Digging into Rey and Kyloâs Spotify Playlists- part 1: episode 7 songs
The Shut Up and Dance with Me post really pushed me to go through the songs from the Spotify playlists and give you the lowdown, as I see it. That these lists even exist is beyond me! And, just to be clear, these lists have been released in 2015 pre-TFA. With no modification, even pre or post TLJ. No added material. If anything, they actually removed some songs from the lists: 2 for Kylo and 3 for Rey. I donât think the changes necessarily meant that the songs were too revealing or, on the contrary, didnât fit the characters anymore. It might just be copyright or legal issue or some artistic differences or god knows what. But again, the point of these lists were to get to know the characters a little better. Some characters we already knew of course, the big three ( Luke, Leia, Han Solo), but also Obi-Wan and Yoda, a list for Anakin and a list for Vader, PadmĂ©, Mace Windu, Bobba Fett, Chewbacca⊠Lists for new characters: Finn, BB8⊠surprisingly no Poe Dameron. By the way, I think the Dark Sideâ list is super interesting! And of course Rey and Kylo. Reyâs list is full of pop, girl empowerment anthem kind of songs, with a few romantic ballads, which already meant something. Kyloâs is of course full of angsty rock. I donât want to comment on the genre. My mission was less on the musical genres than on the lyrics and how they can shed some light on the characters and their fates. Because, sure, a team chose these songs to let us know about the characters but, honestly, guys, I think somebody let them in on the rough draft of the whole ST. Because post TLJ it is obvious that a lot of songs apply to what happened as far as Rey and Kylo are concerned in this movie. And since we have our bunch of ep 7 songs, and a bunch of ep 8 songs, well, it appears a bunch of songs donât fit either and could very well give us key information about ep 9. Before I get accused again of âreachingâ (LOL), let us be honest: I think they put a lot of care into those playlists. So no, I donât think coincidences are accidental. And yes, I think itâs fair to speculate about episode 9 looking at the songs. So letâs take the journey and crack these songs together.
There are 53 songs for Kylo (I am excluding the original soundtrack every time) and 54 for Rey. Reyâs playlist also has tunes in common with PadmĂ©, Leia, and Luke. 4 songs in common with PadmĂ©, quite a lot: Smoke and Fire, Rich Girl, Fighter, and Bulletproof. With Leia: Smoke and Fire, and the fact that they both have Love is a Battlefield, except that Leia is Pat Benatarâs song, and Reyâs is Jordin Sparkâs song. Same title, different songs. This marks Rey as the âheiressâ to these two heroines, which is not surprising. I think it is quite remarkable that she shares so many songs with PadmĂ©, as regards the Anidala inversion we always talk about. Rich Girl, in particular, because PadmĂ© was a Queen, so yes, the rich girl, whereas in Reyâs case the song is ironic. Rey also shares 2 song with Luke: Wild by Troye Sivan (I honestly donât get what this song does on Lukeâs playlist, so that must mean something potentially), and Adventure of a Lifetime. With Luke as a mentor to Rey in ep 8, that would kind of make sense that they would share something. I honestly merely skimmed through all the playlists, but Rey and Kylo seem to be the only one who share songs with other characters (if I am wrong, please correct me). Kylo shares 3 songs, 1 with Anakin (and NOT Vader), Bored to Death, 1 with BB8, Destroy the Map, and one with Mace Windu on You want a Battle (Hereâs War). Interesting also. I wonât necessarily comment on that today, because there is a lot to go through, but these are thoughts to save and process later maybe.
Some songs can also fit two, maybe the three, episodes. And also, I have noticed something very interesting in Reyâs playlist: a lot of songs that feature in her playlist seem to be more from Kyloâs POV (like Shut up and Dance). They should normally feature on his list but because they would break away from the others in terms of genre, it is probably how they ended on Reyâs list. I found on Kyloâs playlist 1 song that, to me, should rather feature on Reyâs list, but again, would seem odd in terms of genre.
