind-blown when the Homicides just appeared in front of them, regardless of the music, and people who are just happy to hear music performed at all.) Still, the confidence in this song is great. Banshee or Nny could both do this one.
The Offspring – Staring At The Sun – This feels like one day Johnny and Jimmy ignored all the issues between them and just started screaming. I guess they had Devi in the background to drum and make sure no one died.
The Refreshments – Banditos – 'Everybody knows that the world is full of stupid people.' References to Star Trek and doing illegal shit along with the above line? Yeah. Homicides.
The Sweet – Ballroom Blitz – I have a hard time not including songs that imply crazy shit going down in a dance floor. There was a point that this song mentioning a man at the back with red eyes made Pepito show up at a Homicides show. Girl in a corner can kill people? People stop breathing? I had this one and Murder on the Dance floor in the background a lot when I wanted to envision some of the crazy shit that went down at those concerts.
Nickel Creek – When In Rome – This is very Other!Edgar and Nny and for that I apologize, but it's drifted so much into 'This is SWAN/ISH-related' that I couldn't not include it. It has a totally different feel than the rest of this collection, and I wonder how many people will enjoy it. There's something strange about it, which as I've said before becomes something of a given for it to become a Homicides song. This isn't something they'd perform, this isn't even something I think any of them would listen to, but it struck something in me so much that maybe I just latched it onto the thing I liked most when I obtained it.
The Hives – Won't Be Long – Getting the fuck out. The Homicides never aspire to get out of that damn small town, which is odd considering how badly I loathe everything about being in one, but the feeling of getting out and away from something is still something that's in them, so this is still them. Also, “You become what you hate, or you hate what you become.”