1.KYLOâS LIST/ EPISODE 7
Kyloâs list also seems way more descriptive about his character, angst, inner conflict, feelings of pain and revenge, than Reyâs list. There is a lot of songs talking about past abuse and family conflict. Sweet Dreams by Marilyn Manson is a good example: â Some of them want to use you/ Some of them want to get used by you/ Some of them want to abuse you/ Some of them want to be abusedâ. References to dreams and nightmares in Kyloâs playlist are also quite noteworthy because they tie in with Reyâs visions as described in TFA: she hears voices in her dreams, and when she first sees Kylo, she knows that she has seen him before âin a dream, in a nightmareâ. We can also find some parallels with the plot in episode 7: the Jakku massacre, meeting Rey, killing Han⊠Recurring themes are, without surprise, fire, death, suffering, dreams and nightmaresâŠ
This Means War (Avenged Sevendold). That song is packed with so much about his feelings and his introduction in the ST. It goes on and on really. I could quote the whole thing. But here are the highlights :
Hide my face again, harbor in the shadows (duh!)
Feel this weight of sin hammering away
Die, with the guilt of a thousand AWOL soldiers (The pull to the light)
Die, watch the scythe usher me astray (Lor San Tekkaâs execution)
The ugly side of me is strong
Carry me to nowhere (Jakku is nowhere!)
Lie!Mask the pain
Of a child whoâs forsaken
Lie! To myself
Praise the new regime (honestly, did they write the song for Kylo?)
I left me long ago
Reasons youâll never know
No one to miss me when Iâm gone
With no more words to say
No argument to stay.
Another post I donât belong (Lor San Tekka: The First Order rose from the dark side. You did not)
No home to call my own
No finding someone new
No one to break the fall
No one to see me through
No name to carry on
No promise for today
No one to hear the call (Oh hon, hang on, the girl is coming!)
Buy into the fear (Rey: You are afraid!)
My serpent blood can strike so cold (Murderous snake! again)
Another thought I canât control (Force bond much?)
Legion of Evil (OFF): âBreak down housesâ, â Mystery crews on a murderous spreeâ (the opening on Jakku, with his mysterious identity) but also âRetaliation against horrible gods/Treasonous snakes with gentlemenâs lies/ Waving a false flag to sell the deceptionâ which of course are reminiscent of his line to Rey about the Resistance: â You mean the murderers traitors and thieves you call your friends ? â. But can also ironically evoke Snokeâs influence on him: he is the treasonous snake with gentlemenâs lies. Or even to him as seen from Reyâs POV in 7 and at the beginning of TLJ: âa treasonous snakeâ/ âmurderous snakeâ/ âliarââŠ
The Red (Chevelle) and Evil Eye (Franz Ferdinand), both emphasize the color red, which is Kyloâs color theme.Thunder and Lightning (Motorheadâ, â Maybe youâll die, maybe youâll fly/ Fire in the sky, thunder and lightningâ. Heart of Fire (Black Veil Brides): â I feel alive inside I wonât be terrorized, Iâll take all the blame/This heart of fire is burning proud/ I am every dream you lost and never found/ This heart of fire is stronger nowâ. Also the attack on Jakku.
The Map plot: R2 where are U (Flying Lotus): it takes both BB8 and R2 to find Lukeâs hideout. This song is also on BB8âČs list by the way. Destroy the Map (36 Crazy Fists). Obviously the title is interesting because Kylo gives up on the map and gets Rey instead. The song presents some other interesting points: something that could evoke Starkiller base â And the clouds donât break when the sun is on emptyâ , and also something that seems to fit straight into TLJ: âYou couldnât hold your mouth to stop the sound/ With all these riches on the tip of your tongue/And I was trying to dampen it all out/You were talking louder than I should here/Producing nothing but all these mirrorsâ, â Where the baptized drown/We used to breatheâ (Rey in the cave) âThis time, our time, we have, weâll lastâ. So gain some songs can actually fit more than 1 episode.
Failing on Starkiller: beaten up by Rey, never got the intel about Luke⊠At least Iâm known for something (New Found Glory): â Iâve figured out my situation/
I am an endless source of useless information/ Give me bad news could be something expecting/ I let my front down/ And I know I will regret it/
/But you donât know that and Iâm the one to blame for it/âCause Iâm destined for failureâ. More Starkiller: My own Summer (Deftones): â Hey you, big star/
Tell me when itâs overâ.
